Doug Shaver

Suppose I'm Noah's neighbor. How do I know that he is living a righteous life?

Does he say to me, "I live a righteous life," and am I supposed to believe it just because he says it?

I don't think so. But then, if I am Noah's neighbor, what do I observe in his life that is supposed to cause me to know that his life is righteous?

Tigers!

Unfortunately we know today that those arguments issued in support before WWII were only believed in hindsight. Churchill etc: were considered fools, mad, troublemakers etc: by the vast majority of Europeans pre 1939.
Noah started to build the Ark. Due to it's dimensions it could not have been hidden. No doubt his neighbours thought he was a fool, mad, troublemaker etc:.
It is a human trait to ignore evidence we don't like or accept and later realise, often too late, that we were wrong.

aChristian

You would know. You would know the same way you are able to recognize the righteous lives of Christians that you know today.

Jack the Bodiless

So, getting drunk and passing out while naked is part of a "righteous life".

Doug Shaver

My point was that the arguments were presented along with some evidence to support them.

Agreed, but my question was: What evidence did Noah have that he could show his neighbors? Aside from Noah's claim that God was talking to him, exactly what evidence were his neighbors ignoring?

Doug Shaver

A vacuous response.

You're either begging the question or evading it.

I do not see any more righteousness in the lives of Christians than I see in the lives of anyone else.

Besides, if I consider a Christian righteous, it is because his or her life confirms to a code of ethics that I have developed without any reference to what Christians have to say about what constitutes righteousness.

aChristian

No, but your question establishes my point that we all recognize righteous and unrighteous behavior.

aChristian

No, just giving an appropriate answer. You know a righteous life when you see one whether you want to admit it or not.

I doubt that.

God tells us that we all have an innate knowledge of right and wrong (Romans 2:15), a conscience. We can sear that conscience (Titus 1:15), but it is present in everyone.

Kosh

ALL Christians? Or only the "True Christians (tm)"?

:banghead:

Doug Shaver

You say so. Shall I just take your word for it?

Or, what would you accept as evidence that you are mistaken?

Suppose you point to someone and say to me, "That man is righteous." If I disagree with you and say he is not righteous, would that prove that I don't know a righteous life when I see it?

Probably not. There is nothing that could happen that would prove you wrong, is there? Because you are not capable of being wrong when you talk about God, are you?

You say those are God's words. Shall I just take your word for it, or can you prove that they are God's words?