Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Christianity could possibly become a minority religion in US as early as 2045…

People who are unchurched or dechurched, and even people who profess to be Christians, they need to realize and know that there’s a great deal of evidence for the events in the New Testament. And science and history and logic and reason all provide evidence…not only for these events…but also for the reliability of the New Testament documents (the Gospels and Acts in particular).

Something extraordinary happened in the early first century that enabled and motivated a tiny sect in the miserable and desolate armpit of the Roman Empire to not only survive, but to thrive. This tiny group, who had no power and no finances and no territory and no army, was able to withstand the persecution of the Jewish Temple…the very center of Judaism and national identity of Ancient Israel…which had an abundance of all of these things. The power structure of Judaism was the first group to persecute Jesus and His followers.

The Jewish Temple later joined forces with the despised occupiers of Judea, the mighty Roman Empire, and this same tiny sect was able to withstand the persecution of these combined forces as well. And the Roman Empire had vast amounts of power and finances and territory, and a huge army. Something clearly extraordinary was at play to bring these things about.

I believe we are saying the same thing....I look at it like the below paper from 40 years ago....

Evidence will never be 100% — there’s always the chance that everything you think you know turns out to be false — but the evidence allows you to make current-best-evidence-guesses….We can build up piles and piles of evidence for ideas. When the pile reaches a certain height, it behooves us to begin to take it rather seriously. That is, until someone removes a critical piece from the bottom of the pile, and the entire edifice comes crashing down.

***Proof is the final verdict that removes all doubts whereas evidence only leads one in the direction of a fact or statement.***

I don't agree....lack of believing is not minor in my book...

>>>>Believe or suffer the consequences is a rule that a tyrant might impose, not a God of love.<<<<

This is my take....I think that God doesn’t demand obedience, but seeks a relationship in hopes to inspire our loving others, like God loves us. This is what truly leads to the best of worlds. God, like any loving parent, is opposed to immoral behaviors that violate the rights of others, but knows threats of punishment only deter destruction and not inspire true change. A tyrant could care less about your rights and your freedom. A tyrant could care less that you will be more of an authentic person when you make choices not out of fear of consequences, but because the voice behind such guidance is God's love.

I didn't get angry with Whitetail48...only an atheist would...>>>>If you only rely on the love of a god, why even bother considering Pascals wager?<<<<
I already told you that way way back, in my early 20s, Pascal's theory intrigued me...it was a fifty-fifty chance....I had no demanding faith involved...so as time went by, I started to pray, ask for forgiveness, and always did the right thing… and as more time went by, I realized that it cannot stop there.....I must become mature in my faith and have definitive reasons for it that are based on the possible truth and not just pragmatism, because as stated before, God can see what is truly in the heart.

God revealed Himself to the world. Two sides of the same coin. In the Old Testament, God is Holy, and sin had to have a sacrifice to have yourself cleansed to be acceptable to God. God hated sin and punished for it and gave the Law to be obeyed to avoid God's judgement. No one could completely obey the law, thus the blood sacrifices of sheep and goats.

In the New Testament, God reveals His Love and forgiveness by becoming a perfect man and dying for our sins, raising from the dead, to give us eternal life. IF we repent of our sins, acknowledge our sin and frailty, and accept Jesus into our hearts to be saved from God's judgement. Jesus living within us causes us to live better lives, and we want to give up sin to please God and be filled with His love. An unbeliever doesn't understand this, never have, never will. That is why probably only 20% of those who attend church are true Christians who actually know God.

Nothing is demanded by God, it is your belief in Jesus as Lord of Lords, and King of Kings, and acceptance of Him as your Savior that will save you. God is patient, and longsuffering waiting on those who will believe. God did demand the Jews obey Him to show that they couldn't really do it completely. So, today, if you Heed His Call, you can be saved from what is to come of the world.

The world is getting more wicked as they give up their belief in God. Murder, rape, homosexuality, abortion, stealing, lying, is running rampant, not only in America, but the world. The world needs Jesus as savior.

It'd be best to shred that paper - it's wrong.

I'd recommend starting with basic reading comprehension first.

Anchoring the texts of the New Testament documents to the individual author’s story and to a specific historical context is an evidence based approach, rather than just saying “the Bible says.” “The Bible says” clearly doesn’t carry a lotta weight in our post-Christian society.

And anchoring the faith of Christianity to the historicity of the resurrection is part of that evidence based approach as well. Reminding unchurched and dechurched people, as well as people who profess to be Christians, that we don’t believe Jesus rose from the dead simply “because the Bible says so” is part of that evidence based approach as well. We believe because Matthew believed. We believe because Mark believed. We believed because Luke believed. Along with Peter, James, John and Paul. You’ve got to deal with each one of these men and their accounts and testimonies separately.

Apostle Paul, who God Himself said was His chosen instrument to take the Gospel to the Gentiles ‘and’ to the Jews, declares that Christianity is false unless the resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact. He even names the living eyewitnesses of the Resurrection at the time, in effect daring his readers to fact-check him by asking those living eyewitnesses themselves about it. He didn’t say, “Believe that Jesus rose from the dead because I’m writing the Bible and the Bible says so”…!

Once one has established…via the evidence provided by science and history and logic and reason…that Jesus actually did rise from the dead, then whatever Jesus says and teaches is true. And since that evidence, once established, shows that the separate and individual accounts and testimonies contained in the New Testament documents are reliable, then what Jesus said and taught about salvation and His divinity is true.

Game on…!

If it is believing in God that saves us, that is a condition set by God, not us.

A trivial condition of a lack conviction in the face of insufficient evidence that sets your fate.

To be damned over a lack of conviction is not justice, understanding or tolerance, it is petty intolerance and injustice.

Who would condemn their own children to death or suffering because they did not believe in something you expect them to believe?

There is no evidence for the supernatural events described in the bible. We only have what someone wrote.

The people of the time where more likely to believe in supernatural things, seeing signs and wonders where we, being more sceptical with our better understanding of the natural world, would not.

Surely you jest...is that all?

That's all? I'd recommend that you start with basic reading comprehension.

Oh my....scriptures from God the Bible is not evidence? We have discussed that many times....well anyway, your statement is unworthy to Theist and that is what separates Theist from Atheist.

I shit you not. Losing that paper will be a good start for you. Evidence is the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid. Simple as that. Theists don't understand these real world concepts.

More than a number of times, but you never seem to be be able to grasp the fallacy of begging the question, which means that what is written in a book is not evidence for the truth of its own claims. It's also called circular reasoning.

You don't accept evidence as being something that is written other holy books, yet you are happy to apply the fallacy to your own holy book, the bible. Which is a double standard.

I just meant that you see things that aren't there and don't see things that are there. I assumed it was a comprehension issue but it may be more serious than that.

There is no such thing as an atheist - no atheist exists - but let me share my deep knowledge of what an atheist should do, and say, and what he should not, etc. - of course, I have no evidence, but you must take my word for this.

Is that convincing, or what?

I, saw the, Light.

Not at all. Do you believe that all religions are true?

That MUST be convincing - at least to the hypocrites who do it - there must be some reason they go on and on with such silliness?