Wads4

"Just my point! He got rather dramatically stopped. If he had been cooperative, he could have had his Babylon, and if Alex hadn't fallen sick, or his generals had kept at it, Babylon could well have been rebuilt then, too."

So why do you assume that all this was planned by a God? No doubt if Babylon had been rebuilt in due course, you would claim that was God's will also. Do you not understand that by claiming that EVERYTHING is God's will, you make it impossible that ANYTHING can be conclusively demonstrated to be His Will? In the same way: if God is claimed to be Everything, that only demonstrates that he is Nothing--just a label.

Wads4

"But you are trying to overthrow belief in the Bible! Why not then take an clear and virtually irrefutable way to do this? You could also rebuild Edom (Isa. 34:9-10, Jer. 49:18), or one other city that I can't recall right now.

I don't understand the question; are you asking whether I am trying to overthrow God? Or are you aking if I deny all the bits of history, and the atrocities which men do to each other?--which of course I do not. Things like the exile to Babylon, and the return to Jerusalem which Cyrus allowed, seem to be historical. King Ahab of Israel is mentioned in Assyrian records from the library of King Asshurbanipal in Nineveh,- as is the House of Omri. I don't deny history, I just deny picturesque but otherwise silly miracles like for instance Elijah being taken up into heaven by a fiery chariot with fiery horses; ( maybe there was a natural disaster on that occasion which was misinterpreted by yokels who knew nothing of Nature, and put all phenomena done to acts of God.)

Wads4

"Atheos is apparently ignoring my previous post. A solid case can be made for Christianity, I would say, now would Atheos be the one who is reluctant to examine evidence?

All we ever get is assertions that there is a solid case for Christianity, and an appeal to evidence for it, without actually stating in precise terms what the case is, and what the evidence is. We all know the basic and improbable assertions that are made,--lets have some real evidence. We all know that there are lots of Christians in the world. We know that possibly there was a man , who may have been called Jesus, who thought he was a god of some kind (don't they all?), and that he went around doing things, just like Apollonius of Tyana and others of his ilk, and that his body went missing after death, if he did actually die ( raised into Heaven by magic, just like his hero Elijah--what else?).
I believe he decided to make a name for himself by learning a few Jewish prophecy assertions and Greek philosophical notions, and act them out himself so as to be the "messiah", in order that "the prophecies might be fulfilled".
I could do the same; I could decide I was Napoleon re-incarnated, and advertise for a mercenary army, and go on the rampage in order to complete Napoleon's work. No doubt I would come to a sticky end.

Wads4

Isn't it simply amazing how we hear of such miracles from the devout, but we don't hear of such miracles in Medical publications? Lee, the Bible tells us that all adherents of Christ will be able to perform such miracles. Why don't we see this more often?

Isn't it simply amazing how we hear of such miracles from the devout, but we don't hear of such miracles in Medical publications? Lee, the Bible tells us that all adherents of Christ will be able to perform such miracles. Why don't we see this more often?

I suggest it is because of that egregious bit of Christian sophistry which goes " In order to believe it, you must first believe it". Could there be anything more stupid?

hayahtowb

Hi Atheos,
All the races are flesh, and Noah took two of "...every flesh..." aboard, so there was more than just eight people on the ark.

lee_merrill

Hi everyone,

Cancer also is particularly unpleasant, and we may ask, does God bear pain? Even pain that he inflicts, as in the cross?

Exodus 34:6-8 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation." Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.

There actually is a memorial and a proclaiming of a sacrifice in church, and a participation in it, once a month on Sunday.

That would not be bloodthirsty though, if Christ died for those sins.

No, God is not content about the fate of lost people...

Luke 19:41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it ...

And he also seeks the lost sheep, until he finds it (Luke 15:4).

Well no, not if he predicted this wouldn't happen! I would consider the Bible in serious error, and that would be reason to become a skeptic. And if two people who were well able to do X tried and then failed, that gives reason to believe, if God said X couldn't be done.

You may try, if you wish! Muslims might be interested in this, as well.

Actually, what God says cannot possibly be done would not then be God's will, if it happened, I would say.

You seem to be trying to overthrow belief in God here, though. So then why not take a very clear and convincing way to do this? We really don't need to debate about whether God exists, just rebuild or reinhabit (this second one would be easier) Babylon!

Then how many would you convince, I wonder? The remarkable Christian claim is that they follow a crucified Messiah, and that the cross is at the foundation, and establishes their claim of him to be God, and does not refute it. Jewish people of the first century would have thought the cross irrefutable evidence the other way, though, so they must have been very convinced, and they also were the type where "You have to show me."

Luke 24:21 "... but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel."

Would that be because miracles are not available by prescription? But there is a picture of a death certificate of a young boy raised from the dead in "Only Love can make a Miracle" by Mahesh Chavda.

Well, I have been healed after praying. Three times! At least that many, I'm starting to lose count a bit....

I do think there are good reasons to believe, however, such as healing, at times when I ask, and the improbability of the start of life by natural processes, and fulfilled prophecy.

Babylon will never be rebuilt, or reinhabited (Isa. 13:19-20, Jer. 25:12, Jer. 51:26).

There will always be Jewish people (Jer. 31:35-37; 33:24-26).

There will be Egyptian and Assyrian people up until the fulfillment of Isa. 19:16-25.

Egypt will never again rule the other nations (Eze. 29:14-15).

Blessings,
Lee