Why Do You Remain A Christian?

[centauri]

God created us for Himself and heaven is a reward for obedience, hell was created for Satan and the disobedient.

Keep in mind that the Old Testament says no such thing about hell or Satan.

Your claim is based on Christian mythology that has no confirmation from the Old Testament.

 

Through Jesus we can be sinless and it is impossible to have a third option.

It's also impossible to have the first option.

Jesus wasn't sinless because he undermined parts of God's law.

The Old Testament never says that faith in a messianic impostor would save anyone.

Salvation was acquired by keeping the law and honoring God.

[the stranger]

Yes Valk, God is said to hardens his heart with the Hebrew word chazaq meaning to be or grow firm or strong, strengthen. It is used in terms like become strong, make stronger and strengthened. So you be the judge. Did God harden his heart or enable him to continue to harden his heart as he had so many times before.

 

Your words on the evil debate will be the last to stand my friend. I do thankyou for your thought provoking questions and comments. It has been interesting, even more so with your terminolagy.

 

Finco, hi. God does not predestine people to hell and in fact has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. However, though all can be covered by grace, God in advance knows the choices we will make but it is still our responsibility. please see the last few post of mine for further insight on both sides on this.

 

Mc daddy, we can feel the touch of God and feel His presence when seeking it though I know many here have already been in my shoes and now believe this touch was just inside their head.

 

Cent, great to hear from u again. missed ya. Concerning hell and Satan please check out Zech 3:2; Ps 9:17 and 55:15. Many others can be cited.

Did Jesus break the OT law or keep with in the heart of the law? Was David guilty of lying to the priest to get food for his men? Not according to the scriptures.

 

I will respond to older post in a very short while.

[the stranger]

Finco, good points on half and half formations. Truthfully, it was half joke. My point is one cannot seem to see any animals that I know of that are in the inbetween stages of evelution. I also know that many claim evelution is based on common incesteries or the same basics and devoloped differently. What are these basics though? An orgism? I have not did the research quite yet on Ouroborus pictires and so I will not yet debate evilution until I again go through all with a both or all side aproach. At this point though, I am looking for proof of evelution and I cannot see it in todays world. I see things adapting, as we all learn, change, and adapt but I view this as different. I will give a deeper look into this soon.

[the stranger]

Cits, first, thankyou very much for sharing your story with me (again). I was surprised you read none other than the bible before making your decision. thankyou for your link. I know writing that letter had to be one of the hardest things you ever did. Thanks again. It means alot.

 

Now for debating. lol

 

A dog does not know good or evil but knows how to obey. He knows if he disobeys there may be punishment with no reward. So even without knowing good and evil, Adam knew in advance if he disobeyed he would die. (the cause of sin) He did not have to know evil to be held respobsible for disobeying. Do you see what I'm saying?

 

The promise land 'genocide' was not based upon not following the Jewish law but was a judgement for being evil instead of doing good. keep in mind people from a far and even before Israel was a nation worshiped God.

 

Concerning babies, it is about being judged for what we know, not for what we don't know. There is more to it and if you really don't know the apoligedics I'll b happy to share.

 

talk with ya later

[the stranger]

Born again, perhaps, just perhaps, your more on the money than I thought. I believe that God is real. Is God real? fact or fiction? You say fiction and I say fact, but you know what? You are right. We cannot change absalute facts. Trouble is, we won't know for site until after we die. If God is fact, and you were wrong, then what? If I am wrong, OK, so I lived a life serving others instead of myself. No one looses. Point being, even 'facts' are just ipions until proven beyond a shadow of doubt.

 

Talk to you later and look forward to more lessons. You truly are gifted.

[the stranger]

hi again Cents. see Isaiah 53:12 for a picture of Christ blood being needed for us in the OT.

When you say God makes choices for us according to the NT, can you show me what you mean? thanks

[LoneTarus]

Cits, first, thankyou very much for sharing your story with me (again). I was surprised you read none other than the bible before making your decision. thankyou for your link. I know writing that letter had to be one of the hardest things you ever did. Thanks again. It means alot.

 

Now for debating. lol

 

A dog does not know good or evil but knows how to obey. He knows if he disobeys there may be punishment with no reward. So even without knowing good and evil, Adam knew in advance if he disobeyed he would die. (the cause of sin) He did not have to know evil to be held respobsible for disobeying. Do you see what I'm saying?

 

The promise land 'genocide' was not based upon not following the Jewish law but was a judgement for being evil instead of doing good. keep in mind people from a far and even before Israel was a nation worshiped God.

 

Concerning babies, it is about being judged for what we know, not for what we don't know. There is more to it and if you really don't know the apoligedics I'll b happy to share.

 

talk with ya later

 

You know what? I would rather die as a rebel than be someone's obedient lapdog. If good and evil can be defined as obedience to God's arbitrary rules or not obeying God's arbitrary (and often contradictory) rules that he often breaks himself. then I will gladly be in the camp with those that disobey. making my own decisions doesn't make me evil. It's how I treat other people (and other creatures that I share this planet with) True morals don't need some magic sky daddy (who sounds an awful lot like a man that wants to control peple and not a whole lot like a real God) to define right and wrong in terms that = "do whatever I say and you will be in the right, but question me or go against anything I have said and you are evil and must be killed" Is no different than following a blood thirsty dictator.

[LoneTarus]

Born again, perhaps, just perhaps, your more on the money than I thought. I believe that God is real. Is God real? fact or fiction? You say fiction and I say fact, but you know what? You are right. We cannot change absalute facts. Trouble is, we won't know for site until after we die. If God is fact, and you were wrong, then what? If I am wrong, OK, so I lived a life serving others instead of myself. No one looses. Point being, even 'facts' are just ipions until proven beyond a shadow of doubt.

 

Talk to you later and look forward to more lessons. You truly are gifted.

 

Fear isn't a good basis for making any decision. and it does cost me quite dearly to serve your fictional God. he demands total obedience and that I kill everything inside myself that makes me an individual, that makes me even human in the first place. and just suffer all for a dubious reward that is a lot like being in a certain twilight zone episode.

 

God really boils down to this. and I would hate to go to heaven if I have to spend it with a being that acts in every way like this six year old boy in this twilight zone episode:

 

"Tonight's story on The Twilight Zone is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction. This, as you may recognize, is a map of the United States, and there's a little town there called Peaksville. On a given morning not too long ago, the rest of the world disappeared and Peaksville was left all alone. Its inhabitants were never sure whether the world was destroyed and only Peaksville left untouched or whether the village had somehow been taken away. They were, on the other hand, sure of one thing: the cause. A monster had arrived in the village. Just by using his mind, he took away the automobiles, the electricity, the machines - because they displeased him - and he moved an entire community back into the dark ages - just by using his mind. Now I'd like to introduce you to some of the people in Peaksville, Ohio. This is Mr. Fremont. It's in his farmhouse that the monster resides. This is Mrs. Fremont. And this is Aunt Amy, who probably had more control over the monster in the beginning than almost anyone. But one day she forgot. She began to sing aloud. Now, the monster doesn't like singing, so his mind snapped at her, turned her into the smiling, vacant thing you're looking at now. She sings no more. And you'll note that the people in Peaksville, Ohio, have to smile. They have to think happy thoughts and say happy things because once displeased, the monster can wish them into a cornfield or change them into a grotesque, walking horror. This particular monster can read minds, you see. He knows every thought, he can feel every emotion. Oh yes, I did forget something, didn't I? I forgot to introduce you to the monster. This is the monster. His name is Anthony Fremont. He's six years old, with a cute little-boy face and blue, guileless eyes. But when those eyes look at you, you'd better start thinking happy thoughts, because the mind behind them is absolutely in charge. This is the Twilight Zone."

 

 

[♦ ficino ♦]

Finco, good points on half and half formations. Truthfully, it was half joke. My point is one cannot seem to see any animals that I know of that are in the inbetween stages of evelution. I also know that many claim evelution is based on common incesteries or the same basics and devoloped differently. What are these basics though? An orgism? I have not did the research quite yet on Ouroborus pictires and so I will not yet debate evilution until I again go through all with a both or all side aproach. At this point though, I am looking for proof of evelution and I cannot see it in todays world. I see things adapting, as we all learn, change, and adapt but I view this as different. I will give a deeper look into this soon.

 

Hi Stranger, you have a lot of people to respond to here. By definition, no animal is "in between" one species and another. Every animal is a complete organism. The notion of "species" is a construct based on overwhelming similarity among a bunch of animals that can interbreed and produce offspring like themselves. They are not incomplete versions of some as-yet-unevolved species. On the other hand, one can say that the species we observe are "between" the species that used to exist and the species that will exist in future, but the "betweenness" is just a way of talking about where they stand on a timeline, not a description of their bodies. All bodies are complete bodies right now, except for deformed members within a species.

 

As to your earlier reply about God's not predestining anyone to hell, "we" on this website have gone around that topic with a series of Christians. Centauri, Citsonga and Born Again Athiest are some of those who have joined me in pointing out scriptural evidence. But even if God doesn't actively predestine anyone to hell and merely foreknows, has the power, and does not act, you are still stuck with the Problem of Evil, of which debate about predestination is a subproblem.

[★ Citsonga ★]

Cits, first, thankyou very much for sharing your story with me (again). I was surprised you read none other than the bible before making your decision. thankyou for your link. I know writing that letter had to be one of the hardest things you ever did. Thanks again. It means alot.

 

Now for debating. lol

 

Before jumping fully back into "debating," I recommend that you read the entire letter I sent my parents. After all, there is practically nothing that you are going to say that I have not already heard and considered, while there is undoubtedly stuff in my letter that you have not considered.

 

A dog does not know good or evil but knows how to obey. He knows if he disobeys there may be punishment with no reward. So even without knowing good and evil, Adam knew in advance if he disobeyed he would die. (the cause of sin) He did not have to know evil to be held respobsible for disobeying. Do you see what I'm saying?

 

That's a silly comparison. As someone else has pointed out, you don't torture a dog for eternity for simply disobeying, and if you could and did, then you'd be a cruel, sadistic jerk.

 

Now, read the two sections about "The Fall" in the letter mentioned previously, because they deal with a lot of things that I see no point in fully rehashing here. However, just to make a quick point, in the story it was the serpent's predection that came true, which is that the man and woman would become like God in knwoing good and evil. The death thingy didn't actually happen (they supposedly went on to live hundreds of years).

 

The promise land 'genocide' was not based upon not following the Jewish law but was a judgement for being evil instead of doing good. keep in mind people from a far and even before Israel was a nation worshiped God.

 

Here's a familiar saying for you: "History is written by the victors." That was especially true in ancient times. Though archaology seems to undermine the "conquest" stories, let's assume for a moment that they're true and that the Hebrews did come in and take over the "promised land." All we have about it are the Hebrews' accounts in the Bible. If we could also see the Canaanites' point of view, it would certainly paint quite a different picture.

 

Consider the way the 9/11 highjackers killed thousands of innocent people, yet what their people reported amongst themselves was that they had a victory against "infidels." It wouldn't sound good for them to say that they killed innocent people, so they have to demonize their victims, in much the same way as the Hebrews demonized those who were supposedly their victims.

 

The Canaanites had different religious practices from the Hebrews, but they certainly would have had defenses for their views just like you have defenses for yours. Their defenses may not have been any better than your weak defenses, but in their minds they would have been as certain as you are.

 

Concerning babies, it is about being judged for what we know, not for what we don't know. There is more to it and if you really don't know the apoligedics I'll b happy to share.

 

Yes, I have seen some of the apologetics on the issue, but there is nothing in the Bible that says that all babies go to heaven. Beyond that, not all Christians believe all babies go to heaven (Calvinists certainly don't). As far as only being judged by what one knows, then there is no point in sending missionaries out to tell people that they're going to hell without trusting Jesus, because such would not be the case if they would be judged fairly if they don't hear about Jesus. You see, all these silly little apologetics arguments just open up more problems. That's what you get when you try to defend something that is simply not true.

[Guest Valk0010]

Yes Valk, God is said to hardens his heart with the Hebrew word chazaq meaning to be or grow firm or strong, strengthen. It is used in terms like become strong, make stronger and strengthened. So you be the judge. Did God harden his heart or enable him to continue to harden his heart as he had so many times before.

 

 

Well I would think, the idea of enabling him to continue to harden is his heart is without evidence. Ya got to prove that is what it means rather then just read it into the text. It also seems to me to be a possible distinction without a difference.

[mcdaddy]

Finco, good points on half and half formations. Truthfully, it was half joke. My point is one cannot seem to see any animals that I know of that are in the inbetween stages of evelution. I also know that many claim evelution is based on common incesteries or the same basics and devoloped differently. What are these basics though? An orgism? I have not did the research quite yet on Ouroborus pictires and so I will not yet debate evilution until I again go through all with a both or all side aproach. At this point though, I am looking for proof of evelution and I cannot see it in todays world. I see things adapting, as we all learn, change, and adapt but I view this as different. I will give a deeper look into this soon.

 

EVERY ANIMAL IS IN AN IN BETWEEN STAGE OF EVOLUTION!!!

Every species is a "transitional" species.

 

Turn your brain to the "on" position.....NOW.

[mcdaddy]

Cits, first, thankyou very much for sharing your story with me (again). I was surprised you read none other than the bible before making your decision. thankyou for your link. I know writing that letter had to be one of the hardest things you ever did. Thanks again. It means alot.

 

Now for debating. lol

 

A dog does not know good or evil but knows how to obey. He knows if he disobeys there may be punishment with no reward. So even without knowing good and evil, Adam knew in advance if he disobeyed he would die. (the cause of sin) He did not have to know evil to be held respobsible for disobeying. Do you see what I'm saying?

 

The promise land 'genocide' was not based upon not following the Jewish law but was a judgement for being evil instead of doing good. keep in mind people from a far and even before Israel was a nation worshiped God.

 

Concerning babies, it is about being judged for what we know, not for what we don't know. There is more to it and if you really don't know the apoligedics I'll b happy to share.

 

talk with ya later

 

Also, we KNOW the apologetics. That is PRECISELY WHY we're not xians

 

 

TE APOLOGETICS SUUUUUUUUCCCCKKKK.

[mcdaddy]

Born again, perhaps, just perhaps, your more on the money than I thought. I believe that God is real. Is God real? fact or fiction? You say fiction and I say fact, but you know what? You are right. We cannot change absalute facts. Trouble is, we won't know for site until after we die. If God is fact, and you were wrong, then what? If I am wrong, OK, so I lived a life serving others instead of myself. No one looses. Point being, even 'facts' are just ipions until proven beyond a shadow of doubt.

 

Talk to you later and look forward to more lessons. You truly are gifted.

 

Pascals wager. Try something that wasn't refuted 300 years ago. Nice try though.

 

 

[★ Citsonga ★]

Born again, perhaps, just perhaps, your more on the money than I thought. I believe that God is real. Is God real? fact or fiction? You say fiction and I say fact, but you know what? You are right. We cannot change absalute facts. Trouble is, we won't know for site until after we die. If God is fact, and you were wrong, then what? If I am wrong, OK, so I lived a life serving others instead of myself. No one looses. Point being, even 'facts' are just ipions until proven beyond a shadow of doubt.

 

Talk to you later and look forward to more lessons. You truly are gifted.

 

Pascals wager. Try something that wasn't refuted 300 years ago. Nice try though.

 

Yeah, what if he's wrong and goes to hell for rejecting Allah? Tsk-tsk.

 

By the way, Stranger, I dealt with Pascal's wager in the letter I linked for you. If you have the time, I'd recommend reading the whole letter.

[Spectrox]

Stranger's posts are dripping with intellectual and moral cowardice of the most profound kind. Maybe I should follow my mother's advice and not talk to Strangers?

[mcdaddy]

I Also don't understand why he's interested in debating topics in which he, admittedly, knows very little about.

 

Don't bring a plastic knife to a gun fight.

[centauri]

Cent, great to hear from u again. missed ya. Concerning hell and Satan please check out Zech 3:2; Ps 9:17 and 55:15. Many others can be cited.

 

Each one of the citations is examined below:

Zech 3:1-2

And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.

And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?

 

Satan is man's accuser in God's court. That's his job.

God tells Satan to hold his tongue because an exception has been made for Joshua the high priest and he will not stand trial.

Joshua would be made an exception to show that God can forgive sin immediately if people will keep his laws.

There is nothing about hell being created for Satan or Satan disobeying God.

 

Psa 9:7

But the Lord shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.

 

Psa 55:15

Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell(the grave): for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.

 

There is no mention of Satan anywhere in these verses from the Book of Psalms.

 

You've connected Satan with hell and disobedience, for which there is no confirmation from the Old Testament.

Satan is God's servant and never disobeys a command from God in the Old Testament.

 

Did Jesus break the OT law or keep with in the heart of the law?

 

Jesus introduced a new blood drinking ritual as part of the new covenant, which violates the law against any manner of blood consumption.

The law is not to be tampered with by adding or subtracting from it. (Deut 4:2)

 

Teaching that all foods were clean, as Jesus did in Mark 7:18-19 violates Lev 11.

All foods are not clean and cannot be consumed. It's unholy to do so.

 

Was David guilty of lying to the priest to get food for his men? Not according to the scriptures.

What does the law say about consuming unclean food?

 

Lev 11:8

Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.

 

Please explain why teaching against the law is acceptable to God.

[centauri]

hi again Cents. see Isaiah 53:12 for a picture of Christ blood being needed for us in the OT.

Isa 53 is a metaphorical song about a suffering servant, which Isaiah identifies in chapter 49.

 

Isa 49:3

And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.

 

The righteous in the nation of Israel are personified (compared to a person) throughout Isaiah.

The gentile nations will come to recognize the one true God by the suffering, exile, and eventual amazing restoration of Israel during the expected messianic era.

God would receive glory and acknowledgment from the world, and the suffering servant (Israel) would be the catalyst for that.

 

Isa 53:12

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

 

The suffering of the servant is written in past tense, because the captivity and exile of Israel had already happened.

The restoration of the nation of Israel would lead gentiles to see that the God of Israel was the true God and they would repent of their trangressions, turn to him and pay homage to him.

 

Isa 49:23

And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

 

The suffering servant is a metaphorical theme, not a literal human blood sin sacrifice.

Using an actual human as a sacrifice for sin violates God's law.

 

When you say God makes choices for us according to the NT, can you show me what you mean? thanks

God makes choices for at least some people as evidenced below:

Predestination is where God decides ahead of time what choice will be made.

 

Eph 1:4-5,11

According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

 

As the scripture says, God determines choices for at least some people according to his will, not their will.

When predestination is in effect, it voids free will.

[the stranger]

Hey Zalk, just one last comment on something I over looked from your past response on evil. Heaven is also a place of free will, thus Satan and his angels were allowed to choose, but the difference is disobediance (rebellion) is not allowed in heaven. Adam chose without knowing evil persay, but knew the results of disobedience. God did not create evil, as evil is not a created thing, but instead is an effect or result of disobedience just like sin and suffering. I guess I lied cause I had to comment on those things. U can have the last comment for real now. It might take me just a short while to post on the Jesus facts.

 

Ficeno, Please understand it is us who make the decision to accept or reject Christ. To blame God is like your kids blaming you for their disobedience.

 

Lone Tarus, thanks for replying. You seem to place rebellion on a level with good decisions and respecting others. Jobs, households and life all have someone we must be subject to if we want to have a productive caring life. I know many of the rebelloius, and I don't hang with then because they only look out for themselves with no benifit to anyone, even themselves.

 

Concerning God, friend, I serve God out of love, not fear. As a kid, a level of fear (respect) is needed for a true Father son relationship, as without dicsiplen there can be no love, but love is the key.

About changing one's life, true, but slowly as God leads, only for our benifet as well as everyone around us. He leads us slowly from self to others. The scriptire u mention concerning hell being a place people are sent even before being born is probably based on misunderstanding Romans 9. Perhaps a bit later we can look into that.

 

Cits, thanks again for the letter link. let me go slowly and thourghly through your entire letter before I respond more.

[the stranger]

Hey cent. Hope all is good. When relating to the servant being Israel, how do you compute Isaiah 52:13 and 14. Also, concerning the pretense of 53:12, is it not in the same context as the last of chapture 52 and entirety of 53? Thus set in context, at the time of writting was still to be.

I will comment on the other scripture in a bit. Thanks for the verse.

[Guest Valk0010]

Hey Zalk, just one last comment on something I over looked from your past response on evil. Heaven is also a place of free will, thus Satan and his angels were allowed to choose, but the difference is disobediance (rebellion) is not allowed in heaven. Adam chose without knowing evil persay, but knew the results of disobedience. God did not create evil, as evil is not a created thing, but instead is an effect or result of disobedience just like sin and suffering. I guess I lied cause I had to comment on those things.

Its another case of distinction without a difference. Disobedience is a choice and evil is evil and evil is supposedly a choice so disobedience has to be evil. Your comment here is basically nonsensical.

 

Ohh I got a idea we could debate on, I am just trying to think of a clear way of writing it. So if you wanna wait on the jesus facts bit I might come up with something for you to sink your teeth into.

[RankStranger]

Stranger's posts are dripping with intellectual and moral cowardice of the most profound kind. Maybe I should follow my mother's advice and not talk to Strangers?

 

Yeah, we're an unsavory bunch.

[RankStranger]

Hey Zalk, just one last comment on something I over looked from your past response on evil. Heaven is also a place of free will, thus Satan and his angels were allowed to choose, but the difference is disobediance (rebellion) is not allowed in heaven. Adam chose without knowing evil persay, but knew the results of disobedience. God did not create evil, as evil is not a created thing, but instead is an effect or result of disobedience just like sin and suffering. I guess I lied cause I had to comment on those things. U can have the last comment for real now. It might take me just a short while to post on the Jesus facts.

 

Ficeno, Please understand it is us who make the decision to accept or reject Christ. To blame God is like your kids blaming you for their disobedience.

 

Lone Tarus, thanks for replying. You seem to place rebellion on a level with good decisions and respecting others. Jobs, households and life all have someone we must be subject to if we want to have a productive caring life. I know many of the rebelloius, and I don't hang with then because they only look out for themselves with no benifit to anyone, even themselves.

 

Concerning God, friend, I serve God out of love, not fear. As a kid, a level of fear (respect) is needed for a true Father son relationship, as without dicsiplen there can be no love, but love is the key.

About changing one's life, true, but slowly as God leads, only for our benifet as well as everyone around us. He leads us slowly from self to others. The scriptire u mention concerning hell being a place people are sent even before being born is probably based on misunderstanding Romans 9. Perhaps a bit later we can look into that.

 

Cits, thanks again for the letter link. let me go slowly and thourghly through your entire letter before I respond more.

 

If you had a son who disobeyed you- would you tie him up and burn him with a blowtorch for days at a time (or weeks, or years... or an ETERNITY)?

 

Is that what you imagine a loving father would do?

[antix]

With respect to TexasFreethinker's post in the Lion's Den, I'm starting a part 2 version of his question which spawned probably the most read thread on this site with over 41,150 views, and 1,576 responses on 79 pages. It was finally closed due to sheer size, but it seems a question that obviously continued to spark many discussions from many responders. Therefore I'm reposting his original question here in the Colosseum to re-open the question for continued responses and discussions.

 

TexasFreethinker's original question:

 

 

In the spirit of understanding (rather than debating), I'd like to ask another question of the Christians who are members or guests of this site.

 

Why are you still a Christian, in spite of the evidence and logic to the contrary that's been presented here?

 

What I'm trying to understand is what maintains your belief - on what basis do you continue to believe?

 

If you take a close look at why you are a believer does it come down to reason, evidence, a gut feeling, do you think you are hearing directly from your god, etc? I think most Christians would have to admit that there are strong reasons to disbelieve, but there must be something that is keeping you on the side of belief. What is that, exactly?

 

I'm hoping for answers more explicit than "I have faith". I'm interested in why you have faith.

 

 

I noticed a reply right after this on creation. Even physicists have a term for earthlike planets: GOLDILOCKS Planets of which so far the earth is the only one (of course no one knows about the other billions of planets), but the earth is perfect for life. Any slight changes in any physical constant, and lief would not be sustainable. Also, (sorry, just a faith thing). Hearing from God directly? Nope