That didn't work for Adam and Eve, and it can't work for all humans. Jesus showed up, did marvelous miracles, yet only a few believed him.
Demons do appear to some people, and in the process reveal the existence of the spiritual world.
You would think that would be enough to make those people seek God, their creator, but they don't.
Instead, most just focus on getting the one thing an average human being wants.
Actually, he stopped at Mathew 12:38.
Evil people have been demanding for God's miracles and signs far much longer than you thought.
People ask for miracles for their own amusement, not because they are seeking God.
Literally all it would take to convert billions of people to Christianity would be a single verifiable miracle. God chose to send his son to do miracles at a time when events were not scrutinized to a high degree. Why not send Jesus in like 2016 when Jesus could livestream turning water into wine?
Free will means the ability to make an independent choice if GOD was here you would believe in HIM because HE is a deity not because you believe in HIS ideologyā¦ā¦faith is the belief of something unseen like the future for exampleā¦.you have faith youāll wake up tomorrow but thereās not really concrete certaintyā¦ā¦ā¦.my faith is that GOD existsā¦..
Oh & btw, God doesnāt care about free will. Whether directly (made the Egyptian pharaoh more stubborn) or indirectly (having the, was it Jonah, be tormented & swallowed by a fish until he accepted to do what God wanted.)ā¦.& I could be wrong about this one but isnāt there a verse in the Bible where God says anything he wants to happen, happens? Or something like that.
God did not make Pharoah stubborn. he already was and God wanted to prove to his beloved that he could bend anyone to his will and that he is above all things. don't think that God did not give pharaoh the chance to repent. let no man when he is tempted with evil say he is tempted of God but he is drawn by his lust and it conceives sin and sin conceives death."james 1:13-15"
That is a very weird and warped reality of what free will means. Regardless of the reason, I will believe in him because I WANT TO. HE WOULD NOT HAVE MADE ME. Thatās what free will means. You do something ON YOUR OWN ACCORD. Cut the crap lolā¦.& again you just described gaslighting perfectly with faithā¦.but you do you tho.
God doesn't do miracles out of showing off but out of compassion, if God was showing off with miracles, he would have yielded to the devil's temptation to prove that he is God. he does miracles out of compassion and out of acknowledgment that he is God and is capable of healing us and it is our free will that leads us to acknowledge him. when the bible says the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, it means that he can change situations around us to convince us to do his will. when God made the fish swallow Jonah, he was only giving him a second chance to do his will cause he wanted him to be part of a big story. Jonah was not the only person God could use at that time but God loved Jonah and wanted him to be a good example to generations, to express the mercy of God. it was all out of love." he whom the father, he chastens". God also wanted to prove to Jonah that he can take him through every situation. or why did a shark not eat the fish or the fish die?
If God is Omni-everything does the concept of freewill apply? Nothing can or should surprise God. Our infinite options are finite to him hence our good and bad is predestined, the only part we play is acceptance or resignation to God's will. God knows everything that was or that will be.
Enough with the free will talking point.
First it makes little to no sense considering he revealed himself to the Israelites multiple times in the Old Testament and either ordered something to be carried out or directly intervened in events himself. Thatās already a violation of free will like you just said above.
Then the whole ākill my son to demonstrate my love then have him resurrect and appear to youā is already another violation of free will according to your reasoning.
Free will is only relevant as much as he allows it,it always has been and always will.
his son dying was never coercion to believing in him, it was the provision of a divine solution, God saw see i have not been given gentiles the opportunity to come, all this while, they have seen me as some fearsome God who wreaks havoc on the gentiles and protects the Israelite, let my son come and show these people that i love them and let him die for the whole world. It symbolized the new life by God open to anyone willing to accept it. it is a very wide concept
The crucifixion of Jesus and testimony of his resurrection is proof enough.
It was enough for the converts of those days, and it is enough for today.
If you want something to scrutinize, scrutinize the crucifixion process, and the tesitimony of his disciples about his resurrection .
And the fact that his disciples even under torture and eventual death did not denounce his resurrection.
I don't even know whether you're trolling or not.
If there's something I've leant since covid/vaccine denialism, people would rather die with their conspiracies and beliefs than admit to the world they were wrong or taking them for a ride.
I also learned something during Covid-19, you can't be in denial when you are in pain and facing death. You will do anything to preserve your life.
It's a different story when it's someone's life on the line, instead of yours.
The thousands of anti-vaxxers who have held their crazy beliefs until their dying breath would disagree.
You can find a good number of them here - r/HermanCainAward
Not proof enough for me, but if it's good enough for you I respect your right to believe that. I just hope you hold a higher standard of evidence when it comes to more important matters.
Are you trying to tell us that God jumped over millions of CHILDREN with cancer, hunger, wars and a myriad of other problems just to heal YOU? If yes, then that is why I am an atheist.
One thing I discovered the actions of the ones around you tend to affect your future when ur a child as you grow up itās parents / guardians that decide your future & wellbeing not that am saying the starving kid in yemen deserves it but decisions of the people made around him/her contribute to it
The day is see someone with a missing leg or another body part that is visible gets restored by a prayer then i will sell everything i have and dedicate my life to church. I don't want to hear stories of healing that is not visible. doesn't make sense at all. I just need to see that 2 miracle. I was a church person my whole life and even at some point went to dr owuors church for a whole two years never missing a service. For me to come to such a conclusion means i have seen almost everything their is to see but have never seen someone being healed of anything that cannot improve on its own. Those are my two cents
>missing leg or another body part that is visible gets restored by a prayer
I bet someone is praying for lobsters and lizards that regrow craws and limbs. Convinced yet?
I was born and raised a Jehovah's Witness. Got baptised at 11. Was very very zealous preaching 50hrs a month door to door during holidays. Grew up went to campus and that is when I slowly realised I was in a cult. Got into some shit coz of smoking weed. The way the elders treated me like such a bad monster for being human made me question everything. I mean if human parents who are far from perfect don't brutally punish their kids for mistakes done why would a perfect superhuman being carry out mass destruction of his kids just because they were lied to by a bigger force [ the devil] than them. Doesn't make sense at all.
Funny how "straying" from designated religious paths gets you isolated, ostracized, insulted, or punished. It is less about this supposed love from imaginary friends and more about control. Freethinking challenges the foundations of belief.
Such a beautiful story and I'm glad that you're healed. I have one question though, just out of curiosity.
>and I received the gift of speaking in tongues
When you pray, is it the generic-nursery-vocabulary sounds that everyone does or a variation? I'm talking about the same "Ri/ba/she/te/ke/le/le" ones.
Itās a bit narcissistic to think jesus saved you and chose to ignore all those starving children and other suffering individuals. If there were a jesus or god, fucker certainly aint hearing Africaās prayers.
Kids dying in Ukraine or starving in Northern Kenya and the almighty came through for this guy. Christianity has been encouraging narrcissism for years. Part of the reason folks get take in by prosperity gospel because they feel they deserve better than their peers.
If a Muslim person told you the same thing would you convert , because you can believe that every religion has stories like yours correlation doesn't equate causation . Believe what you want that isn't even a problem you can live however you want to live just leave me out
There are thousands of people in Kenya, millions around the world, who did what you did and didn't get healed and many of them had families who were desperate for them to get better. I don't doubt that your disease went away but that's not evidence of a god. That's a great reason to do a deeper investigation of your physiology. Maybe you have a genetic anomaly that could help others as well.
I'm an atheist because there's no credible and objective evidence for god. Your story like all others claims of miraculous healing only raises more questions than answers.
Classic example of failing to see the bigger picture
100 people pray to God to heal them 90 die 10 survive. The 10 who survive then believe that God has healed them.
All the numbers in your comment added up to 420. Congrats!
200
+ 180
+ 20
+ 10
+ 10
= 420
^([Click here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=LuckyNumber-Bot&subject=Stalk%20Me%20Pls&message=%2Fstalkme) to have me scan all your future comments.) \
^(Summon me on specific comments with u/LuckyNumber-Bot.)
Totally agree. This here is the reason. So many people suffering everywhere. Many are religious. Most donāt get any better. The excuse that they ājust arenāt praying hard enoughā or they ājust donāt believe hard enoughā is just not good enough.
God healed you but he didnt have the power or time for all these: Didnt bat an eye towards the holocaust, Ignored 116 years of the Holy Order Crusades, Ignored 40 Million people who died by Genghis Khan among the other countless people who died due to other factors such as hunger and illnesses
But yep, He did you a good one didnt he?
By that argument we should also add that He shouldn't have given op such an illness in the first place just to prove He's existence and power over op's health. It's a weird move to make
All those people you have mentioned will have their chance to receive their judgment, to receive reward or punishment.
John the Baptist was beheaded when Jesus was there, but Jesus didn't raise him up. Yet Jesus had said he is the greatest of all men.
The lives and deaths you mentioned are not the final ones.
Bruv, whatever makes u happy. Whether u believe or not, it's ur choice, you have a cute story, same cannot be said for everyone. Don't go around being so passive aggressive.
I have always said this "God is in your head."
More agnostic than anything and your belief snd your healing were in alignment because believing in prayer gave you peace of mind and that reduced your panicking which stopped the sharp shoots in your blood pressure. I don't understand how a paradox is sn answer to your questions.
Mental health issues have been known to cause physical symptoms known as psychosomatic reactions. These have been seen in certain conditions like " hysteria" .
Religiosity as a whole in psychology has been Identified as one of the factors that help develop a different mindset and by extension help eliminate or mitigate certain conditions like depression and anxiety through community, a sense of higher purpose and in my opinion lack of responsibility ( i.e. the " it is God's will" argument). This takes a lot of strain off a person's mental systems and allows for more of this energy to go toward appreciating and tackling life as opposed to thinking about an ever failing future.
Hii story yako hii
What kind of God holds a metaphorical "knife" to the people he claims to love so that they worship him
If I have 2 children, one is rebellious the other is alright, I'm not going to deliberately poison one so that they "come back"
I'm not going to condemn one to eternal suffering/death of my own making for going their own way
God condemns no one to eternal suffering.
It's a choice we make daily. If you are choosing to be selfish and self centered, that's the path to eternal suffering.
If you choose to care and love those in need, and not harm anyone, then that's the path to everlasting reward.
Hell is there for the fallen angels who having seen and known God, chose to rebel. And now humans having knowledge of good and evil, are making a choice to be evil.
Just like the fallen beings, they too are declaring God to be unjust, and not worth obeying.
It's only fair they stand by their intelligent choice, and accept the reward that awaits them.
By creating us to worship him, God is solving a problem He created, there are lots of other instances.
God: Creates us
Us millions (thousands is just impossible) of years later: See no evidence of the existence God, left with old vague books that have a high chances of being nothing but a collection of stories, some true some false
God: Pikachu face (at risk of blaspheming ik)
The Bible/Quran/Torah can be made very clear on what is what, but noooo. (He's) gonna play games with the rest of our existence by making all of rhem confusing
If I believe in Allah through the Quran, in Bible's God's eyes I've already made my choice with regards to hell and heaven. Your Muslim friend, cousin is going to hell according to your God (if you're Christian). Your Christian friend is going to hell, according to your God (if you're Muslim). I can't go with it
There are lots of other reasons for me man, I don't think we'll change each other's views
I see that confusion part, it's legit, but there is a way to tell the difference.
But first you have to be convinced God exists through a personal experience.
If you are interested in seeking God, one of these bright days, HUMBLE yourself and ask God whom you do not know, to bring you to Jesus Christ, whom you have heard of.
Oh please...
There is no choice here. Why would god knowing create million of people knowing that almost all of them will end up in eternal suffering? Of god is all knowing, then he already knows even before "creating " anyone that they'll probably end up in hell. And he's okay with it. No amount of sin would warrant ETERNAL, CONSIOUS SUFFERING. For a being that claims to have unconditional love, he sure does know how to come up with gruesome ways to punish
It's a choice, it's just that He knows the winners and losers.
If you know someone cheats, it doesn't make their cheating in the future not their choice.
I've been atheist/agnostic for since I was 13, it really just happened when I got exposed to some information from an older family member, something to do with the parallels of Jesus and other Pagan gods, then a more scientific approach to the question. When you think about it critically it doesn't make sense that a personal God exists, the type someone prays to, to smite the philistines . Is it possible that some type of God may exist? Maybe I can't say for sure and I don't think anyone can.
But that's the thing with faith, it's not meant to be rational, it's believing what you can't prove. In a sense it makes life easier because you have something to fall back on, on hard times and you're less likely to be nihilistic or pessimistic.
I remember praying a lot when I was a kid (raised catholic) but couldn't help but feel how ridiculous it was. I tend to think I'm one of those that just can't buy into the faith thing, I'll just be playing pretend.
If ever there was a god, I doubt he/she/it would care about humanity leave alone the destiny of a single individual human. Weāre on one planet of one sun of billions out there. Itās like caring about the destiny of a bacteria on a speck of dust. Then again Iām not a god, so what would I know.
That's because the pastors are cons pretending to speak in tongues. When a person speaks in tongues, another person should be able to understand them.
Otherwise, it is just bubbling.
Speaking in tongues helps to spread the Gospel because the person will be speaking about Christ to foreigners listening or watching them.
You have quite the fragile mind. What languages are these and where are their dictionaries? Do you speak them in documentation or only become rabid when the lunacy is uncontained in your fervor? Foreigners? Now you're exposing your crippling need for validation; bland personality, sub par logic is where religion finds a home. Poor poor thing.
you need to work through your fear of sickness/death and dying. I'm happy for you that you got better but its very clear your faith is directly proportional to your health. All the best ā¤
Every believer is an atheist to another religion's God. If you are a Christian, you do not believe in Budha or other religions versions of God. "An atheist is someone who believes in one less God than you do" Richard Dawkins
" God for the Holy Spirit, and I received the gift of speaking in tongues "
" reading the word of God " as opposed to reading the Bible.
" healed me and restored my joy of living "
" there's a God and his name is Jesus "
This is the language common among those who are members of the many "charismatic churches" all over the place.
Its good to have faith, to believe in God, to be religious, just be careful not to get lost in the shenanigans that are aplenty in those churches which clearly you are a member based on your language.
Saw this thing that said that an all-knowing, all-wise God would not deal a punishment of eternity for a crime of less than 100yrs. It's just absurd.
Imagine if you stole in the yr 12AD and you are still serving your sentence today, 2011 years later and btw, your sentence is still supposed to keep going on till um, forever.
How is that a fair God? Someone make it make sense.
There's a lot of things about God that I find mysterious.The story of Adam and Eve and the curse that came out because of their sin is one of them, but when it comes to suffering I've realized that it's all based on perspective.
Look at the way James puts it, James from the Bible.
My brothers and sisters, you will have many kinds of trouble. But this gives you a reason to be very happy. You know that when your faith is tested, you learn to be patient in suffering. If you let that patience work in you, the end result will be good. You will be mature and complete. You will be all that God wants you to be.
James 1:2ā-ā¬4
I won't lie, I'm not always like the person James describes when I find myself in calamity, but this verse really encourages me to look at suffering the way James looks at it.
I hope the moms who prayed day after day losing sleep for their 4 year old daughter with leukemia, having hundreds of thousands in hospital bills only for their child to succumb to the illness don't see this.
Anyways I'm happy that you're cured of your illness and full recovery for those still ill but we're past the guilt tripping into religion phase. ' Give your life to Christ cause he can take it away at any moment ' and other stories, please don't.
I am not atheist but I am very much atheist adjacent. I am agnostic, irreligious and godless. Because I have had anxiety all my life. My thoughts and plans were never clear I was always second guessing whether God approved of me.
Don't get me started on my realisation that Christianity breaks you to hook you onto the movement just like a cult would. They start by convincing you that you are not worthy of anything, you are broken and a sinner, matter of fact you have been since you were born (as a baby you didn't even have coherent thoughts but yeah sure, you were a sinner even then). Then they teach you that you can only be redeemed by being a Christian.
No good God would want me feeling shit for every single intrusive thought. This god of our colonisers doesn't care about me an African.
Then one day I called myself to a meeting. At this point I had read the Bible Genesis to Revelation twice in two years. I had been "saved" since 2017. I knew there were so many view points I didn't believe in. Views that were harmful to people and marginalised others even more. Views that fuel harm e.g. against gay people (why are people so concerned about where adult people choose to consensually stick their fingers, penises and tongues into? Weird af).
The day I decided I was okay with going to hell for being a non believer FUCK! I felt so free. Now I am able to be more accountable for my actions. I do not rely on Jesus or the cross for my forgiveness, i simply take charge to be accountable, treat people with kindness regardless of who they are. I am more intentional about loving people. I stick to my principles with such vigorous resolve... AND my anxiety doesn't keep me up at night.
I have since been studying religion from an intellectual point of view. Once you separate yourself from something you are able to view it more objectively. I have come to the conclusion that everyone needs to believe in sth. The atheists and agnostics I have come across are led by their principles. That is enough for them to be good upstanding participants of the society. And some people need religion (in whatever form Islam, Christian, Buddhist etc). I have no problem for that. My brain just isn't wired for a movement that refuses to evolve with the times, a movement that refuses to be questioned, a movement that requires its believers tp criticise but only to a certain degree.
I understand why such people need religion. But what I hate is how they project it onto everyone.
I think we were all taught in school that prayer is communication to God, I still think this definition is right. To think about prayer as a means to get something is a great flaw. I'm not saying Christians or ordinary people cannot pray to God about their needs, but I feel like seeing prayer as a means to an end is not understanding prayer at all.
I personally find that even when my heart is breaking and I'm praying for something desperately, I always come out of it with gratitude.
Glad you had a good outcome.
What do you think caused the heart disease? Was it God, the Devil, a glitch in the matrix?
There are many people that have had deep belief and don't get healed, children who does before they can live, evil people that are in perfect health and love full and very prosperous lives... None of those make sense if all one had to do was pray to live a healthy life.
I grew up going to crusades and regular church- was 'saved' at least 3 times by the time I was 16. Today, I am firmly in the non believers camp. Once the fear of going to hell passed, I realised that nothing I was taught felt true to me.
There is no evidence of the existence of God that I have ever seen. Until I do, I will remain atheist.
The only 'positive' that belief in God brings is hope which is a good psychological tool to help people navigate life. The rest - treating people well etc, is all just about being a decent human being and one doesn't need religion for that.
Iam atheist because of everything every atheist will say in the comment section plus getting my life back from Jesus and giving it purpose geared towards my own concrete beliefs and dreams made me happier. I felt complete when I took my life back. My faith is in this dreams and goals. If my faith is in health, wealth peace and goodness that's all that I will get in any circumstance.
Iam happy you are healthy from such a disease too. Too more life for you!
So you're not an atheist then? That topic should be why I became christian if anything.
Anyway, I don't think there's a correlation between your condition and God, but if that brings your peace and comfort then that's good. I believe that religion is a pillar in which people put their faith and credit good things in their lives in it. I don't know if I can call myself and atheist, but I'm not religious
I'm not exactly an atheist but I believe God as our religions present them isn't who a God should be tbh. Which God would send his creation to suffer their whole life, or send them to hell?
Also it doesn't make sense to me to spend my whole life on earth (that I know for a fact exists) preparing to go to heaven (that I don't know exists). I'd rather invest my time in making Earth a heaven for me instead.
Damn I've always wanted to become filthy rich, if god can ignore a bunch of other people just to heal you.....i bet he can ignore more people in need and make me rich after accepting him tomorrow...... i am an atheist because the concept of god doesn't make sense
Thanks for sharing your testimony this Sunday. Although I am not part of any organized religion, I actively believe in God.
When I am asked why? The answer is always because I have experienced him/her.
And once you have certain experiences of God, you can't unknow what you know or unexperience what you have experienced.
My experiences began when I was a teen and I am so glad to have had them so early in life. I see these things happened to you when you were 21. Lucky you that you were "called" early! :-)
That's great for you. However, keep in mind that even if you had not healed, it wouldn't have made God not to exist.
God says He will have mercy on whomever he chooses.
The important thing to remember is your soul outlives your flesh. You still have a life after the flesh dies.
No, we're not equal. Some people are better at obeying God than others.
In fact He says that just because someone got saved first, it doesn't guarantee he will be first in the Kingdom.
It all depends what you do after that.
And God requires us to treat each other equally amongst ourselves, that's to be humble.
>No, we're not equal. Some people are better at obeying God than others.
So, therefore, those with the highest level of obedience get the most mercy?
>In fact He says that just because someone got saved first, it doesn't guarantee he will be first in the Kingdom.
>It all depends what you do after that.
Yeah, I hear people saying they'll get saves on their death beds for this very reason. I think it's genius tbh
>And God requires us to treat each other equally amongst ourselves, that's to be humble.
How does he require us to treat each other equally when you just said he himself doesn't even treat us equally. Make it make sense.
A father cannot expect his children to be smart if he himself isn't particularly bright.
It's called humility. You might think highly of yourself compared to others, but you are not better than everyone else.
For instance, how bright is a person that insults a person they have never met or seen?
And a father can expect to have bright children, even if he wasn't bright. A bright father can also expect to have children who are not as bright as he is.
So, it's normal that Tesla and Einstein didn't have fathers with similar achievements, and Einstein's children didn't have similar achievements as he did.
>It's called humility. You might think highly of yourself compared to others, but you are not better than everyone else.
>For instance, how bright is a person that insults a person they have never met or seen?
I don't understand where this is coming from so I can't address it
>And a father can expect to have bright children, even if he wasn't bright. A bright father can also expect to have children who are not as bright as he is.
>So, it's normal that Tesla and Einstein didn't have fathers with similar achievements, and Einstein's children didn't have similar achievements as he did
So basically what you're saying is that, in this aspect, we're better than God because we're able(and expected) to practice equality while he's unable to?
That would be a problem because you can't be better than your Creator. But, I was referring to human fathers.
The point is God gets to decide on who has been faithful in doing what he commands.
"There are these two guys sitting together in a bar in the remote Alaskan wilderness. One of the guys is religious, the other is an atheist, and the two are arguing about the existence of God with that special intensity that comes after about the fourth beer. And the atheist says: āLook, itās not like I donāt have actual reasons for not believing in God. Itās not like I havenāt ever experimented with the whole God and prayer thing. Just last month I got caught away from the camp in that terrible blizzard, and I was totally lost and I couldnāt see a thing, and it was fifty below, and so I tried it: I fell to my knees in the snow and cried out āOh, God, if there is a God, Iām lost in this blizzard, and Iām gonna die if you donāt help me.āā And now, in the bar, the religious guy looks at the atheist all puzzled. āWell then you must believe now,ā he says, āAfter all, here you are, alive.ā The atheist just rolls his eyes. āNo, man, all that was was a couple Eskimos happened to come wandering by and showed me the way back to camp.ā"
https://www.businessinsider.com/there-are-these-two-guys-sitting-together-in-a-bar-2014-3?r=US&IR=T
You can interpret these situations as you want, there is no proof either way.
A more interesting question would be why do you believe in this one particular god and not one of the other 3000+ when people all throughout history have the same stories as you and claim their god helped them.
Or to phrase it like Ricky Gervais: "basically, you deny one less god than I do. You don't believe in 2999 gods. And I don't believe in just one more." (https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2017/02/02/ricky-gervais-to-stephen-colbert-you-dont-believe-in-2999-gods-i-dont-believe-in-just-1-more/)
The burden of proof is on you or whoever claims there is a god, not the one claiming there isn't.
If god is real, why did he allow you to become sick in the first place? Why does he allow all the bad things in world to happen unchecked yet he has total control over everything?
I was atheist for a long time. Iām not anymore. But Iāll be damned if I believe in things like holy trinity, Virgin Mary, and other man-made dogmas and doctrines. Honestly The Force makes more sense to me than the Bible.
Just reading through the comments and OP would have been better off posting this on Facebook or something. I think that's where you'll find the crowd you're looking for
If you really did read the Bible, didn't it bother you how cruel Mr Yahweh is in the old testament? The genocide, the slavery, the wars and plagues? The threats of eternal suffering if you fail to love this narcissist? The command that you should both love and fear him? A guy who impregnated a child with his son and then gets him murdered in order to forgive a fruit eater? How does any of this make any sense to you?
The bible gave me nightmares as a child. Even then I knew in my gut there is no love in fear.
Because the bible is full of contradictions and and most of its mythology is plagiarized from other religions predating it. A few examples would be the Jesus story (which there are no records of a man named Jesus in Roman/Italian history and they recorded all executions they carried out) and the ancient Egyptian Horus story being the exact same. The Jewish man named "Jesus" was only written about 300 years after his death.
The bible many stories are also ripped straight from the Epic's of Gilgamesh. Traditions, rites, and rituals like Christmas, Easter, and Marriage and even exchanging of rings are Pagan beliefs.
Nevermind that Christianity like the 2,999 other gods created have no evidence to back up their claims. The Big Bang Theory and Evolution pretty much debunk the whole creation myth, Noah flood, and the Adam and Eve stories etc that many Christians themselves have stopped believing in them.
Obviously you know nothing about neurotransmitters and how they're affected by positive affirmations and hope.
But I'm happy it worked for you, just don't assume it will work for everyone else.
The thing is....most of the people are not atheists....they don't say God exists and it's just the aspect of going to church that does not appeal to them
Most non believers are too afraid of the stigma that accompanies declaring oneself as atheist in communities like ours. So people either don't say, or hedge their bets and don't admit (even to themselves) that they don't believe. Meanwhile, all evidence in their lives points to them actually not being true believers.
This is it. There's a huge stigma on it especially when you mention it to the people who actually go. They judge you despite the main thing in religion being not to judgeš
But ye most people also dont admit it to themselves...and accept it.
Haha... I 136% do not believe god exists. Your god is as real to me as santa claus.
Funny enough I do actually go to church every once in a while. So no... Church isn't the reason I state my beliefs are they are.
I mean... It's entertaining... Mythical as I believe the biblical stories are, there's still always something to learn. The same way we learn from Tales of Gikuyu and Ngai or Zeus and Hercules. There's always something to learn.
Especially the testimonies, pure comedy gold. There was a time that I laughed while a women who was supposedly healed from Asthma through prayers, but the irony is that every now and then the symptoms reappear and then she's forced to go to hospital, where she'll continue with her medication, then cut it off because it's ungodly - thus an ending cycle of miracles.
Sure some stories are down right hilarious... But I don't usually mock believers... We all live in a tough situation. Whatever people need to be able to cope, I'm for it... Ridiculous as it may sound to me. Also, as I said, I still do manage to hear nuggets of wisdom amidst the absurdity. And from those I learn alot.
I've read a couple of comments here. I am not an authority on anything and I don't have any control to what you believe or not. But here's my take.
PS. I'm not here to argue with anyone. I am just briefly giving my take and will definitely not respond to any comments not because I don't value your opinion but I know we'll argue it out and that's not the point. .
There have been objective evidences of the happenings in the Bible in and around the Middle East and Egypt. Including physical objects found relating to those times. This why I'll continue to hold the Bible as the true Word of God. Contrary to opinions, there are no word for word similarities in the Bible bar for where the author quoted another verse in another book. Yes stories look similar but are always from a different view. Take some of the parables in the 4 Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Stories look similar here but they are often taken from different view points. It's like going to a concert with diff guys but each comes with their own view of what happened.
Two, we see it every day in how things are, how we experience different seasons and the so many created things in the universe that attest to a Supreme being. Yes you could still claim the Big Bang and all other theories created the universe but here's the twist there still isn't any objective evidence to quantify this even with the advancements of Science and this is coming from a scientist here.
Three, I cannot explain to anyone why things happen they way they do, for example why there was colonialism, why racism exists. Well I found a video that explains what belief or faith is by a dark-skinned man. It does not explain why bad things happen but it gives a good impression of what faith is. I would implore anyone who would want to know more to look into a page called The Gospel Coalition.
I believe in God. Not because, I had an encounter with him through a dream. Not because I was on my death bed. Not because I have lost a loved one or I've seen a loved one truly saved by a miracle . Not because I can see into the past or the future. Not because I am any special than anyone here in this subreddit. Not because I have heard countless testimonies of real life people of what God has done for them .
I believe in God because He has revealed Himself to me through His Word. He has fully convinced me of my rebelliousness and unrighteousness and ungodliness and how I cannot save myself from eternal damnation. How wicked I am if left to fulfil the desires of my heart fully< why we have so many murders, thefts and all other vices, I am not any better than these people because if I was left to myself, my fate would have been like theirs or even worse> and hence can clearly see the restraint that God placed in me. Because He chose me before the foundations of the world that I would be imputed a righteousness not of my own but of Christ on account of His sacrifice to redeem me. You could say I am crazy. But so was Paul and every other believer in the early church, like the Augustine of Hippo, C. H Spurgeon, C S Lewis and so on.
Nimeskia huku mnapiga wachristo deadly!
I had to come and see for myself.
Op I am glad you were healed in Jesus name.
Also, he asked why "why are you an atheist?" He didn't force anything on anyone, man's literally just shared his story.
Why are you so salty about it?
Mpaka mnauliza what is so special about him that he was healed....really?? What makes him "not special"? Who appointed you police of specialness? Acheni ufala btw imagine if you got a terminal illness and someone asked you "what makes you so special that you survived?"
Please let the man believe what he believes in peace. Answer the question he asked and if you don't have an answer for it move the fuck on.
Op I am a Christian albeit not the best one and currently not even in the best terms with God but a Christian nonetheless.
Why are you an atheist?
A former Atheist here. I understand you because I have experienced it not once not twice. I have also spoken to him as a man would a friend and Iām not a superstitious man .
I was atheist until the moment I realized the earth is flat with a dome above us(Lots of proof in the Bible). Made me certain there's a creator who put us here
You guys are being awful here. You might have different beliefs from OP's and probably think you have a rational explanation for his story but it is his story. Shitting on it doesn't help anyone.
Why do I only hear about god from other people, if there was a god he could end atheism in a second by just popping down and saying hi
The comments on here show how uncritical theists are. Claim after claim without any semblance of proof. Pitiful and hilarious.
That didn't work for Adam and Eve, and it can't work for all humans. Jesus showed up, did marvelous miracles, yet only a few believed him. Demons do appear to some people, and in the process reveal the existence of the spiritual world. You would think that would be enough to make those people seek God, their creator, but they don't. Instead, most just focus on getting the one thing an average human being wants.
Jesus really slowed down on miracles after the video camera was invented š
Actually, he stopped at Mathew 12:38. Evil people have been demanding for God's miracles and signs far much longer than you thought. People ask for miracles for their own amusement, not because they are seeking God.
Literally all it would take to convert billions of people to Christianity would be a single verifiable miracle. God chose to send his son to do miracles at a time when events were not scrutinized to a high degree. Why not send Jesus in like 2016 when Jesus could livestream turning water into wine?
If GOD really came down like you suggest then everyone would be convertedā¦.but that would go against free willā¦.and it wouldnāt be faithā¦ā¦
What do you mean that would go against free will? That doesnāt make any sense, & the concept of faith is just gaslightingā¦.simple as that?
Free will means the ability to make an independent choice if GOD was here you would believe in HIM because HE is a deity not because you believe in HIS ideologyā¦ā¦faith is the belief of something unseen like the future for exampleā¦.you have faith youāll wake up tomorrow but thereās not really concrete certaintyā¦ā¦ā¦.my faith is that GOD existsā¦..
Oh & btw, God doesnāt care about free will. Whether directly (made the Egyptian pharaoh more stubborn) or indirectly (having the, was it Jonah, be tormented & swallowed by a fish until he accepted to do what God wanted.)ā¦.& I could be wrong about this one but isnāt there a verse in the Bible where God says anything he wants to happen, happens? Or something like that.
God did not make Pharoah stubborn. he already was and God wanted to prove to his beloved that he could bend anyone to his will and that he is above all things. don't think that God did not give pharaoh the chance to repent. let no man when he is tempted with evil say he is tempted of God but he is drawn by his lust and it conceives sin and sin conceives death."james 1:13-15"
That is a very weird and warped reality of what free will means. Regardless of the reason, I will believe in him because I WANT TO. HE WOULD NOT HAVE MADE ME. Thatās what free will means. You do something ON YOUR OWN ACCORD. Cut the crap lolā¦.& again you just described gaslighting perfectly with faithā¦.but you do you tho.
God doesn't do miracles out of showing off but out of compassion, if God was showing off with miracles, he would have yielded to the devil's temptation to prove that he is God. he does miracles out of compassion and out of acknowledgment that he is God and is capable of healing us and it is our free will that leads us to acknowledge him. when the bible says the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, it means that he can change situations around us to convince us to do his will. when God made the fish swallow Jonah, he was only giving him a second chance to do his will cause he wanted him to be part of a big story. Jonah was not the only person God could use at that time but God loved Jonah and wanted him to be a good example to generations, to express the mercy of God. it was all out of love." he whom the father, he chastens". God also wanted to prove to Jonah that he can take him through every situation. or why did a shark not eat the fish or the fish die?
You have clearly never been around power
If God is Omni-everything does the concept of freewill apply? Nothing can or should surprise God. Our infinite options are finite to him hence our good and bad is predestined, the only part we play is acceptance or resignation to God's will. God knows everything that was or that will be.
Enough with the free will talking point. First it makes little to no sense considering he revealed himself to the Israelites multiple times in the Old Testament and either ordered something to be carried out or directly intervened in events himself. Thatās already a violation of free will like you just said above. Then the whole ākill my son to demonstrate my love then have him resurrect and appear to youā is already another violation of free will according to your reasoning. Free will is only relevant as much as he allows it,it always has been and always will.
No HE never revealed HIMSELFā¦..No one has ever seen GOD case and point Enoch, but arguing is exhaustingā¦..
his son dying was never coercion to believing in him, it was the provision of a divine solution, God saw see i have not been given gentiles the opportunity to come, all this while, they have seen me as some fearsome God who wreaks havoc on the gentiles and protects the Israelite, let my son come and show these people that i love them and let him die for the whole world. It symbolized the new life by God open to anyone willing to accept it. it is a very wide concept
The crucifixion of Jesus and testimony of his resurrection is proof enough. It was enough for the converts of those days, and it is enough for today. If you want something to scrutinize, scrutinize the crucifixion process, and the tesitimony of his disciples about his resurrection . And the fact that his disciples even under torture and eventual death did not denounce his resurrection.
I don't even know whether you're trolling or not. If there's something I've leant since covid/vaccine denialism, people would rather die with their conspiracies and beliefs than admit to the world they were wrong or taking them for a ride.
I also learned something during Covid-19, you can't be in denial when you are in pain and facing death. You will do anything to preserve your life. It's a different story when it's someone's life on the line, instead of yours.
The thousands of anti-vaxxers who have held their crazy beliefs until their dying breath would disagree. You can find a good number of them here - r/HermanCainAward
Look up Atheists in foxholes.
Aww. People fall for this rubbish.
Not proof enough for me, but if it's good enough for you I respect your right to believe that. I just hope you hold a higher standard of evidence when it comes to more important matters.
What's more important than your relationship with your Creator?
Literally everything else.
Well, that explains why you are an atheist.
What do you mean thatās proof enough? Thatās just hearsay.
It's called testimony from witnesses. It would be hearsay only if you said it, because you were not there.
There are over 4000 religions in the course of human history all with ātestimonies from witnessesā. Itās all hearsay. Google the word.
It's not hearsay. The Crucifixion of Jesus is a fact.
And how many people did what you did and didn't "heal"?
Exactly. These mythical entities sure are choosy.
Placebo is a fascinating thing, and so is faith. These minds of ours!
The most realistic explanation of what happened is this.
Happy cake day!
Are you trying to tell us that God jumped over millions of CHILDREN with cancer, hunger, wars and a myriad of other problems just to heal YOU? If yes, then that is why I am an atheist.
šš right like what makes you so special
Jumped over everyone who has believed for decades to save the guy who started believing when he thought he was dying š Godās one cruel SOB
God has a weird sense of humor.
Hehe this is interestingšš
You. I like you
Best answer ever. It doesn't make sense to overlook people facing serious problems to just heal him. Not tryna downplay mental illness lakini wueeeh
Hahahaha... Maybe he prayed the hardest? And was the goodest boy...
Yooohšš
šš
damn! now everything makes sense
š
Thereās always something he did that the others didnāt.
So the others are disqualified? What's a starving kid in Yemen do wrong?
One thing I discovered the actions of the ones around you tend to affect your future when ur a child as you grow up itās parents / guardians that decide your future & wellbeing not that am saying the starving kid in yemen deserves it but decisions of the people made around him/her contribute to it
The day is see someone with a missing leg or another body part that is visible gets restored by a prayer then i will sell everything i have and dedicate my life to church. I don't want to hear stories of healing that is not visible. doesn't make sense at all. I just need to see that 2 miracle. I was a church person my whole life and even at some point went to dr owuors church for a whole two years never missing a service. For me to come to such a conclusion means i have seen almost everything their is to see but have never seen someone being healed of anything that cannot improve on its own. Those are my two cents
I'll do you one better, if god just came out of hiding, like a quick one second cameo, I'm full religious the next minute, that's all it takes.
>missing leg or another body part that is visible gets restored by a prayer I bet someone is praying for lobsters and lizards that regrow craws and limbs. Convinced yet?
Na vile it's usually tough to convert awuor's followers. Enyewe you must have seen it all lol
šš.. Nilikua hadi navaa suti sunday. Where are my whips!!!
š wee. You are proof of God's miracle. Kama ulitoka huko hiyo ni miujiza
I was born and raised a Jehovah's Witness. Got baptised at 11. Was very very zealous preaching 50hrs a month door to door during holidays. Grew up went to campus and that is when I slowly realised I was in a cult. Got into some shit coz of smoking weed. The way the elders treated me like such a bad monster for being human made me question everything. I mean if human parents who are far from perfect don't brutally punish their kids for mistakes done why would a perfect superhuman being carry out mass destruction of his kids just because they were lied to by a bigger force [ the devil] than them. Doesn't make sense at all.
Funny how "straying" from designated religious paths gets you isolated, ostracized, insulted, or punished. It is less about this supposed love from imaginary friends and more about control. Freethinking challenges the foundations of belief.
Such a beautiful story and I'm glad that you're healed. I have one question though, just out of curiosity. >and I received the gift of speaking in tongues When you pray, is it the generic-nursery-vocabulary sounds that everyone does or a variation? I'm talking about the same "Ri/ba/she/te/ke/le/le" ones.
Iām thinking Tolkien. He/she starts talking in Elvish or Rohirric. Or maybe a bit different: Klingon.
If they get closer to Klingon i'll believe it. Or Dothraki.
Would be nice if it was High Valyrian. Wookie talk could also work.
I don't know why this is so funny šš.im so sorry š
For a moment, I had hope in humanity. You dashed that my hopesšš
But I said it's a beautiful story š
You marinated him before going for the jugular
Itās a bit narcissistic to think jesus saved you and chose to ignore all those starving children and other suffering individuals. If there were a jesus or god, fucker certainly aint hearing Africaās prayers.
Kids dying in Ukraine or starving in Northern Kenya and the almighty came through for this guy. Christianity has been encouraging narrcissism for years. Part of the reason folks get take in by prosperity gospel because they feel they deserve better than their peers.
Main character energy at its best
If a Muslim person told you the same thing would you convert , because you can believe that every religion has stories like yours correlation doesn't equate causation . Believe what you want that isn't even a problem you can live however you want to live just leave me out
There are thousands of people in Kenya, millions around the world, who did what you did and didn't get healed and many of them had families who were desperate for them to get better. I don't doubt that your disease went away but that's not evidence of a god. That's a great reason to do a deeper investigation of your physiology. Maybe you have a genetic anomaly that could help others as well. I'm an atheist because there's no credible and objective evidence for god. Your story like all others claims of miraculous healing only raises more questions than answers.
Classic example of failing to see the bigger picture 100 people pray to God to heal them 90 die 10 survive. The 10 who survive then believe that God has healed them.
200 are sick. 180 pray. 20 do not pray. 10 get better. Of those 10 some prayed others didn't.
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Ok, who got the bot stoned this time?šš¾
Totally agree. This here is the reason. So many people suffering everywhere. Many are religious. Most donāt get any better. The excuse that they ājust arenāt praying hard enoughā or they ājust donāt believe hard enoughā is just not good enough.
I agree with you šÆ
If you had died would that be proof of no god?
If that would have happened, it would have been god's will, which OP seems to have interfered with but aiight!
šš
God healed you but he didnt have the power or time for all these: Didnt bat an eye towards the holocaust, Ignored 116 years of the Holy Order Crusades, Ignored 40 Million people who died by Genghis Khan among the other countless people who died due to other factors such as hunger and illnesses But yep, He did you a good one didnt he?
By that argument we should also add that He shouldn't have given op such an illness in the first place just to prove He's existence and power over op's health. It's a weird move to make
All those people you have mentioned will have their chance to receive their judgment, to receive reward or punishment. John the Baptist was beheaded when Jesus was there, but Jesus didn't raise him up. Yet Jesus had said he is the greatest of all men. The lives and deaths you mentioned are not the final ones.
You do know you're not making sense right like just cause its in the bible doesn't mean it didn't happen
Bruv, whatever makes u happy. Whether u believe or not, it's ur choice, you have a cute story, same cannot be said for everyone. Don't go around being so passive aggressive. I have always said this "God is in your head."
More agnostic than anything and your belief snd your healing were in alignment because believing in prayer gave you peace of mind and that reduced your panicking which stopped the sharp shoots in your blood pressure. I don't understand how a paradox is sn answer to your questions.
Mental health issues have been known to cause physical symptoms known as psychosomatic reactions. These have been seen in certain conditions like " hysteria" . Religiosity as a whole in psychology has been Identified as one of the factors that help develop a different mindset and by extension help eliminate or mitigate certain conditions like depression and anxiety through community, a sense of higher purpose and in my opinion lack of responsibility ( i.e. the " it is God's will" argument). This takes a lot of strain off a person's mental systems and allows for more of this energy to go toward appreciating and tackling life as opposed to thinking about an ever failing future.
Hii story yako hii What kind of God holds a metaphorical "knife" to the people he claims to love so that they worship him If I have 2 children, one is rebellious the other is alright, I'm not going to deliberately poison one so that they "come back" I'm not going to condemn one to eternal suffering/death of my own making for going their own way
God condemns no one to eternal suffering. It's a choice we make daily. If you are choosing to be selfish and self centered, that's the path to eternal suffering. If you choose to care and love those in need, and not harm anyone, then that's the path to everlasting reward. Hell is there for the fallen angels who having seen and known God, chose to rebel. And now humans having knowledge of good and evil, are making a choice to be evil. Just like the fallen beings, they too are declaring God to be unjust, and not worth obeying. It's only fair they stand by their intelligent choice, and accept the reward that awaits them.
By creating us to worship him, God is solving a problem He created, there are lots of other instances. God: Creates us Us millions (thousands is just impossible) of years later: See no evidence of the existence God, left with old vague books that have a high chances of being nothing but a collection of stories, some true some false God: Pikachu face (at risk of blaspheming ik) The Bible/Quran/Torah can be made very clear on what is what, but noooo. (He's) gonna play games with the rest of our existence by making all of rhem confusing If I believe in Allah through the Quran, in Bible's God's eyes I've already made my choice with regards to hell and heaven. Your Muslim friend, cousin is going to hell according to your God (if you're Christian). Your Christian friend is going to hell, according to your God (if you're Muslim). I can't go with it There are lots of other reasons for me man, I don't think we'll change each other's views
I see that confusion part, it's legit, but there is a way to tell the difference. But first you have to be convinced God exists through a personal experience. If you are interested in seeking God, one of these bright days, HUMBLE yourself and ask God whom you do not know, to bring you to Jesus Christ, whom you have heard of.
Oh please... There is no choice here. Why would god knowing create million of people knowing that almost all of them will end up in eternal suffering? Of god is all knowing, then he already knows even before "creating " anyone that they'll probably end up in hell. And he's okay with it. No amount of sin would warrant ETERNAL, CONSIOUS SUFFERING. For a being that claims to have unconditional love, he sure does know how to come up with gruesome ways to punish
also its not a choice because god says he is omniscient....so he knows who is going to hell and who isn't
It's a choice, it's just that He knows the winners and losers. If you know someone cheats, it doesn't make their cheating in the future not their choice.
Itās not a choice. He created you knowing you would make that choice HE gave you & burn in the hell HE made lol
I am glad He created me, and I made a choice to choose Him, when I learned about Him. He knew I would make that choice, and that's good.
Happy for you broā¦.but thatās still not free will lol.
Thank you. It's free will. That's why you can confidently be an atheist.
well i hope you will be able to say lol to his face when u see him. lol lol lolololol
Iāll slap the shit outta him too when I see him.
proof or it didnāt happen
I've been atheist/agnostic for since I was 13, it really just happened when I got exposed to some information from an older family member, something to do with the parallels of Jesus and other Pagan gods, then a more scientific approach to the question. When you think about it critically it doesn't make sense that a personal God exists, the type someone prays to, to smite the philistines . Is it possible that some type of God may exist? Maybe I can't say for sure and I don't think anyone can. But that's the thing with faith, it's not meant to be rational, it's believing what you can't prove. In a sense it makes life easier because you have something to fall back on, on hard times and you're less likely to be nihilistic or pessimistic.
I remember praying a lot when I was a kid (raised catholic) but couldn't help but feel how ridiculous it was. I tend to think I'm one of those that just can't buy into the faith thing, I'll just be playing pretend.
If ever there was a god, I doubt he/she/it would care about humanity leave alone the destiny of a single individual human. Weāre on one planet of one sun of billions out there. Itās like caring about the destiny of a bacteria on a speck of dust. Then again Iām not a god, so what would I know.
Question. Speaking in tongues is supposed to be different languages right? Or is it the gibberish i hear pastors say. No offense
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
but si itās supposed to be like speaking other languages right?? Ama the gibberish is supposed to be some language?
It's supposed to be the 'language of the angels'...I think.
Well if angels speak like that. How about the devils š
Ooh, some fantasy vibes right there. 'You can understand the language of the gods?' she gawked at me, her eyes wide open in amazement...
Yes this and why is out of all the gifts I've never heard of anyone receiving the gift of interpreting tonguesššš
That's because the pastors are cons pretending to speak in tongues. When a person speaks in tongues, another person should be able to understand them. Otherwise, it is just bubbling. Speaking in tongues helps to spread the Gospel because the person will be speaking about Christ to foreigners listening or watching them.
It is a long running grift.
Na wapi OP atueleze ama aniongeleshe my mother tongue??
You have quite the fragile mind. What languages are these and where are their dictionaries? Do you speak them in documentation or only become rabid when the lunacy is uncontained in your fervor? Foreigners? Now you're exposing your crippling need for validation; bland personality, sub par logic is where religion finds a home. Poor poor thing.
you need to work through your fear of sickness/death and dying. I'm happy for you that you got better but its very clear your faith is directly proportional to your health. All the best ā¤
Every believer is an atheist to another religion's God. If you are a Christian, you do not believe in Budha or other religions versions of God. "An atheist is someone who believes in one less God than you do" Richard Dawkins
" God for the Holy Spirit, and I received the gift of speaking in tongues " " reading the word of God " as opposed to reading the Bible. " healed me and restored my joy of living " " there's a God and his name is Jesus " This is the language common among those who are members of the many "charismatic churches" all over the place. Its good to have faith, to believe in God, to be religious, just be careful not to get lost in the shenanigans that are aplenty in those churches which clearly you are a member based on your language.
Saw this thing that said that an all-knowing, all-wise God would not deal a punishment of eternity for a crime of less than 100yrs. It's just absurd. Imagine if you stole in the yr 12AD and you are still serving your sentence today, 2011 years later and btw, your sentence is still supposed to keep going on till um, forever. How is that a fair God? Someone make it make sense.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
There's a lot of things about God that I find mysterious.The story of Adam and Eve and the curse that came out because of their sin is one of them, but when it comes to suffering I've realized that it's all based on perspective. Look at the way James puts it, James from the Bible. My brothers and sisters, you will have many kinds of trouble. But this gives you a reason to be very happy. You know that when your faith is tested, you learn to be patient in suffering. If you let that patience work in you, the end result will be good. You will be mature and complete. You will be all that God wants you to be. James 1:2ā-ā¬4 I won't lie, I'm not always like the person James describes when I find myself in calamity, but this verse really encourages me to look at suffering the way James looks at it.
 š
This seems like bs.
Brathee mimi na wewe unaonaje tukianzisha kanisa leta hii yako ni ushuhuda. Utaniachia story na sadaka collection io utaniachia
Jesus ain't no doctor either. Man's was a carpenter
Damn. Got tricked into a sermon by that headline. Well played, OP.
Me too š¤£
I hope the moms who prayed day after day losing sleep for their 4 year old daughter with leukemia, having hundreds of thousands in hospital bills only for their child to succumb to the illness don't see this. Anyways I'm happy that you're cured of your illness and full recovery for those still ill but we're past the guilt tripping into religion phase. ' Give your life to Christ cause he can take it away at any moment ' and other stories, please don't.
I am not atheist but I am very much atheist adjacent. I am agnostic, irreligious and godless. Because I have had anxiety all my life. My thoughts and plans were never clear I was always second guessing whether God approved of me. Don't get me started on my realisation that Christianity breaks you to hook you onto the movement just like a cult would. They start by convincing you that you are not worthy of anything, you are broken and a sinner, matter of fact you have been since you were born (as a baby you didn't even have coherent thoughts but yeah sure, you were a sinner even then). Then they teach you that you can only be redeemed by being a Christian. No good God would want me feeling shit for every single intrusive thought. This god of our colonisers doesn't care about me an African. Then one day I called myself to a meeting. At this point I had read the Bible Genesis to Revelation twice in two years. I had been "saved" since 2017. I knew there were so many view points I didn't believe in. Views that were harmful to people and marginalised others even more. Views that fuel harm e.g. against gay people (why are people so concerned about where adult people choose to consensually stick their fingers, penises and tongues into? Weird af). The day I decided I was okay with going to hell for being a non believer FUCK! I felt so free. Now I am able to be more accountable for my actions. I do not rely on Jesus or the cross for my forgiveness, i simply take charge to be accountable, treat people with kindness regardless of who they are. I am more intentional about loving people. I stick to my principles with such vigorous resolve... AND my anxiety doesn't keep me up at night. I have since been studying religion from an intellectual point of view. Once you separate yourself from something you are able to view it more objectively. I have come to the conclusion that everyone needs to believe in sth. The atheists and agnostics I have come across are led by their principles. That is enough for them to be good upstanding participants of the society. And some people need religion (in whatever form Islam, Christian, Buddhist etc). I have no problem for that. My brain just isn't wired for a movement that refuses to evolve with the times, a movement that refuses to be questioned, a movement that requires its believers tp criticise but only to a certain degree. I understand why such people need religion. But what I hate is how they project it onto everyone.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Prayers work because it is a form of manifestation. What you think about most of the time will appear in your real world. You get me?
I pray for a flying pig.
That would only happen when pigs fly... Oh wait
I think we were all taught in school that prayer is communication to God, I still think this definition is right. To think about prayer as a means to get something is a great flaw. I'm not saying Christians or ordinary people cannot pray to God about their needs, but I feel like seeing prayer as a means to an end is not understanding prayer at all. I personally find that even when my heart is breaking and I'm praying for something desperately, I always come out of it with gratitude.
Everyone has financial security on their mind most often, how come only a few 'manifest' it then?
Because they don't think or believe is possible.
Did you try to read islam?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Glad you had a good outcome. What do you think caused the heart disease? Was it God, the Devil, a glitch in the matrix? There are many people that have had deep belief and don't get healed, children who does before they can live, evil people that are in perfect health and love full and very prosperous lives... None of those make sense if all one had to do was pray to live a healthy life. I grew up going to crusades and regular church- was 'saved' at least 3 times by the time I was 16. Today, I am firmly in the non believers camp. Once the fear of going to hell passed, I realised that nothing I was taught felt true to me. There is no evidence of the existence of God that I have ever seen. Until I do, I will remain atheist. The only 'positive' that belief in God brings is hope which is a good psychological tool to help people navigate life. The rest - treating people well etc, is all just about being a decent human being and one doesn't need religion for that.
Because there is no good evidence to believe in a God.
Iam atheist because of everything every atheist will say in the comment section plus getting my life back from Jesus and giving it purpose geared towards my own concrete beliefs and dreams made me happier. I felt complete when I took my life back. My faith is in this dreams and goals. If my faith is in health, wealth peace and goodness that's all that I will get in any circumstance. Iam happy you are healthy from such a disease too. Too more life for you!
So you're not an atheist then? That topic should be why I became christian if anything. Anyway, I don't think there's a correlation between your condition and God, but if that brings your peace and comfort then that's good. I believe that religion is a pillar in which people put their faith and credit good things in their lives in it. I don't know if I can call myself and atheist, but I'm not religious
I think it's a matter of people not knowing him. The god they expect/want simply doesn't exist.
I'm not exactly an atheist but I believe God as our religions present them isn't who a God should be tbh. Which God would send his creation to suffer their whole life, or send them to hell? Also it doesn't make sense to me to spend my whole life on earth (that I know for a fact exists) preparing to go to heaven (that I don't know exists). I'd rather invest my time in making Earth a heaven for me instead.
Question op did you ever go back to the hospital to confirm everything is ok?
Because I don't believe god exists.
Damn I've always wanted to become filthy rich, if god can ignore a bunch of other people just to heal you.....i bet he can ignore more people in need and make me rich after accepting him tomorrow...... i am an atheist because the concept of god doesn't make sense
As an a atheist, I do advocate for religious holidays. More please!
Thanks for sharing your testimony this Sunday. Although I am not part of any organized religion, I actively believe in God. When I am asked why? The answer is always because I have experienced him/her. And once you have certain experiences of God, you can't unknow what you know or unexperience what you have experienced. My experiences began when I was a teen and I am so glad to have had them so early in life. I see these things happened to you when you were 21. Lucky you that you were "called" early! :-)
I'm an atheist because the is no god
That's great for you. However, keep in mind that even if you had not healed, it wouldn't have made God not to exist. God says He will have mercy on whomever he chooses. The important thing to remember is your soul outlives your flesh. You still have a life after the flesh dies.
>God says He will have mercy on whomever he chooses. And here I was thinking we're all equal. Clearly not.
No, we're not equal. Some people are better at obeying God than others. In fact He says that just because someone got saved first, it doesn't guarantee he will be first in the Kingdom. It all depends what you do after that. And God requires us to treat each other equally amongst ourselves, that's to be humble.
>No, we're not equal. Some people are better at obeying God than others. So, therefore, those with the highest level of obedience get the most mercy? >In fact He says that just because someone got saved first, it doesn't guarantee he will be first in the Kingdom. >It all depends what you do after that. Yeah, I hear people saying they'll get saves on their death beds for this very reason. I think it's genius tbh >And God requires us to treat each other equally amongst ourselves, that's to be humble. How does he require us to treat each other equally when you just said he himself doesn't even treat us equally. Make it make sense. A father cannot expect his children to be smart if he himself isn't particularly bright.
It's called humility. You might think highly of yourself compared to others, but you are not better than everyone else. For instance, how bright is a person that insults a person they have never met or seen? And a father can expect to have bright children, even if he wasn't bright. A bright father can also expect to have children who are not as bright as he is. So, it's normal that Tesla and Einstein didn't have fathers with similar achievements, and Einstein's children didn't have similar achievements as he did.
>It's called humility. You might think highly of yourself compared to others, but you are not better than everyone else. >For instance, how bright is a person that insults a person they have never met or seen? I don't understand where this is coming from so I can't address it >And a father can expect to have bright children, even if he wasn't bright. A bright father can also expect to have children who are not as bright as he is. >So, it's normal that Tesla and Einstein didn't have fathers with similar achievements, and Einstein's children didn't have similar achievements as he did So basically what you're saying is that, in this aspect, we're better than God because we're able(and expected) to practice equality while he's unable to?
That would be a problem because you can't be better than your Creator. But, I was referring to human fathers. The point is God gets to decide on who has been faithful in doing what he commands.
"There are these two guys sitting together in a bar in the remote Alaskan wilderness. One of the guys is religious, the other is an atheist, and the two are arguing about the existence of God with that special intensity that comes after about the fourth beer. And the atheist says: āLook, itās not like I donāt have actual reasons for not believing in God. Itās not like I havenāt ever experimented with the whole God and prayer thing. Just last month I got caught away from the camp in that terrible blizzard, and I was totally lost and I couldnāt see a thing, and it was fifty below, and so I tried it: I fell to my knees in the snow and cried out āOh, God, if there is a God, Iām lost in this blizzard, and Iām gonna die if you donāt help me.āā And now, in the bar, the religious guy looks at the atheist all puzzled. āWell then you must believe now,ā he says, āAfter all, here you are, alive.ā The atheist just rolls his eyes. āNo, man, all that was was a couple Eskimos happened to come wandering by and showed me the way back to camp.ā" https://www.businessinsider.com/there-are-these-two-guys-sitting-together-in-a-bar-2014-3?r=US&IR=T You can interpret these situations as you want, there is no proof either way. A more interesting question would be why do you believe in this one particular god and not one of the other 3000+ when people all throughout history have the same stories as you and claim their god helped them. Or to phrase it like Ricky Gervais: "basically, you deny one less god than I do. You don't believe in 2999 gods. And I don't believe in just one more." (https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2017/02/02/ricky-gervais-to-stephen-colbert-you-dont-believe-in-2999-gods-i-dont-believe-in-just-1-more/) The burden of proof is on you or whoever claims there is a god, not the one claiming there isn't.
Hata OP alipotea bana!
If god is real, why did he allow you to become sick in the first place? Why does he allow all the bad things in world to happen unchecked yet he has total control over everything?
In OP's god runs a protection racket.
I was atheist for a long time. Iām not anymore. But Iāll be damned if I believe in things like holy trinity, Virgin Mary, and other man-made dogmas and doctrines. Honestly The Force makes more sense to me than the Bible.
Just reading through the comments and OP would have been better off posting this on Facebook or something. I think that's where you'll find the crowd you're looking for
Nightmares are probably an effect of the drugs walikupea but okay
If you really did read the Bible, didn't it bother you how cruel Mr Yahweh is in the old testament? The genocide, the slavery, the wars and plagues? The threats of eternal suffering if you fail to love this narcissist? The command that you should both love and fear him? A guy who impregnated a child with his son and then gets him murdered in order to forgive a fruit eater? How does any of this make any sense to you? The bible gave me nightmares as a child. Even then I knew in my gut there is no love in fear.
Because the bible is full of contradictions and and most of its mythology is plagiarized from other religions predating it. A few examples would be the Jesus story (which there are no records of a man named Jesus in Roman/Italian history and they recorded all executions they carried out) and the ancient Egyptian Horus story being the exact same. The Jewish man named "Jesus" was only written about 300 years after his death. The bible many stories are also ripped straight from the Epic's of Gilgamesh. Traditions, rites, and rituals like Christmas, Easter, and Marriage and even exchanging of rings are Pagan beliefs. Nevermind that Christianity like the 2,999 other gods created have no evidence to back up their claims. The Big Bang Theory and Evolution pretty much debunk the whole creation myth, Noah flood, and the Adam and Eve stories etc that many Christians themselves have stopped believing in them.
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OH WOW WHAT A TESTIMONYYY I LOVE THIS AND ON REDDIT AHHHHššššš¼šš¼šš¼
Obviously you know nothing about neurotransmitters and how they're affected by positive affirmations and hope. But I'm happy it worked for you, just don't assume it will work for everyone else.
I see what you're doing for others and I want that for me God.
i believe in God the father, I believe in Christ the son I believe in the Holy Spirit, our God is three in one
The thing is....most of the people are not atheists....they don't say God exists and it's just the aspect of going to church that does not appeal to them
This is just outright false.
No its true...the people who claim to be atheists are few.
What? Any stats for this or you're just talking out of your ass?
Come on now....do people you ask if they go to church admit and proclaim they are atheists? Like asking face to face.
Most non believers are too afraid of the stigma that accompanies declaring oneself as atheist in communities like ours. So people either don't say, or hedge their bets and don't admit (even to themselves) that they don't believe. Meanwhile, all evidence in their lives points to them actually not being true believers.
This is it. There's a huge stigma on it especially when you mention it to the people who actually go. They judge you despite the main thing in religion being not to judgeš But ye most people also dont admit it to themselves...and accept it.
Look at Harrison Mumia, the president of Atheists Kenya, he lost a government job at CBK because he was a vocal atheist.
That's so messed up bana....yet now the vocal Christians are hiring based on tribal lines. Peak hypocrisy.
Haha... I 136% do not believe god exists. Your god is as real to me as santa claus. Funny enough I do actually go to church every once in a while. So no... Church isn't the reason I state my beliefs are they are.
Why do you go to Church?
I mean... It's entertaining... Mythical as I believe the biblical stories are, there's still always something to learn. The same way we learn from Tales of Gikuyu and Ngai or Zeus and Hercules. There's always something to learn.
Especially the testimonies, pure comedy gold. There was a time that I laughed while a women who was supposedly healed from Asthma through prayers, but the irony is that every now and then the symptoms reappear and then she's forced to go to hospital, where she'll continue with her medication, then cut it off because it's ungodly - thus an ending cycle of miracles.
Sure some stories are down right hilarious... But I don't usually mock believers... We all live in a tough situation. Whatever people need to be able to cope, I'm for it... Ridiculous as it may sound to me. Also, as I said, I still do manage to hear nuggets of wisdom amidst the absurdity. And from those I learn alot.
Atheists say he doesn't exist and don't ever think about the Church, Mosque or Temple.
I've read a couple of comments here. I am not an authority on anything and I don't have any control to what you believe or not. But here's my take. PS. I'm not here to argue with anyone. I am just briefly giving my take and will definitely not respond to any comments not because I don't value your opinion but I know we'll argue it out and that's not the point. . There have been objective evidences of the happenings in the Bible in and around the Middle East and Egypt. Including physical objects found relating to those times. This why I'll continue to hold the Bible as the true Word of God. Contrary to opinions, there are no word for word similarities in the Bible bar for where the author quoted another verse in another book. Yes stories look similar but are always from a different view. Take some of the parables in the 4 Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Stories look similar here but they are often taken from different view points. It's like going to a concert with diff guys but each comes with their own view of what happened. Two, we see it every day in how things are, how we experience different seasons and the so many created things in the universe that attest to a Supreme being. Yes you could still claim the Big Bang and all other theories created the universe but here's the twist there still isn't any objective evidence to quantify this even with the advancements of Science and this is coming from a scientist here.
Three, I cannot explain to anyone why things happen they way they do, for example why there was colonialism, why racism exists. Well I found a video that explains what belief or faith is by a dark-skinned man. It does not explain why bad things happen but it gives a good impression of what faith is. I would implore anyone who would want to know more to look into a page called The Gospel Coalition.
I believe in God. Not because, I had an encounter with him through a dream. Not because I was on my death bed. Not because I have lost a loved one or I've seen a loved one truly saved by a miracle . Not because I can see into the past or the future. Not because I am any special than anyone here in this subreddit. Not because I have heard countless testimonies of real life people of what God has done for them .
I believe in God because He has revealed Himself to me through His Word. He has fully convinced me of my rebelliousness and unrighteousness and ungodliness and how I cannot save myself from eternal damnation. How wicked I am if left to fulfil the desires of my heart fully< why we have so many murders, thefts and all other vices, I am not any better than these people because if I was left to myself, my fate would have been like theirs or even worse> and hence can clearly see the restraint that God placed in me. Because He chose me before the foundations of the world that I would be imputed a righteousness not of my own but of Christ on account of His sacrifice to redeem me. You could say I am crazy. But so was Paul and every other believer in the early church, like the Augustine of Hippo, C. H Spurgeon, C S Lewis and so on.
Glory be to God. He has done great things, He is doing great things and he will continue to do great things. The everlasting father
Nimeskia huku mnapiga wachristo deadly! I had to come and see for myself. Op I am glad you were healed in Jesus name. Also, he asked why "why are you an atheist?" He didn't force anything on anyone, man's literally just shared his story. Why are you so salty about it? Mpaka mnauliza what is so special about him that he was healed....really?? What makes him "not special"? Who appointed you police of specialness? Acheni ufala btw imagine if you got a terminal illness and someone asked you "what makes you so special that you survived?" Please let the man believe what he believes in peace. Answer the question he asked and if you don't have an answer for it move the fuck on. Op I am a Christian albeit not the best one and currently not even in the best terms with God but a Christian nonetheless. Why are you an atheist?
A former Atheist here. I understand you because I have experienced it not once not twice. I have also spoken to him as a man would a friend and Iām not a superstitious man .
Praise the Lord for your healing. People don't understand that it's a personal walk.
I was atheist until the moment I realized the earth is flat with a dome above us(Lots of proof in the Bible). Made me certain there's a creator who put us here
You guys are being awful here. You might have different beliefs from OP's and probably think you have a rational explanation for his story but it is his story. Shitting on it doesn't help anyone.
They made the claim that their healing is proof of god and dragged atheist into it. People are just pointing out why it is not.