9inches:

I noticed that too. As soon as I posted the evidence for you to test, your bias (perhaps, pre-planned agenda?) kicked in to overdrive. You "allow it to stand"? Oh thanks for your patronage!

If you have a different question, you can ask. As for 'evidence of Christianity' question, you already have it. You don't choose evidence or facts for consideration; you consider them as they present themselves. The onus is on you to refute. Merely dismissing them is pure folly.

joseph1013:
THE GODS OF THE GAPS

Believers argue we don't know how the universe began so they say God did it. Then they say we don't know how life began so they believe God did that too.

But why do they assume the same agent created the universe and life? Surely, these are very different jobs? One requires the agent to be outside the universe and the other requires the agent to be inside it. One is basic physics on a scale of light years; the other is advanced molecular engineering working at the ångström scale. One job requires handling an unimaginable amount of energy, the other minuscule amounts.

If you insist on concluding supernatural intervention was required, what is it that makes you so sure only one agent was involved? Surely, you should suspect two or more were involved, or at the very least, you should be honest and admit you have no idea how many gods were involved.

But then the problem with honesty is it undermines your true goal--to pretend when you talk to your god, you are not just talking to yourself.

HellVictorinho:

The Universe is an explodent.
"Nothing" can't explode.
And what we call life is not a work of art.
It is Man's burden.

joseph1013:


Can you rephrase in simple English.

And there is no place where "Nothing" exploded was highlighted in the comment made.

joseph1013:


There is something called 'burden of proof'. He who makes a claim is obligated to prove the assertion.

joseph1013:


But I don't have the evidence of Christianity. You merely said Christianity passes the three tests you brought up. You have not shown us how it does and why it is evidence. Can you provide the evidence?

Else...let's just call it a day. I have not gained anything from this interaction.

9inches:
1. It has been subjected to more than those tests over the centuries. And the results are there to be seen. Infact, it's even christians that ask most of the hard-hitting and difficult questions.
I won't conclude without saying, "why not be the scholar and test it out yourself?"

2. Yes, I can say that I have knowledge of the other world religions. Belief systems can be grouped and understood in a nutshell. For example, if the Abrahamic religion is false, Judaism, christianity and Islam will fall in one fell swoop and your search for the truth focuses on the other religions. But if the Abrahamic religion is true, then your search narrows down to only the Abrahamic religions.

PastorAIO:


I apologize. How do I know it is true? In 1945 a plan was devised to end WW2 by putting the theory into practice. some matter was converted into energy as part of a bomb. It totally destroyed a whole city. It was done again and another city was flattened. The cities are called Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Further more there are whole segments of society and industry that get their energy supply from plants that are built on the basis of this same equation.

Can you provide like evidence to prove why you believe what you believe.

malvisguy212:
cain was a grown man that know between good and evil, the kindness in abel, were did he get that from?, one thing you should know is this, when cain kill abel, he know he was wrong.

Genesis 4.
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry?
Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right,
will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is
right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have
you, but you must rule over it.”

Cain know. Between good and evil but he chose to do evil.there are no comandment giving to them but am sure they will learn from there father the command of God from the beginning.

sinequanon:


From nearly zero to nearly zero. How many people do you know who have choked to death?

Yet, the cough reflex prevents us from bolting our food and causing digestive problems. We learn to chew well so as not to cause a coughing fit. It also supplements the gag reflex which can regurgitate contaminated or poisonous material, but isn't powerful enough to cleanse remnants.

The cough reflex is not triggered just because food "goes down the wrong way". It is a rapid response system to the first sign of toxins or allergens. It will powerfully remove such material and force mucous back into the buccal cavity, before it is left to the weaker gag reflex.

The same goes for anything likely to get stuck in the oesophagus. It gets tested first in the narrow confines of the pharynx. If it doesn't get stuck there, it is unlikely to get stuck anywhere else. If it does get stuck, a powerful blast of air can dislodge it much more effectively than peristalsis.

Perhaps the risk of choking pales into insignificance.

joseph1013:
A few thoughts... (7)

What if I worshiped you, yes you?

All day long, every day, I do nothing but worship you. WHAT WOULD YOU GET FROM THAT?

Whatever it is, it's exactly what God gets when you worship Him.

Now, what if me and 100 other people stood around you all day long, every day, and worshipped you aloud? Would you need more? God does.

God has a whole class of angels just to worship him all day long, every day, but that is not enough for him...he demands that everyone, everywhere worship Him everyday, all day long.

Why not just make us on our knees? How much worship could you handle? How long could you stand being praised all day long, everyday by everyone, everywhere?"

joseph1013:
Heavenly Father,

I thank you for your love towards me. You kept me alive because you love me and you killed 100,000 people everyday because you don't love them.

I know you are the one that created me and every living thing. You also created mosquito that kill and continue to kill innocent people. Thank you so much because you know what you are doing.

I know you love me so much because you keep telling many people to tell me that you love me but I still don't understand why you can't just walk up to me and say you love me. Are you shy? I just have to say this because if I don't say it despite the assumption that you love me, you will still send me to hell.

Thank you and please don't provide daily bread for me today. The children in Somalia needs it more than I do. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

malvisguy212:
it's a choice,you love God or you Reject Him,concerning the wife of cain;bible does not specifically say it only cain and abel was the son of adam,. Although Cain
does seem to be the firstborn, the text is not clear
that Abel was the second born, but only that he was
the second son. Later, the narrative indicates that
Adam and Eve produced "other sons and
daughters." So, it is possible that Adam and Eve
produced daughters between the births of Cain and
Abel. It is also likely that others sons and daughters
were produced after the birth of Abel. We don't know how old Cain and Abel were when Cain murdered his brother, but they seem to be at least young adults, since they are both engage in a trade. for their
living.

Although the period of time between the birth of
Cain and the death of Abel is not given in the Bible, it would seem that this period was probably over 100 years, since the birth of Adam's next son, Seth is said to have occurred when Adam was 130 years old. Adam and Eve could have produced many daughters during that period of time.
It is possible cain would have marry one of this sister,God caused him may have lead to this.

9inches:


No one is asking you for any evidence of Christianity. I already stated that the Christian message has correspondence, is coherent and has the explanatory power that other belief systems either lack or fall short. And by christian message, I mean the entire christian belief.

And I even gave guide on how you could test yourself.


As it always the case, you don't gain anything when you go into a supposedly sincere conversation with a hidden agenda. The probability that your insidious agenda will be exposed to your own chagrin is quite high, especially if it involves folks who know how to expose such.

joseph1013:


The correspondence theory of truth asserts that a statement is true if and only if what it asserts about a given state of affairs is the case. For example, "Jesus rose bodily from the dead" is true if and only if Jesus did in fact get up out of the grave after having been dead.

But is this true? I don't think so.

The authors of Mark and Matthew (hereafter referred to as Mark and Matthew) placed Jesus' first appearance in Galilee in northern Israel, while the authors of Luke and John (hereafter referred to as Luke and John) indicated it took place in the environs of Jerusalem, some 70-80 miles to the south of Galilee in Judea.

John was explicit in numbering the appearances, the first two apparently occurring a week apart in Jerusalem (if "that first day of the week" of John 20:19 corresponds to Resurrection Sunday) or no more than a day's walk from the city (Luke 24:13, 33 reports that the first appearance was in Jerusalem or on the road to nearby Emmaus) and the third by the Sea of Galilee some time later (John 21:1, 14). Given this timeline, then if Jesus did indeed appear to the disciples on a mountain in Galilee, he must have done so after the third appearance mentioned by John.

However, a straightforward reading of Matthew demands that Jesus first appeared to the disciples in Galilee. Even before his death, Jesus prophesied at the Last Supper in Matthew 26:32, "But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee." After the Resurrection, Jesus tells the women, "Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee'" (28:7).

As they were running along to carry out his instructions, Jesus met them again, underscoring the same point: "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me" (28:10). If it was Jesus' intention to appear to the disciples in Jerusalem, why did he instruct them three times before appearing to them that they were to meet him in Galilee? Since he sent word to the disciples through the women, it is warranted to conclude he did not intend to see them first in Jerusalem, where he could have simply instructed them face-to-face to meet him in Galilee.

Matthew's account of Jesus' first post-Resurrection appearance, set in Galilee, reads, "When the Eleven saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted" (Matthew 28:17), further suggesting that Jesus had not previously appeared to them—certainly not two or three times as the Gospel of John requires. In the second appearance in John, Thomas had already seen Jesus and had overcome his doubts: "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). For those who are here tempted to consult creative apologetic solutions to this problem, I ask whether it is likely, given Matthew's repeated emphasis on Galilee, that Matthew himself would accept any harmonization that places Jesus' first appearance in Jerusalem.

I have only used Resurrection to prove the correspondence case. There are several other examples in the Christian bible. The foundations of morality, Purpose and meaning, Fulfilled prophecies, The Resurrection of Jesus, The reliability of the Bible, Miracles and answered prayer, and A personal relationship with a loving God.

The coherence theory argues that a given statement is true if it coheres with or does not contradict any other statements within a set of statements that also cohere with each other. Truth is what is internally consistent.

Take a few contradictions in the Bible:

1) Judas was hanged.

Mt. 27:5 “And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.”

**Judas was not hanged.
Acts. 1:18 “Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.”

(2)Judas threw the thirty pieces of silver into the temple & the chief priests picked them up & bought a field with them.
Matt.27:5-7 “And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.”

**Judas did not throw the thirty pieces of silver into the temple; he used them to buy a field.
Acts. 1:18 “Now this man {Judas} purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.”

(3) 75 people went into Egypt.
Acts7: 14 “Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.” {i.e. 75}

**Only 70 people went into Egypt.
Gen 46:27 “And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.”{i.e. 70}

(4) The Jews were in Egypt for 400 years.
Acts 7:6 “ And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they
should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.”

The Jews were in Egypt for 430 years.
Exodus 12:40**“Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.”

(5) Brothers must be hated.
Luke 14:26 "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."

**Brothers must not be hated.
1 John 3:15 "Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."

Obviously, Christianity fails this test too.

Explanatory power simply asks the question "does what I believe or what I've placed my trust in help me make sense of my observations of the world and also my longings and the desires that I have?"

Christianity clearly fails this test. Christians claim the earth is 6,000 years. The planet is 4.5 billion years old.

Thank you.

joseph1013:
Kenny Brandmuse wrote :

When my mom passed, I had a request from home that we needed to make donations to her church - a Pentecostal church. In fact, I converted most of my family members into the Pentecostal movement when I was a preacher boy. Serendipitously, Aduke, my mom was one of my many converts. Unfortunately, since I became fully aware of my sexuality, I knew I had no future in the church. I never wanted to take the liberty to interpret the Bible my own way. As a former Bible school graduate and student, I know there are no two interpretations to certain doctrines in the scriptures.
Twist it or turn it, the Bible is clearly against same sex relationships. The Bible is also clear about the relationships between women and men in the body of Christ. There’s an order and a pattern: the man first, and the woman comes after. In fact, the pronoun ‘HE’ is attributed to the unseen God. In Billy Graham’s own words, “Metaphors used to describe Him in the Bible include: King, Father, Judge, Husband, Master, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Chris.” It’s the way the world was when the Bible was written. We can kumbayah around it all Sunday long, the Bible was never written for our private interpretations.

joseph1013:
Ok, I digressed.
So the call came that I needed to send money to mom’s church in her memorial. I was conflicted. I knew how much Aduke loved her church. She was a Sunday School teacher. I also knew how much the church loved her back. As a single mother with so many adversities too numerous to count, the Church was my mom’s happy place. I recalled how I had baptized her so she could speak in tongues. How we both cried for joy when she started to pray in the Holy Ghost. No, we didn’t fake it. You simply open your mouth under the anointing, and the good Lord fills it with unknowable language and twangs. Even though all her problems never went away, my mom found happiness in the clapping of hands and the stomping of feet in the house of the Lord. She had it on a good promise that when she died all her troubles would be over, and that she would walk on the streets of gold. These experiences and promises provided an irreplaceable escape for her. How could one fault that! I can’t. I made up my mind that it was worth it. That it’s ok to send donation to mom’s church. People find happiness in where they find happiness. It’s our duty to protect ourselves from the toxicity of other people’s happinesses. And my hard stance against the church began to soften. (I still find religiosity quite amusing though).

It’s not my thing, but I have come to realize that the church has continued to provide a place for the weary to escape this wicked world for a minute or two. Some find this escape in other spaces, some just can’t escape and are daily confronted with the harsh realities of injustices and inequalities.

Then two days ago, my softening approach to faith and religion was tested in an Uber ride. I knew I was in for a ride when upon entering the car, I noticed that the driver had conspicuously placed a Bible on the designated passenger seat. I shrugged. I used my ass to move the Bible further away from me and pretended all was well. The driver, a beautiful black woman with a roundish face sitting under a long synthetic hair had some air around her. Her eyes �, as seen from her rear view mirror, planted themselves on my seat as though I had just murdered a person.

“You don’t like the Bible?” She said.

Not today, Satan! I disciplined my tongue not to say a word.

“I see that you are not saved,” she slowed the vehicle down as we approached the street ahead.

No, I’m not having this conversation, Lawd! I started to fiddle with my phone hoping for a call to come in.

“Young man, I’m asking you the most important question about your life: have you accepted Jesus into your life as your personal Lord and Savior?” She leaned back as she pedaled on slowly and steadily.

I had a lot to tell her but I remembered Aduke. Perhaps, this evangelism is what gives my Uber driver some form of happiness. Perhaps not. So I held back my fury and simply said to her: how sweet of you to offer me salvation, but no thanks. I do not need saving, and I’d appreciate if you could drive more carefully.

When my Uber app prompted me to rate my driver when I got home, I wanted to give her a star instead of five. I struggled. I came to the middle ground and rated her three stars.
The world could use some empathy right now, I thought.

MuttleyLaff:
God does not have any problem with two easy going, ordinary consenting adults, minding their own businesses enjoying a caring, faithful, committed, truthful, honest, loving, lasting that's life-long and loyal same-sex relationship, that has no detriment to another person, no betrayal of another person, or no cheating on another person, and not harmful to an object or neighbour. What was and is an anathema to God is sexual promiscuity, having multiple sexual partners, orgastic temple rites, temple prositutions, infidelity, sexual sacrifices with the belief that it brings about divine favour, blessings and/or a new and higher level of spirituality, sexual fertility rites etcetera.

If not obvious, then strain the eyes, you'll see metaphors used in the bible, that depicts the feminine side of God too. It might be the way the world was when the bible was written and that is because it was a patriarchal world then

Not some empthy but the world needs all the empathy and compassion
cc Ranchhoddas, frosbel2

Ranchhoddas:
Ehn ehn...
Empathy is not a Christian thing.
"Do to others as you'd have them do you" is universal.

MuttleyLaff:
It is reality Ranchhoddas

Rachhhoddas, compassion cuts right through Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, New Age, Heathenism, ATR etcetera

Tell Ranchhoddas, do you ever ask about someone's belief or unbelief first, before offering them help or assistance?
Do you ever first, ask about someone's belief or unbelief before extending your compassion to them, especially when in time of need?
Do you ask them first before helping, if they are a buddist, muslim, atheist or ATR practioner? No, I dont think you or anyone with the right thinking does. That is what we all are expected to do, an act like that is pure, true and you cant fault it. It is the religion that gives the person practising it, a free pass into the kingdom

Reading about it in the bible sure is comforting and certainly makes one feel right

MuttleyLaff:


Ehn ehn... you're getting me now
"Do to others as you'd have them do you" is all about doing not what is evil, doing not what is wicked. It is about doing good, it is about empathy and/or compassion. The giving or showing of, has no barrier, no predijuce, no discrimination, no hatery, no etcetera

Ranchhoddas:
So if someone is doing something disgusting I should just fold my hands and do nothing.

MuttleyLaff:
Explain yourself, how do you mean disgusting, what exactly "patoo" is disgusting?

Ranchhoddas:
Disgusting is not an ambiguous word. What is there to explain?
Two men going at each other is disgusting.
I hate typing that. Don't make me do it again.

MuttleyLaff:
I will explain. Starvation, female genital mutilation (FGM), injustice, oppression, victimisation, homophobia, male farking his mother, sister, brother or vice versa oppression, poverty, marginalisation etcetera is disgusting than x-raying the privacy and lifestyles of two caring, faithful, committed, truthful, honest, loving, lasting that's life-long and loyal same-sex relationship, that has no detriment to another person, no betrayal of another person, or no cheating on another person, and not harmful to an object or neighbour.

Ranchhoddas:
Hmm...
What is wrong with an incestuous relationship if it fulfils those criteria that you son love to reel out?

MuttleyLaff:
Are you honestly asking me this? Or you are messing about feigning ignorance?

Yeah, you've noticed I love to reel out: "two easy going, ordinary consenting adults, minding their own businesses enjoying a caring, faithful, committed, truthful, honest, loving, lasting that's life-long and loyal same-sex relationship, that has no detriment to another person, no betrayal of another person, or no cheating on another person, and not harmful to an object or neighbour"

OK, notice "... no detriment to another person, no betrayal of another person, or no cheating on another person and not harmful to an object or neighbour" in the ending part of my remark. Of course, you know why incentous relationship was stopped by God, but if not, at least you know why science enlightens us of the harmful and unpleasant affect effect of it.

That son probably is a detriment to his father, betrayed his father and likely cheating on another person. SMH what a serial offender.

CAPSLOCKED:

RELIGIOUS INDOCTRINATION ON CHILDREN IS UNFAIR. IT IS A FINE EXAMPLE OF LEGALISED CHILD ABUSE.

Ranchhoddas:
What if the father is dead? What if the incestuous couple do not plan to breed?
Who are they harming then

MuttleyLaff:
God does not have any problem with two easy going, ordinary consenting adults, minding their own businesses enjoying a caring, faithful, committed, truthful, honest, loving, lasting that's life-long and loyal same-sex relationship, that has no detriment to another person, no betrayal of another person, or no cheating on another person, and not harmful to an object or neighbour. What was and is an anathema to God is sexual promiscuity, having multiple sexual partners, orgastic temple rites, temple prositutions, infidelity, sexual sacrifices with the belief that it brings about divine favour, blessings and/or a new and higher level of spirituality, sexual fertility rites etcetera.

If not obvious, then strain the eyes, you'll see metaphors used in the bible, that depicts the feminine side of God too. It might be the way the world was when the bible was written and that is because it was a patriarchal world then