With all due respect, I asked to be convinced without referring to scriptures that say that God is loving.
Scriptures are not going to convince me that God is loving.
3: O SON OF MAN! Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee; therefore I created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My beauty.
4: O SON OF MAN! I loved thy creation, hence I created thee. Wherefore, do thou love Me, that I may name thy name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life.
Respectfully, I am wondering why you use and quote Baha’i scriptures but not accept Bible scriptures?
If you feel that the Bible contradicts itself, we can discuss this further.
I can guarantee you if people think that there are contradictions in the Bible, then that means that they were simply taught wrong interpretations of it.
For a quick example: Many people think that the earth will be destroyed, because of the words in 2 Peter 3:7 .
Then they read Ecclesiastes 1:4, which says that the earth “abideth forever.”
And they say, “Ah, contradiction!”
But is it?
Well, earth can mean ‘people’, as in Genesis 11:1…
“Now all the earth continued to be of one language and of one set of words.” (Is earth here,
the planet, or
people on it? It’s sort of obvious: it’s the people.)
When you reason on these scriptures you can see the need why
one scripture has to be compared with other scriptures in order to understand the context. We can’t pick and chose, but it takes effort, and we
must recognize that
it’s Jesus’ Father Jehovah who gives understanding.
Luke 10:21 quotes Jesus words:
“I publicly praise
you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
you have carefully hidden these things from wise and intellectual ones and have revealed them to young children. Yes, O Father, because this is the way you approved.”
It’s His book!
I’m agreeing with what Jesus said above, and we praise his Father Jehovah too. In fact, Jesus called his Father Jehovah, “
My God”!
John 20:17 says:
…. I am ascending to
my Father and your Father and to
my God and your God”. (Jesus was talking to Mary, an
Israelite who worshipped Yahweh / Jehovah.)
Did not Jesus call his Father “the
only true God” ? (John 17:3) And as Jehovah’s Witnesses we
only worship his Father. (And we strive to live by His standards, expressing love and concern for others).
That’s why I believe Jehovah’s Witnesses have the best understanding of His Word, i.e, the truth.
I was raised a Lutheran, born in Germany, and had so many unanswered questions ever since I was five years old. No one could answer them to my satisfaction, only Jehovah’s people, using only His Word the Bible through reasoning of its entire context.
That is what I believe and experienced.