Why do so many people believe in God? (Serious Question?)

Search
Go

Discussion Topic

Return to Forum List
This thread has been locked
Messages 4421 - 4440 of total 4502 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
the barber

Social climber
burlington, va
Oct 20, 2016 - 11:58am PT
the people whom
believe in god
cannot think
beyond nothing.

fear corrals a soul;
the soul seething for escape.
but fear develops a bind
that exceeds the simple union
of mind and heart.

now i hate god
and marginally
subscribe to fear,
though i see a great
and beautiful
void that only
begins at nothing.

i want within that void.
i seek it and invite it within me.

though death is not a liberal patron of life.
mine and your passage is like a first kiss
and must be earned.

don't believe in god.
because then you will
surpass her bounds
and she will latch
onto your coat-tails
and accompany us
beyond the logic of
common understanding
and only then
will we arrive
at the commencement
of our journey.

thus god is riding
bitch like a hitch.
hiker. and she
reeks of foul practice,
though she and she only
holds the map right-side up;



i-b-goB

Social climber
Wise Acres
Oct 20, 2016 - 03:55pm PT

Brush your teeth!!!...

i-b-goB

Social climber
Wise Acres
Oct 22, 2016 - 10:12am PT

The Pleasure of the Lord
by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.


“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.” (Isaiah 53:10)

The very concept of God having pleasure in things that take place on Earth staggers the imagination. Most amazing of all is the revelation that it pleased Him to put His own Son through a terrible, bruising death, as the tremendous Messianic prophecy of our text reveals.

Nevertheless, this was the only possible way whereby “the pleasure of the LORD” could be accomplished in the redeemed lives of lost men and women, whom He had created for eternal fellowship with the triune God. “For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation” (Psalm 149:4).

Five times we read in the New Testament that God the Father spoke from heaven assuring us that He was “well pleased” with His “beloved Son” (Matthew 3:17; 17:5; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22; 2 Peter 1:17). “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him!” This is almost impossible to understand, but had it not been so, none of us ever could have been saved. The Lord Jesus Himself has confirmed to His own “little flock” that “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

Thus, not only have we been created “for thy pleasure” (Revelation 4:11), but also we have been “predestinated . . . unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will” (Ephesians 1:5). This is far beyond our comprehension, so we merely rest in the great truth that “it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). We know that “the LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him” (Psalm 147:11), and we rejoice with thanksgiving! HMM http://www.icr.org/article/9562/





"I will love them freely."
Hosea 14:4

This sentence is a body of divinity in miniature. He who understands its meaning is a theologian, and he who can dive into its fulness is a true master in Israel. It is a condensation of the glorious message of salvation which was delivered to us in Christ Jesus our Redeemer. The sense hinges upon the word "freely." This is the glorious, the suitable, the divine way by which love streams from heaven to earth, a spontaneous love flowing forth to those who neither deserved it, purchased it, nor sought after it. It is, indeed, the only way in which God can love such as we are. The text is a death-blow to all sorts of fitness: "I will love them freely." Now, if there were any fitness necessary in us, then he would not love us freely; at least, this would be a mitigation and a drawback to the freeness of it. But it stands, "I will love you freely." We complain, "Lord, my heart is so hard." "I will love you freely." "But I do not feel my need of Christ as I could wish." "I will not love you because you feel your need; I will love you freely." "But I do not feel that softening of spirit which I could desire." Remember, the softening of spirit is not a condition, for there are no conditions; the covenant of grace has no conditionality whatever; so that we without any fitness may venture upon the promise of God which was made to us in Christ Jesus, when he said, "He that believeth on him is not condemned." It is blessed to know that the grace of God is free to us at all times, without preparation, without fitness, without money, and without price! "I will love them freely." These words invite backsliders to return: indeed, the text was specially written for such--"I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely." Backslider! surely the generosity of the promise will at once break your heart, and you will return, and seek your injured Father's face. - CHARLES SPURGEON



...We were lost and unable to save ourselves. So God sent Heaven's Search and Rescue best, JESUS who gave His life in rescuing them!
i-b-goB

Social climber
Wise Acres
Oct 27, 2016 - 09:42am PT

And can it be?

And can it be that I should gain
An int'rest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me?

Refrain:
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me!

He left His Father's throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace;
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam's helpless race;
'Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me. [Refrain]

Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quick'ning ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth and followed Thee. [Refrain]

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th'eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own. [Refrain]

-Charles Wesley




God’s Call to Repentance
Luke 15:11-24

In the parable of the prodigal son, the younger brother asked for his inheritance early so he might live as he chose. Once the father gave him his share, the young man made many unwise choices that led to hunger and destitution. What happened next illustrates the principles of godly repentance.

After squandering all of his money, the wayward son found work feeding pigs, a bottom-of-the-barrel kind of job. One day he came to his senses and recognized his terrible plight. His repentance began with an awareness of his wrong choices and the fact that his bad situation was due to them.

Knowing that his difficulties came from unrighteous behavior, the prodigal grieved over his mistakes and acknowledged his sin (Luke 15:18). He declared he was no longer worthy to be his father’s son. Godly sorrow and confession led the young man to leave that place and go home. His repentance was made complete when he turned away from his old ways and returned to his father. The Lord likewise calls us to repent and return to Him.

What a welcome the prodigal son received! Upon seeing him, the father was filled with compassion and ran to embrace him. Forgiveness and acceptance were extended to the son. Both are blessings that God freely offers to whoever asks Him.

The prodigal son did not clean himself up before returning home. He simply left his old life, turned toward home, and trusted in his father’s mercy. The heavenly Father calls us to repent and offers us forgiveness when we turn away from our self-centered ways and move toward godliness (1 John 1:9).
https://www.intouch.org/read/magazine/daily-devotions/gods-call-to-repentance
i-b-goB

Social climber
Wise Acres
Oct 28, 2016 - 09:11am PT

Psalm 65

There will be silence before You, and praise in Zion, O God, And to You the vow will be performed.

O You who hear prayer, To You all men come.

Iniquities prevail against me; As for our transgressions, You forgive them.

How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to You To dwell in Your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple.

By awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation, You who are the trust of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea;

Who establishes the mountains by His strength, Being girded with might;

Who stills the roaring of the seas, The roaring of their waves, And the tumult of the peoples.

They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs; You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.

You visit the earth and cause it to overflow; You greatly enrich it; The stream of God is full of water; You prepare their grain, for thus You prepare the earth.

You water its furrows abundantly, You settle its ridges, You soften it with showers, You bless its growth.

You have crowned the year with Your bounty, And Your paths drip with fatness.

The pastures of the wilderness drip, And the hills gird themselves with rejoicing.

The meadows are clothed with flocks And the valleys are covered with grain; They shout for joy, yes, they sing.




Our Generous Provider
Psalm 65

Generosity is usually a term we apply to people, but have you ever considered how generous the Lord is toward us? First of all, He created the earth and all it contains as a habitation for mankind. He made the sun to give light and cause vegetation to grow, and He sends rain to water the land and quench our thirst. The Lord has abundantly made provision for our physical needs.

This alone should cause us to stand in awe of His love and care for us, but His generosity doesn’t end with the physical necessities. He’s also provided for all our spiritual needs through His Son. As a result of Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins, we who believe in Him are reconciled to God and given a wealth of spiritual blessings. We have His Word to guide us, His Spirit to empower and transform us into Christ’s image, and His church to encourage and support us. Yet His generosity doesn’t end there.

The Lord has also promised us an imperishable, undefiled, and unfading inheritance in heaven. (See 1 Pet. 1:4.) All that He has prepared for us is beyond our human understanding, but Revelation 21 and 22 describe the new heaven and earth as a place of abundance and blessing, untainted by sin and death.

In light of all that the Lord has so richly provided and promised, gratitude should be our first response. However, since we are His people, who are called to walk in His Spirit, we should also be characterized by generosity toward others. That means meeting not only physical needs but also spiritual ones by proclaiming the gospel and encouraging fellow believers.
https://www.intouch.org/read/magazine/daily-devotions/our-generous-provider

...God is good, very very good!
i-b-goB

Social climber
Wise Acres
Oct 30, 2016 - 02:06pm PT

No, not one - Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1895

There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus,
No, not one! No, not one!
None else could heal all our soul’s diseases,
No, not one! No, not one!

Refrain:
Jesus knows all about our struggles,
He will guide till the day is done;
There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus,
No, not one! No, not one!

No friend like Him is so high and holy,
No, not one! No, not one!
And yet no friend is so meek and lowly,
No, not one! No, not one!

There’s not an hour that He is not near us,
No, not one! No, not one!
No night so dark but His love can cheer us,
No, not one! No, not one!

Did ever saint find this Friend forsake him?
No, not one! No, not one!
Or sinner find that He would not take him?
No, not one! No, not one!

Was e’er a gift like the Savior given?
No, not one! No, not one!
Will He refuse us a home in heaven?
No, not one! No, not one!



The Joyful Sound
by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D. | Oct. 30, 2016

“Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.” (Psalm 89:15)

Many have been the Christians who have joined in singing “We have heard the joyful sound: Jesus saves; Jesus saves!” Not all have known, however, that this beautiful phrase comes from a great psalm extolling God’s marvelous works of creation and then His promises of redemption.

“The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. The north and the south thou hast created them” (Psalm 89:11-12). Earlier verses note that “the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD” (v. 5), speaking of the angels, “the sons of the mighty” (v. 6), literally, “the sons of God.” It is exciting to realize that the very first “joyful sound” was heard when God “laid the foundations of the earth.” Then it was that “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:4, 7).

There was also a joyful sound when Christ was born, and the angel came bringing “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born . . . a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. . . . And suddenly there was . . . the heavenly host praising God” (Luke 2:10-11, 13).

Whenever a soul is saved, there is another joyful sound: “Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth,” said Jesus (Luke 15:7). Finally, there will be a most wonderful sound of joy on Earth when the Lord comes again. “And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 35:10). Therefore, even now, “my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation” (Psalm 35:9). HMM http://www.icr.org/article/9570/



...looking to fill your opening in the Heavenly choir, no singing experience needed!
Studly

Trad climber
WA
Oct 30, 2016 - 07:24pm PT

I Solomon said unto him: "Beelzeboul, what is thy employment?" And he answered me: "I destroy kings. I ally myself with foreign tyrants. And my own demons I set onto men, in order that the latter may believe in them and be lost. And the chosen servants of God, priests and faithful men, I excite unto desires for wicked sins, and evil heresies, and lawless deeds; and they obey me, and I bear them on to destruction. And I inspire men with envy, and desire for murder, and for wars and sodomy, and other evil things. And I will destroy the world.


So I said to him: "Bring to me thy child, who is, as thou sayest, in the Red Sea." But he said to me: "I will not bring him to thee. But there shall come to me another demon called Ephippas. Him will I bind, and he will bring him up from the deep unto me." And I said to him: "How comes thy son to be in the depth of the sea, and what is his name? "And he answered me: "Ask me not, for thou canst not learn from me. However, he will come to thee by any command, and will tell thee openly.

I said to him: "Tell me by what angel thou art frustrated." And he answered: "By the holy and precious name of the Almighty God, called by the Hebrews by a row of numbers, of which the sum is 644, and among the Greeks it is Emmanuel1. And if one of the Romans adjure me by the great name of the power Eleéth, I disappear at once."

excerpt from the ancient scroll document, The Testament of Solomon.
thebravecowboy

climber
The Good Places
Oct 30, 2016 - 08:06pm PT
TYeary

Social climber
State of decay
Oct 31, 2016 - 07:04am PT
That which can be asserted without evidence, may be dismissed without evidence.
Thread dead.
TY
i-b-goB

Social climber
Wise Acres
Nov 2, 2016 - 10:00am PT
"I am the Lord, I change not."
Malachi 3:6

It is well for us that, amidst all the variableness of life, there is One whom change cannot affect; One whose heart can never alter, and on whose brow mutability can make no furrows. All things else have changed--all things are changing. The sun itself grows dim with age; the world is waxing old; the folding up of the worn-out vesture has commenced; the heavens and earth must soon pass away; they shall perish, they shall wax old as doth a garment; but there is One who only hath immortality, of whose years there is no end, and in whose person there is no change. The delight which the mariner feels, when, after having been tossed about for many a day, he steps again upon the solid shore, is the satisfaction of a Christian when, amidst all the changes of this troublous life, he rests the foot of his faith upon this truth--"I am the Lord, I change not."

The stability which the anchor gives the ship when it has at last obtained a hold-fast, is like that which the Christian's hope affords him when it fixes itself upon this glorious truth. With God "is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Whatever his attributes were of old, they are now; his power, his wisdom, his justice, his truth, are alike unchanged. He has ever been the refuge of his people, their stronghold in the day of trouble, and he is their sure Helper still. He is unchanged in his love. He has loved his people with "an everlasting love"; he loves them now as much as ever he did, and when all earthly things shall have melted in the last conflagration, his love will still wear the dew of its youth. Precious is the assurance that he changes not! The wheel of providence revolves, but its axle is eternal love.

"Death and change are busy ever,

Man decays, and ages move;

But his mercy waneth never;

God is wisdom, God is love."

CHARLES SPURGEON
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Nov 2, 2016 - 10:03am PT
4832 posts and you geniuses haven't sorted this out yet?

No wonder people believe in God!
rockrat13

Trad climber
Eagle Mountain, UT
Nov 2, 2016 - 10:59am PT
Those that don't must only climb in the gym or stay down in the boulders. I've met atheists, but never a true one, they seem to be just telling themselves that so they don't have to be responsible to God. No person in there right mind can truly believe this universe in all it's magnitude just happened. The point is it's not suppose to be easy to believe in God, but everything denotes the existence of a GOD. Every animal organism,every plant organism, snow flakes, frozen waterfalls, the Granite in Yosemite, the slot canyons of the desert the list is endless. Man is merely a spec in all of gods creations. If you ever climb something beyond your limits all alone you'll wish you new God, because that's the only way you'll make it out alive. He is the ALPHA and the OMEGA.
Psilocyborg

climber
Nov 2, 2016 - 02:26pm PT
Theism is a perversion of god. Atheism is the denial of god. Neither of which are a sin, because sin is a construct of theism, thus is meaningless. Humans will never be able to get over themselves....nor should they.

Meanwhile....god exists in quiet perfection
Gnome Ofthe Diabase

climber
Out Of Bed
Nov 2, 2016 - 02:35pm PT
Yo!
I-b goB,( no got that wrong ) i-b-goB

I am

You are not

Knot even close

Sputtering the lies that have led to this dismal society that rejects my true words

As to one it is so to, with all now.

You
Make a mockery of my finest creations
And mistreat them

Reduce them instead of holding them up as the holy seplecures that they are?

Do you read? Read this,
GotD will not be found & is not wrote learning
of lying deceitful mutterings, of self-serving (sieving)false prophets....
i-b-goB

Social climber
Wise Acres
Nov 5, 2016 - 10:59am PT
The Happiness of Those Whose Help Is the Lord

146 Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 While I live I will praise the Lord;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3 Do not put your trust in princes,
Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 His spirit departs, he returns to his earth;
In that very day his plans perish.

5 Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them;
Who keeps truth forever,
7 Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.

8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord raises those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the strangers;
He relieves the fatherless and widow;
But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.

10 The Lord shall reign forever—
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.

Praise the Lord!



Blessed! Precious Is Our Freedom / http://www.davidjeremiah.org

The LORD gives freedom to the prisoners.
Psalm 146:7b

Have you ever thought of the river of blood that has preserved our freedoms? As it relates to America, more than 4,000 soldiers died during the American Revolution. More than 2,000 perished in the War of 1812. Approximately 116,000 gave their lives during World War I. The Second World War claimed more than 405,000 U.S. military deaths. More than 54,000 American servicemen died in Korea, and 90,000 died in Vietnam. Another 8,000-plus have given their lives in the Persian Gulf Wars and the War on Terror. Add to that the 498,332 known military deaths during the Civil War, and it’s believed the total number of Americans killed in all U.S. Wars exceeds 1.1 million.

How precious is our freedom!

And how precious is the spiritual and eternal freedom gained for us by the death of the one Man, Christ Jesus. If our political freedom means so much to us, how much greater is the freedom of heart bestowed by Christ that leads to eternity!

We must always cultivate a heart of deepest gratitude for our freedoms and for those who died on our behalf. We must always remember the Savior who died on Calvary’s cross who made us “free indeed” (John 8:36).

My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
Charles Wesley, in the hymn “And Can It Be”
zak tessier

climber
3rd rock from the sun
Nov 5, 2016 - 05:14pm PT
ABSOLUTELY 0 freaking clue! religion is for those too weak to believe in themselves
Mark Force

Trad climber
Ashland, Oregon
Nov 5, 2016 - 08:55pm PT
Proselytizing never inspired me. It always struck me as people trying to convince themselves their faith was sound if they could convince somebody else to think the same way.

But this did...

"By their fruits ye shall know them."
Matthew 7:16
i-b-goB

Social climber
Wise Acres
Nov 11, 2016 - 09:08am PT

Thanks to all the Veterans!...


To End All Wars
“And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isaiah 2:4)

It has been over 90 years since “The War to End All Wars” ended in victory for those who had “fought to make the world safe for democracy.” A celebration of thanksgiving followed, and a holiday was established to commemorate that great Armistice Day (now Veterans Day).

However, an even greater war soon followed, only to be repeated by innumerable local wars and revolutions. Instead of a world of liberty and democracy, many of the world’s nations are now under the brutal heel of totalitarian dictatorships. With the threat of potential nuclear obliteration hanging over the world, the prophecy of Christ is being literally fulfilled: “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth” (Luke 21:26).

In the 25 centuries since our text was first uttered, there has been a war going on somewhere in the world at least 11 out of every 12 years, and it certainly seems unlikely that such a promise will ever be fulfilled.

Yet it is God who has promised, and only He can accomplish it. “He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people” (our text for today). “Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, . . . The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:7). When the Lord Jesus Christ comes again, “He shall speak peace unto the (nations): and His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth” (Zechariah 9:10). Finally, world peace will come, and Christ “shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). HMM http://www.icr.org/article/9607/


...Hey Bushman and Warbler we already have our pruning hooks!
i-b-goB

Social climber
Wise Acres
Nov 21, 2016 - 03:06pm PT

Turns out that the Biblical Coney, aka Rock Badgers, aka Hyrax is something that looks more like a ground hog!


"The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks."
Proverbs 30:26

Conscious of their own natural defencelessness, the conies resort to burrows in the rocks, and are secure from their enemies. My heart, be willing to gather a lesson from these feeble folk. Thou art as weak and as exposed to peril as the timid cony; be as wise to seek a shelter. My best security is within the munitions of an immutable Jehovah, where his unalterable promises stand like giant walls of rock. It will be well with thee, my heart, if thou canst always hide thyself in the bulwarks of his glorious attributes, all of which are guarantees of safety for those who put their trust in him. Blessed be the name of the Lord, I have so done, and have found myself like David in Adullam, safe from the cruelty of my enemy; I have not now to find out the blessedness of the man who puts his trust in the Lord, for long ago, when Satan and my sins pursued me, I fled to the cleft of the rock Christ Jesus, and in his riven side I found a delightful resting-place. My heart, run to him anew tonight, whatever thy present grief may be; Jesus feels for thee; Jesus consoles thee; Jesus will help thee. No monarch in his impregnable fortress is more secure than the cony in his rocky burrow. The master of ten thousand chariots is not one whit better protected than the little dweller in the mountain's cleft. In Jesus the weak are strong, and the defenceless safe; they could not be more strong if they were giants, or more safe if they were in heaven. Faith gives to men on earth the protection of the God of heaven. More they cannot need, and need not wish. The conies cannot build a castle, but they avail themselves of what is there already: I cannot make myself a refuge, but Jesus has provided it, his Father has given it, his Spirit has revealed it, and lo, again tonight I enter it, and am safe from every foe.
CHARLES SPURGEON



Rock of Ages
Amy Grant

Rock of ages, cleft for me
Let me hide myself in Thee
Rock of ages, cleft for me
Let me hide myself in Thee

Let the water and the blood
From Thy riven side which flowed
Be of sin the double cure
Cleanse me from it's guilt and pow'r

Nothing in my hand I bring
Simply to Thy cross I cling
Nothing in my hand I bring
Simply to Thy cross I cling

Naked, come to Thee for dress
Helpless, look to Thee for grace
Vile, I to the fountain fly
Wash me, savior, or I die

Rock of ages, cleft for me
Let me hide myself in Thee
Rock of ages, cleft for me
Let me hide myself in Thee


donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
Nov 21, 2016 - 03:55pm PT
The fastest growing belief system in the world vis a vis a god or gods is non belief.
Messages 4421 - 4440 of total 4502 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
Return to Forum List
 
Our Guidebooks
spacerCheck 'em out!
SuperTopo Guidebooks

guidebook icon
Try a free sample topo!

 
SuperTopo on the Web

Recent Route Beta