What convinced you to believe Christianity is true?

[dingleberry]

That means you will probably decide not to believe the Scriptures and not to deal with God.
They were as simultaneous as the movement of the leaves with the wind.
Words like allege, "Holy Spirit" indicate combativeness and a desire to refute, not a desire to understand.

If it (coming to believe in Christianity) couldn't have happened to you without the influence of this alleged "Holy Ghost" then this "God" of yours is playing favorites.

Until you provide verifiable evidence that these invisible creatures you refer to as the "Holy Ghost" and "God" are real, why should their existence not be referred to as "alleged?" Sorry if the word is off-putting to you, but that's the way things go.

Dingleberry.

 

[ellenjanuary]

I'm inclined to think that the ambiguity surrounding the Holy Spirit is that it's not "real" in the absolute sense. I see the Holy Spirit as an interface between the finite and mortal and the infinite and eternal. In this manner, the Holy Spirit may be a means of communion between the mortal and eternal in all religions. My perception of god is that he (ain't a he, but...) is big enough to represent any aspect of divinity that the individual should care to believe. That perhaps those who follow Vishnu, Allah, or Odin; realise these divinities through the Holy Spirit. It is not to belittle these belief systems that they are mentioned thusly, more to state that the words comprising a religious experience are often conveyed through a wordless expression - the Holy Spirit.

I have a couple of shorthand expressions that may assist understanding:

God does not do sequential time. But when he does, he's the Holy Spirit.

God, the Father; is Being. Jesus, the Son; is Being. The Holy Spirit is Becoming.

 

[smokydot]

If it (coming to believe in Christianity) couldn't have happened to you without the influence of this alleged "Holy Ghost" then this "God" of yours is playing favorites.

Let's cut to the chase.

Would you like to be a "favorite?"

Until you provide verifiable evidence that these invisible creatures you refer to as ]quotethe "Holy Ghost" and "God" are real, why should their existence not be referred to as "alleged?" Sorry if the word is off-putting to you, but that's the way things go.
Dingleberry.

 

[Blackdog22]

Let's cut to the chase.

Would you like to be a "favorite?"

I dunno about him, but I would. Now is this the part where you tell me to open my Bible, pray really hard, maybe speak some gibberish and pretend like its something holy while making a complete fool out of myself, and then sit and listen for hours on end to the quiet and wait til ive sat so long that I maybe, kinda, sorta hear something? Is that right? At least it must be something along those lines unless you have a special way to contact God that has been missed by every other Christian.

Here's how I feel about the Holy Spirit. 2 men both walk onto stage, both claim to have the holy spirit, one preaches black while another preaches white. Who has the holy spirit?

 

[smokydot]

I dunno about him, but I would.

Are you truly sincere, to the best of your knowledge, about wanting to be in the family of God? . .because sincerity is the first requirement.

Now is this the part where you tell me to open my Bible, pray really hard, maybe speak some gibberish and pretend like its something holy while making a complete fool out of myself, and then sit and listen for hours on end to the quiet and wait til ive sat so long that I maybe, kinda, sorta hear something? Is that right? At least it must be something along those lines unless you have a special way to contact God that has been missed by every other Christian.
Here's how I feel about the Holy Spirit. 2 men both walk onto stage, both claim to have the holy spirit, one preaches black while another preaches white. Who has the holy spirit?

Does that sound sincere to you? . .just asking.

 

[sandandfoam]

Is there a particular argument or experience in your life that convinced you (as a believer) that Christianity is not just another false religion like the thousands of religions that have come and gone throughout the history of humankind?

Thanks in advance for your personal insight into this matter.

The myths are a good fit for me because of the culture I grew up and now live in.

 

[dingleberry]

Let's cut to the chase.

Would you like to be a "favorite?"

If being a "favorite" presupposes an eternal afterlife surrounded by the likes of many of the professed Christians I've encountered, and if this God character depicted in your Holy Book is indeed as tyrannical, blood-thirsty and immoral as the texts indicate, my answer would be, no. I couldn't force myself to be one of "His" robots. If I had my druthers, a return to the state of pre-birth would be my wish. Do you have an aversion to the notion that this life you and I are living is all there is and that no eternal afterlife awaits?

I'd like to add that even though I've answered "no" to your above question, I'd still be open to having this alleged (there's that word again) "Holy Ghost" make contact with me so I'd be able to make a more informed decision on the matter. Maybe I'd learn that my trepidation about an eternal afterlife is unwarranted and that adopting the Christian faith would be in my best interest. Only seems fair, even if I decided to turn away from what Chritianity had to offer, don't ya think?

Dingleberry.

 

[JustWondering]

If it (coming to believe in Christianity) couldn't have happened to you without the influence of this alleged "Holy Ghost" then this "God" of yours is playing favorites.

Until you provide verifiable evidence that these invisible creatures you refer to as the "Holy Ghost" and "God" are real, why should their existence not be referred to as "alleged?" Sorry if the word is off-putting to you, but that's the way things go.

Dingleberry.

So your saying that religions without evidence to support them should be called theories instead of religions, lol.

 

[dingleberry]

So your saying that religions without evidence to support them should be called theories instead of religions, lol.

I'd refer to them as hypothesis'. Or an all encompassing phrase would be "The God Hypothesis."

 

[St Giordano Bruno]

I do not consider myself to be a Christian any more but was convinced me it was true as a child was the fact I was taught by Catholic nuns. They taught me that 2 plus 2 apples make 4 apples. I counted them and I concluded they were right. They taught me that caterpillars turned into butterflies, and according the all the nature books I looked up they were right. They taught me the earth was spherical like the globe of the world on a shelf near the blackboard and showed my pictures from space to prove it any they were right. They taught me the Romans built a great arena called the Colosseum and showed my pictures of the ruins of it and I concluded they were right. So since there was truth in all that I just took it that they were right when they were teaching us kids about a guy called Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead.

 

[rusra02]

Islam can cite the same. How many of these predictions have you looked into? It would help to open your eyes when you see how out of context these verses are that are said to be about Jesus. These verses in the Bible were about other people doing things and writing their own experiences down. None of them directly speak of a messiah and the ones that do speak of a messiah don't have any prophesy attached to them. I will give Jesus the one on the donkey however, the Bible did speak of the Messiah doing that, but then again.... He is Jesus and knew the Bible quite well. How hard would it be to read a book and then do what the book says?

Example: The messiah will surf on a surfboard... I go grab a surfboard and surf thus I am the Messiah.

Could he also choose the place of his birth? (Micah 5:2) The exact year of his becoming the Messiah? The year he would die? (Daniel 9:25-27) The manner of his death? (Isaiah 53) I'll ask you what you asked me. How many of these prophecies have you looked into?

 

[ellenjanuary]

Uh... it wasn't rusra02.

 

[Berndt Tötterman]

Is there a particular argument or experience in your life that convinced you (as a believer) that Christianity is not just another false religion like the thousands of religions that have come and gone throughout the history of humankind?

Thanks in advance for your personal insight into this matter.

Dingleberry.

Brothers and sisters in Christ,may His peace be with You,
Yes,God did call me,and I answered yes,and that wos the best answer I ever have give.

 

[ellenjanuary]

Brothers and sisters in Christ,may His peace be with You,
Yes,God did call me,and I answered yes,and that was the best answer I ever have give.

Good answer.

 

[Falvlun]

Could he also choose the place of his birth? (Micah 5:2) The exact year of his becoming the Messiah? The year he would die? (Daniel 9:25-27) The manner of his death? (Isaiah 53) I'll ask you what you asked me. How many of these prophecies have you looked into?

Micah 5:2: Mentions that a ruler of Israel will be born in Bethlehem. Can Jesus really be said to have ruled over Israel? Have there been no other rulers of Israel from Bethlehem?

Daniel 9:25-27: Kudos to you if you can make sense of any of that. But how do you know that that passage was written exactly 434 years previously?

Isaiah 53: Nothing about a cross. It did mention being pierced, but that can happen in multiple ways. Vague predictions are the easiest ones to fullfill. It also mentions being crushed, and I don't recall any crushing happening to Jesus. It also says that he didn't open his mouth, but I recall Jesus crying out "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"

 

[Midnight Pete]

I believe in Christ more than Christianity. Christianity is religion; Christ is a relationship.

 

[Gloone]

I believe in Christ more than Christianity. Christianity is religion; Christ is a relationship.

Pete I am glad to hear that. It almost brought a tear to my eye.

 

[idea]

Is there a particular argument or experience in your life that convinced you (as a believer) that Christianity is not just another false religion like the thousands of religions that have come and gone throughout the history of humankind?

Thanks in advance for your personal insight into this matter.

Dingleberry.

Yes, I have had many spiritual experiences that have convinced me that Jesus lives, loves, and has provided a way for us to escape our mistakes and progress. Heavenly Father, Jesus, and God still communicate with many now on the Earth, as They have always done from the beginning.

 

[idea]

I believe in Christ more than Christianity. Christianity is religion; Christ is a relationship.

:yes:

"If your chruch is your God, you will find no God in your church." - Lewis? forget who said that.

 

[Midnight Pete]

Pete I am glad to hear that. It almost brought a tear to my eye.

There's nothing more rewarding than breaking through someone's hardened shell of cynicism and touching the raw emotional vulnerability hidden inside.

Now I'm crying. :sad4: