Do you trust God?

[PureX]

Do I trust God to run the universe? Yes.

Do I trust God to take care of me? No. In my life experience, God does not necessarily provide even the basics of food and housing. And yes, things do happen that are more than we can handle--I've ended up in the psych ward because life became too painful.

"You were born, and so you're free, ... happy birthday!" - Laurie Anderson

God is clearly not a personal magician or guardian angel. However, when we find ourselves facing suffering, sometimes turning to the ideal of God can help us to see a recourse that we hadn't seen before. Or help us find courage that we hadn't had, before. Or gain comfort that we didn't feel, before. A skeptic might call these "delusions" or "make believe", but they would be fools not to avail themselves of whatever help is available to them in their time of need. And they would be an even bigger, mean-spirited fool to want to deny these advantages to others in their time of need.

 

[Trailblazer]

If it is predestined, then free will does not matter.

That's right, but since everything is not predestined free will does matter.

 

[Trailblazer]

And you talk of peace, diversity and brotherhood with that?

Yep. God did what God did, why would I lie about it?

 

[Trailblazer]

So which of those many human conceptions is the one true god, and how do you know?

More than one religion has the correct conception of the one true God.
I know this from what my religion teaches.

More importantly, why are all those who disagree with you and favour a different god wrong, and how do you know this?

I know this from what my religion teaches about who the one true God is.

 

[Trailblazer]

So you accept that you might have not read or understood god's communication and might be following a false god, not the One True God?

No, I do not accept that. I might not fully understand all the scriptures of my religion, but I know I am not following a false god.

 

[Trailblazer]

Therefore I am as omnipotent as god is.

You are not omnipotent at all. Only God is omnipotent.

 

[CG Didymus]

If it is predestined, then free will does not matter. Good that your God allows rape and murder to prove the point.

But then God gives laws to limit "free-will" and expects people to enforce them.

 

[CG Didymus]

And you talk of peace, diversity and brotherhood with that?

Yes, we are all one people. And there is only one religion... the religion of God. All the others are BS.

 

[CG Didymus]

I can only do what is within my nature to do.
Therefore I am as omnipotent as god is.
Cool!

So, you are all-powerful? And you could do things like fly, but you chose not to? That is cool.

 

[Trailblazer]

But then God gives laws to limit "free-will" and expects people to enforce them.

God gives laws but they do not to limit "free-will" since people can choose to follow the laws or not.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Nope, everything that is predestined/fated by God is in our best interest, ..

That's right, but since everything is not predestined free will does matter.

Trailblazer, you are confused. You say one thing in one post and another thing in another place. Please be consistent.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Yep. God did what God did, why would I lie about it?

Yes. God did what God did. That is why he sent Bahaollah to start a new religion. And he did not stop with that. He immediately sent another messenger/mahdi in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to start a new sect in Islam, that is the Ahmadiyya sect. God is not interested in peace, diversity and brotherhood. He puts these ideas in human mind only to generate strife.

 

[Trailblazer]

Trailblazer, you are confused. You say one thing in one post and another thing in another place. Please be consistent.

No, I said one thing I thing that was misunderstood so I clarified it.

 

[Aupmanyav]

And there is only one religion... the religion of God. All the others are BS.

Which God or which prophet/son/messenger/manifestation/mahdi? And what with Hindus and other pagans, who have many Gods and Goddesses?

 

[Trailblazer]

Yews. God did what God did. That is why he sent Bahqaollah to start a new religion. And he did not stop with that. He immediately sent another messenger/mahdi in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to start a new sect in Islam, that is the Ahmadiyya sect. God is not interested in peace, diversity and brotherhood. He puts these ideas in human mind only to generate strife.

You are free to believe as you wish but you have to pick between Baha'u'llah and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad because both cannot be true Messengers of God, given what Baha'u'llah wrote.

“Whoso layeth claim to a Revelation direct from God, ere the expiration of a full thousand years, such a man is assuredly a lying impostor. We pray God that He may graciously assist him to retract and repudiate such claim. Should he repent, God will, no doubt, forgive him. If, however, he persisteth in his error, God will, assuredly, send down one who will deal mercilessly with him. Terrible, indeed, is God in punishing! Whosoever interpreteth this verse otherwise than its obvious meaning is deprived of the Spirit of God and of His mercy which encompasseth all created things. Fear God, and follow not your idle fancies. Nay, rather follow the bidding of your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Wise.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 346

 

[Aupmanyav]

And what is Bahaollah's evidence that he was the true one? One can write any kind of blurb, and Bahaollah and his kine were good at that. That is all what they did their lives. Spin a nice wordy web of taketh and giveth and let the flies get caught into their web.

 

[CG Didymus]

God gives laws but they do not to limit "free-will" since people can choose to follow the laws or not.

In the KJV Bible it says, "Thou shalt not..." I think that is God trying to limit what people can do. Sure, they can break those laws but then with some of the laws it says, "Take the lawbreaker to the edge of town and stone him to death."

Who can really do, think or say whatever they want? Even without God's laws, we make rules to keep people from doing whatever they please.

 

[CG Didymus]

Yes. God did what God did. That is why he sent Bahqaollah to start a new religion. And he did not stop with that. He immediately sent another messenger/mahdi in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to start a new sect in Islam, that is the Ahmadiyya sect. God is not interested in peace, diversity and brotherhood. He puts these ideas in human mind only to generate strife.

But it's in our best interests.

 

[CG Didymus]

Which God or which prophet/son/messenger/manifestation/mahdi? And what with Hindus and other pagans, who have many Gods and Goddesses?

You know the answer, the ones that Baha'u'llah says are true. The others? Sorry. But you are in luck. We have a special offer just for Hindus. Accept that Krishna is a manifestation of the Abrahamic God of the Bible, and not some incarnation of Vishnu, and you're in. All you have to do is reject the traditional beliefs of Hinduism like reincarnation.

Of course, you'll be expected to believe in all the manifestations that have been approved by Baha'u'llah. But you will not be required to believe in most all of the teachings of any of those religions... just believe and follow the teachings of the Baha'i Faith. How does that sound? Oh, and if you act now, you'll get a free bottle of my snake oil. You'll love it. It'll cure all your ills. (The fine print... may cause severe headaches and pain, paralysis, and in many cases, death).

 

[Trailblazer]

Who can really do, think or say whatever they want? Even without God's laws, we make rules to keep people from doing whatever they please.

Yet there is ample evidence of people breaking the law and those people are in prison or executed.