God must make his presence known to me right now

[The Transcended Omniverse]

I am a very open minded person and consider all possibilities. I am open to the possibility of a God and an afterlife. I am also open to the possibility that this God could be one who demands and expects that I obey and serve him or that I would be condemned to a horrible afterlife. I have been doing some open minded research on the subject of life after death. As of right now, it doesn't matter what anyone says to me or what claims other people present to me in regards to God's character, if he is real or not, or if I am a blind sinner or not.

The reason why it doesn't matter to me is because, like I said, I am very open minded right now and am open to alternative explanations of the things people offer up here. I am a very wise open minded individual and I do not jump to any given conclusion based upon some things I read online or a holy book such as the bible. There is so much more to look into and have an open mind to. Even things that sound very compelling cannot be trusted since there are plenty of things out there that sound compelling, but are actually not.

However, I have very little to no patience at all since I have no interest in doing research or in dedicating my life to a Christian or other religious lifestyle in order for God's presence to be known to me if he is real. That is no different than expecting me to dedicate my life to a certain career such as dentistry when I have no interest in that career. It is just an unfair and unrealistic expectation of me. If God is real and I really am a sinner who is in need of saving, then why can't God swoop into my mind right now and convince me he is real?

If it's because I am not worthy of a God who would be so frantic as to do all he could to convince me right here and now rather than expecting me to dedicate my life in trying to find him, then why did God even go through the trouble of inspiring a holy book or making a sacrifice for our sins? If he thought mankind was worthy of this and he so loved his human creations as to do this deed, then why can't he take it a step further and make his presence known to me right now considering I have no patience and no interest in seeking him out?

I have done what I could right now in trying to seek out the Lord if he is real and I am not going to do anymore because, like I said, I have no patience and no interest. But if God is real and I do meet him after I die and he says to me that I am a sinner who has one last chance to repent, then I would not be foolish. I would completely give myself unto the Lord right then and there. Any other way would result in a horrible afterlife of misery and there is no way I would choose that.

But considering the fact that I would have to dedicate my life in trying to seek out God and be convinced of his existence if he is real and considering the fact that there are so many people out there who have already done this with a truly open mind and heart and were still not convinced, then it is a waste of my time and I have no interest and no patience for this. As for those who were convinced in a reasonable time frame, then I have no way of knowing if their conviction was through a truly open mind or if they were close minded and just decided to believe God is real. This lack of knowing further makes my point here that it is all a waste of my time.

This lack of knowing further makes my point here that it is all a waste of my time. It's very unlikely that there would be any way to convince me because I have looked and researched into so much already with a truly open mind and heart and I just see nothing more than a vast sea of arguments and debates, but no conclusion being reached one way or another. This is yet another reason why this is all a waste of my time.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

This is god.

Move along.

Nothing to see hear.

 

[Brickjectivity]

However, I have very little to no patience at all since I have no interest in doing research or in dedicating my life to a Christian or other religious lifestyle in order for God's presence to be known to me if he is real. That is no different than expecting me to dedicate my life to a certain career such as dentistry when I have no interest in that career. It is just an unfair and unrealistic expectation of me.

So you should be out there doing something fun and beneficial.

If God is real and I really am a sinner who is in need of saving, then why can't God swoop into my mind right now and convince me he is real?

Very good point given your assumptions and your open mind. You should continually look for practical paths towards improvement. How about working at a soup kitchen? Its very spiritual and is like cheating for points in religion. You get skills and new powers, but you don't have to pray or browse tomes of literature.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

So you should be out there doing something fun and beneficial.

Very good point given your assumptions and your open mind. You should continually look for practical paths towards improvement. How about working at a soup kitchen? Its very spiritual and is like cheating for points in religion. You get skills and new powers, but you don't have to pray or browse tomes of literature.

Unless the religion is sola fide. Then you're still kinda boned. Haha.

But I agree. Going out and helping people (and non-human animals too!) is way more important than worrying about whether a god is looking over your shoulder. I'm a huge fan of the quote which is now fondly known of as the Atheist Wager (variant):
“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”

 

[Nakosis]

Why did I believe before and why was it so difficult to let go of that belief?

I suspect the brain gets programmed. If you're exposed enough to a certain belief that is accepted as true, it sub-consciously takes over your thinking. When your young, you're not smart enough to be critical of the information that is fed into your brain. It becomes your own thoughts that you never think to question.

Until something something happens to question those thoughts. Then for me it was like why the hell did I accept this stuff was true in the first place?

I had to learn to become critical of my own thoughts. I had gone through life accepting a lot of stuff as true without ever questioning it. Now I question everything.

I don't know if that makes for a better life though. Maybe better to think no matter how crappy this life seems, there's always God looking out for you and heaven to look forward to.

 

[A Vestigial Mote]

@MattMVS7 is that you? If not, then you two "open-minded" individuals should get together.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I am a very open minded person and consider all possibilities. I am open to the possibility of a God and an afterlife. I am also open to the possibility that this God could be one who demands and expects that I obey and serve him or that I would be condemned to a horrible afterlife. I have been doing some open minded research on the subject of life after death. As of right now, it doesn't matter what anyone says to me or what claims other people present to me in regards to God's character, if he is real or not, or if I am a blind sinner or not.

The reason why it doesn't matter to me is because, like I said, I am very open minded right now and am open to alternative explanations of the things people offer up here. I am a very wise open minded individual and I do not jump to any given conclusion based upon some things I read online or a holy book such as the bible. There is so much more to look into and have an open mind to. Even things that sound very compelling cannot be trusted since there are plenty of things out there that sound compelling, but are actually not.

However, I have very little to no patience at all since I have no interest in doing research or in dedicating my life to a Christian or other religious lifestyle in order for God's presence to be known to me if he is real. That is no different than expecting me to dedicate my life to a certain career such as dentistry when I have no interest in that career. It is just an unfair and unrealistic expectation of me. If God is real and I really am a sinner who is in need of saving, then why can't God swoop into my mind right now and convince me he is real?

If it's because I am not worthy of a God who would be so frantic as to do all he could to convince me right here and now rather than expecting me to dedicate my life in trying to find him, then why did God even go through the trouble of inspiring a holy book or making a sacrifice for our sins? If he thought mankind was worthy of this and he so loved his human creations as to do this deed, then why can't he take it a step further and make his presence known to me right now considering I have no patience and no interest in seeking him out?

I have done what I could right now in trying to seek out the Lord if he is real and I am not going to do anymore because, like I said, I have no patience and no interest. But if God is real and I do meet him after I die and he says to me that I am a sinner who has one last chance to repent, then I would not be foolish. I would completely give myself unto the Lord right then and there. Any other way would result in a horrible afterlife of misery and there is no way I would choose that.

But considering the fact that I would have to dedicate my life in trying to seek out God and be convinced of his existence if he is real and considering the fact that there are so many people out there who have already done this with a truly open mind and heart and were still not convinced, then it is a waste of my time and I have no interest and no patience for this. As for those who were convinced in a reasonable time frame, then I have no way of knowing if their conviction was through a truly open mind or if they were close minded and just decided to believe God is real. This lack of knowing further makes my point here that it is all a waste of my time.

This lack of knowing further makes my point here that it is all a waste of my time. It's very unlikely that there would be any way to convince me because I have looked and researched into so much already with a truly open mind and heart and I just see nothing more than a vast sea of arguments and debates, but no conclusion being reached one way or another. This is yet another reason why this is all a waste of my time.

That seems reasonable.

 

[George-ananda]

I have looked and researched into so much already with a truly open mind and heart and I just see nothing more than a vast sea of arguments and debates, but no conclusion being reached one way or another. This is yet another reason why this is all a waste of my time.

I think you might be going about this in the wrong way in taking on the big arguments for God's existence. You can go on forever with that like you say. I suggest maybe start looking closer to home meaning yourself. I think God is found internally and not externally. I considered the question, am I just physical matter or something more. From my study of Near Death Experiences and other phenomena I came to conclude we are 'more'. Eventually I found eastern spirituality with its great insight into what this 'more' is and that spirit/(God?) is the animating core of all of us.

 

[RabbiO]

Very good point given your assumptions and your open mind. You should continually look for practical paths towards improvement. How about working at a soup kitchen? Its very spiritual and is like cheating for points in religion. You get skills and new powers, but you don't have to pray or browse tomes of literature.

Have you given the poster the same advice under the other active name he has been using up to now on the forum?

 

[Super Universe]

I am a very open minded person and consider all possibilities. I am open to the possibility of a God and an afterlife. I am also open to the possibility that this God could be one who demands and expects that I obey and serve him or that I would be condemned to a horrible afterlife. I have been doing some open minded research on the subject of life after death. As of right now, it doesn't matter what anyone says to me or what claims other people present to me in regards to God's character, if he is real or not, or if I am a blind sinner or not.

The reason why it doesn't matter to me is because, like I said, I am very open minded right now and am open to alternative explanations of the things people offer up here. I am a very wise open minded individual and I do not jump to any given conclusion based upon some things I read online or a holy book such as the bible. There is so much more to look into and have an open mind to. Even things that sound very compelling cannot be trusted since there are plenty of things out there that sound compelling, but are actually not.

However, I have very little to no patience at all since I have no interest in doing research or in dedicating my life to a Christian or other religious lifestyle in order for God's presence to be known to me if he is real. That is no different than expecting me to dedicate my life to a certain career such as dentistry when I have no interest in that career. It is just an unfair and unrealistic expectation of me. If God is real and I really am a sinner who is in need of saving, then why can't God swoop into my mind right now and convince me he is real?

If it's because I am not worthy of a God who would be so frantic as to do all he could to convince me right here and now rather than expecting me to dedicate my life in trying to find him, then why did God even go through the trouble of inspiring a holy book or making a sacrifice for our sins? If he thought mankind was worthy of this and he so loved his human creations as to do this deed, then why can't he take it a step further and make his presence known to me right now considering I have no patience and no interest in seeking him out?

I have done what I could right now in trying to seek out the Lord if he is real and I am not going to do anymore because, like I said, I have no patience and no interest. But if God is real and I do meet him after I die and he says to me that I am a sinner who has one last chance to repent, then I would not be foolish. I would completely give myself unto the Lord right then and there. Any other way would result in a horrible afterlife of misery and there is no way I would choose that.

But considering the fact that I would have to dedicate my life in trying to seek out God and be convinced of his existence if he is real and considering the fact that there are so many people out there who have already done this with a truly open mind and heart and were still not convinced, then it is a waste of my time and I have no interest and no patience for this. As for those who were convinced in a reasonable time frame, then I have no way of knowing if their conviction was through a truly open mind or if they were close minded and just decided to believe God is real. This lack of knowing further makes my point here that it is all a waste of my time.

This lack of knowing further makes my point here that it is all a waste of my time. It's very unlikely that there would be any way to convince me because I have looked and researched into so much already with a truly open mind and heart and I just see nothing more than a vast sea of arguments and debates, but no conclusion being reached one way or another. This is yet another reason why this is all a waste of my time.

You don't make the rules. You're not in charge. It's not your universe. You don't have to be told why. Nothing needs to be explained to you, even if you are worthy.

God didn't explain Himself to Einstein, why would He do it for you? Who do you think you are, exactly? Are you someone important to the universe?

You are quite demanding. That's fine, it's a complete waste of time and energy but some people can't help it. Your life may be a waste of your time but it's not a waste of God's time.

The answers are never found by not looking.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I'd probably look where the subjective contacts and manipulates the objective.

Could anybody tell me exactly where this critical point lay?

It's pointless to make a determination on the possibilities for God when none can be found.

I'd side with Einstein over God any day of the week.

At least we knew who Einstein was.