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Originally Posted by Rockin' Flames
I never said that my choice is superior than others. I have faith that my choice is correct and if I'm wrong I'll suffer the consequences.
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Even by having faith that your choice is correct, you are still saying that your choice is superior to others (that your choice is the right one, and theirs is the wrong one).
As you say, your choice is based on faith that it's the right choice, which is fine I guess, but that's arbitrary, and I think is the basis for why religious beliefs are primarily determined by geography.
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Originally Posted by Rockin' Flames
No I still think my analogy is a fine example because by not choosing that is making a choice.
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In your analogy there's no universal negative consequence for not choosing, so it can't be a good example.
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Originally Posted by Rockin' Flames
Again I don't look at it as holding a gun to someones head but rather if I didn't tell someone about the potential consequences I'm doing that person a disservice. They still have the free will to choose, it's more the matter of making an informed decision.
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You aren't holding the gun in the analogy, god is, because god is the one that determines if the choice you make is the correct one.
And as I already pointed out you cannot make an informed decision, since an informed decision requires knowledge, not belief. And you even admitted it yourself, because you said it comes down to faith not reason!
Here's a different analogy: You are sick with a disease and you go to the doctor. The doctor has an injection that will cure you, and if you choose no injection you will die. He presents 10 different injections and you have to choose which one to use, only one will work. Oh and he gave you the disease in the first place by putting it in the drinking water.
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Originally Posted by Rockin' Flames
I believe what I believe because of what I read in the bible.
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Why do you believe what the Bible says vs. other possible sources?
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Originally Posted by Rockin' Flames
I know you want me to answer this question directly for some reason and no offense but I'd like to know why you really want me to answer it that badly. I can't help but think in the back of my mind you are wanting to try to trap me in something.
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I don't have a trap in mind about it, but when you were reluctant to answer I wanted to know why, so I pressed for an answer. Some people don't like to talk about the "you're going to hell" part of their faith even though they believe it because they are embarrassed about it, which exposes a flaw in their faith IMO.
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Originally Posted by Rockin' Flames
I never said that God provided me with things to convince me, rather I put my faith in him and trusted in his will and as a result things happened to convince me.
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For my point there is no difference between the two. You put your faith and trust in, and things happened to convince you.
Others put their faith and trust in, and nothing happens to convince them. Why are they held accountable for that?
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Originally Posted by Rockin' Flames
The goal isn't to test God to prove that he exists it really does come down to faith.
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Right, but the claim is that as a result of faith things will happen, but they don't seem to happen for everyone even if they have faith.
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Originally Posted by Rockin' Flames
My belief is that there is only one path to God. I will not waiver from that. I can't comment on if people from other religions say the same thing. I know that answer won't be satisfactory to you but I can't speak of things I do not know.
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Do you see the weakness in this statement though? It might work for you, but for someone asking deeper questions it is completely empty and unconvincing.
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Originally Posted by Rockin' Flames
See that's where we are different. I have faith that what God teaches in the bible is correct. Yes I know there are different versions of the bible (ie. New International version, King James, etc.) but what is said in the bible is essentially the same message.
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Actually I don't mean different translations, I mean different source texts. The original copies of the books of the Bible no longer exist, and the Greek source documents that do exist are a century or more older than when they were thought to be written, and the texts are filled with changes and differences.. out of 5700 Greek fragments of the NT, no two are the same. There are more differences among them than there are words in the NT.
And that's not counting books that were important to some groups that didn't make it into the NT which have different doctrines.
Even within the NT itself, there are different contrary messages from different authors.
You have faith that the Bible is correct, but really what you mean is you have faith that your interpretation of the Bible is correct.
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Originally Posted by Rockin' Flames
Bottom line is I believe what I do because of what is in the Bible and I believe the bible.
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And you believe the Bible because you have faith the Bible is correct. But why do you have faith that the Bible is correct?