I appreciate the attraction of a belief in God and the Bible. But the empiricist in me finds the lack of verification and far too many contradictions and inconsistencies to buy into it.
Dear Ben, For a professed non-believe you have a good grasp of theological and apologetical terminology and concepts and I commend you for that thoughtfulness. I will simply state that in our sinfullness we will never understand that God is Holy, Holy, Holy (Isaiah 6 and Rev. 4) unless He reveals Himself to us. A key to belief is not putting God in the Dock but ourselves and reading His special revelation of the Holy Scriptures which reveal His unique revelation of Jesus the Christ (Yeshua HaMeschiach). Natural revelation should start us on the journey (Romans 1) but can never take us all the way Home. His Holiness requires propitiation and an atoning sacrifidce and He gave that In the Cross and raising Christ from the dead showed that He was satisfied with the sacrifice that exhausted His wrath against sin so there might be reconciliation with His holiness in His Graccious Mercy. If there is one chapter I plead with my Jewish friends to read it is Isaish 53. From Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and on to the Apostle Paul and the early disciples and apostles God takes the initiative and calls us to Himself. That was the miracle in my life and not the losing of a leg to cancer and a life of hardship and disppointments but to a Faithful God Who cares for me in my wretchedness (John Newton's Amazing Grace). My prayer is that He would reveal HImself to you and yours as you read the Bible. Thank you for your kindness. John H Folkomer
I think you speak for many for whom God is so important in their lives. I appreciate your references to sources here and in the past that I would otherwise not know about. My education never ends. Thank you.
Did you really mean to say this ? “In that survey, a surprising (to me) 83% of U.S. adults say they believe that people have a soul or spirit in addition to their physical body. “. One can’t argue with your decision to not accept a higher power but I find it surprising that it is hard to accept that we are made up of something more than just our physical being. Anyway, enjoyed the analysis which had enough material to serve as a college religion course.
It was always a curiosity to me that Dickinson had a Department of Religion and Philosophy. I became a non-believer after viewing photos and reading stories of the Holocaust. Thanks for your personal view of our shared beliefs.
Yes, the Holocaust should have been the nail in the coffin for belief in a benevolent God. Yet there have arisen all sorts of workarounds to avoid confronting the obvious.
Like Jeff, I became a non-believer when I learned about the Holocaust. Nothing since then has caused me to change my mind. As for organized religion, the less said the better. Thanks, Ben, for a thought-provoking post.
Dear Ben, For a professed non-believe you have a good grasp of theological and apologetical terminology and concepts and I commend you for that thoughtfulness. I will simply state that in our sinfullness we will never understand that God is Holy, Holy, Holy (Isaiah 6 and Rev. 4) unless He reveals Himself to us. A key to belief is not putting God in the Dock but ourselves and reading His special revelation of the Holy Scriptures which reveal His unique revelation of Jesus the Christ (Yeshua HaMeschiach). Natural revelation should start us on the journey (Romans 1) but can never take us all the way Home. His Holiness requires propitiation and an atoning sacrifidce and He gave that In the Cross and raising Christ from the dead showed that He was satisfied with the sacrifice that exhausted His wrath against sin so there might be reconciliation with His holiness in His Graccious Mercy. If there is one chapter I plead with my Jewish friends to read it is Isaish 53. From Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and on to the Apostle Paul and the early disciples and apostles God takes the initiative and calls us to Himself. That was the miracle in my life and not the losing of a leg to cancer and a life of hardship and disppointments but to a Faithful God Who cares for me in my wretchedness (John Newton's Amazing Grace). My prayer is that He would reveal HImself to you and yours as you read the Bible. Thank you for your kindness. John H Folkomer
John,
I think you speak for many for whom God is so important in their lives. I appreciate your references to sources here and in the past that I would otherwise not know about. My education never ends. Thank you.
Did you really mean to say this ? “In that survey, a surprising (to me) 83% of U.S. adults say they believe that people have a soul or spirit in addition to their physical body. “. One can’t argue with your decision to not accept a higher power but I find it surprising that it is hard to accept that we are made up of something more than just our physical being. Anyway, enjoyed the analysis which had enough material to serve as a college religion course.
It was always a curiosity to me that Dickinson had a Department of Religion and Philosophy. I became a non-believer after viewing photos and reading stories of the Holocaust. Thanks for your personal view of our shared beliefs.
Jeff
Yes, the Holocaust should have been the nail in the coffin for belief in a benevolent God. Yet there have arisen all sorts of workarounds to avoid confronting the obvious.
I couldn't have said it any better. Thanks for thoughtful, well-written analysis.
Like Jeff, I became a non-believer when I learned about the Holocaust. Nothing since then has caused me to change my mind. As for organized religion, the less said the better. Thanks, Ben, for a thought-provoking post.