Ted Cruz

Diabolical wrote:

There's no proof that God doesn't exist, either.

For that matter, where's the proof that you exist?

Here.

Pablo22510 wrote:

Diabolical wrote:

There's no proof that God doesn't exist, either.

For that matter, where's the proof that you exist?

Well, if he does exist, why doesn't he come into this thread and shut me up?

Here.

oceanhawk wrote:

why would he do that?

Why would he want to get angry?

what does that achieve?

Dunno. You're the believer.

Pablo22510 wrote:

Dunno. You're the believer

Trust me on this pablo, God is real..

I dont wanna talk to much here in Public!

but he is real..

oceanhawk wrote:

Trust me on this Pablo, God is real...

I don't wanna talk too much here in public!

But he is real...

Pablo22510 wrote:

oceanhawk wrote:

Trust me on this Pablo, God is real...

I don't wanna talk too much here in public!

But he is real...

No.

I know things

oceanhawk wrote:

Pablo22510 wrote:

oceanhawk wrote:

Trust me on this Pablo, God is real...

I don't wanna talk too much here in public!

But he is real...

No.

Pablo, trust me..I know things

One thing is for sure...if God is not real, when you die, you're fertilizer and your life was absolutely meaningless. Life would be a cruel joke of an uncaring universe.

But, if God is real. You might want to listen to what He has to say about your life before you go to meet Him. Because, if I'm right, and God does things according to the Christian Bible, you might seriously regret your choices of today.

It's the God gamble. Some people think you can bet on God and be fine. The problem is that -- those who choose that path -- tend not to actually believe the words of His Bible. They are placing a safe bet without accepting the truth behind what they profess. Such people are to be pitied most of all. For they would wasted their lives trying to earn their way into Heaven only to stand before the throne of God at the end and find that He says He does not know them.

For such as those, it would have been better to embrace vice and the hollow joys than to live a lie. At least then they would only spend eternity in misery. Not eternity in misery plus a mortal life of fake religiosity ... which is a form of misery in itself.

On the other hand, any person can freely come to Christ, accept His free gift of salvation, and live a life filled with a true joy and a certainty that God keeps His promises to resurrect us unto eternal life with Him.

That's no gamble, friend. That's a life worth living and a future worth waiting for.

Pablo22510 wrote:

Just popping in. God isn't real. There's no proof that he exists.

@Caesar once said that I was a nihilist: that means I don't believe in God and that I believe that life makes no sense. I still agree with that.

God is dead.

Diabolical wrote:

One thing is for sure...if God is not real, when you die, you're fertilizer and your life was absolutely meaningless. Life would be a cruel joke of an uncaring universe.

But, if God is real. You might want to listen to what He has to say about your life before you go to meet Him. Because, if I'm right, and God does things according to the Christian Bible, you might seriously regret your choices of today.

It's the God gamble. Some people think you can bet on God and be fine. The problem is that -- those who choose that path -- tend not to actually believe the words of His Bible. They are placing a safe bet without accepting the truth behind what they profess. Such people are to be pitied most of all. For they would wasted their lives trying to earn their way into Heaven only to stand before the throne of God at the end and find that He says He does not know them.

For such as those, it would have been better to embrace vice and the hollow joys than to live a lie. At least then they would only spend eternity in misery. Not eternity in misery plus a mortal life of fake religiosity ... which is a form of misery in itself.

On the other hand, any person can freely come to Christ, accept His free gift of salvation, and live a life filled with a true joy and a certainty that God keeps His promises to resurrect us unto eternal life with Him.

That's no gamble, friend. That's a life worth living and a future worth waiting for.

The bible was made by humans, thus I do not accept it as devine law. There is not a single shred of proof of anything, but of course they feed on this and call it "faith".

When I die why would I then suddenly find myself at the throne of god? And if he created me why would he not know me? Your logic makes no sense but I guess that works well with your religion.

And what proof do you have that our god is Christian?

I believe in that we all serve a purpose, and that there is more to life than just being here, but I do not accept some philosophy written by random monks two thousand years ago, and I fail to see why anyone would believe that bull.

"On the other hand, any person can freely come to Christ, accept His free gift of salvation, and live a life filled with a true joy and a certainty that God keeps His promises to resurrect us unto eternal life with Him."

Or I could simply choose not to give a **** and be happy and joyful anyways? Live my life the way I want to, trusting myself and my own capabilities instead of some god that was invented by another human.

Carl Wilson wrote:

Evidence that God exists surrounds us! There is almost 0.0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000009% chance that the people around you, plants around you, and animals just came into existence. BTW, I misses many more zeros, but would probably be banned for spamming if I added all of them.

wildL SPQR wrote:

God is dead.

What if we put things into a simple risk assessment:

What do you have to gain by not accepting god? What do you have to lose by not accepting God? What do you have to gain by accepting God?

No matter how small the odds, the opportunity is there to gain something unimaginable that you can't get any other way. Take it.

I recommend reading this to assist you in indoctrinating yourself.

http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/4-handy-dandy-tips-for-brainwashing-yourself/

Carl Wilson wrote:

Pablo22510 wrote:

Just popping in. God isn't real. There's no proof that he exists.

@Caesar once said that I was a nihilist: that means I don't believe in God and that I believe that life makes no sense. I still agree with that.

Evidence that God exists surrounds us! There is almost 0.0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000009% chance that the people around you, plants around you, and animals just came into existence. BTW, I misses many more zeros, but would probably be banned for spamming if I added all of them.

Now that's a philosophical question: Is my memory from a moment ago real? Or am I only imagining reality as I go? Is time real...or is every thought I ever experienced -- right up until the conclusion of this sentence -- just a memory that was instantly created by an alien force only a fraction of a billionth of a second ago?

That's why I don't like philosophy very much. Because no one wins...if they even exist. When people question whether God exists or not, they are just playing at philosophy without understanding the true logical methodology used by real philosophers -- well, the good ones, anyway -- in asking the questions and generating conclusions.

wildL SPQR wrote:

God is dead.

You are text upon my monitor. What's the difference?

wildL SPQR wrote:

Diabolical wrote:

One thing is for sure...if God is not real, when you die, you're fertilizer and your life was absolutely meaningless. Life would be a cruel joke of an uncaring universe.

But, if God is real. You might want to listen to what He has to say about your life before you go to meet Him. Because, if I'm right, and God does things according to the Christian Bible, you might seriously regret your choices of today.

That's no gamble, friend. That's a life worth living and a future worth waiting for.

But if god is real, why does that mean there is a heaven? Heaven is an invention by weak people who are so inferior and afraid of death, that they created an afterlife.. Muslims are even more generous with the afterlife goodies, so why not be Muslim instead?

The bible was made by humans, thus I do not accept it as devine law. There is not a single shred of proof of anything, but of course they feed on this and call it "faith".

When I die why would I then suddenly find myself at the throne of god? And if he created me why would he not know me? Your logic makes no sense but I guess that works well with your religion.

And what proof do you have that our god is Christian?

I believe in that we all serve a purpose, and that there is more to life than just being here, but I do not accept some philosophy written by random monks two thousand years ago, and I fail to see why anyone would believe that bull.

"On the other hand, any person can freely come to Christ, accept His free gift of salvation, and live a life filled with a true joy and a certainty that God keeps His promises to resurrect us unto eternal life with Him."

Christians only believe in Heaven because the Bible tells us there is Heaven. Other ideas about the afterlife are handed down by their originating cultures since the concept was taught to the whole society of humanity at Babel. And when the Lord scattered the tribes and scattered their languages, those stories would be handed down -- each with a different twist (based on how far from understanding God they were) just like the epic of Noah was handed down throughout most human cultures as seemingly disparate as the Mayans were to the Hindus. All major people groups of antiquity have flood epics in their cultural founding teachings. The same is true of the afterlife. Were they all "weak"?

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You are right in that it takes faith to believe in something. I have faith that God wrote the Bible through the hands of men (except in two separate cases -- well three, actually) but He inspired them with what to say. It is the concept that the Word of God is actually a part of God that sells it for me. Jesus was called the "Word" and He said that the words of the Holy texts were His even before He was "born". You can doubt that all you want. But I believe it.

When I read the Bible, I see the colorings of people's writing styles and their hand in it that way. But when I read the Word of God, the Holy Spirit of God in me is showing me how those words on the page are God talking to me. God talks through men via prophecy and via the Bible. There may even be other scriptural works out there that were dis-included from or never included in the Bible that actually are the Word of God, also.

But I know with certainty that the Bible in it's current form is the inspired work of God as He is it's author and that it is a part of Him. Jesus said that His words (meaning the Gospel) and His wounds from the crucifixion would remain until after the end times -- and that which was prophesied -- are completed.

You don't understand faith. It isn't believing something because of proof. It isn't believing something and then inventing proof. It is having a deep and spiritually moving connection with something -- or someone -- that is its own proof. Faith -- true faith -- is proof in the spirit. Until you experience this for yourself, you can't understand the reality of it.

That is sad for you. I really hope you experience real faith one day. But I also believe that real faith only truly overcomes all doubt when it isn't seared with a false fanaticism. Thus Muslims, for example, may have a faith, but it isn't true faith in the way that I understand faith to be. In other words, it is only by the one true God, do I experience real faith.

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When you die, you will face the throne of God. Of this I have no doubt. You may doubt it until you are kneeling before that throne ("...every knee shall bow ... every tongue shall confess to God."), but you will believe then. When God says that He doesn't know you, He doesn't mean that He doesn't know who you are. But rather, it is like a stranger in the family. When He says He doesn't know you, it is like unto the way when a woman says to her husband she doesn't know him because he cheated on her...that he rejected her and betrayed her.

That's how God feels about all of us. When we rebel in sin against Him, He is hurt because He loves us unconditionally. But in spite of that unconditional love, He allows us to choose to separate ourselves from Him in the fires of Hell. And, as I said in another post, the fires are our natural perception to a complete separation from Him and without Him sustaining us as He is currently doing now.

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Actually, even by your assertion -- that there is no god -- the Bible wasn't written by monks but transcribed by Jewish scribes (not the same) from earlier texts. Also, many of the text were far older than 2000 years even by a non-believer's standard. Most of the old testament (as it is understood today) was written about 2800 years ago by a whole series of scribes working under the authority of the kings of Israel and Judah.

The manual histories of those two kingdoms is well documented by independent sources and by archaeology. The history of the Holy Land under Roman rule is also well documented by independent sources even just from Roman legal documents.

Actually, even some records of the history of the family of Israel -- before the nation itself was founded -- were recorded -- in part -- in records of the Sumerians, Egyptians, Hittites, and Babylonians.

For a better understanding of my faith, feel free to review what I espouse in this other thread. I put together a primer for anyone who actually wants to know what I mean when I speak about such things.

"That is sad for you. I really hope you experience real faith one day. But I also believe that real faith only truly overcomes all doubt when it isn't seared with a false fanaticism.

I have faith in myself, those I love, the great teachers I've had, the great friends I've had and have, those that have died but live on through me and others. This is just as real as anything you have faith in and when types like yourself start going after the man instead of the ball it shows how malicious your motives are.

I don't need a superficial god more than I need a kick in my teeth and I don't need you to pity me, just because I reject religion. I pity you for contructing your whole life on those lies. Religion and greed are the worst evils in our world and they often go hand in hand.

"Thus Muslims, for example, may have a faith, but it isn't true faith in the way that I understand faith to be. In other words, it is only by the one true God, do I experience real faith."

Just goes to show that you don't have respect for anything else than your own beliefs. People that know how to emphatize and understand others go much further in life.

The bible is just a series of great stories with good morale(s) and symbolisms, it's not the word of god more than a greentext on reddit is.

wildL SPQR wrote:

"That is sad for you. I really hope you experience real faith one day. But I also believe that real faith only truly overcomes all doubt when it isn't seared with a false fanaticism.

I have faith in myself, those I love, the great teachers I've had, the great friends I've had and have, those that have died but live on through me and others. This is just as real as anything you have faith in and when types like yourself start going after the man instead of the ball it shows how malicious your motives are.

I don't need a superficial god more than I need a kick in my teeth and I don't need you to pity me, just because I reject religion. I pity you for contructing your whole life on those lies. Religion and greed are the worst evils in our world and they often go hand in hand.

You say you have faith in yourself. But how can you have faith in what is temporal? The physical world as you and I understand it is temporary. Our lives on earth, as it now is, is temporary. The people we love and admire are temporarily a part of our lives. The difference between you and me is that the temporary nature of the world is longer lasting from your worldview. The difference between you and me is that you don't share a hope in reunion with past loved ones in the afterlife.

I have no malicious intent. My religion is not evil. I have no desire to hurt others or to kill them. I want to save them from a certain death and a certain eternal punishment. The difference between you and me is that I actually want to help you, not mock you.

Most atheists and some agnostics spend an inordinate amount of time trying to convince others that God doesn't exist. They make it their mission in life to make others think that life is meaningless. They try desperately to convince others that their hope is not a real hope and that they are wasting their time. They are trying to make sure that others share in their misery. Were I in those shoes, I would be desperately seeking answers...not trying to destroy others.

What's the point in saying there is no God? Why declare yourself fine without a god. Why insist that others who are trying to help you to avoid the horrors of eternal punishment are themselves evil? Even if they are misguided, their desire to help you comes not from a malcontent point of view, but just the opposite. I am one of those. I desire that none should perish in eternal fires. I desire that all would come to know the loving embrace of my Lord and Savior.

I am not accusing you of anything. But I've noticed that some of the most defensive of atheists often accuse Christians -- many of whom -- like myself -- that consider themselves to be good -- are declared to be evil and have sinister intent. But when asked why, they can't cite nor justify their blind accusations. It comes from a place of conviction. And it comes from a place of offense.

The Bible says that the cross offends. That means that the salvation that Jesus died on the cross to win for all people is actually a convicting offense to any who would openly reject God. And unless they listen to the Holy Spirit calling them to salvation, they will continue to be defensive, accusatory, and "offended" by people like myself.

The past 2000 years of history are replete with countless examples where Christians have been ridiculed, mocked, shamed, banished, imprisoned, and even put to death because they refused to reject their Savior. Persecution comes in many forms. And we Christians are instructed by God to be witnesses of His Gospel and to spread word of it and of Him to every nation, tribe, and tongue. But we were warned that -- along the way -- we would encounter opposition even unto death.

I am criticized. I am mocked. I am ridiculed. I am treated by some as evil by people who would call evil good while good they call evil. Am I saint? You bet I am! Not because of anything wonderful I have done. I am a sinner just as much as any of you. The difference is that I'm forgiven because I've accepted that free gift of salvation. Do I still sin? Sometimes, yes. Do I want to sin? Of course not. Am I perfect? Absolutely not. But am I righteous? Yes. I am a saint because my wretchedness is covered by the purifying blood of Jesus Christ poured out upon that cross.

Is this me being high and mighty? No. I am lower than a worm. I am worst than you if I dare to say one thing about myself as being superior. No, I'm an ordinary man who loves the Lord. I love Him because He first loved me. Ironically, to quote Alanis Morissette, "I'm a sinner and a saint." But not because of anything I did. All I've ever accomplished for the Kingdom of God is to accept His salvation and then just to try to live up to the standard that He expects of me.

There isn't one thing I can do to earn my way into Heaven. You and I are on an equal footing there. The difference between you and me is that I choose to believe in Him. I have accepted Him. And I'm looking forward to meeting God in person one day -- as a saved member of the family of God.

I sincerely hope you will too. I guess that makes me evil.

wildL SPQR wrote:

wildL SPQR wrote:

"Thus Muslims, for example, may have a faith, but it isn't true faith in the way that I understand faith to be. In other words, it is only by the one true God, do I experience real faith."

Just goes to show that you don't have respect for anything else than your own beliefs. People that know how to emphatize and understand others go much further in life.

I can certainly respect another's beliefs. That doesn't mean that I have to endorse those beliefs. I do believe that there is no other name under Heaven by which man must be saved. Acknowledging the truth as I believe it to be does not make me lacking in respect for others. It does, however, give me a good reason to look at those others with "God glasses". When I look at you through the eyes of God, I don't see an opponent or an enemy. I only see a victim of Satan's machinations.

I choose to call myself "Diabolical" in Call of War. The name is actually anathema to most people's idea of holiness. But I, ironically, chose it for two reasons. The first is that it was not taken and I've known other players in other games in the distant past that chose radically cool names like this for their monikers. So I count myself lucky to have scored it. The second reason I chose "Diabolical" for myself is that I put the twist to the definition. The literal meaning of diabolical has nothing to do with good or evil. Rather, it has to do with strategy and craftiness.

The most ironic part about that second part is that the Devil is thought to be very crafty and it is because of his machinations (as I mentioned above) that he is sometimes called diabolical in passing. But the word isn't a description of evil, it's a description of one who is creative and strategically-minded. Satan happens to be that way. But so too are many of us humans. The truth is, many of society's greatest inventors could be considered to be diabolical. Many of America's greatest noble generals could be seen as diabolical. I see myself as particularly skilled at strategy. So I am "Diabolical".

Now, to get back from that slight tangent, I find it fascinating how many people I encounter in this game who are surprised to find out the type of person that I am after knowing me first only as Diabolical. It turns out to be a good ice breaker in conversations.

As for empathy, I try to look at you and others with those God glasses. I don't see happiness where it is professed. I see people who are lost. I see people who try to fill a God-sized hole in their lives with aimless witticisms, substitutionary idolizations, obsessive amoral choices, or addictive vices. I see some individuals -- like yourself -- who actively attempt to hurt the faithful in some way. I see some who are so scarred by trauma or even their own bad choices that they are to be the most pitied and are truly lost so much so that they don't even bother to espouse atheism even though they don't believe in God.

I don't know you. But what I do know of you I learn by what I've observed of what you've typed.

I do want you to come to Christ. Clearly you aren't ready. You may never be. But I say a prayer for you that you will listen to that still small voice calling to you from the ether. God won't announce Himself to you with a great revelation from the clouds. He won't shake the mountains and cry out your names. You would hate Him if He did. No, God is calling for you from a tiny space in your soul begging you to open the door to your heart.

Stop persecuting others. Even if it is just in mocking their faith. Repent of whatever wrongdoings that you have done in your life and believe on Jesus. Call on His name and accept His free gift of salvation. There is nothing more I can say to you now that will change that. He wants you for His Kingdom. Please don't reject Him further. But if you do reject Him today, maybe consider listening to His call tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then the next day...or the next...or the one after that. But, regardless of when -- if ever -- you do, know also that time is short. Jesus is coming back soon to gather His Church out of this world. Those who remain will face great tribulations and -- even though many of those left behind will choose to accept a belief in God -- they will not be spared the wrath of the Antichrist during those dark days ahead.

Don't count yourself among those left behind. Repent! Believe and receive God's salvation. And count yourself among my brothers in the family of God.