I have some deep question about God, help!

[Trailblazer]

Because (if it's true) it's led to confusion, conflict, persecution, war, suffering, and death. This would make sense if god was a cruel trickster, but it is inconsistent with just, caring, and fair god.

Do you mean because new messages are revealed in every age that supersede the older messages and establish new religions that has caused these things? What would be the alternative? If we need a new religion, we need a new religion. The solution would be for the adherents to older religions to relinquish their beliefs and accept the newer religion. Then there would be nothing to fight about. So none of this is God’s fault, it is all human fault.

Again this "the prophecies are obviously fulfilled if you really study them..." type claims are two a penny.

How do you know that unless you looked at how they were fulfilled?

Who are wheat and the chaff? This strategy seems to be selecting for the overly credulous with both the time and inclination to look into all the religions or have the dumb luck to stumble on the right one by accident.

The wheat are the sincere seekers of truth who are willing to expend the effort to find the truth and the chaff are those who not really care that much about finding the truth.

If this is an important message and there are consequences for not acting on it, then it's nothing at all like getting a qualification.

It is not about being qualified, everyone has the capacity to believe in God whether it is realized or not. It will be easier for some people because they have less standing in their way such as a bias from previous bad experiences with religion.

It's hiding in plain sight - to all outward appearances, it is just another religion with no obvious reason to think it's any different.

That’s right, there is no reason to think it is any different, unless you look at it ans see how different it actually is.

How do we make choices? According to our character. This is a chain that goes right back to our nature and nurture - which we had no choice about.

It is true that some of our character is innate and inherited but some is also acquired. Some things we had no choices about such as the parents we had and how we were raised, but after we are adults we can make choices that can potentially improve our character. Education is very important. You might want to read this: INNATE, INHERITED AND ACQUIRED CHARACTER

But it isn't logical. You are suspending logic by saying that god must know best even if it makes no sense.

Do you think that everything that God does will make sense to everyone? Just because it makes no sense to you does not mean it is not the best way. Maybe you need to try to understand it so it will make sense. You have to understand something about God and about the human capacity to understand God in order to understand why God uses Messengers.

It isn't available to everyone - some have never heard of it. It isn't just and fair because there is no prima facie case that any of the religions are more than empty superstition - yet this god of yours is expecting people to go looking through all of them to try to find something in one of them (or have dumb luck).
It's cruel, arbitrary, unjust, and unfair.

No, God does not expect people to look through all of the religions. I never looked at any of them, only the Baha’i Faith. There was no reason to look at any of the other religions because I recognized that the Baha’i Faith was true right away. I was fortunate to not have been brought up with any religion so I did not have any bias towards religion as most people have. Thus I was a blank slate. I had no bad or good feelings towards religion, and I had no good or bad feelings towards God.

Of course I am an exception to the rule. It is not that easy for most people. It is true that many people have never heard of the Baha’i Faith so they would have no reason to look at it unless they were earnestly searching or unless someone told them about it, as happened to me. In a sense it is luck that some people just happen to meet someone who is a Baha’i and find out about it.

You might just be one of the lucky ones, you never know. There are not many Baha’is like me who dedicate their life to getting the message out. Most of my life I only thought about myself and now it is time to give back. It is the least I can do given what I have. The reason I was guided is unknown. It could have been because the rest of my life has been so difficult so something had to be easy. Of course I had to choose to remain a Baha’i but there was never any other logical choice. Having faith in a loving God was not as easy as believing in Baha’u’llah, it has been much more difficult. But without Baha’u’llah I would be dead in the water, lost.

 

[ratiocinator]

Do you mean because new messages are revealed in every age that supersede the older messages and establish new religions that has caused these things? What would be the alternative? If we need a new religion, we need a new religion. The solution would be for the adherents to older religions to relinquish their beliefs and accept the newer religion. Then there would be nothing to fight about. So none of this is God’s fault, it is all human fault.

Of course it would be god's fault! I find it stunning that you can't see the absurdity. I used to regard Christianity as the most absurd religion - I think I may have found a dafter one still.

All this suffering would have been entirely predictable to a god yet it still chose to give messages in such a way that they can be corrupted by people and then compounded the problem by changing the messages.

The wheat are the sincere seekers of truth who are willing to expend the effort to find the truth and the chaff are those who not really care that much about finding the truth.

Why would a sincere seeker of truth spend potentially vast amounts of time and effort looking through beliefs for which there is no apparent reasoning or evidence to suggest are anything but superstition?

One lifetime wouldn't be enough to look at all of them in detail. That's why it's so obviously unjust.

That’s right, there is no reason to think it is any different, unless you look at it ans see how different it actually is.

More unnecessarily cruel games of hide-and-seek.

Do you think that everything that God does will make sense to everyone? Just because it makes no sense to you does not mean it is not the best way.

We were discussing why anybody should take your faith seriously and you said that logic was involved, now you're asking me to ignore logic because god might know better...

No, God does not expect people to look through all of the religions. I never looked at any of them, only the Baha’i Faith.

So how are people supposed to "sincerely seek truth" then? How do you know that there isn't another religion that makes more sense?

 

[JChnsc19]

Perhaps I don't get what you are asking then. I'm sorry.


I examined the evidence, to determine if the Bible is trustworthy, and found it to be.
Why, if so, don't you think it's valid, and what investigation did you carry out?

What I’m asking is do you think a person with a diseased brain has free will? I’ve seen countless elderly pts eat their own poo, I’ve seen many husbands punch their wives (whom they don’t recognize). I’ve seen devout believers have dramatic personality changes after traumatic brain injuries to the point they have to be locked up to prevent themselves from hurting themselves. Alzheimer’s has been described by some as faulty brain wiring. Towards the end of their lives these people forget to eat. I cannot believe by any stretch of the imagination that this is what they would CHOSE had they a “normal” brain.

I originally strongly doubted at 10yrs old. Then at 18 I made the mistake of getting a book about religions. I read all the ones before Christianity that had many similarities including things like born of a Virgin, born on 12/25, resurrection etc.

I’m became a traveling nurse 2 yrs ago & decided once & for all I was gonna settle the issues I had doubts with. I started reading about the errors, the geographical errors, how many religions were being posited at that time in history, the estimated 100 billion galaxies, the validity of the Big Bang & evolution, The fervency with which other religions also make their claims etc...

Ironically, I was plagued with doubt the whole 43 yrs I was a Christian, now I have none. I’m open to evidence, new ideas etc. The worst part of this all has been accepting I’ll never see my Gma again. But wishing it & being sad about it won’t make it not true.

 

[dybmh]

@JChnsc19,

I am sorry for your loss. I believe with 100% certainty your Gma is not gone. She will always be yours, and you will always be hers. You are forever a part of her story, and she is always a part of yours. Your Gma cannot physically interact with us in a material way. But her spirit is still alive in you. Her inspiration is still alive in you. And whether you are aware of it or not, your actions, thoughts, and feelings are affected by your Gma eventhough her body is not here with you anymore. But her spirit, her essence; nothing can take that away from you.

When you think about her, can you still hear her voice? Can you still hear her laughter? Can you remember her smile, her hands? Can you remember the smell from her cooking? Do you remember how it sounded when she said your name?

Science has studied and attempted to explain the mechanisms behind human memories. But it doesn't do it justice. There's something uniquely human, uniquely spiritual about it. I don't think science has the tools or the language to fully explain it. I think that is because our memories, our faculty for visualization, the forget-remember-surprise dynamic is uniquely human, a gift from the divine, and is supporting evidence that there exists a spiritual dimension as well as the observable, predicatble, material world that is studied and exploited by science.

Note: I didn't say it was evidence for the existence of God. I said it was supporting evidence of a spiritual dimension.

It's easy to point out all the problems in history, current events, and the human condition that are caused by Belief ( capital B ) when the those beliefs supercede rational thought and common sense. But it's not all bad.

Examples:

Liberation Theology
Church involvement in the Underground Railroad
Catholic Churches hiding Jewish people from Nazis in WWII

Links below:

Liberation theology - Wikipedia
Underground Railroad — Plymouth Church
Rescue of Jews by Catholics during the Holocaust - Wikipedia

These are a few examples of how belief in God has potential for positive effects. But it doesn't explain, excuse, or resolve the pain and heart breaking struggles you witness from your patients. If your Gma's passing was long and painful, it doesn't justify that either. There is no rational way to understand why God would allow suffering to continue or even to exist in the first place. Being plagued with doubt is normal, natural, and in a way makes us human.

But there is a way to understand the pain we feel from loss. It's not easy. But I think it's true.

Losing someone or something we care about is very painful. Moment to moment, day after day, the pain gets easier but it never goes away. Most people are able to distract themselves from it, and it is only debilitating temporarily. But the pain is always there.

Why does this pain exist? Why would God create these attachments and the pain that results from loss? I think the pain has a purpose. I think it helps us remember them.

 

[Maximilian]

I know this is a dumb question, but, please humor me. You are human right? You can make mistakes, right? When that happens, do u want me to ignore it or point it out. Because, you did make a false statement in another thread. And if truth is important to you, how should I proceed?

Technically you have made a lot of false statements if they are read literally. Personally, I'm reading everything you are writing as opinions not facts. So it's not a super big deal to me. Plus, I like your enthusiasm, so I don't want to rain on your parade. But since you opened the door and started talking about truth, I would very much appreciate some advice on if \ how you would like me to address any mistatements you have made or might make in the future.

I love the truth so if you've come across a factual error in anything I've shared I need to rectify it immediately.

 

[Maximilian]

I do not know any Christians who would say the the Bible is inerrant.

And now you've met one

 

[Maximilian]

Even an avid Trinitarian I know who has completed seminary school and has an MA in biblical studies said the Bible is not inerrant.

You asked someone who preaches the mendacious Athanasian Creed and who thinks whatever the Pope says is on equal footing with what God says?

Why would you believe such a person is a genuine Christian?

 

[Maximilian]

Why not? How can I know I am getting an unbiased source?

Here's why: Wikipedia:Academic use - Wikipedia

 

[ratiocinator]

Why would you believe such a person is a genuine Christian?

Why do you think you are?

 

[Maximilian]

Can you explain why you call God Jehovah God? Do you believe God is a person? Do you believe Jesus was God incarnate?

Happily


God glorified his name in the ancient past during his dealings with the Pharaoh of Egypt. He said, "the Egyptians will certainly know that I am Jehovah when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them." -Exodus 7:5 (Emphasis mine.)

Even to this day we remember how Jehovah God freed Israel from the clutches of the evil Egyptians!

Jesus prayed to his God, Jehovah: “Father, glorify your name.” In response, God spoke from heaven, saying: “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.” (John 12:28)

Now, does any of this sound like Jesus was actually talking to himself or that he was addressing, not an actual person, but some all pervasive, ineffable force?

 

[dybmh]

I love the truth so if you've come across a factual error in anything I've shared I need to rectify it immediately.

Heard and Understood.

I'll try to reply quickly if I see something obvious. For more nuanced complicated subjects, it might take a day or two to research and then respond.

 

[Fool]

Happily


God glorified his name in the ancient past during his dealings with the Pharaoh of Egypt. He said, "the Egyptians will certainly know that I am Jehovah when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them." -Exodus 7:5 (Emphasis mine.)

Even to this day we remember how Jehovah God freed Israel from the clutches of the evil Egyptians!

Jesus prayed to his God, Jehovah: “Father, glorify your name.” In response, God spoke from heaven, saying: “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.” (John 12:28)

Now, does any of this sound like Jesus was actually talking to himself or that he was addressing, not an actual person, but some all pervasive, ineffable force?

actually there are two names in exodus.

the first; which is at exodus 3:14 and the second in exodus 3:15


Melchizedek was the 1st one we know to be called lord.


there are also 7 others

 

[nPeace]

When you say you have "examined the Bible" are you referring to the entire compendium of the OT and NT?

Yes.

 

[Maximilian]

The Truth is that Messiah is just a title and there can be more than one Messiah.
The Truth is that Jesus was a Messiah but He is not the Messiah of the latter days.
The Truth is that Baha'u'llah was the return of the Christ Spirit and the Messiah.
The Truth is that Baha'u'llah was the Promised One of all the religions of the past.
The Truth is that Jesus died on the cross and His body never rose from His grave.
The Truth is that the body of Jesus never ascended into the clouds to heaven.
The Truth is that the same man Jesus is never going to return to earth.
The Truth is that Baha'u'llah came and revealed the instructions to His followers so they could build the Kingdom of God on earth, and that is a work in progress.

All this is supported by an accurate interpretation of the Bible, which is what Baha'is have because Baha'u'llah and Abdu'l-Baha explained what the Bible really means.

Jesus never promised to return to earth. There is not one verse in the entire Bible where Jesus promised to return to earth. The body of Jesus died and the soul of Jesus ascended to heaven and took on a spiritual body.

Jesus said that He had finished the work that God gave Him to do and He was no more in the world and He was going to the Father. This indicates that Jesus never planned to return (I am no more in the world) and there was no need to return since He finished the work God gave Him to do.

John 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

John 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

Then in the next chapter you have these verses:

John 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

John 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

These two verses completely negate that Jesus is the King of this world, or that Jesus will ever come to this world to rule it, and they fit perfectly together with John 17:4 and John 17:11. Jesus came into this world to (1) glorify God (glorified thee on the earth) and (2) that I should bear witness unto the truth. He did that so there is no more reason for Jesus to be IN this world again. That is why Jesus said “I am no more in the world.”

Since there is no scripture in the Bible that speaks of the same Jesus returning, Christians can only try to create these by interpreting scriptures to suit themselves.

The entire Old Testament is full of prophecies that refer to a Messiah. Some of these prophecies refer to Jesus but most of them do not refer to Jesus because Jesus did not fulfill those prophecies. For one example of many:

Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

These prophecies cannot refer to Jesus because Jesus disclaimed being the Mighty God when He called Himself “the Son of God” (John 5:18-47) and in those verses Jesus repudiates the charge that He claimed equality with God. Jesus disclaimed being the everlasting Father when He said, “my Father is greater than I” (John 14:28) and Jesus disclaimed being the Prince of Peace when He said, “I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). Jesus disclaimed bearing the government upon His shoulder when He said to “rend onto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's” (Mark 12:17, Matthew 22:21). Jesus disclaimed that He would establish a kingdom where he would rule with judgment and justice forever when He said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).

Isaiah 11:6-9 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

What this means to a Baha’i is that In the future diverse religions and races will become comrades, friends and companions. The contentions of races, the differences of religions, and the barriers between nations will be completely removed, and all will attain perfect union and reconciliation. Eventually, there will be only one religion, the religion of God.

Clearly, Jesus did not fulfill Isaiah 11:6-9 but Jesus promised to fulfill Isaiah 11:6-9 when His Spirit returned in the person of Baha'u'llah.

John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

You've certainly presented your passionate opinions, no doubt, but how do I know you're actually telling the truth?

 

[Maximilian]

actually there are two names in exodus.

the first; which is at exodus 3:14 and the second in exodus 3:15


Melchizedek was the 1st one we know to be called lord.


there are also 7 others

Titles are not names, they're titles.

Also, "Wikipedia is not a reliable source." -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Academic_use

 

[Trailblazer]

Of course it would be god's fault! I find it stunning that you can't see the absurdity. I used to regard Christianity as the most absurd religion - I think I may have found a dafter one still.

Nothing is ever God’s fault because God is Infallible. Only humans can make mistakes because humans are fallible. This is logic 101 stuff.

God inspired the Holy Bible through the Holy Spirit, but God did not create Christianity; humans created Christianity. They distorted the beautiful teachings of Jesus and created the false doctrines of the Church. That is not God’s fault because humans have free will.

All this suffering would have been entirely predictable to a god yet it still chose to give messages in such a way that they can be corrupted by people and then compounded the problem by changing the messages.

Of course God knew what would happen because God is Omniscient, but God does not intervene in human affairs, except when He sends Messengers in every age.

There is no way that messages could be given in such a way that they could not be corrupted by people. God did not change the messages, God just revealed new messages in every age.

What happened in the Adamic Cycle of religion is history and it is all over now because we have entered a new cycle of religion, the Baha’i Cycle. Humanity no longer has to remain confused, if they look at the Revelation of Baha’u’llah, but if they choose to cling to the religions of the past, they will remain confused. This is not God’s fault because man has free will. All the explanations as to what happened in past ages and why it had to happen is explained in the Baha’i Faith. If people choose to remain ignorant that is their own choice.

Why would a sincere seeker of truth spend potentially vast amounts of time and effort looking through beliefs for which there is no apparent reasoning or evidence to suggest are anything but superstition?

If that is your assumption before you even get out the door, that all religions are superstition, then you wouldn’t bother to look at any religion. That is where most atheists are at.

One lifetime wouldn't be enough to look at all of them in detail. That's why it's so obviously unjust.

I never suggested that you look at all the religions in detail, nor dies God expect that. There is no need to. Would I look at every make and model of car before I decided to buy one? No, I like Hondas because I already know something about them and that they are reliable, so I would only look at Hondas. We have had a 1986 Honda Prelude for 20 years and it has not cost more than $1000 in maintenance in all those years.

More unnecessarily cruel games of hide-and-seek.

That is something a child would think and say. God does not play games.

We were discussing why anybody should take your faith seriously and you said that logic was involved, now you're asking me to ignore logic because god might know better...

I am not telling you to ignore logic. I am telling you that God knows more than you do about the best way to communicate to humans, because God is All-Knowing and you are not. That is logical.

So how are people supposed to "sincerely seek truth" then? How do you know that there isn't another religion that makes more sense?

I know because I found the religion that makes the most sense. Why would I have to look for another car when I already have one that runs just fine?

I can understand your apprehension, so maybe you need to look at other religions and compare. I did not need to compare because I knew. I could eliminate all the other religions right off the bat because it made no sense that only one religion is right for all of time. The Baha’i Faith teaches that all the older religions are true but the older religions do not have what humanity needs in this new age. That made sense to me because I did not have to discount all the older religions as false.

The kind of God who would prefer one religion over the other is no God I would believe in. That is one reason why I could never believe in Christianity, because they think they have “the only way” to God. Islam by contrast recognizes all the religions that preceded it as true, so it is much closer to the truth. The problem is that they did not recognize the Bab and Baha’u’llah because they believe that Muhammad was the last Prophet. Baha’is do not believe there is any final Prophet; we believe that God will continue to send Messengers for all of eternity, so in the future, the Baha’i Faith will be superseded by another religion.

 

[nPeace]

What I’m asking is do you think a person with a diseased brain has free will? I’ve seen countless elderly pts eat their own poo, I’ve seen many husbands punch their wives (whom they don’t recognize). I’ve seen devout believers have dramatic personality changes after traumatic brain injuries to the point they have to be locked up to prevent themselves from hurting themselves. Alzheimer’s has been described by some as faulty brain wiring. Towards the end of their lives these people forget to eat. I cannot believe by any stretch of the imagination that this is what they would CHOSE had they a “normal” brain.

I originally strongly doubted at 10yrs old. Then at 18 I made the mistake of getting a book about religions. I read all the ones before Christianity that had many similarities including things like born of a Virgin, born on 12/25, resurrection etc.

I’m became a traveling nurse 2 yrs ago & decided once & for all I was gonna settle the issues I had doubts with. I started reading about the errors, the geographical errors, how many religions were being posited at that time in history, the estimated 100 billion galaxies, the validity of the Big Bang & evolution, The fervency with which other religions also make their claims etc...

Ironically, I was plagued with doubt the whole 43 yrs I was a Christian, now I have none. I’m open to evidence, new ideas etc. The worst part of this all has been accepting I’ll never see my Gma again. But wishing it & being sad about it won’t make it not true.

I did try to explain in a simple way, by using examples you could relate to. Let me try another...
A person has severe bowel incontinence, caused by muscle and nerve damage. Can that person control their bowel movements?
Likewise, if the mind is used to make free choice, or free will decisions, and that part of the mind is severely damaged, will the person be able to make a free will decision?

free will
noun

1. the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion.

adjective

1. (especially of a donation) given readily; voluntary.

In both cases, neither are voluntary, or according to the person's will. How then can it be free will?
The person's circumstances have change to hinder them functioning normally.

What I gather from the Bible, is that God does not judge someone for something they have no control over. He understands a situation better than we do, and takes all the facts into consideration, and deals fairly with everyone. The Bible says of him,
"The Rock, perfect is his activity, For all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness who is never unjust; Righteous and upright is he." (Deuteronomy 32:4)

Is that any better explained?
I hope it is, since I am trying to be as clear as I can be.

It appears you were raised by person(s) in a religion labeled Christian.
I think it is normal to have doubts. At 10 years old, that's a good time to have doubts imo, especially if things appear a bit strange to you. Children are always asking questions, and they like to understand things clearly. I believe that's why Jesus said we should be like children.

You said you mistakenly got a book about religion, but I don't consider that a mistake. Obviously you were looking for answers, which you probably felt you weren't getting.
Personally, I think the more exposed, to different views you are, at an early age, the better, because then you can discuss these with those bringing you up, and you can then weight the different views. As you grow older, you would be in a better position to make an informed choice - exercise your free will.

Having doubts for 43 years though.... That's as long as my sister on these forums has been baptized. That's a long time to have doubts about something you are involved with.
If I were in a gang for 1 year, and had doubts, I don't think I would be sticking around the next year, unless I felt forced to - either I feared for my safety, or my family's... or I felt the quick cash was worth going along.
Were you by any chance taught that dreaded teaching about Hellfire, and were too terrified to leave?

So, it seems to me, having doubts for so many years must be related to the question I asked earlier - Why don't you think the Bible is valid, and what investigation did you carry out to determine if it is?

I can give you my answer if you like, although I would like to hear yours first.
I am so confident that the Bible is as it claims at 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, that I am quite sure of the resurrection promise, and that we will see our dead loved ones again,,, under one condition though - we make the right free willed decision, and are not deemed wicked and destroyed at Armageddon.

 

[Trailblazer]

You asked someone who preaches the mendacious Athanasian Creed and who thinks whatever the Pope says is on equal footing with what God says?

Why would you believe such a person is a genuine Christian?

This Trinitarian is a Protestant, not a Catholic. He believes that Catholics are heretics.

Which raises another point; what is a genuine Christian? All Christians believe they are the genuine Christians but because they do not all have the same beliefs, that is logically impossible. Moreover, the fact that different Christians interpret the Bible differently means that there can be more than one interpretation, so how can anyone know which interpretation is correct?

 

[Trailblazer]

Here's why: Wikipedia:Academic use - Wikipedia

Then how can I know I am getting an unbiased source?

 

[ratiocinator]

Nothing is ever God’s fault because God is Infallible. Only humans can make mistakes because humans are fallible. This is logic 101 stuff.

No, that's blind faith and circular reasoning 101. Where is there any reason to think that this god exists in the first place? That's where we started and you have provided no reasons at all. you have provided no evidence, and such 'logic' as there is, assumes the conclusion before it starts.

There is no way that messages could be given in such a way that they could not be corrupted by people.

So, this god isn't omnipotent.

If that is your assumption before you even get out the door, that all religions are superstition, then you wouldn’t bother to look at any religion. That is where most atheists are at.

I know quite a lot about Christianity due to my background but you still haven't given any sensible reason to think there is anything in any religion. What objective reason is there for anybody to take any religion seriously?

I never suggested that you look at all the religions in detail, nor dies God expect that. There is no need to.

So what is the approach? Just look at your religion? Guess what? That's what they all say!

I am not telling you to ignore logic. I am telling you that God knows more than you do about the best way to communicate to humans, because God is All-Knowing and you are not. That is logical.

Once again begging the question (assuming your conclusion).

The kind of God who would prefer one religion over the other is no God I would believe in.

But your faith has a different god-idea to the ones of most other faiths. Just claiming that yours is actually behind all the religions if they hadn't been corrupted by people, doesn't make any logical difference to the fact that your idea of god is different to the ideas of the gods of those other faiths. You've got just as much of a separate god and a separate religion as any other faith.