How Following the Word Affects Us

[justaskingquestions]

I've always struggled with this: if the word of God is our natural design, and anything else is simply a manipulative distraction put in the place by Satan, then why does following the Gospel feel so unnatural?

 

Here are just a few examples out of many:

If women are supposed to be subservient and inferior, why are the sexes equally intelligent and capable?

If being gay is so wrong, why are people born gay, and why do studies show time and time again that being gay is natural and healthy?

If pre-marital sex, masturbation, AND "impure thoughts" are wrong, then why is nearly impossible for anyone to not jack off or have sex before marriage *unless* they are asexual?

If feeling malcontented with your life is wrong, then why do most people feel the need to always better their situations and improve themselves?

If we're meant to commit acts of violence against those in our community who commit sins, then why do most humans turn physically ill simply at the sight of blood or gore? How can we be expected to follow through on stoning each other?

 

All of these guidelines are supposed to give us the best life possible, right? The life God mean us to live, right? Then why do they shouldn't feel so damn uncomfortable?

 

(The answer is obvious, but it's one that more Christians should consider.)

[Joshpantera]

19 hours ago, justaskingquestions said:

if the word of God is our natural design

 

Concerning a theological discussion, the above claim is untenable. There's no good reason to believe in a supernatural God, his word, nor design. So the gospel doesn't make any sense against observable reality. 

 

Whatever funky things are going on behind the scene that science doesn't yet fully understand, rest assured the bible doesn't describe them....

[justaskingquestions]

52 minutes ago, Joshpantera said:

Concerning a theological discussion, the above claim is untenable. There's no good reason to believe in a supernatural God, his word, nor design. So the gospel doesn't make any sense against observable reality. 

 

Whatever funky things are going on behind the scene that science doesn't yet fully understand, rest assured the bible doesn't describe them....

I was posing this to mean that it is untenable. Also I'm not sure if you're referring to the things I listed as funky, or if you generally are just referring to things we don't understand.

[Joshpantera]

1 minute ago, justaskingquestions said:

I was posing this to mean that it is untenable. Also I'm not sure if you're referring to the things I listed as funky, or if you generally are just referring to things we don't understand.

 

Things we don't understand like the reality of material existence, the reality of consciousness and other such funky issues do not lend any credit to the bible. 

[RealityCheck]

On 7/8/2018 at 1:02 AM, justaskingquestions said:

 

If feeling malcontented with your life is wrong, then why do most people feel the need to always better their situations and improve themselves?

 

I don't know how old you are or where you are in life.  I can tell you that following the word does breed an aspect of mediocrity.  This push to be content with who I was caused me to waste my 20s,  I'm now in my 30s and have to make up for that lost decade.  It's not an easy task and I would have been far better off if I never took up Christianity at 19 (deconverted at 28).  If you're younger than me, I implore you, live life to the fullest and pursue every opportunity you can.  If there is one belief you toss then let it be the notion that being malcontent is wrong.

[mwc]

On 7/7/2018 at 10:02 PM, justaskingquestions said:

I've always struggled with this: if the word of God is our natural design, and anything else is simply a manipulative distraction put in the place by Satan, then why does following the Gospel feel so unnatural?

 

Here are just a few examples out of many:

If women are supposed to be subservient and inferior, why are the sexes equally intelligent and capable?

If being gay is so wrong, why are people born gay, and why do studies show time and time again that being gay is natural and healthy?

If pre-marital sex, masturbation, AND "impure thoughts" are wrong, then why is nearly impossible for anyone to not jack off or have sex before marriage *unless* they are asexual?

If feeling malcontented with your life is wrong, then why do most people feel the need to always better their situations and improve themselves?

If we're meant to commit acts of violence against those in our community who commit sins, then why do most humans turn physically ill simply at the sight of blood or gore? How can we be expected to follow through on stoning each other?

 

All of these guidelines are supposed to give us the best life possible, right? The life God mean us to live, right? Then why do they shouldn't feel so damn uncomfortable?

 

(The answer is obvious, but it's one that more Christians should consider.)

     The answer is because you're doing those things wrong.

 

     If one is filled with the HOLY SPIRIT then these things are easy and natural.  It's because of the fallen state that they feel wrong and are impossible to do (or do correctly).  It's that spirit that makes it all good.

 

     Of course, in the bible, Adam and Eve never had this spirit.  They were simply without any knowledge of good nor evil.  And it seems you can really only get this sort of way after you're dead now.  So neither of these seems quite right.  But I *know* the answer is the Holy Spirit.  It just is.  Believe me (belief is also a correct answer for things).

 

          mwc

 

[◊ DestinyTurtle ◊]

On 7/8/2018 at 1:02 AM, justaskingquestions said:

(The answer is obvious, but it's one that more Christians should consider.)

I think a lot of Xians would wake up, or at least adjust their beliefs to something more constructive, if they had the courage to look themselves in the mirror and ask, in brutal honesty "For all the theorizing about what I thought I knew about life and about God... did it *actually* help?"

[Geezer]

The answer to the original question is that the Bible is literature, a collection of mythical stories with mythical characters, but Christians believe it's a Divine instruction manual written by God personally & delivered to mankind by supernatural means.

 

That makes it one of the greatest and most successful hoax every played on mankind. And as long as some people continue to believe the Bible is literally true & historically accurate the hoax will continue to survive and people will continue to believe weird and bizarre things. And the the result of that is that they will continue to live in fear believing Hell is a real place and they will most likely end up there because they can't ever be good enought to please God.