Do Christians actually believe in God and the teachings found in the Bible, or is there more to it I don't understand? I thought the Bible was something you were supposed to take figuratively, but a lot of Sup Forums posters disagree with me.
Why do christfags believe in God?
Because God exists
Scripture is the inspired written word of God
But sacred tradition and the magisterium is also important
Most Christians just go to church because they're expected to. Very few actually believe it's literally true. And the ones who do are hated by the others because they tend to be the angry crazy ones.
Scripture is not a book, but a collection or library of books, i.e. You would read the psalms differently than the Gospel according to Mark.
I'm right here
Very angry and quite crazy
>Why do christfags believe in God?
Because their feelz tell them to
>I think God exists because I think God exists
Nice non-argument faggot
Worked on me.
>Because God exists
Yeah, but how do you know?
>Scripture is not a book, but a collection or library of books
Okay, cool, great, the question didn't change. How are you capable of believing these BOOKS at face value?
How do you believe it's literally true user? Do you really believe in Noah's Ark and the parting of a Red Sea?
But HOW did it work on you, is what I'm asking. WHY do you believe in God?
I read the Bible metaphorically. If you take it literally, the learning stops there. But if you treat it as a metaphor, there are layers and layers of knowledge.
Yeah, the thought of going to Church for the sake of community and bonding with your neighbors is a really comfy idea desu. Acknowledging a set of beliefs as values which can be followed, and beneficial to its followers also makes perfect sense.
Real Christians believe in God and the entirety of the Bible as the Word of God. It is true that throughout history there has been mistranslation of the Word and sometimes outright usurpation of it by various authority figures, but it has been in a state of recovery for the past 500+ years and will continue to be.
Is perhaps a more accurate truth around the corner with a new, proper, translation of a word? Sure. Such things don't generally change an overall message though, but better reveal the overall truth of the Word and how the books of the Bible interrelate to each other.
As such a Christian should do all that he can to honor God and the Word of God as we know it at this moment. All of that is prophesied in the Book of Revelation by the way.
>But sacred tradition and the magisterium is also important
For pagans, yes, I'm sure it is.
I honestly don't know OP. They all say they do but they act like they dont. And 50% of every gathering is gib mony gib mony you only gave 100k last year do you care at all gib... oh no...a hurricane... we must help them... open up your walletpussy for father...
Most attacks on Christianity are by Jews that go to worship on Saturday and try to convince Christians of atheism the rest of the week. Hypocrites all of them and those who follow. Why don't you ask them why they do what they do, it's not because they don't believe.
the astounding confirmation of the truth of the bible is the fact that each book, written sometimes thousands of years apart, is in perfect agreement with the other books, down to specific details.
Like life itself, it is impossible to know these things until you inform yourself. Talking to fools on the internet to see if they 'agree' with you, based on the small amount of information you and they already possess, will have predictable results.
Using the words 'figurative' and 'literal' is a distraction. Each word in the bible is part of the Words of God. Of course, there is more to them than your interpretation of reality or metaphor.
>Why do christfags believe in God?
Fear of death and cultural inertia.
desu none of the Christians on this board and Sup Forums in general genuinely believe in god. They're just projecting and falling of the Templar meme.
Not Protestants, they interpret the bible as they want, because that's a retarded liberal religion.
1+1 = 3 if they want it to be.
Fear of death? Oh look, a Jew reflecting on their own insecurities. What a surprise.
>Because God exists
thats what an atheist would say about his inexistance
>Why do christfags believe in God?
Some trust the dozens or hundreds of people who witnessed Christ's miracles and preached the kerygma in the face of brutal oppression. Some have had mystical experiences of their own. Others see God as the answer to the question of existence. (Scientific inquiry breaks down when you try to explain the Big Bang, and you get weird metaphysical headtrips like Max Tegmark's "What if math is reality and we're just an equation, maaaaan.")
Since there's no official body that can decide who is a Christian and who isn't, you can say some people who call themselves Christians actually believe in God and the Bible, and other people who call themselves Christians don't believe in God and the Bible. But pretty much any creedal or confessional Christian believes in God and the Bible. "I believe in God" is the first line in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, after all.
Amen, brother.
I don't think, I know God exists
I know God exists from revelation
An omnipotent God can do things like parting the Red Sea, but from a naturalistic perspective, it would be impossible.
The only reason I believe in these books, is because of the work of the Holy Spirit, and the affirmation of Christ and his church
Christ founded my church, who founded yours
But in order for an atheist to deny God, he must use the logic and reasoning given to him By God
why does she have to be smoking. wtf.
>But HOW did it work on you
Because she's young, in white, with wings and smoking.
A Christian is some one baptized in the name of the father son and Holy Spirit.
A saint is someone in heaven
The elect are those in a state of grace
There is only one Church, made up of predestinated true believers who are its cornerstone.
After menopause it should even out it'll be OK
This is the most gangster fable I think, it's why idolatry is ba'ad
Calvinist?
2 Peter 1:5-11 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Jesus told us everything we need to know about God, "Abba," the Father, and how to worship him and please him. Simply by treating each other with love and respect, "going the extra mile" for each other, and forgiving people who sinned against us, God will reward us for this. Some people interpret Jesus' teachings as being a living kingdom on Earth. He could have been speaking profoundly of a chance for humanity to live in a heavenly kingdom right here, right now, by following his teachings. We don't have to wait until we die to achieve this kingdom, God will give it to us right now if we all follow Jesus. It's really the most beautiful religion that anyone has ever invented. Jesus was truly the greatest man who ever lived, hands down.
>I don't think
You don't have to tell me twice
I agree idolatry is a sin
The story of Jesus as recorded in the gospels is about what happens when the Spirit of God appears on Earth, and is resisted by the worldly powers of organized religion and the state. Anytime the message of Christ becomes co-opted by religious doctrine or state power, it has already abandoned its roots, since at its core the Jesus story is about how those very powers will stop at nothing to subvert and destroy the Christ. Though of course they can never succeed - to those with eyes to see and ears to hear, the King remains enthroned.
Christ shows us that self-giving sacrificial love is the true power in the universe, not the top-down tyrannical brute strength of Caesar. Christ's earliest followers proclaimed "Jesus is Lord!", rather than "Caesar is Lord!" which regions conquered by the empire were required to say. The implied subversive question - who is making a better Kingdom? Caesar who puts people on crosses, or Christ who bears the cross in love for all? Caesar who dominates and kills all who oppose with brute strength, or God who raised Christ from the dead?
Why is self-giving sacrifice the ultimate power? Picture water. In some senses, the most submissive substance imaginable. It will flow through your fingers, fit any container you put it in. Yet nothing can compete with it for domination of the planet - it covers 70% of Earth's surface. It uses its power not to dominate like a tyrant, but to quietly nourish each and every thing that lives. This is built into Creation as a prefiguration of Christ. The blood of Christ is spiritual water, and those who drink of it will never thirst again.
>There is only one Church, made up of predestinated true believers who are its cornerstone.
mah nigga!
Matthew 18:15-17 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
Kinda refutes your idea of church
God is fucking bullshit invented by crazy idiots and enlightened fools to get the lesser beings to think constructively under the simple appeal to authority.
This is the closest you as a human can get to the objective understanding of god and anything else is irrelevant.
And you innately know God exists too, that is why you are able to think at all
Any mention of church in the gospels was likely added by early members of the Christian church. Remember the purpose of the book of Matthew was to bolster the faith among the early Church.
user it's something you have to find out for yourself, if you were genuinely asking how to find the Lord this isn't how you do it. It's an incredibly personal thing I think, meditate on prayer and listen for his voice.
Go read the gospels. Ignore the old testament. All that matters is Jesus' teachings. Go and read them, read Matthew. Then come back
Take that to its logical conclusion
Can you trust the scripture or not?
That is a very bad idea, a Christian should have an understanding of both old and New Testament
>Kinda refutes your idea of church
Negative. The church revealed in this verse is the local church, the expression of the unique Body of Christ in a certain locality. If you rewind a bit to Matthew 16:18 you'll observe a verse revealing the universal church.
Rev. 13:8 And all those dwelling on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name is not written in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world.
>Calvinist
Truly there are no denominations, only one church, so that's not a label I would apply to myself. People like John Calvin did play a role historically in the recovery of the Bible.
>being this retarded
There are certain sayings, acts, and teachings of Jesus that are absolutely historical. There's a whole discipline dedicated to separating what Jesus said, and what early members of the church attributed to him in order to bolster their own situation. The authentic sayings of Jesus are what every Christian should follow.
westarinstitute.org
That is very true. The ways in which the Old and New Testaments interrelate is incredible and of great importance.
>That is a very bad idea, a Christian should have an understanding of both old and New Testament
I could not disagree more. The old testament is Jewish mythology, and has little to do with Christianity as given to us by Jesus. Nothing in the old testament can be proven historically accurate like Jesus' life and quotations. Moses tripping on DMT is not part of any religion of mine.
Ayyy
The New Testament is a fulfillment of the Old. It's a question of context. That's some stuff that's a bit too complicated for a basketweaving enthusiast website though.
That is just your interpretation
If a reformed baptist sins against a Presbyterian
I.e. Saying his baptism wasn't good enough, which church would you guys go to to settle it?
9/23 passed and all of these christcuck memes were fake as FUCK!
I've been on the fence between Christianity (what I grew up as) and traditional European religions and now it's safe to say i'm a "pagan" Christianity is fear porn tbhfam.
Like I said, it is unfortunate that people choose to divide themselves into denominations when there is no scriptural basis for them. If neither of those churches are representative of the local church stipulated in that verse then the premise of that question is false.
...
That girl fucks niggers, check her Instagram.
>hur dur meh holy spirit is a reason
typical propaganda non-answer.
most christians do not know god.
as you can see from the commentary.
they're called blind faith christians.
and they're just as ungodly as all
that have never had a genuine spiritual experience where the reality around them manifests to god and clues them in on
just how perfect it all really is.
god told me the psychedelic mushrooms are closer to god than any christian/catholic/jew church will ever be.
let that redpill sink in.
Our ability to reason comes from our extra-terrestrial forfathers who injected thier cum into some proto-monkeys to have a slave labor force on this planet. THier sperm was too based and make the monkeys (well, most of em) to smart to be slaves.
>hur dur logic god made me and my whole way of life denies logic
addiction is a bitch
The Bible was written to be taken literally. It is the choice of your soul whether to believe it or not, but you should know the truth.
I believe in God because I've come in contact with aspects of him.
>aspects of him
you speak as if you are inside the business end of a glory hole
>written to be taken literally
then learn Aramaic you literal butt mongering faggot.
I really do believe that aliens made us from some form of proto-monkey. THe fossil record shows that all forms of primate had really fucking thick bone structure ...right up until modern man literally just pop'd on the scene. There are structures in human physiology that have zero precedent in the record. We also have alot of leftover shit from our monkey days. But religulous people wouldn't care to do a rigorous study of such a thing. They remain cucked by a magic sky jew.
lol. There are mounds of inconsistencies in the bible.
>thousands of years apart
plenty of time for cheating if you ask me. kill yourself you kike shill.
Christianity is all about making people scared so they submit. It's litterally what the governement does to the citizens, Exept the leaders of our nation worship and eat babies for a pagan bull god.
It's time to start worshiping our own (white) gods to combat this bullshit.
Christians god got us here if you really think about it.
Also if you get a bible with the greek translations it open up a whole new world of study..
Ex. John 21:15-17 Jesus has returned and is talking to Peter who had denied him 3 times.
Jesus asks Peter 3 times "Do You Love Me?" and I never understood Why.
In English we have One word for Love, BUT in the Greek there are More than one. So Jesus was asking Peter do you love me Uncondionally (Agape) and then asks him do you love me Brotherly (phileo).
SO, if you really want to dive deep, don't just go by the English versions but go back to the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages.
Christians don't really believe in God. It's just some shit to make them feel better than other people.
That's why they're such judgemental assholes.
Look at how Christians get new members. They put Christianity in 12-step programs to get addicts, they have people bring their kids to church to brainwash them, they go to foreign countries to spread Christianity to poor people (that's why they go there and build houses and shit. Fucking Ponzi scheme shit)
Christians don't approach non-religious adults and engage with them in debate because their bullshit, ancient stories have no fuckin' chance of being true and any normal adult can see through their shit.
It's a pathetic religion and I look down on Christians.
My uncle was a fundie. He was an alcoholic, did a 12-step program, and became a fundamentalist Christian. He was so fucking annoying to be around.
One time I was talking with him and his kids about genealogy and how fun it is to look up ancestors. I said something about how quickly a few generations going back results in a ton of ancestors, and how pretty much everyone is related. My uncle said, "Everyone is related! We all come from Adam and Eve!"
Hahahahahahaha. I didn't even say anything. Like... he seriously thinks all of humankind comes from two people. How fucking stupid can you be?
based. The true white worship should be of nature and celtic paganism.
..but all that jew money from the roman wars wiped out our true heretige.
>thinking you can comprehend the creation of space
>the stars
>human life
>"lol there's no divine creator"
Remember when humans thought Earth was the center of the universe? Good times.
Read it for yourself with an open heart and open mind and see if it speaks to you. You can't live on a borrowed revelation and you have to walk in the light you are given. That being said, it's all about your personal relationship with God, your creator, however you define that. I choose the bible because like someone above pointed ot, literally is only one layer. Go beyond to the metaphorical and it's layers of mind blowing stuff. Join a church if you want the community, but there are many different kinds, from strict discipleship to friendly coffee chats. Depends on what you want. Don't pursue out of fear or guilt, but because you know there is more than this 3 dimensional world and you want to know what that is. You don't need to polish up your flesh because God loves you right now, wherever you are. And HE decides how he wants to shape your character and what he wants you to deal with. He might be more concerned with bitterness in your heart than the fact you smoke a pack of cigarettes or weed every day. It's a great journey.
the true nature of God cannot be fathomed by man
He exists on some level, maybe as a deity in the traditional sense, maybe as an analogue for something else
I went through an edgy atheist phase in highschool as I'm sure a lot of people do, but what pulled me out of it was the realization that, if nothing else, God is an ideal to strive towards, a perfect moral center that has been developed and passed down throughout the ages by the wisest men of their times
of course there's much more to it than that, but that's just my two cents
>..but all that jew money from the roman wars wiped out our true heretige.
Yea. Don't remind me user.
>druids were B A S E D (unironically) but germanic and norse cultures should be greatly respected as well.
Don't you have some little boys to fondle, padre?
>celtic paganism
druids were B A S E D (unironically) but germanic and norse cultures should be greatly respected as well.
Fucked my whole post up.
The "take it figuratively" is a meme brought on by liberal theology, which is for people who don't believe in God at all but for some reason want to hang around the Church.
That's because god doesn't exist. It's all just a state of mind. Your "higher power" source in your mind. How you make yourself push forward and feel more at ease with the shittiness that life is. Jesus...religionfags are so fucking retarded
If you don't believe in god you'll end up like sweden, don't be a swede OP
except he literally doesn't, otherwise the whole world would be on their knees praying
most german tribes were celtic as well.
Fun fact.
The sacred stone of Baal is the very same stone that Mohammad placed in the 666 position on the Kaaba in Mecca.
>tfw you mention Mohammad and the capcha is busses
you have a good understanding of god.
and if that is what you strive for and seek
in life, you're going to attain it.
(the peak of your existence will be God.)
you'll actually enter and become god for a moment.
i was an atheist too when i was young.
i got a very surreal wake up call by the boss itself, nothing could convince me otherwise.
some people have spiritual experiences.
usually accidentally i think..
people that just think and wonder alot.
accidentally discover God. imo. (i did)
now there's only god. and not much wonder left.
cause when i go back to god, god will clue me in again on all the bullshit i didn't pick up on
and it'll make perfect sense like it always does.
the Eternal Life isn't a meme.
it's a true gift of God.
we die here.. enter god.. and play again if we choose to... pretend to be alive again..
and forget we've been dead the whole time..
and forget there's only 1 here. God.
see all this solid external shit everywhere
outside of our bodies?
it's god fucking with you. staying invisible.
when god reveals itself
all this shit around us alters...
pulls back the curtain... a peak behind the curtain.
and there's a fucking god there lmao
for real.
i never would have believed it ever.
until it happened to me.
and i was very anti-god
nothing would convince me of god..
except god itself..
and now i can hardly remember what it was like
before that..
i just remember wondering profound existential and philosphical thoughts alot more.. that's pretty much it....
now those ideas seem infantile to me..
honestly is sucks.
it's a blessing and curse.
when people speak of god i can tell if they're telling the truth or lying..
and i promise you all....
the churches and religions are filled with godless.
very few in the religions know god.
knowers stay away from churches.
there is no need to go to church when an individual knows god...
so what you get is a church filled with godless
people. fear of god is satanic. it's fear of yourself.
There are no gods, only the Emperor.
Sweden is being ruined by people who believe in God though
>But sacred tradition and the magisterium is also important
Christ said the opposite.
Matthew 15:9
>But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
But to answer the OP yes God exists, and he is a personal deity who I believe has entered into his own creation in the form of Jesus Christ, and that we have the preserved testimony of those days in the form of the Bible, by which we might be saved and be instructed in righteousness.
2 Timothy 3:16
>All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
2 Peter 1:16-21
>For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
>For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
>And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
>We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
>Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
>For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Now I know all of the faggot twinkie atheist retards are all foaming at the mouth and going
>Hurr you're using the Bible to prove that the Bible is true! Dumb Christfag!
and I give zero shits.
...
Atheists say God doesn't exist and morality is all subjective. Then spend entire life railing against God and chastising Christians for not conforming to their ethics.
Many such cases.
>Atheists say God doesn't exist and morality is all subjective. Then spend entire life railing against God and chastising Christians for not conforming to their ethics.
Suppose you're thawed from suspended animation 1,500 years into the future.
The first big difference you notice is that all of western culture including art, music, holidays, etc. are based on the life and writings of L. Ron Hubbard. Nearly everyone you meet is a Scientologist.
This is regarded as normal. Everyone was raised to believe in Scientology, and because they see it reflected in society all around them, it feels authoritative and credible. L. Ron's life has been aggrandized in a holy book and everyone gathers at their local church of Scientology for weekly auditing.
This seems asinine to you, because when you lived, Hubbard was one of countless similar cranks and cult leaders. Marshall Applewhite, Gene Ray, Michael Travesser, Jim Jones, any one of them could have inspired a following that eventually refocused all human thought and culture around their teachings, it just happened to be L. Ron Hubbard for whatever reason.
Nobody recognizes that it began as one of many cults and are offended by the observation. Anything you say which even hints that you feel this way is seen as simply calculated to hurt people, and you're shunned accordingly. This makes it difficult to get or keep jobs, while Scientologists gain opportunities by networking that are unavailable to you.
Those who don't react to your unbelief with reflexive hostility conclude you were simply miseducated in the wrong sect of Scientology, or haven't been exposed to enough Scientological materials. They direct your attention to the last 15 centuries worth of sophisticated apologetics written by the greatest Scientologist theologians.
Is this world acceptable to you? Would you not feel driven to undo what has occurred, simply for the sake of restoring truth and sanity to a world overcome by falsehood?
>christianity
>cuckholicism
The interpretation of the Bible depends on which part you're reading, but yes we do believe in God, the literal resurrection of Jesus, etc.
>Catholics are pagans!
>b-but they weren't pagans until after they compiled the bible, after that they lost all legitimacy!
How does it feel to reject logic?
SEXY
TEENS
LOVE
(((CHRISTIANITY)))!
Wow, thanks for these handpicked out-of-context Bible quotes that you've curated for us
>Atheists
That's what Christians call you when they don't want to consider God outside of a Rabbi and his Jewish followers
...
I see you only read the last line of what I wrote, butthurt Papist-user.
If I were an atheist I wouldn't actually have a solid ground to oppose this though. Saying
>simply for the sake of restoring truth and sanity to a world
is every bit as much of a subjective, personal preference as whatever it is I'm subscribing them as doing.
Saying
>I like truth
has no relation to
>People ought to like truth
>If I were an atheist I wouldn't actually have a solid ground to oppose this though.
You're just dodging the question here. It seems like you have a hate-on for atheism, and saved some anti-atheist memes. It also seems like you have anti-atheist arguments at the ready.
This suggests to me that you privately fear atheism is true. I'm not an atheist though, so I'm not sure why you're directing any of this at me. I possess a truth unknown to you.
Anyway, an atheist's preference for truth is exactly as arbitrary as your claim to objective morality, unless you can prove Yahweh exists. If you cannot, you're in the same boat. All you have is a hypothetical that IF true, would give you an objective basis for morality, and which you prefer to assume is true (but have no proof for).