What if my family, friends, and coworkers aren't actually blessed with good health? To pray for a continuation of their ty health would be very ill-intended. To pray for God to alleviate would also be selfish (by Christian standards) as it presupposes suffering, itself, is not a gift from God, but one He both inflicts upon the innocent and rinses from the self-righteous. why pray at all to your God if all is according to His plan? He doesn't need your approval or your praise if He is as almighty as you suppose. In doing so, you acquit Him of His supremacy.
Blake
quote:
Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On
What if my family, friends, and coworkers aren't actually blessed with good health? To pray for a continuation of their ty health would be very ill-intended. To pray for God to alleviate would also be selfish (by Christian standards) as it presupposes suffering, itself, is not a gift from God, but one He both inflicts upon the innocent and rinses from the self-righteous. why pray at all to your God if all is according to His plan? He doesn't need your approval or your praise if He is as almighty as you suppose. In doing so, you acquit Him of His supremacy.
They say the Lord works in mysterious ways... Take the Holocaust, for example, or black people.
Mattsanity.
quote:
Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On
What if my family, friends, and coworkers aren't actually blessed with good health? To pray for a continuation of their ty health would be very ill-intended. To pray for God to alleviate would also be selfish (by Christian standards) as it presupposes suffering, itself, is not a gift from God, but one He both inflicts upon the innocent and rinses from the self-righteous. why pray at all to your God if all is according to His plan? He doesn't need your approval or your praise if He is as almighty as you suppose. In doing so, you acquit Him of His supremacy.
To be honest, I don't see any pride in praying for better health for someone else. God doesn't cause anyone's ill health. He uses people to help others, and he'll listen to anyone who prays for another's well-being. That ailing person might get worse, but that doesn't mean God ignores prayers. No prayer is ever in vain, especially if it's sincere.
You're absolutely right when you say that he doesn't need my approval. He didn't need to make people at all since his relationship with the Son and Holy Spirit will always be impeccable from the alpha to omega. But he made us to have an intimate relationship with him, and there is nothing in this universe that is more important than a close bond with God.
People might forget him, but God never forgets them.
EddieZilker
quote:
Originally posted by Mattsanity.
To be honest, I don't see any pride in praying for better health for someone else. God doesn't cause anyone's ill health. He uses people to help others, and he'll listen to anyone who prays for another's well-being. That ailing person might get worse, but that doesn't mean God ignores prayers. No prayer is ever in vain, especially if it's sincere.
You're absolutely right when you say that he doesn't need my approval. He didn't need to make people at all since his relationship with the Son and Holy Spirit will always be impeccable from the alpha to omega. But he made us to have an intimate relationship with him, and there is nothing in this universe that is more important than a close bond with God.
People might forget him, but God never forgets them.
So, basically, if we're to accept that God created you, in his image, the holy trinity is really just an attention whore.
Silky Johnson
quote:
Originally posted by EddieZilker
So, basically, if we're to accept that God created you, in his image, the holy trinity is really just an attention whore.
When god created man he purposely instilled them with the desire to question his existence, just so people would talk about him for eternity. Any attention is good attention, right? :gsmile:
EddieZilker
quote:
Originally posted by Miss Pie
When god created man he purposely instilled them with the desire to question his existence, just so people would talk about him for eternity. Any attention is good attention, right? :gsmile:
Jesus gives people obstacles to make them stronger.
Blake
quote:
Originally posted by EddieZilker
So, basically, if we're to accept that God created you, in his image, the holy trinity is really just an attention whore.
You've got it all wrong. The dinosaurs were created in God's image. Humans were genetically engineered by Martians, after they defeated God and Her army of evil dinosaurs.
_Ocean_Drive_
Wow. How did I miss this thread?
Great debate / points. FTR, C of E Christian here.
Mattsanity.
Atheists and christians might not see eye to eye, but christians versus christians is nothing new either. Even I've questioned why pastors get a paycheck:
Originally posted by Mattsanity.
but christians versus christians is nothing new either.
There was a debate about this today in the otherwise reason-barren fields of my FB page.
Consider all the different sects of Christianity, there are thousands of denominations of Christianity.. Why? Because they can't agree about what the Bible says, and this leads them to adopt a variety of different beliefs.. Many of their beliefs are mutually exclusive and incompatible.. there are countless theological disagreements between the denominations of Christianity. And rather than working towards some kind of consensus they can agree on, the history of Christianity is characterized by its tendency to constantly split into different sects that believe they're the only true Christians, and everyone else is misguided.
And this means that no matter how you interpret the Bible, there's going to be some wit to tell you you're doing it wrong.. Well, if I am, there are tons of Christians who are also misinterpreting the Bible. Could you maybe work this out between yourselves before you insist that I'm the one who's wrong?
If I've missed the mark, there has to be a mark to miss. But Christians are all over the map, so I really don't think I'm that far off. At least, no more so than they are.
Mattsanity.
People tearing each other to shreds is a sport that Lucifer has enjoyed seeing for thousands of years. It really is absurd seeing all these factions in christianity, but what every christian has to agree with is that Jesus was divine and paid the debts of our sins. Any christian who disagrees with that is a weirdo.
srussell0018
Jesus was a human man who was killed for claiming to be divine. His bones might still exist, but that's it. You're praying to someone who has been dead for 2,000+ years. Doesn't that make you feel a little bit off?
I can understand people believing in God. I'm kind of on the fence about it myself. But believing that a mortal man who was born by a virgin who was impregnated by God, and then was murdered but rose from the dead, is completely and utterly asinine.
You know why these types of religions are so old? Because people have common sense now. You couldn't possibly invent a religion based on foundations so farcical because you would be instantly labeled as insane or at least severely delusional.
