“We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.” (Romans 3:22 NLT)
One unique quality that every person who lives, has lived, or ever will live has in common: we all believe in something. What do you believe?
Two distinct categories of people are those who are theists – those who believe in God or a god, and those who are atheists – those who choose to believe there is no God or gods. We’re all on that spectrum, somewhere between believing there is or is not a God or god. Ironically, it’s not an issue of believing or not believing. We’re ALL, every single one of us, a believer…in something or Someone.
Where are you on that spectrum? Faith and trust are important words in the Christian Faith, but they are also key words for those who believe in something other than God. Here’s the deal: we all can’t and won’t be right. There’s a God or there is not. There is a heaven and hell or there is not. There’s an eternal existence or there is not. Where have you cast your life? Not your “lot,” your life!
My question, for all of us, is: from whence does that drive to believe, to have faith, originate? Theist or Athiest, we all are driven to believe, and, ironically, to try to convince everyone else to believe like us. On some levels it seems odd that people who strongly believe that there is no God are so bent on convincing those of us who do believe in God, that He doesn’t exist.
Yes, of course, I’m very evangelistic. I want everyone to know Jesus. I know He’s alive and well and living in my heart and life because we communicate virtually moment by moment. Even before He was so “communicative” with me, I still knew He was alive and real and have never doubted His existence. To me, it’s tragic for someone to leave this life without Jesus, so I’ve become very passionate about sharing what I have come to believe, is the Truth of the Bible.
But what confuses me is this: I can understand why believers in Jesus are so passionate and desirous for everyone to put their trust in Jesus because of the picture He painted for us of what awaits those who die without Him, but why are those who don’t believe He exists, so “evangelistic” in their efforts to convince believers they’re morons for following the Lord? What’s the worst that can happen? We’re going to die and experience nothing but “nothingness.”
In my mind that’s the tragedy of living without Jesus. We live in virtual “nothingness” to enter an eternal existence in which will be played over and over and over the reality of the life we wasted on earth; what we could have had but missed because of our incessant drive to believe something that wasn’t true.
Perhaps you’re uncertain of what’s “true” and what isn’t. To me it boils down, not to a philosophy or even a theology, but to a Person. Someone may try to convince me that I’m not married to the most beautiful, intelligent, magnificent, thoughtful, kind, compassionate, caring (there aren’t enough positive attributes with which to describe her), woman on the planet, but it will never happen because I see her, hear her, am able to hold her, love her, and be loved by her every day of my life. It’s very similar to that in my walk with Jesus.
Let’s pick this up in tomorrow’s post.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 
“We’re ALL, every single one of us, a believer…in something or Someone.”
the difference is that I believe in things that are supported by evidence. Theists believe in imaginary beings that they no-so strangely can’t show exist and they are all sure that every other theist is wrong.
“But what confuses me is this: I can understand why believers in Jesus are so passionate and desirous for everyone to put their trust in Jesus because of the picture He painted for us of what awaits those who die without Him, but why are those who don’t believe He exists, so “evangelistic” in their efforts to convince believers they’re morons for following the Lord? What’s the worst that can happen? We’re going to die and experience nothing but “nothingness.”“
The reason we stand against your baseless nonsense is that it causes real harm. Your sadistic threats that everyone but you deserves eternal torture are simply lies and the hate your religion spreads harms real people. Not that hard to figure out.
Unsurprisingly, your wife is real. Your jesus isn’t, and since christians can’t agree on their jesus, no reason to think any of you have any truth at all.
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It seems apparent that your anger has blinded YOU to reality. Jesus, on whose life the Bible, not just the New Testament, is based and built, was a REAL person, whose life is well documented through non-Biblical sources.
The “baseless nonsense” about which you speak – things like love, friendship, compassion, kindness, generosity, and many more, are unseen, yet, tangible evidences of things that can’t be seen with the human eye. You say “Jesus isn’t (real).” You mean because He’s no longer alive in the flesh that discounts the fact He lived and breathed the same air as you and me? The air He created by the way.
Have you never lost anyone you loved? And if so, are they now “nonexistent,” their lives “not supported by evidence.” That’s idiotic. And the “baseless nonsense” and “sadistic threats” are only harmful if they aren’t true. But will one day prove more real than the nonsensical lies you yourself are now seeking to propagate.
Save you rhetoric for someone who doesn’t know and believe the Truth. I truly pity you.
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No anger, but it’s common for Christians to try to claim that so they can lie to themselves and claim that no one has a good reason not to agree with them.
No evidence for Jesus, or any of the many versions Christians invent of him. The NT is the only source for this character, since the OT doesn’t mention him, despite the false claims of Christians. There are no other sources, only mentions of what Christians decades later from the supposed bible events, believed.
But do show these supposed “non-biblical sources”. Surely you can, right?
We know where love, friendship, compassion, kindness, generosity, hate, etc come from: the brain so they are tangible and can be seen since humans now can show what the brain is doing when people experience emotions. You still have no evidence for your imaginary friend.
Air is tangible too. Remember wind? No evidence your god created anything at all, but nice baseless assertions.
I’ve lost people I’ve loved. Yep, they are now dead and “non-existent” as anything but a decaying corpse. I have plenty of evidence my loved ones lived. You still have nothing.
Your baseless nonsense and sadistic threats are harmful if they are or aren’t true. Happily they aren’t. You have nothing but throwing a tantrum like a child, making threats when you aren’t obeyed.
Curious how cultists like you have been making the same empty threats for the last 2000+ years. Every theist claims to have the “truth” and not one of you can show you do. And Christians have the added problem that jesus promised that his true followers would be able to do miracles, heal people, get any prayer answered, and it seems that you cannot. I don’t mind being “pitied” by a fraud.
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🙂
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nice to see you unable, again, to show that I’m wrong.
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My goal isn’t now, nor has it ever been to prove anyone wrong. Debate doesn’t convince anyone of anything. It’s a personal matter that we have to work out based on our own individual journey. You’ll have to work that one out with the person in the mirror.
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