How long do you have to beleive in God?

Actually it was a very accurate reply

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

And He is not "my God" i do not own Him. He is the one and only God.

I am very confident that on the day you stand before Him you will not be saying anything like "God, I didn't worship you, 'cause you're an a** hole."

Be honest your reply was just an emotional knee jerk reaction to fear.

All praise They Ancient Of Days

 

Log in or Sign up to hide all adverts.

Look at Job. He had no Scriptures to speak of, and certainly no direct consciousness(sp?) of Christ Himself. Yet he embraced what is known as the "general revelation" of God--that is, that God's moral law is written on his heart and that all Creation cries for a Creator.(As Voltaire said,"...but nature cries out that he does exist). Job recognized that he was a sinner in need of redemption.(Job 19:25) Because of that He had faith that that Redeemer would come. Thus, his faith in God was shown in the life he lived(Rom 2:7).

Now this whole thing is the hypothetical. If people in pre-Christ times acknowledged that general revelation and ran with it, then they would be saved. Here's the thing though, not many did. Rom. 2:8 indicates that people rejected this truth and instead went there own way, creating their own gods--themselves. People like Job and Melchizedek were rare, but it shows that it was possible. If someone were to stand before God with the excuse,"God, if you'd sent somebody to tell me, then I would've believed," I think God would point to guys like Job and say," this guy had as much evidence as you, but he accepted it, and you didn't."

Does that clear the water?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide all adverts.

I think everyone will be judged based on how they lived there life. I dont think that an all good and graciouse god would send a good person to hell just for not beliveing in him, it doesnt make much since. Any other way could be considered favortisim and what kind of god has favorites.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide all adverts.

Christians do not say that anyone is actually not saved because we don't know the will of God. As far as we know, no one but Lucifer has ever gone to Hell and although there are certain criteria for attainment of grace, we are not supposed to be of the opinion that we know absolutely that someone is damned.

Jesus, by showing proof to Thomas, showed that he was willing to accept someone's faith based on evidence rather than blind belief. Many people, myself included, feel as though they've been given proof once we asked for it. The verse "Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you" is essentially permission to ask God to show you the way. For many of us this means asking for signs or some other sort of proof.

Jesus, between His crucufixion and Resurrection, descended into Hell for three days to rescue all of the souls that did not belong there because they had been born after we had closed ourselves off from God but before Jesus had come to restore us to God. That includes the Maya, the ancient pagans and everyone else. It became Christians' job to get the Good News out to every nation and we will be judged more harshly for having failed than others will be who never had the chance to learn about Jesus. One can be forgiven ignorance, but one is less likely to be forgiven willfulness.

 

Fear? Of what?

An invisible man?


God is like a bad joke that won't go away.
It has no substance and is unwanted by anyone with half a brain.

 

It wouldn't be true belief. We believe in something we don't know. God is unknown. Otherwize we would know that He existed and we wouldn't have any way of achieving true belief (that I know of anyway).

The only way that I heard of, to come to heaven without belief, is through the law...and it's very very hard. I've heard that the Jews wanted a way to become righteous through lawful deeds (the ten commandments - sorry for eventual misspelling). Though because of our failure to do so, God has showed His mercy by allowing us to become righteous through His son by simply believing in Him. Though God hasn't broken His promise with the Jews, all people can come to heaven regardless of deeds, through Gods son Jesus. This also go along with Abraham that was said to be righteous because of his belief.

As I'm writing this from memory, if there are any faults please point them out - I know that what I meant with the examples aren't wrong, but if there are any factual errors then I can explain what I mean and maybe use another example.

 

Cyperium

Pretty close to the mark Cyperium. I agree with nearly every thing you said here. I'm not so sure that people can attempt to follow the law without believing that God exists though. Maybe you meant without belief in Jesus?

All Praise The Ancient of Days

 

It's the easy way out. It's saying, "I don't have to answer because I'm right, my god is right, and you're wrong." It may be honest, but it's cheap. And outlines the inherent flaws of religion.

And it is your god. There are other gods out there too, you know. You discount them because they're not your god. But others discount your god for the same reason.

 

There is not other God but the God who revealed himself to Abraham. and there are no other Gods

This is also true.

All praise The Ancient Of Days

 

Prove it, guy.

 

I don't have to

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

All Praise The Ancient Of Days

 

Then your belief is irrational.

 

As the law was written in our hearts it should be possible to follow the law without knowing about God. But I guess there is some kind of feeling that God exists. Love everybody as you love yourself, is the fulfillment of the law and I think that if we follow that law completly we would gain a good understanding of God, whether we knew about His existance or not, then we might realize that it was God that we felt all along. I think it is possible... I've followed some rules as a child which I later found in the Bible (I didn't read the Bible as a child, though my father is christian and I could have been influenced by his morals and rules - though this still shows that it is possible).

But belief will sooner or later be important.

 

Because you can't. So, I guess it's a fortuitous circumstance that you don't have to.

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

Wasn't Abrahams god his personal household god? I got the feeling when reading the bible once that his god was like a totem that he carried around with him. I can't recall the exact verse that led me to believe this. But, in this verse he seemed no different than the gods that his neighbors packed around in their tents as well.

 

How long do you have to believe in God?
Who cares? What, scared of going to hell? Overjoyed at the prospect of entering heaven?
What is life? A test? maybe, but a test to see how many souls can be crammed into the flames or the clouds?
I mean how boring is that? Oh, oh, how hot it is down here! what and I've got a pitch fork in my leg!
Or,
ooooooh, isn't it lovely floating round with the good folk and look there's the big man HIMself!
And that is the key. Who ever said God was a man? God is neither, god is IT.
With FAITH you will get so far, but to KNOW, that is when you can get what you want from life.

Get real, the life is here, have it now.

 

Good reply Cyperium

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

you are right. I stand corrected It is written into our hearts

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

All Praise The Ancient Of Days

 

1 Corinthians 8

1 Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. 2And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. 3But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.
4Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. 5For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), 6yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

All Praise The Ancient Of Days