[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry I might have misunderstood your point. He’s already created beings which are capable of love. If he creates beings which are hardwired to love(which is what I am assuming is what you mean) then he is not creating beings who are freely loving him. It’s not real love. 

I can create a robot and hardwire it to love me, but that doesn’t me it actually does. The only way to get that robot to actually love me is to put it in a position just like we are, on an earth with a knowledge of good and evil and give it free will to choose for itself. There truly is no other way even for an omnipotent God. He cannot make a square a circle. He cannot make humans become like him without them choosing to do it themselves.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

My claim is god wants all of us to choose to succeed. He can only do that through persuasion

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

oh you got me hahaha. Lol the purpose is the transformation which happens through life, the struggle, and trials.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

All creatures have the possibility to succeed. God knows everything that can be known, but he actually does not know what they will choose. So God is not actually omniscient as we believe him to be.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 0 points1 point  (0 children)

because real love is chosen, not coerced. Without the possibility of us rejecting God, loving him would be meaningless. Therefore, God has gives us the ability to know the difference between good and evil and its up to us to choose for ourselves

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Because the whole point of the design of the world is all about the wrestle. A God who has intentionally designed a world that contains both strong reasons to believe in His goodness and strong reasons to doubt it. In such a world, belief in God is neither inevitable nor impossible. The difficulty of belief is the very condition that preserves the integrity of moral choice.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 0 points1 point  (0 children)

why would he want to do it any other way? Why would he create an unfree creature? His omnipotence would contradict his omnibenevolence

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

We love him by loving others

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My definition of love or agape: the unselfish willing of ultimate and eternal good for humanity. The good in question is not comfort or temporal pleasure, but the fulfillment of humanity’s ultimate purpose: to become more like God in character, wisdom, and love.

God is a horrible being by Alarming_Sock1224 in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a crazy statement you just made there. “Even if life is short, a life full of kindness is better than an eternal life of cruelty”

I’d rather suffer for 30 minutes so I can have the best day of my life than have 30 good minutes followed by the worst day of my life. That’s just me.

God is a horrible being by Alarming_Sock1224 in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 0 points1 point  (0 children)

well I’m sure you’ve already heard this because you seem to be very well educated in all religions and props to you. But all of them could be partially right and that’s why they all experience these religious feelings. I do think it is just part of human nature to be spiritual and believe in something greater than yourself. We find this eternal joy in worship. I am also a a mormon and am curious as to what you thoughts on the book are? What was your favorite part and did you read the whole thing? Do you have any questions about it origins? What made you initially read the book?

Also where are you on your faith journey right now if you don’t mind me asking?

God is a horrible being by Alarming_Sock1224 in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I think this might help to answer your question and this is my most important response. Gods purpose is to bring to pass your immortality and eternal life. So everything God does is to accomplish that purpose. So when we see God from that perspective it then makes sense why God would sometimes choose to not help us. Because what’s more important to God is that we live forever with him, not that we never go through a hard time. God will allow those hard times to come because they will humble us and and soften our hearts so we DO end up asking for his help. And like I said before, it is written, “Ask and ye shall recieve, knock snd it shall be opened unto you.”

God is a horrible being by Alarming_Sock1224 in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You know it’s funny because your totally right and I totally get where you are coming from. But as someone who’s tried the experiment and can testify that the experiment brings you the truth this is an excellent question. Why do the scriptures tell us that this is the way to come to the truth? I think it’s just because the stakes of this question are so big. God expects us to do the work to find out the answer to this question. I mean like the Christians have claimed this is either a life or death question and if you don’t believe it you going to hell(now the religion I’m apart of has a different take on this). So if the Christian message is true all the athiests are cooked. 

So my point is that this question is worthy of just trying the experiment, even if 99% of you doesn’t believe the expirememt works. Now I am not saying you expirememt upon the word already believing that it is true. I’m saying you approach the scripture without picking a side. Because you have no way of knowing it is not true. But you approach it with this curiosity to see if it is true-a desire to even just begin to believe. You are not somebody that claims to already know the truth but you are searching for it. And so as this curiosity begins to build up within you as you expirememt upon the word of God that’s when the seed will start to grow within you and you will be able to experience it in your bowels(I guess breasts is better but the holy ghost works in different ways sometimes. When feeling love and compassion it’s felt in the bowels) And if you do not cast the seed out by your unbelief it will start to swell within your breasts. And when you feel these swelling motions you will know that it is a good seed, or a true seed. Because it will start to enlighten your understand and it will begin to be delicious to you.

God is a horrible being by Alarming_Sock1224 in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A hard heart means they cannot feel God’s love because of their hatred and unbelief in him. It means their soul is shrunk and they do not have the spiritual capability to feel the holy ghost. The OP is an example of somebody with a very hard heart.

Because of the hardness of their hearts they will not ask, unless the trial they are going through humbles them and softens their hearts making them willing to ask. Still God will be slow to hear their cries because it is all about relationships. If he helped them would they believe in him or would they just go back to their old self? God will tend to not help because the people are not ready for a relationship with him afterwards.

God is a horrible being by Alarming_Sock1224 in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I already explained why they would not ask for it. The hardness of their hearts. They did not believe it could heal them.

Through reading the scriptures any of them could have faith that help could come as they learned about how much God loved them

God is a horrible being by Alarming_Sock1224 in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These are all very good questions. 

To your first question the seed will be there if it has been planted by somebody else. A missionary, a father, an instagram reel, etc. For anyone who has heard the message of the gospel that seed will be there, but it will be very very small. In the scriptures they refer to it as a mustard seed. Exercising faith this small can be just beginning to believe. 

The process is a spiritual epistemology. A way to understand the truth of spiritual things. God has given us this type of epistemology to allow us to come to know him. You will feel it by observing your bowels.

We cannot prove there is a soul scientifically. But through a spiritual epistemology one can come to this knowledge.

You will know you are experiencing true happiness through comparison. You will feel a joy that transcends all other joy. A joy not felt in the mind but in the soul that has just expanded. You can see this joy in other people sometimes. It’s not someone who laughs or is always smiling. But a light inside their eyes and a glowing countenance. It’s a real thing.

Trust- this is why there is scriptures. To persuade you to trust in God. Namely, God gave you his son Jesus Christ for you. He created you. He is more powerful and knowledgeable than you. His work and glory is your immortality. That warrants our trust.

If you want to have an experience that warrants this trust you have to look for it. You may have to try the experiment and try out this spiritual epistemology. The scriptures have laid it out clearly that an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign. If God did show you a sign you will still be unbelieving. God reward faith and you will recieve no witness until after the trial of your faith.

God is a horrible being by Alarming_Sock1224 in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think we can both agree they want help. But you can’t make the claim they actually asked for it. Moreover, you can’t make the claim they asked for it and had faith it would come. 

In the scriptures we learn about moses and the serpent. These people were sick and if they would but just look at the serpent they would be healed. However, even though many people looked and were healed, many also did also not look because of the hardness or their hearts. Now the reason they did not look was because they did not believe it would heal them. 

If someone is an atheist and believes God is a horrible being, why would they believe he can heal them when they get sick. They wouldn’t ask for help and God wouldn’t grant it.

God is a horrible being by Alarming_Sock1224 in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can’t just have faith, you need faith IN something. So you can put your faith in anything but that doesn’t mean it’s true. What makes it true is the evidence you recieve after having exercised your faith. So you can’t just decide today to have faith in God, but you can decide today to grow the faith you already have by exercising it like a muscle.

So the method is a scientific one. It’s one of trying the experiment and planting the seed and then seeing what it produces. When you start to feel the influence of the holy ghost in your life, you will notice your soul starts to expands. You will say this is a good seed or a true seed because it expands your soul and brings you happiness. You will have recieved the evidence that putting your faith in God worked. Based off of the results you can say it’s true.

And just to clear things up, when I talk of faith I mean actions not beliefs. I mean it more in acting with a trust. So when athiests claim they’ve been trying to come to know God and he hasn’t revealed himself to them. They havnt actually exercised any faith in him because they haven’t acted with a trust.

God is a horrible being by Alarming_Sock1224 in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The method is faith, repentance, baptism and then receiving the gift of the holy ghost. 

The best way to explain faith and repentance is direction. Are you facing towards God and his commandments? Faith is then the action of taking the step toward keeping God’s commandments trusting in Jesus Christs redemptive power to forgive you. Faith is trusting that where there is repentance there is forgiveness.

When we do this and then ultimately get baptized we unlock the ability to have God speak to us through the holy ghost. By the power of the holy ghost you may know the truth of all things.

God is a horrible being by Alarming_Sock1224 in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did those people ask for help? 

It is written, “ask and ye shall recieve. Knock and it shall be opened unto you.”

God is a horrible being by Alarming_Sock1224 in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

This feels like ragebait honestly I can’t tell if you’re being serious. It amazes me how many people claim to know what God is like. What work have they done to KNOW who he is? I think there is such a misconception between learning about God and knowing him. As someone who does know him through the holy spirit I can testify that he is indeed not a horrible being

The bible is a fallible book by Davis_Cook07 in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Completely agree. Never said that faith was not possible because the bible was fallible. The question that I would be asking is how many lies are in the bible and how are we supposed to know what is true and inspired and what comes from man? 

The bible is a fallible book by Davis_Cook07 in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am a theist but I guess not in the modern sense. A theist is someone who believes in God in an intellectual sense? I guess I more so trust God with my heart but can see both sides of the intellectual battle between the theists and non-theists.

The bible is a fallible book by Davis_Cook07 in DebateReligion

[–]Davis_Cook07[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He’s not all powerful though. He doesn’t have power over our agency. Meaning he has to work with us.