Proof in a miracle
"Because of the things that I've seen and the people that have been helped by Jesus Christ, I am a Christian."
This statement bothers me, and I'm going to spend the remainder of most of this entry explaining why. Therefore, please read at your own risk.
I could care less which religion you choose to follow as long as you choose according to my standards. This statement does not suit them and, while I don't know exactly what my standards are and what religions I could ultimately find acceptable (since even though I'm open-minded I like to stay somewhat reasonable about these things), I can definitely explain what's wrong with this phrase. I don't intend to use formal logic to do so, either, as the connection is fairly simple.
How do you know? If there's a force powerful enough to work these "miracles" in this universe and whatever else comprises our existence, how do you know that it's the "God" mentioned in the bible or the "Jesus" used every day here in the intellectually choked bible belt in which I reside? Why is it that, should there be any divine entity or entities, that Christianity is the only path to their love, to their power, and to eternal salvation with them? If this divinity is as loving and benevolent as most people would like to claim, why would it care what you called it, be it "Jesus," "Allah," or "Yahweh?"
I'm reminded of my college professor who told me that such had influenced his decision to be a Christian. His concept of logic is flawed. He is willing to deny possibilities due to "logic" and accept others when the circumstances are nearly identical. It's almost as if he's brainwashed or something. Sure, the "ultimate reality" cannot have more than a few possibilities which are mutually exclusive when concerning the existence of God, but the many biblical contradictions only SEEM to be contradictions because God didn't tell us the whole truth yet.
So please, feel free to be a Christian, just don't base it on the existence of miracles. Furthermore, don't base it on what anyone else tells you to do or what anyone else threatens upon you such as eternal damnation. Do it because you truly believe and not because you've fallen victim to a fallacy of logic.
And if you're reading this, please comment, even if you have to yell at me for being a stupid heathen.
This statement bothers me, and I'm going to spend the remainder of most of this entry explaining why. Therefore, please read at your own risk.
I could care less which religion you choose to follow as long as you choose according to my standards. This statement does not suit them and, while I don't know exactly what my standards are and what religions I could ultimately find acceptable (since even though I'm open-minded I like to stay somewhat reasonable about these things), I can definitely explain what's wrong with this phrase. I don't intend to use formal logic to do so, either, as the connection is fairly simple.
How do you know? If there's a force powerful enough to work these "miracles" in this universe and whatever else comprises our existence, how do you know that it's the "God" mentioned in the bible or the "Jesus" used every day here in the intellectually choked bible belt in which I reside? Why is it that, should there be any divine entity or entities, that Christianity is the only path to their love, to their power, and to eternal salvation with them? If this divinity is as loving and benevolent as most people would like to claim, why would it care what you called it, be it "Jesus," "Allah," or "Yahweh?"
I'm reminded of my college professor who told me that such had influenced his decision to be a Christian. His concept of logic is flawed. He is willing to deny possibilities due to "logic" and accept others when the circumstances are nearly identical. It's almost as if he's brainwashed or something. Sure, the "ultimate reality" cannot have more than a few possibilities which are mutually exclusive when concerning the existence of God, but the many biblical contradictions only SEEM to be contradictions because God didn't tell us the whole truth yet.
So please, feel free to be a Christian, just don't base it on the existence of miracles. Furthermore, don't base it on what anyone else tells you to do or what anyone else threatens upon you such as eternal damnation. Do it because you truly believe and not because you've fallen victim to a fallacy of logic.
And if you're reading this, please comment, even if you have to yell at me for being a stupid heathen.