There's a difference between making up your mind and having it changed.
Please help me with the difference.
So there was evidence that Jesus was the messiah?
Of course. Did you think people were looking for a man who would come and say, "Messiah is here." So they can say, "Yeah."?
What exactly is faith anyway?
That's a different topic.If you really would like to know though, there are a number of threads where faith is discussed. I can find them for you if you like, but PM me if you want, so we don't derail the thread.
The point is though, you mistakenly thought the scriptures were saying of Jesus, 'have faith that I am the Messiah.' That's not the case.
However, if you don't know what something is, why talk about it as though you do? That's clearly leading to a misrepresentation. Isn't it?
Fair enough.
Perfect mean meeting all requirements which means that His sacrifice should cover all sins past, present and future.
So tell me if you think this is correct. The perfect "anything" should meet all requirement. Which mean anything and everything.
So for example, the perfect bed should be able to fly into space, and land on Mars, and I should be able to sleep in it comfortably... without dying.
I really hope in this case, you don't have that kind of mistaken view of what perfection is.
Hear is the right view of perfection...
An artist paints a painting (picture). "Perfect!" He exclaims. Why? It's exactly the way
he wanted it to be.
An observer may argue, "Well no. This can be done to it, and that can be done to it. Then it would be perfect."
To the artist, "No. All you did was add what you wanted. It may be perfect to you, but it is no more perfect to me." He might even consider it ruined.
Another, more simple example...
A cutler, makes a knife for cutting bread. He carefully designs it, so that it is the perfect for cutting bread.
Someone comes along and says, 'You should add this and add that, etc.'
The cutler says, 'No. The knife is perfect. It does
exactly what I designed it for.'
Did you note that perfection is relative to the individual who's purpose was met?
Perfect does not mean what meets all requirements of just anyone.
The only perfection that is complete in the absolute sense, evidently, is what we don't know about, unless we can trust what we are taught in the most ancient text about God.
Any other perfection is relative - having
all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics;
as good as it is possible to be.
Haven't we all blasphemed the Holy Spirit at some point?
No. Obviously you don't know what it means to blaspheme the holy spirit either.
Good. You have done the correct thing here, in asking a question. I'm hoping the question is not in the form of a statement, as in rhetorical.
And didn't Paul claim that Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for all time? Isn't God also infinitely loving and forgiving and merciful?
Ultimate? Do you mean based on what is required, as in the definition for perfect in the relative sense?
Yes, the sacrifice was what was needed. It was a propitiatory sacrifice (Hebrews 2:17), and corresponding ransom(1 Timothy 2:6). It fitted the requirement, and was the the best it could possibly be. It could not be improved on, It was exactly right - perfect. Ultimate in this context, yes.
According to the Bible, God is perfect in the absolute - perfect in all his ways - in love, mercy, forgiveness... yes. (Deuteronomy 32:4 ; Psalm 145:17)
Good to see that you are asking question, rather than misrepresenting texts.
What else could being human mean? It means being imperfect. If Jesus was perfect then I don't accept that he was human.
Please... I'd be happy if you can show me from where you got your understanding that human means imperfect. Since I know it cannot be a dictatorship... Edit: Oops
@Jos that should be, dictionary, or scripture, then I am curious... Is it just what Jos thinks?
If that's the case, why is Jos making arguments from what he thinks, rather than what is?
Would it not be better to make the thread title -
Christians, change my mind: the more I think of what I think of substitutionary atonement, the less it makes sense.
However, to do that, you would first need to get the facts right. Otherwise, your mind would never change, since, to quote you... "my mind becomes change due to the soundness of an argument or due to the validity of the evidence.", and since, evidently, you have started with wrong thinking, it does not open the door to soundness, or valid evidence... but that's on your part, not the Christians.
So how can we resolve that?
I suggest ask questions. Learn the facts about what you are seeking to argue against, first. Fair?
The fact is, according to the scriptures, Jesus was sinless, hence perfect, and he was human... and since human does not mean imperfect, then this becomes a matter of what Jos wants to believe, not what is factual... and
since if Jos wants to believe what Jos thinks, rather than what is fact, Jos
is would be the one who is not using sound argument, and not interested in valid evidence.
So by doing so Jos
has would be demonstrated that he does not allow for a change of mind.
That's close-mindedness. That would mean that Jos is closed minded...
if all the above is true.
Fair and reasonable
conclusion?
If it's conditional then it's not an absolute payment for sin ie. it doesn't meet all requirements.
Please explain what you mean by "an absolute payment for sin, ie. it doesn't meet all requirements"
I really don't understand that.
Remember, as stated above, there was nothing wrong with the sacrifice. It was perfect, as it met all the requirements. What is conditional, is not the sacrifice, but the benefits from it.
Read again...
Jesus' sacrificial death, allows mankind to come into a relationship with God - to be reconciled to him (conditional), and to have their sins forgiven (conditional). Paul does not disagree with this.
Think of the example with the cutler. The knife is perfect for cutting the bread. Benefits from using the knife however, does not depend on the cutler, or the knife, but
how it is used by the recipient,
or if it is used at all.
They could take the knife and lay it beside the bread, imagining that it will cut the bread without any manual effort.
But that conflicts with justice, He should leave things as they are and allow humanity to perish as a just punishment for sins. Nothing extra required.
I suggest you really don't know what justice involves.
Perhaps, this is another case where it's what you think... I don't know.
So could you help me understand why you think, to quote you... "He should leave things as they are and allow humanity to perish",
is justice.
You be the judge here, and Google's definition for justice is this - just behavior or treatment. What does it mean to be just? Use any dictionary you like, but just let me know your definition of choice.
Google has this definition - based on or behaving according to what is morally right and fair.
So why do you think it would be morally right and fair that God "leave things as they are and allow humanity to perish as a just punishment for sins"?
That is what defines humanity though, imperfections are what makes humans humans.
Who decided what is human, and which text book says, "imperfections are what makes humans humans"?