10 Questions Every Intelligent Christian Must Answer [ANS]
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Concept of trinity is the one I always questioned. Father, son, holy ghost are distinct images. Yet, we are forced to believe they are one. This is absurd. No matter how hard you try to make yourself believe, these are nonsuperimposable, they can never fit. Bible is not consistent in information. A lot of the old texts are removed. Eg, Jesus was the begotten son of god. Begotten?? It's an animalistic action of reproduction which is undevine. The bible clearly prohibits us from consuming pork, yet we still do. The bible says that women who do not cover their heads should shave their hair. There are many inconsistencies that I decided to convert.
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Originally posted by Jonah Yong:
The purpose of this is to provide short and quick answers to the common "Why won't God Heal Amputees" collection of questions.
Target Audience:
1. Non-Christians who are sincerely seeking truth, who are looking for objective and solid evidence to believe in the God of the Bible (see especially question 7).
2. Christians who are looking to for answers to these questions from the Bible, with the intended purpose of strengthening their own faith.This topic is not intended for:
People who have already decided beforehand that they do not want to believe in God, regardless of the evidence. For such people, I cannot help you. God Himself will deal with you.
Of such people, the Bible already says that they suppress the truth by wickedness. Jesus said this in the Bible "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." Examine your own heart. What is the true reason you want to reject God? Is it because you have examined and tested the Bible? Or is it because you are afraid that God will take up your time and make it inconvenient for you to practice what you do in secret, in thought, word and deed?-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few biblical guidelines to keep in mind as we go through each question:
1. God does not owe us anything.
* If God did not heal anybody, He would still be perfectly good and righteous.
* If we were all in hell right now without any chance of salvation, it would be exactly what we deserve for our sins.
2. God is not a vending machine.
* Just because we pray for something, even if we use the words "in Jesus's name" like a magical formula, God does not have to say yes.
* In Jesus's name = Amen = according to the will of God, because Jesus always did the will of the Father.
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Question #1: Why Won't God Heal Amputees?
[Romans 5:12] Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.
[Romans 9:15] I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.
Sickness, death, amputations, wars. All these started happening after sin entered the world through the disobedience of Adam and Eve. It is exactly what we deserve. In no way can God be blamed for a person having an amputation nor can He be blamed for not healing an amputee.
God is the boss of the universe, and it is His right to do as He wills. If God heals anybody, it is because He has mercy and gives good things that the person does not deserve.
The very fact that we are able to breathe, to see and to be on the Internet right now, it is a result of God being merciful. In no way do we deserve any of these good things.
If God were to give us exactly what we deserve, we would all be in hell right now. But He delays His judgment and gives us time to repent.
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Question #2: Why are there so many starving children in our world?
[Romans 5:12] Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.
[Romans 9:15] I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.
Starvation and lack of food are not God's fault. God created the world perfect. In his perfect world, there would never have been any starvation, nor would there be any amputees. But because of our sins, this is no longer a perfect world.
The question we should ask is why isn't everybody starving? The reason anyone has food to eat is because God has had mercy and compassion on him, and has provided good things such as food. This is why Christians give thanks to God for a meal. This is why Christians give thanks to God for every good thing, because every good thing is from God.
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Question #3: Why does God demand the death of so many innocent people in the Bible?
[Ezekiel 18:4] For every living soul belongs to Me, the father as well as the son - both alike belong to Me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.
[Romans3:10] As it is written: There is no-one righteous, not even one; there is no-one who understands, no-one who seeks God.
[Psalm 51:5] Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
The people were not innocent. They had sinned. The punishment for sin is death. Every soul belongs to God, and it is His right to decree when each person will die. If God decreed that I died tonight, He would still be perfectly good and righteous and just.
Surprise, surprise. All have sinned. Therefore, all deserve to die. Do you know that you are doomed die? It is God's right to decide the time and date. You have until then to repent and believe in Jesus Christ.
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Question #4: Why does the Bible contain so much anti-scientific nonsense?
[2 Peter 3:3] First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
The Bible does not contain anti-scientific nonsense. If you have trouble believing that God created the earth in six days or that there was Noah's flood, I would recommend you take a look at www.creation.com. They have some very scientific articles there written by highly-qualified scientific people. And if you do not like reading scientific articles, they even have videos that make things easier to understand.
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Question #5: Why is God such a huge proponent of slavery in the Bible?
[Romans 6:20] When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
Do you know that you are a slave? Everybody is either a slave to sin or a slave to God. There is no middle ground. Slaves to sin receive death. Slaves to God receive eternal life. Sin is a bad master. God is a good master.
The references to slavery in the Old Testament clearly demonstrate this concept. Slaves who had a good master even wanted to stay with their master though they may choose to go away. I have tasted and found that my Master, God, is good. Therefore I will always want to stay with Him. It is my desire that you be a slave of the good Master.
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Question #6: Why do bad things happen to good people?
[Ezekiel 18:4] For every living soul belongs to Me, the father as well as the son - both alike belong to Me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.
[Romans3:10] As it is written: There is no-one righteous, not even one; there is no-one who understands, no-one who seeks God.
[1 Peter 4:12-13] Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.
[1 Peter 3:19] So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
[1 John 5:19] We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
There are no good people. Bad things happen to bad people. I am a bad person. So are you. We may not be bad according to man's standards, but we are bad according to God's standards. The very fact that we are not in hell right now is evidence of God's mercy.
This is a fallen world. God made the world in a perfect state. But now it is fallen, and it is not God's fault. It is perfectly reasonable to expect bad things to happen to bad people in a fallen world.
Guess who has control over this fallen world? The Bible even describes the devil as the god of this world who blinds the mind of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. But a time is coming when God will create a new heaven and a new earth.
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Question #7: Why didn't any of Jesus' miracles leave behind any evidence?
[John 20:29] Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
Many people have believed in Jesus Christ without seeing any evidence. But for those who need to see some evidence, He has been kind enough to leave some evidence in various categories. The following may be useful for you. Please study, and then believe, for your own sake.
Archaeological Evidence:
http://www.formerthings.com/israelstele.htm
300+ Messianic Prophetic Evidence (things written hundreds of years before Jesus was born were fulfilled by Him):
http://lastdayscalendar.tripod.com/messianic_prophecies.htm
Scientific Evidence:
http://www.creation.comScientific Foreknowledge:
http://www.eternal-productions.org/101science.htmlLast Days Prophecies (things written in the Bible that you can see fulfilled with your own eyes today):
http://www.eternal-productions.org/101prophecy.html
Historical Evidence (written by secular historians):
http://www.facingthechallenge.org/outside.php
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Question #8: How do we explain the fact that Jesus has never appeared to you?
[Exodus 33:20] But you cannot see My face, for no-one may see Me and live.
[1 Corinthians 13:12] Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
[Colossians 1:28] We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.
[Philippians 3:12]Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
[John 20:31] But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.
One reason is because we are still connected to the sinful flesh. With the exception of the time between Christ's birth and His return to heaven, nobody has seen Him perfectly, face-to-face. But the Bible promises that we shall see Jesus face-to-face, when we are glorified after death.
For now, we have the Bible to help us believe. It has been tested and found to be trustworthy. If you have not read the Bible, and you are thinking that it is too thick to read, you can limit yourself to just one or two books. I think the book of Romans gives a pretty good description of the big picture of God's salvation plan. And any one of the four gospel accounts gives a good peek into the life of Jesus on earth.
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Question #9: Why would Jesus want you to eat his body and drink his blood?
[John 6:51] I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
[Luke 22:19] And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
[1 Corinthians 11:26] For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
[2 Corinthians 5:21] God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
Jesus gave His perfectly lived out life and offered it to us. To His followers, His perfect righteousness is imputed to them. Jesus gave His blood to atone for our sins. The followers of Jesus have their sins erased from them, paid for in full.
God knows how forgetful we are. Therefore, the Lord's Supper helps us to remember the focal point of the entire Bible - that Jesus Christ gave His blood to atone for our sins and His life that we have His perfect righteousness.
Whenever we partake of the Lord's Supper, we proclaim to all witnesses that Jesus Christ has done this great deed for our salvation.
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Question #10: Why do Christians get divorced at the same rate as non-Christians?
[Matthew 7:13-14] Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
[Matthew 7:7] Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
[Luke 13:23-24] Someone asked Him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" He said to them, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to."
Not everyone who says that they are a Christian is really a Christian. Just because a person's parents are Christian does not make one a Christian. Just because it is printed on a person's passport that the religion is "Christian" does not make the person a believer, especially in today's modern world. Church today has become fashionable. Pop and rock styles of worship have made church attractive to the young people. I do not mean to say that a certain style of music is necessarily a bad thing, because the Bible actually encourages lively music to worship God [Psalm 150].
However, with so many people coming in the front door, it is difficult to tell the sheep from the goats. Many people go to church for social reasons, or they want to make business contacts. The preaching of a prosperity gospel results in many people running around who think that Jesus wants to help them strike lottery or wants to give them a BMW. There are many who miss out on the main point, which is that Jesus Christ came to die for our sins and purchase our life back to God.
There are many people who want to go to heaven. But not all of these people want God to be there when they get to heaven. In other words, they want a heaven without God, probably because they have no desire to obey Him. But a true Christian will want to please God. This happens as the Christian continues to receive grace from God to grow in obedience, which makes him or her less likely to get a divorce.
However, not every person who gets a divorce is a non-Christian. Christians do go through times of weakness. Or perhaps the divorcee was a new Christian who had not yet learned to obey God. Nevertheless, unless we can look into the hearts of people, we are unable to discern who is really a Christian and who is just for show.
Now, the surveys conducted probably segregated Christians from non-Christians based on what was printed on their passport, which is not a very accurate indicator. If the surveys conducted had segregated Christians based on whether a person desired to obey Christ, then the results should show that Christians who get divorced are very few indeed.
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CONCLUSION
1. God is holy, holy, holy.
2. You are evil, evil, evil.
3. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for your evil and gave you His perfect righteousness
4. The evidence that number 3 is true is that, within this lifetime, you repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ.
Still think that you are not evil? Take the test to find out if this is true.
The Good Test:
http://www.eternal-productions.org/thegoodtestvideo.htmI plead with you, together with all the apostles and saints, to come to Christ, urgently.
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Recommended Resources:
Searchable Database of Questions About God:
http://www.gotquestions.orgSolid, Biblical Video Repository (Videos arranged by questions and topics):
http://www.illbehonest.comWhat have we done to deserve sufferings in life? We did not ask to be created, we did not ask to be born.
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Originally posted by Tcmc:
TS,
THe bible is full of contradictions. Even christian scholars admit that tthe bible has errors. You are the one that dont know christian history and the bible.
What Christian scholars are you referring to?
Let me guess, you only know Bart Ehrman ya?
See http://creation.com/review-jesus-interrupted-bart-ehrman
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Originally posted by Pinknutri:
What have we done to deserve sufferings in life? We did not ask to be created, we did not ask to be born.
You might as well question why you must pay taxes to IRAS or buy COE to own a car since you did not ask to be born in Singapore or be a Singaporean. Duh....
IMO this kind of questions are usually asked by rebellious teenagers who refuse to heed the concerns of their parents.
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Originally posted by BroInChrist:
You might as well question why you must pay taxes to IRAS or buy COE to own a car since you did not ask to be born in Singapore or be a Singaporean. Duh....
IMO this kind of questions are usually asked by rebellious teenagers who refuse to heed the concerns of their parents.
all I see is avoidance or deflective replies. ah typical of you. anything but the question. -
Originally posted by Jacky Woo:
all I see is avoidance or deflective replies. ah typical of you. anything but the question.Wrong again. Often the issue isn't with the question at all, but with the person asking the question. If you can answer my question on the analogy with paying taxes in Singapore then you will get the answer to the other bit as well. But then again, you are lazy and don't wish to answer it, because you prefer to hear my answer and throw stones rather than to reflect on your own answer.
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Originally posted by Jacky Woo:
all I see is avoidance or deflective replies. ah typical of you. anything but the question.thats typical of troll though
we should welcome people like him
he turn people away from christ
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What Kind of God Would Condemn People to Eternal Torment?
How can you believe in a God who would condemn people to suffer the torments of hell eternally? I have been asked this question many times and, if you are a Christian, you probably have too. If you haven’t, you would do well to get working on an answer because the question may not be too far off. Hell is no laughing matter, despite cartoons and lampoons to the contrary. In all the world, in all eternity, there are few matters weightier than this one, and to every man and woman there is no issue more urgent.
You’re Asking the Wrong Question
How can you believe in a God who would condemn people to suffer the torments of hell eternally? I reply with a question of my own: “How can you believe in a God who would not?”
To ask the first question is to fundamentally misunderstand the very nature of God; it is to re-form God in the image of man, because here’s the thing: If you want a God who is good—truly good—and if you want a God who is just and holy, then you must have this God, this God who condemns people to suffer the eternal torments of hell. You cannot have the God you want unless there is a hell.
You cannot have a God who is all-knowing and all-powerful and so very good. God’s goodness doesn’t negate eternal punishment in hell; it demands it.
Scripture Is Clear About Hell
On what basis can I so strongly and confidently assert the necessity and existence of eternal, conscious torment in hell, even if my heart naturally cries out in rebellion against the thought? Only because God’s Word is clear on the matter. The Bible describes hell as a place where God pours out His wrath on people who have been created in His image (Matthew 10:28; 25:46; Revelation 14:10–11; 20:10–15). God the Father has appointed His Son to be the eternal Judge who will condemn people to hell (Matthew 25:31–34, 25:41; Acts 10:42). This is not momentary or temporary torture dispensed by Satan or his demons, but eternal torment poured out by God Himself. This punishment will be inflicted upon conscious human beings, people who know who they are, what they were, what they have done (Luke 16:22–31).
It is truly, literally impossible to imagine a worse reality than this one. Yet the Bible, the best of books by the best of authors, the perfect book by the most trustworthy of authors, tells us it is so. If this is His judgment, then anything less wouldn’t be worthy of an infinitely holy, just, and good God.
Who am I to question God? If this infinitely holy and just God declares that hell exists and asserts that hell must exist, then rebellion against His will reveals a failure in my own understanding of justice and goodness. Do I know better than God? Or is it possible that I am far worse than God, infinitely worse, and that I fall woefully short of a complete understanding of God’s goodness and sin’s wickedness? To ask the question is to answer it.
God’s Eternal Holiness Demands That Hell Be Eternal, Conscious Torment
Why Eternal? The eternal, neverending nature of the sinner’s punishment is directly related to the infinite and eternal nature of God. When you sin against an infinite God—and all sin is primarily oriented toward God—you accrue an infinite debt. This is the only way to explain the Father’s decision not to spare His Son but to deliver Him to suffer in our place (Romans 8:32). An eternal, infinite being was needed to bear the weight of an infinite punishment.
Why Torment? The torments of hell are directly related to the transcendent holiness of God. Those who face that weight of condemnation have sinned against a God who is truly, purely holy. God’s holiness is unable to tolerate anything or anyone that is unholy; His holiness is like a gag reflex that acts out in wrath against all sin (Romans 1:18) so that on the Cross even Christ had to cry out in His forsakenness, cut off from all that was good and pure and holy (Matthew 27:46).
Why Conscious? Those who have sinned consciously must also bear their punishment consciously. The Bible tells us that we have not been passive in our rebellion against God, but have been willing participants, active rebels. In some mysterious way we were even willing participants in the sin of Adam. Justice demands conscious punishment, not mere annihilation of the person or his or her sin. What clearer example do we have than Jesus Christ who consciously bore God’s wrath against sin? If Christ’s suffering for our sin was conscious, so too will be the suffering of those who bear their own sin. God will not ask less of them than He asked of His Son.
The God every person wants is a God who is good, a God who gives good things to the ones He loves. But to have a God who is good, we must first have a God who is holy. God’s goodness flows out of His holiness. The God of the Bible is a holy God. This attribute of God draws attention to His otherness, His set-apartness, the vast gulf between Creator and creature. It tells us that God must be separated from sin, and it says that He is committed to seeking His own honor. God is unimaginably holy, utterly perfect to the greatest degree and the farthest extent. And because He is holy, He is good.
What a stark contrast we make. We human beings are sinful in body, mind, and spirit—no part of us has escaped or remained undefiled. It is only God’s restraining grace that keeps any of us from pursuing our sin to a greater and greater degree, from becoming as utterly and horribly sinful as we could possibly be (James 1:14–15; Romans 1:28–32; 8:2). Only the grace of God stands between any one of us and the vilest of sins. We are not this way because God made us this way, but because this is what we have chosen for ourselves (James 1:13–14). No one has forced us into such unholiness, such moral depravity. This is what we have desired and the path we have taken. Our moral freedom has led us to utter moral corruption.
It is this contrast that makes hell a horrible necessity. The holiness of God demands that He remain separate from sin, that those who commit sin must be kept out of His presence. How could such holiness mingle with such impurity? Holiness flees from sin. They are incompatible, irreconcilable. And so sinners must be cast out, and they must be kept out of God’s presence.
The Hope
The Bible leaves us no option but to recognize that hell is the punishment due to sinners who have rejected the goodness of an infinitely good God. But there is hope. God has not left us without a means by which any of us can be rescued, by which our sinfulness can be taken from us and exchanged for true goodness. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became man and served as the substitute for sinful humanity, taking upon Himself the guilt of our sin and then facing God’s curse against that sin. Amazingly, astoundingly, the infinite Son of God suffered infinite punishment upon the Cross.
What is so remarkable and so praiseworthy is that He did this for others instead of for Himself. He had no sin but took the punishment for the sin of others; He took that sin upon Himself and now freely offers forgiveness and His righteousness to all who will receive it (2 Corinthians 5:21; John 1:12; Titus 3:5–7). He Himself is the way, He is the door, He is the escape. And all He requires is that we put our faith, our trust, in Him, trusting that He is God, that He has made that way. To these people He now offers all the joy of an eternity of holiness, an eternity basking in His pure and holy presence. This is grace, this is God offering what we so badly need but could never do for ourselves.
Conclusion
When you cry out against a God who punishes people in a place like hell, you cry out against the God who has revealed Himself in the pages of Scripture. You cry out against His goodness, holiness, and justice; and all the while you minimize your own sinfulness or the sinfulness of others. Those who understand hell best, those who grasp it most deeply, are those with the greatest sense that they deserve to be there. They marvel at the grace that has called them from that place to a place that is far, far better—infinitely better!
To wish away eternity in hell is to wish away eternity in heaven. It is not that they exist in some kind of mutual dependence so that one can only exist alongside the other. But sin demands eternal punishment, while grace calls for eternal love and joy, the re-establishment of the good and holy relationship that our Creator intended to enjoy with us forever. How can I believe in a God who condemns people to hell? I must believe in this God, for He poured out the punishment of hell on Jesus Christ through whom I have hope.
Source: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v7/n3/eternal-torment
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Why is this thread not closed?
Close lah ....
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nothing offensive yet here at all.
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broinchrist himself is offensive liao
lol
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At least God in the bible never threaten the iminence of hell when His people did something wrong.... It has been determined the path one chose to take from birth. Invoking hell is similar to invoking godwins law. God win
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full of crap, holy crap.
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Originally posted by Jacky Woo:
full of crap, holy crap.
Indeed! Because CRAP meansChristian Refuting Atheist Polemics