its funny how they call this christian fiction... Showing 101-150 of 1,587

[[deleted user]]

I have to get to work on something.I should say though, your convictions or yours,stand up for them. I don't feel I need to, because I personally am not passionate about the issue. Your last sentence is a little annoying though. It implies that if you believe in God you are not grown up. Have a good day. Thanks for sharing.

[Robinah]

Hazel wrote: "Robinah, can you provide the irrefutable proof of a god existing?"

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, i mean the majesty of creation shows me that He does exist. Who is holding up the world so that it does not fall on our faces? For me it is irrefutable truth that He does exist.

[Giansar]

This is another thread, in which one side speaks science and the other speaks religion and both cannot comprehend that these two spheres do not overlap therefore no discourse between them is possible.

[Hazel]

Jonathan wrote: "Hazel wrote: "Actually, no-one needs to prove that he doesn't exist, despite there being loads of evidence that argue against a creator, we don't need to prove it, as the onus of proof is on those ..."

no Jonathan, as an atheist, I'm rejecting a claim based on the proof available, if a theist wishes to change my mind then the onus of proof is on them.

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof" Carl Sagan

"that which is claimed without evidence can be rejected without evidence" Christopher Hitchens

The difference between your personal proof for god, and scientific proof, is that scientific proof is testable, it has evidence, its repeatable, and its reliable (scientific reliable definition applies). Anecdotes and "i just know" are not acceptable as proof, as it isn't actually proof, our minds are poor data taking devices, we get it wrong all the time, just look what happens when you look at an optical illusion, your brain fails. Whereas, a scientist will not make a claim about anything untl they have enough evidence to back it up, and scientific theories and ideas are open to being refuted by further evidence. If someone proves with plenty of evidence that the theory of evolution is wrong, then after looking at the evidence they are presenting, I would happily change my mind. The same with god, is someone can provide real proof, I'll change my mind.

[Hazel]

Robinah wrote: "Hazel wrote: "Robinah, can you provide the irrefutable proof of a god existing?"

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been cle..."

so, you see it that way, so it must be that way. Where is your proof for everyone else?

And seriously, who is holding the world up? did you pay attention in physics class? You know the earth is a sphere, right, and that it spins, creating a gravitational pull, and that the interaction of gravitational forces of different heavenly bodies is what holds them in space... oh and the earth is slowly moving further away from the sun, also the spin of the earth is slowing down.

And the majesty of nature? So I guess you look at the sweeping mountains, beautiful sunsets, the sublimity of the human hand, the flowers providing colour and scnet, and you see god. So tell me, where does malaria fit in? What about bot flies, which burrow into human skin as larva, there are documented cases of them eating the eye or the brain of their host? Sleeping sickness? Sickle cell anaemia? Parkinsons disease? Childhood leukaemia? Starvation? Drought? Hookworms? Guinea worms? I could go on, where do these things fit into the majesty of gods creation?

That post has just proved to me that your are irrevocably foolish. And I don't like making a personal statement like that, but honestly, you're an idiot.

[Giansar]

wally wrote: "on evolution:
seems like it takes just as much a leap of faith to belief it is the truth, yay, verily hallelujah! amen! as it does to belief in god the father, etc."
I don't want to sound rude but if you want to talk science maybe instead of trying to approach it with the leap of faith tactic you should try to actually gain some scientific knowledge. What you wrote above about evolution is utterly ridiculous and proves you know nothing about it and about the scientific theory, which tries to explain it.

[Hazel]

Wally, there has been enough time in the 4 billion years iof evolution for all the mutations to take place, more than once. If you really want to know, read Why Evolution Is True, where he gives a concise and clear explanation of how it works, and it does include explanations of why evolution precludes a creator, and its all based on factual evidence. One of the examples he goes through is that of the whale.

There is 150 years of evidence that supports evolution, so much evidence that evolution is now scientific fact.

I think you've got it wrong, people discussing evolution aren't devoutly wishing that god didn't exist, they have reached the conclusion that there is no god based on the evidence available. Where there is no evidence for god, there is overwhelming evidence for evolution. I could reverse it on you and say that people arguing for creationism are simply scared that there is nothing special about them. But through evolution, humans have become very special, we are the only species that followed the path of intelligence in our evolution, and because of that, we are the only species in a position to learn about and understand the world, and the universe, around us.

You seem to think that one day a creature decided to be a whale, and just trod water until it developed the correct features all of a sudden. this sin't the case. The closest living relative to the whales is the hippopotamus, a creature that, though technically a land mammal, spends most of its time in water, has developed nostrils that are high up and are held out of the water, and that it can close. From this, it can be predicted that in a few hundred thousand years, the hippo will have developed further features that make living in water easier, and will eventually resemble the whale, or the dugong. The ancestors of the whale simply spent a lot of time around water, and those individuals born with mutations that made made them a tiny bit more successful in this environment produced more young than those that didn't, and so they moved further and further in tiny little increments to being what we see whales as today. By the way, there were no whales that became land mammals, whale evolved fromt he land to the sea, it was fish that evolved to have lobed fins, that become more and more like legs, and then fgrom them you get amphibians and reptiles, then from there you get mammals and birds. But really, read Why Evolution is True, Jerry Coyne is far more eloquent than I am. Evolution isn't a directed by having an aim, each species develops in a direction that best suits their current environment, climate and situation, and it can take hundreds of thousands, even millions of years for a species to seperate from its precursors, but it is scientific fact, we have fossils of many transitory forms, we have fossils of feathered dinosaurs, and of fish with basic legs, we have so much evidence, and all of it is being backed up and confirmed by the work of geneticists.

[Hazel]

the link leads to a book, if you're lucky, your local library may have a copy, if not they should be able to get one for you. It is a really wonderful book, and Jerry Coyne is far more eloquent than I will ever manage to be. I really hope you enjoy the read, I did.

the scientist's fault lies in insisting that the bible be taken scientifically. how can one fault the christian for arguing for faith?

this is not a fault, each claim made in the bible is open to being investigated, some are found to be based in historical facts, some are found to be contradicted by historical facts, such as the bible claiming that god prophecised that nebuchudnzza (sp?) would destroy Tyre, and that it would never be rebuilt, but archaeological and documented evidence shows that he never did take tyre, that he was defeated by them in that campaign, and that it was Alexander the Great a few hundred years later who laid the city to waste. And then to further dispute the prophecy as attributed to god, tyre was rebuilt and still stands tot his day.

I see no reason not to question faith, as surely, your beliefs are one of the most important things about you, they define how you will relate tot he world around you, and as such, we should be as certain as we can possibly be that our beliefs are true, and not false, and the only way to do this is to investigate them and find evidence for them. if there is no evidence, the belief should be rejected as false. Faith is not a virtue, its a willingness to be deliberately credulous to the world around you. The most important thing that the bible claims, the existence of god, has had over 5000 years for people to provide evidence, and still there is not one scrap of it.

Anyway, I hope you find a copy of the book, and that you enjoy reading it.

[Robinah]

Hazel wrote: "Robinah wrote: "Hazel wrote: "Robinah, can you provide the irrefutable proof of a god existing?"

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine natu..."

Wow you called me an idiot for believing in God. I guess the reverse could be true of you for not believing. At the end of the day i believe that we are all going to be standing alone at Judgement day defending everything we've said or done.And for your information Disease came into the world because Man sinned, that doesn't mean that the Lord does not love us or care about what is hurting us.

[Giansar]

Robinah wrote: "Disease came into the world because Man sinned"
Yeah well, but wasn't that stupid of Man to have done that (sinned I mean)?

[Hazel]

And for your information Disease came into the world because Man sinned, that doesn't mean that the Lord does not love us or care about what is hurting us.

so god arbitrarily decides whats a sin, and then punishes us for sinning, most of the sins we cannot avoid by the way, as they're thought crimes, and you think this is ok? And whats worse is that you're defending the idea of an all knowing, all loving being, that supposedly loves and cares for us, when that being does something that is callous and cruel. If a person behaved that way, you'd be outraged, but because its your god, you think its ok. NO, a deity, if it existed should be held to a higher and stricter moral code than we, as mere fallible mortals, are held to. whats worse is that all the bad things in the world are things that god has the power to stop, he knows all the evils that will happen before they happen, now I'm sure if you knew someone was going to shoot someone else, you'd do your best to stop them, so knowing that god does know, every single time, why do you think its ok for him to just sit back and let it happen?

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?

Then he is not omnipotent.

Is he able, but not willing?

Then he is malevolent.

Is he both able and willing?

Then whence cometh evil?

Is he neither able nor willing?

Then why call him God? Epicurus

I say again, you're an idiot. And I never said you were an idiot for believing in god, you're an idiot because you're willingly ignorant and credulous.

[Robinah]

wally wrote: "i enjoyed all 12 stories. if i had a complaint, it was that often, the punch line did not come until the end, say the unmasking of the...what was he called...the antichrist.

gripping fiction. re..."

I couldn't have said it better!

[Robinah]

Jenelle wrote: "My question to all the atheists is "Why are you so concerned about Christians beliefs and why is it so important to you to invalidate JESUS and his followers? Why do we bother you so much that you ..."

Preach it Sister!

[Robinah]

Hazel wrote: "And for your information Disease came into the world because Man sinned, that doesn't mean that the Lord does not love us or care about what is hurting us.

so god arbitrarily decides whats a sin,..."



Study the soil for a moment. It naturally produces weeds. No one plants them; no one waters them. They even stubbornly push through cracks of a dry sidewalk. Millions of useless weeds sprout like there’s no tomorrow, strangling our crops and ruining our lawns. Pull them out by the roots, and there will be more tomorrow. They are nothing but a curse!

Consider how much of the earth is uninhabitable. There are millions of square miles of barren deserts in Africa and other parts of the world. Most of Australia is nothing but miles and miles of useless desolate land. Not only that, but the earth is constantly shaken with massive earthquakes. Its shores are lashed with hurricanes; tornadoes rip through creation with incredible fury; devastating floods soak the land; and terrible droughts parch the soil. Sharks, tigers, lions, snakes, spiders, and disease-carrying mosquitoes attack humanity and suck its life’s blood.

The earth’s inhabitants are afflicted with disease, pain, suffering, and death. Think of how many people are plagued with cancer, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, emphysema, Parkinson’s, and a number of other debilitating illnesses. Consider all the children with leukemia, or people born with crippling diseases or without the mental capability to even feed themselves. All these things should convince thinking minds that something is radically wrong. Did God blow it when He created humanity? What sort of tyrant must our Creator be if this was His master plan?

Sadly, many use the issue of suffering as an excuse to reject any thought of God, when its existence is the very reason we should accept Him.

The Bible tells us that God cursed the earth because of Adam’s transgression. Weeds are a curse. So is disease. Sin and suffering cannot be separated. The Scriptures inform us that we live in a fallen creation. In the beginning, God created man perfect, and he lived in a perfect world without suffering. It was heaven on earth. When sin came into the world, death and misery came with it. Those who understand the message of Holy Scripture eagerly await a new heaven and a new earth "wherein dwells righteous-ness." In that coming Kingdom there will be no more pain, suffering, disease, or death. We are told that no eye has ever seen, nor has any ear heard, neither has any man’s mind ever imagined the wonderful things that God has in store for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Think for a moment what it would be like if food grew with the fervor of weeds. Consider how wonderful it would be if the deserts became incredibly fertile, if creation stopped devouring humanity. Imagine if the weather worked for us instead of against us, if disease completely disappeared, if pain was a thing of the past, if death was no more.

The dilemma is that we are like a child whose insatiable appetite for chocolate has caused his face to break out with ugly sores. He looks in the mirror and sees a sight that makes him depressed. But instead of giving up his beloved chocolate, he consoles himself by stuffing more into his mouth. Yet, the source of his pleasure is actually the cause of his suffering. The whole face of the earth is nothing but ugly sores of suffering. Everywhere we look we see unspeakable pain. But instead of believing God’s explanation and asking Him to forgive us and change our appetite, we run deeper into sin’s sweet embrace. There we find solace in its temporal pleasures, thus intensifying our pain, both in this life and in the life to come.

[Giansar]

Robinah wrote: "God created man perfect"
If that is the case how could he (man) have sinned?

[Robinah]

Giansar wrote: "Robinah wrote: "God created man perfect"
If that is the case how could he (man) have sinned?"

The Bible tells us that the Genesis creation was "good." There was no sin and therefore no suffering or death. Why then did God give Adam and Eve the ability to sin, knowing full well that they would sin and bring death and pain to the human race? Some believe that if Adam had been created without the ability to chose, then he would have been a "robot." A father cannot make his children love him. They choose to love him because they have a free will. Others point out that humanity would never have seen the depth of the love of God, as displayed in the cross, unless Adam had sinned, and that fact could be one reason why God allowed sin to enter the world.

[Hazel]

Robinah, a weed is only a weed if we designate it so, personally, I like dandelions, i encourage the weeds in my garden, because they attract more wildlife. By the way, the seeds of these things are dispersed either but he wind or by the actions of invertebrates, birds and other creatures. If you think they appear as if by magic, you need to go back to elementary school

As for all the other things you listed, areas of the earth that are uninhabitable by humans, the number of diseases we are susceptible to, these things simply show that there is no loving god, that the world was not created with us in mind, you're undermining your own argument..

If you think its reasonable for the son to be punished for the sins of the father, then you're morally corrupt.

[Robinah]

Hazel wrote: "Robinah, a weed is only a weed if we designate it so, personally, I like dandelions, i encourage the weeds in my garden, because they attract more wildlife. By the way, the seeds of these things ar..."

It was a metaphor.

[Hazel]

Robinah wrote: "Hazel wrote: "Robinah, a weed is only a weed if we designate it so, personally, I like dandelions, i encourage the weeds in my garden, because they attract more wildlife. By the way, the seeds of t..."

it was a poor metaphor that I could easily pick apart, and if you can only talk in metaphors, then you have no grounding in reality.And seeing as weeds have a very definite place in the ecosystem, and play a vital role in maintaining food webs, they are anything but a curse. your "metaphor" falls down on every level.

[Vicki]

Giansar wrote: "Robinah wrote: "God created man perfect"
If that is the case how could he (man) have sinned?"

Exactly. This has always puzzled me. It will be one of the first questions I ask Him when I get there.

[Xdyj]

The problem of evil is an issue discussed by philosophers for thousands of years. Carly, Big Bang is about the large-scale dynamics of the universe and is not about the beginning of life. And Wally, everyday English words may have slightly different meanings when they are used in science.

As far as I know, the creationism/evolution debate within scientific community was over more than a century ago, and the current controversy is largely because religious fundamentalists in high places don't want science to be taught properly.

The fact that Christianity is the most successful religion here and now does not make it more credible. The same argument can also be used by ancient Greek to argue Zeus is true, or by Muslims in Islamic countries to argue that their faith is true.

People have been killed in the name of some atheist ideologies also, though probably such killings happened less often than those done in the name of god, maybe because the majority of people in our world are theists.

Also, I know plenty of Christians who are not creationists (esp. those in the scientific community) and consider ID to be nothing but a joke. And I also know devoted Christians who are pacifists, environmentalist, feminist or active supporters of lgbt rights. imo Christianity is a pretty diverse faith and the views in the Left Behind series can not represent the views of every Christians. Though just as I said I'm atheist so maybe I'm not entitled to say so.

[Giansar]

Robinah wrote: "A father cannot make his children love him. They choose to love him because they have a free will."
Please tell me it's a joke. You cannot seriously imply that we can express our so called free will by deciding to love (or not) someone!

On my other question:
To continue - did or did not God know that when given free will man will exercise it to disobey Him and fall from grace?

[Hazel]

Giansar wrote: "Robinah wrote: "A father cannot make his children love him. They choose to love him because they have a free will."
Please tell me it's a joke. You cannot seriously imply that we can express our so..."

I genuinely hope its a joke, as one thing about a childs love, and a parents love for a child, is that it is unconditional, its the only type of love that is unconditional. No matter what my daughter does, I will always love her completely, and I have little choice in that, its the mother child bond. The same happens witht he father, the boind is so strong that you cannot simply decide to end it. To break this sort of love, someone has to do something absolutely horrific, and no, Robinah, eating some fruit that you were told not to does not come under "absolutely horrific", it comes under minor, almost non-existent, issue. I'd be a terrible mother if I kicked my child out of the house and cursed her with pain and disease for the simple act of having had off with a banana I told her she wasn't allowed. Gods reaction in the story is disproportionate to the crime, and made worse by the fact that he's espoused as all knowing, and so knew what was going to happen, so actually had time to formulate his response. And even worse, it was only a sin because he said so, so knowing that this was going to happen, and that it was inevitable unless he applied his omnipotence to prevent it (he didn't, so he wanted it to happen), he still designated it a sin, meaning that he is entirely responsible for the resultant situation, he knew what was going to happen, and arbitrarily named it sinful, when he didn't have to, thats petty, he could have stopped it from happening with a simple thought, he didn't, thus he intended it to happen. Gods fault, not adam and eves, as they had no concept that it was wrong, no matter how much he said no tot hem, they didn't have the necessary mentality to understand that when someone says no about something it makes doing that thing wrong, they didn't have that concept until they ate the fruit.

God is the one at fault in the story, we should all be glad that it is just a story.

[Hazel]

The time issue has been adequately addressed. Its all there, in Why Evolution Is True, don't believe me? Go read it, instead of postulating on your own opinions, go read the facts.

There is no motivation in evolution, other than immediate survival, theres no aim, stop thinking of it like something that thinks, thats not the case, its not something working towards an aim, or any sort of end, its a continuous process, that follows the direction that best improves the reproductive of the individual.

The evidence is all there, the explanations are laid out, with more being researched and investigated. Instead of creating a post that long which basically says "I'm ignorant of the facts", why not go out and find the facts. And if you don't understand it even after that, then accept that you not understanding something doesn't make it wrong.

[Giansar]

wally wrote: "why is it any easier to believe that we have a multitude of life due to chance mutation over billions of years than it is to believe that god created the heavens and earth in a 40-hour work week?
."
If by "believing" you mean not needing to have any evidence or proof then you can equally easily believe in anything you want.
If by "believing" you mean the word as scientists do then you have evidence galore in many different branches of science (biology, geology, paleontology, archeology, astronomy, cosmology, to name just a few) for the first option and something I believe they call zilch for the second one.

[Hazel]

yup, in one situation, the believing evolution, and in the mutations etc, we have enough evidence to fill several museums, and in the other situation, that "god did it" (such a cop out response, it means that you aren't interested enough to really look, and thats pure anathema) there is zero evidence.

Rationality and reason means accepting that the explanation with the most evidence is the correct one. this doesn't preclude there being future explanations that will have even more evidence for them, but in this case, evolution wins out in every way.

[Xdyj]

wally wrote: "words words words, as the prince said.

the evolutionist believes that their words have more juju than the creationist possesses. the meaning of assume is clear, that is why the scientist used it,..."

English is not my first language so I don't know for sure about the meaning of those words. I just heard from a professor that a lot of misunderstandings about science esp. by those believe in ID are caused by this, e.g. in everyday life "theory" might just mean any speculation while a "scientific theory" is something as accurate as we can get.

No one wrote "it's settled" because almost no biologist seriously think creationism is science anymore. Can you find one peer-reviewed paper treating ID as credible science not published by some obscure journal sponsored by creationists?

And life begins not from "nothing". It begins long after the formation of solar system and our planet. Much work has been done on structure formation & stellar evolution in the last few decades.

[Will]

I think science put to bed this idea of "nothing" anyway.

[Giansar]

Xox wrote: "Sorry enough to leave this horrible religion? "
I don't think Christianity is any more or less horrible than any other major religion. I don't really think these religions are horrible - it is what people use them for that is despicable. You can worship Winnie the Pooh and still be willing to torture, mutilate and kill people for any number of imaginary reasons and in accordance with this or that demented logic.

[Giansar]

Xox wrote: "Give me proof that there is religion bases on Winnie the Pooh, and then its followers do horrible thing in the name of Pooh. As I couldn't imagine such thing."
Any ideology can be turned into murder and mayhem.
Christians worship a guy that preached love, charity and nonviolence throughout his life and yet it does not stop them from doing horrible things. I can't see why it should work any other way with worship of Winnie. The constant in all these equations is man and it is man who is responsible for the horror. Not religions, not holy books (well, ok, you can probably kill a guy with at least some editions of The Bible but I believe that is not what we are talking about here).

[Hazel]

Xox wrote: "Give me proof that there is religion bases on Winnie the Pooh, and then its followers do horrible thing in the name of Pooh. As I couldn't imagine such thing. ."

The cult of Pooh is teaching copraphagia:

[Will]

How about this for a start?

Tao of Pooh and Te of Piglet Boxed Set

[[deleted user]]

Will wrote: "There's nothing to forgive.

While you're doing that research, you should look into how the Bible was constructed. It's a very fascinating history. There are lots of other Acts, Epistles, Gospels, ..."

And where, may I ask, did you get that information - about there being other books - from? I don't recall a thing about there being other TRUE BOOKS of the Bible that DID NOT make it into said Book.

[[deleted user]]

Dave wrote: "Nancy wrote:We have an awesome loving God. But He will rain punishment down May God have mercy on their souls"


Now that is one very odd dichotomy. Not sure if you are speaking from a point of..."

Forgive me for intruding here, but I'm a preacher's daughter, and I can't stand by while you go saying that the Lord will not punish His children for their sins - which is, in essence, what you stated. A loving parent will not allow their child to go unpunished for some wrong deed. God is the same way. He loves His children and, therefore, He punishes them according to their sins.

[[deleted user]]

@ Bukky & Karen: I am also a solemn believer in God. It's wonderful to find other believers - even on the Internet. I personnally find this discussion - would you call it civilized? - to be rather mundane. I've herad most of these arguments before. MANY TIMES BEFORE.

[Will]

Kendra wrote: " A loving parent will not allow their child to go unpunished for some wrong deed. "

A loving parent would not torture their child for any reason, and certainly wouldn't torture their child for not loving them back. Interesting being this god you worship. Very loving indeed.

[[deleted user]]

Excuse me, "Will", but GOD doesn't torture us. WE torture us. SATAN tortures us. God? NEVER. He is a loving God, and if we - creatures with free will - DECIDE to go out own way and do our own thing, that's OUR CHOICE. NOT HIS.

[[deleted user]]

Excuse me, "Will", but GOD doesn't torture us. WE torture us. SATAN tortures us. God? NEVER. He is a loving God, and if we - creatures with free will - DECIDE to go out own way and do our own thing, that's OUR CHOICE. NOT HIS.

[Will]

Kendra wrote: "And where, may I ask, did you get that information - about there being other books - from? I don't recall a thing about there being other TRUE BOOKS of the Bible that DID NOT make it into said Book. "

I'm sorry you don't know how your Bible was constructed.

Did you know the story of the accused adulterer and "casting the first stone" bit was added to the Bible much later?

Did you know that the book of Job is actually two different authors writing two different genres (one fiction, one poetry) fused together to make a rather incoherent story?

[[deleted user]]

Mr Will......where in the world are you getting your information about God and Satan? You've been wrongfully-informed.

[Will]

Kendra wrote: "Excuse me, "Will", but GOD doesn't torture us. WE torture us. SATAN tortures us. God? NEVER. He is a loving God, and if we - creatures with free will - DECIDE to go out own way and do our own thing, that's OUR CHOICE. NOT HIS."

Excuse me, "Kendra," but God does torture us. He created Hell, didn't he? He's stronger than Satan, isn't He? Why is He waiting to destroy such an "evil" being? Isn't he omniscient? That means he knew beforehand the entire outcome. Omnipotence and omniscience = no free will. All three are not possible. If God knows the outcome, and has the power to change it, then HE is responsible.

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?

-Epicurus

[Will]

Ms. Kendra, I am getting my information from the Bible (which I've read several times) and Biblical scholars like Bart Ehrman, who learned Greek and Hebrew to study the Bible in it's original language.

[Elexus]

I loved the first 3 books in the series and plan on reading the rest...they really did make sense to me as a Christian.

[[deleted user]]

Will wrote: "Ms. Kendra, I am getting my information from the Bible (which I've read several times) and Biblical scholars like Bart Ehrman, who learned Greek and Hebrew to study the Bible in it's original langu..."

If you are getting your info. from the Bible, then you know that God is a God of love, and He is a God of Peace, and He loves each of us - in spite of our sins. He doesn't punish us because He wants to. He never has, and He never will.

[[deleted user]]

Elexus wrote: "I loved the first 3 books in the series and plan on reading the rest...they really did make sense to me as a Christian."

You will love them!! I have all 12 books in the first series, and the first book in the next (I think there are only 4 or 5 in that one.) They are SO worth it!! A friend sent me the first one years ago, and I've been "hooked" ever since.

[[deleted user]]

Xox wrote: "Kendra wrote: "Excuse me, "Will", but GOD doesn't torture us. WE torture us. SATAN tortures us. God? NEVER. He is a loving God, and if we - creatures with free will - DECIDE to go out own way ..."

No. I'm afraid you're wrong about that. Satan is an angel that fell from Heaven. I strongly suggest youi read up on who Satan really is. He is a fallen angel, with followers. Nothing more; nothing less. He has powers that make it possible for him to harm us, but God puts a stop to that pain and suffering (or haven't you noticed that even if things go wrong in the world, there is still some good)

[[deleted user]]

Will wrote: "Kendra wrote: "And where, may I ask, did you get that information - about there being other books - from? I don't recall a thing about there being other TRUE BOOKS of the Bible that DID NOT make it..."

Will, I'd like to ask you: WHO told you THAT?! Where did you find THAt bit of "knowledge"?

[Will]

Kendra wrote: "If you are getting your info. from the Bible, then you know that God is a God of love, and He is a God of Peace, and He loves each of us - in spite of our sins. He doesn't punish us because He wants to. He never has, and He never will."

Wow. You just put your fingers in your ear and said, "la la la la la."

I really don't think you've actually read the Bible if you think God is a God of love and peace. Or are you just ignoring the brutal violence inflicted by God in the OT and focusing on the happy NT, where the concept of eternal torture is introduced?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz0ye1...

[Will]

Kendra wrote: "Will, I'd like to ask you: WHO told you THAT?! Where did you find THAt bit of "knowledge"?"

I have no idea what you are referring to, please quote what you'd like me to answer.

[Danielle]

Kendra wrote: "He doesn't punish us because He wants to. He never has, and He never will. "

Then what is this book - Left Behind? Isn't it about all the terrible things that will happen according to the book of revelation? Isn't it all punishment by God? If it's not god, then who is in control of it all? Why can't God stop it? If it is God, then does that mean according to you that he will punish us even though he doesn't want to? If he can't control what he does, doesn't that mean he's not omnipotent? If he's truly omnipotent, he would be in complete control, and therefore malevolent.