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Jusunlee.com Forums > Intellectuals > Spiritual Life > Deep questions about Christianity
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krnxswat
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Registered: Mar 2002
Location: New York
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Deep questions about Christianity

Deep questions about Christianity
The questions i have about christianity in most cases cant be answered through fact or knowledge. Rather, i wanted a discussion about the issues that still remain from the bible (also the bible itself)
here i go...

1. There are hundreds and maybe even thousands of manuscripts which relate to the gospel of God which have not been included in the bible. How do you know that a significant part of christianity or history has been disgarded due to personal preference or quality?

when i mean personal preference, e.g the Greek Orthodox church does not include the book of revelations in their bibles because they dont think its true. When i mean quality, the manuscript maybe in crap condition to interpret.

2. Before Jesus Christ came on the earth, all those people who had lived in far distant continents and were not given the chance to be preached about God - are they condemned to eternal pain and suffering in hell? ( this is the same with babies who have died early - for the bible says and soon as a baby comes from the womb of the mother, it has already committed sin, i.e committed sin through adam and eve. does this not mean that the baby goes to hell too?)

3. How is killing in the name of God justified - is it not murder?

4. God in many cases in the bible, helps the Jews to crush their enemies with his power. Does that not mean that every man that was killed by the Jews were condemned to hell? How is this justified if God is all loving, and just?

5. Anger in most cases is a sin. However when Jesus (who is blameless) goes angry in Jeruselams Temple of God becuz it has been turned into a market and gambling area - how is this justified? Is this not a sin?

Can u say it was justified because he was doing it in with righteous intent? However, cant u say that Jesus could have performed a miracle, or a sign to warn these foolish men and women? There are so many possible angles in which Jesus could have confronted the situation.

6. God is to be feared and loved, how can this be? To me, it seems impossible to love a God but to fear him also.

7. God has said i loved and knew u before you were even born. Now since God is all knowing, would he not know that the majority of humankind would burn in eternal suffering?

Personally, I would have rather not existed than to face eternity in hell. In the same case, why did he create people knowing that they would not make it to heaven. If God gave humankind the capacity to choose their own fate and choose whatever they wished, then why does God say many are called but few are chosen? Doesnt this mean God chooses who is going to heaven? It's like pre-destinationism, your path has already been set, all is whats left is for u to walk it.

Now you might say, wait God never said that in the bible, but what i have given is the general message that i have already read in the bible. I could probably find the exact verse, chapter and book. But it would take me a longtime to find it again. These questions have been an accumulation of 17 years of growing up in church. Personally I know in my heart God exists, but I cant get myself to be a Christian because, to me there are too many loop holes. People have said, how can u have the authority or capacity to understand everything on Gods level of thought. But, God has given humankind the capacity to understand what he has done for us, therefore we do have the capacity to understand why things are the way they are ( i dont mean question his authority but atleast understand the reason why he did certain things)

My thoughts arent really Sophisticated in anyway, however at the moment i cannot commit myself to what seems to me a hypocriticial and double standard religion.

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Old Post 04-03-2003 01:28 PM
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yOOnsk
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Registered: Feb 2003
Location: NJ
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quote:
1. There are hundreds and maybe even thousands of manuscripts which relate to the gospel of God which have not been included in the bible. How do you know that a significant part of christianity or history has been disgarded due to personal preference or quality?
I believe that the Bible is infallible. The bible's been around for hundreds of years. God guided the creation of the bible and made sure that only the necessary manuscripts would be included. If other manuscripts were intended to be included by God I think he would have made sure that they would have been included. Afterall, billions of ppl put there faith in the bible we have today and I think God would have made sure that it was correct.
quote:
2. Before Jesus Christ came on the earth, all those people who had lived in far distant continents and were not given the chance to be preached about God - are they condemned to eternal pain and suffering in hell? ( this is the same with babies who have died early - for the bible says and soon as a baby comes from the womb of the mother, it has already committed sin, i.e committed sin through adam and eve. does this not mean that the baby goes to hell too?)
I don't have a definite answer to this but this is what i believe. Those ppl that lived in far distant countries, if they lived godly lives and worshipped God (all countries worshipped God in one form or another), I think that God would bring them into heaven. Besides, when God says that the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ, i believe that what he means is that if you REJECT christ, meaning if you've already heard the gospel but refuse to believe it, THEN you are condemned to hell.
quote:
3. How is killing in the name of God justified - is it not murder?
Not all forms of killing are considered sin. Killing with malicious intent is sin. If you accidently kill someone in self-defense that isn't a sin.
quote:
4. God in many cases in the bible, helps the Jews to crush their enemies with his power. Does that not mean that every man that was killed by the Jews were condemned to hell? How is this justified if God is all loving, and just?
The jews are God's chosen people. It's hard to say that God condemned those ppl to hell. Rather, they condemned themselves to hell because they refused to follow the God of the jews and broke his laws. God is just because he punishes us for breaking his law (just like any judge would do), but is all loving because he sent us Jesus Christ to pay the price for us.
quote:
5. Anger in most cases is a sin. However when Jesus (who is blameless) goes angry in Jeruselams Temple of God becuz it has been turned into a market and gambling area - how is this justified? Is this not a sin?
Matthew 5:22KJB says "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment .. " God was angry when he saw the ppl at the Temple turn it into a market, just as he was angry when he brought the Flood. Anger is not a sin. only anger without a just cause is sin.
quote:
6. God is to be feared and loved, how can this be? To me, it seems impossible to love a God but to fear him also.
We fear God because he has power over us, he is Almighty. If we did not fear God, would we show him the respect he deserves? You can love someone and fear them at the same time. When i was young I feared what my dad would do to me when I went against him, yet i still loved him.
quote:
7. God has said i loved and knew u before you were even born. Now since God is all knowing, would he not know that the majority of humankind would burn in eternal suffering? ...
I can't speak for God because i don't know how he thinks or what his will is, but let's consider this.. Those that God knows are condemned to hell, he doesn't control their actions, he simply creates them and gives them the free will to choose their destiny. God doesn't "send" anyone to hell. Those that are sent to hell do so of their own free will. Predestination simply means that God already knows who will accept him and who will reject him. The path that you take is your own. You can't simply think that there are ppl that are destined to end up in hell no matter what, cuz that's just not true. They have the power to change their destiny. "many are called but few are chosen" means that although many are presented with the gospel and the means for salvation, few actually accept it. You say that God gave us the capacity to understand him but that can't be possible. God is above us, He is greater than us. Understanding him would be like trying to comprehend a 4th dimension, it's just not possible.

I hope that helps. God bless.

__________________
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but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

[ Proverbs 18:24 ]

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Old Post 04-03-2003 11:38 PM
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J-DraGoNz
Music/Multimedia/Lyricism

Registered: Jul 2002
Location: Orange County, Cali
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Re: Deep questions about Christianity

the answers in quotes were answers not by myself (most of them because i could not answer them myself, but from my friend(s), who has researched everything thoroughly and pretty much devotes all his time to this kinda stuff)


1) Well, there were about 15,000 Old Testiment manuscripts found, and 5,000 New Testiment manuscripts found. The thing is, all of these manuscripts were from different time periods and different areas of the world etc...and all of them virtually say the same thing (with minor changes in wording, nothing large enough to alter meaning). So when u have thousands of manuscripts taht say pretty much the same thing, couldnt you conclude taht it must be a legit copy of the original?

2) Part 1: (part 1 is answering the question to those from diff continents and such) "if you read Romans, it says God revealed himself through 1. Creation and 2. Human Conscience, so no one has an excuse
so no matter WHERE you live or WHEN you live, you can know God through these means. now a days, it's so much more convienient with all the media and missionaries. I can tell you story after story of this stuff, but in a nutshell, if a person SINCERLY wants to meet with, He'll in no way be cast out. that's in a verse somewhere"

Part 2: (this is referring to the babies taht arent born yet or are very young...etc...) "this is a misconception of sin. there's what's called an "age of accountability". it's true that babies are "born into sin" thanks to that prick Adam and that jerk Eve, but just because you're BORN into sin, doesn't mean you SIN right off the bat. When King David had a child from his adultrous relationship with Bathsheba, his baby died during birth. you know what David said? "He can't come to me, but one day, I'll go to him"
that means he's gonna see his son in heaven because that's where he is and second of all, children are seen UNIVERSALLY as a symbol of the kingdom of God in the new testament. Jesus said "The kingdom of God belongs to such as these" (Meaning children)
and only with a heart of a child (or something like that) can one enter the kingdom of heaven"

3 + 4) "first off, the Amalekites were a vicious nasty brutish civilization bent on the destruction of Israel, they picked off the old and crippled Israelites whle they were still wandering around.
they were twisted and mean spirited. God gave the Amalekites 400 YEARS to repent and if God let them live, they would have killed every single Israelite and if they DID, Jesus wouldn't, and COULDN'T be born. the LOVE of God is shown in the simple fact that God gave the Amalekites 400 YEARS to repent"

5) "First off, when Jesus got pissed, it wasn't because he FELT like it, he was angry because the CHURCH - God's house, was being made into a market
lemme explain
back then, people if they sinned had to bring either a dove or an animal to sacrific. Jesus was upset because the animal had to be "unblemished and pure" instead of accepting the animal brought to them by the "sinner", they turned THEIR animal down BUT said this dove they have at the temple is worthy to be given to God......FOR A PRICE. Jesus was mad because people were being taken advantage of and the fact that he sat down and made a whip of cords and knocked heavy GRANITE tables over, showed it wasn't just a compulsive, spur of the moment anger. it was because sincere people were being taken advantage of and that the "Priests of God" were misrepresenting God by saying their sacrifice isn't "good enough"

(heres a little humor on his part...haha)

but for only 2.99 you can buy this GENUINE AUTHENTIC READY TO SACRIFICE dove !!! you know what I'm sayin'?

6) "FEAR isn't just negative, Fear can be a GOOD thing. I'm afraid of fire so I don't go near it with gas. Fear can also be known to be respectful of: because you RESPECT fire, you don't come NEAR fire with gas and because you RESPECT your parents, you keep your curfew, do your chores, and go to school and get good grades. same thing with God
Dictionary.com says fear is "Extreme reverence or awe, as toward a supreme power. "
fears is not just to be intimidated
it says in the Bible OVER AND OVER AND OVER that God is LOVE
shall I mention the most famous verse? (John 3:16)
bible.com has love in the bible 865 TIMES, 504 times in the old and 361 times in the new
this means God didn't "evolve" from the God that ordered the extermination of entire races (like the Amalekites)
to the God of love (John 3:16) in the New testament"

7) yes, but he doesnt control that choice that we make. God gave us free-will. My geometry teacher gave me a good analogy . So say that there is a sphere, and God is in the center of that sphere. And say that our lives are lines on the sphere. As lines, we can only see whats directly infront of us. we can choose to be a crooked line and turn, but we wont know where the line will end up. But God, in the center of the sphere, already knows where that will lead because He can see it all.

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Last edited by J-DraGoNz on 04-11-2003 at 03:16 AM

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Old Post 04-11-2003 03:13 AM
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requiem
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Registered: Nov 2002
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I hope your geometry teacher didn't tell you that verbatim because there are no lines on a sphere, only curves.

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Old Post 04-11-2003 11:26 AM
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