Magus55

Because it doesn't fit scripture.

Sven

So what? If the bible or your interpreation of it were wrong about Jesus being resurrected physically, what prevents it from being right about another kind of resurrection? That is, if one "detail" (the "physical" part) is wrong, why do you think the whole has to be wrong?

Joshua Adams

If the IPU rended the very sky and declared, "There is no god," I would be convinced. You? Only problem is determining where the bloody hell that booming voice is coming from...


Do you have any reasonable criteria? Gigantic contradictions in theology, major errors in the Bible, something hypothetically possible?


I'd be convinced of God if he came down and talked to me, and just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, solved some kind of impossible math problem or something comparable.

Magus55

I didn't say the whole thing would be wrong. But have it your way. You are only further showing that its impossible to disprove Christianity. Thanks

Angrillori

Years ago, I read someone's site that included several criteria that would convince him of a religion's validity. I don't remember all, but:

If a particular religions followers were never hurt or in accidents, or got sick.
If a particular religions adherants had prayers answered any more often than any other religions.
If a religions holy book contained knowledge that the writers obviously could not have had--string theory equations solved in the middle of the Qu'ran, for example.
If a particular religions adherants had never ever lost a war.
If a particular religion was accepted and followed by 100% of the world's people.

There were more too, if I remember. None are 100% proof that this religion is correct, but in writing, I'm saying that these work for me too.

That would get me to believe that this religion is correct. Now, would I follow it? That's a different question. As we've had in threads before, if the deity was shown to be truly good, then yes. This is why xianity, even if it fulfilled the criteria above, and was 'true' would fail to have me as a follower--if xianity is true, then god is a monster, and doesn't deserve my worship.

#1) Show a god exists.
#2) Show it is your god.
#3) Show your god is worthy of worship.

Do 1+2+3, and you've got me.

Lugubert

What would make me believe in a God is, if She came down to Earth and declared:

"I am tired of all this nonsense that is being told of Allah and Brahma and Yahweh and what's-their-names. This is my true autobiography, and I will give a copy to every person on Earth, and they will be able to read it. To further prove it, I'm going to solve the problem of global warming for you, in a way that you will understand and believe."

MadMez

Anything would make me not just believe or have faith, but to be pretty sure I knew the Christian Bible was right. Anything.

As even a pretty much all-knowing, a semi all present, a more-or-less all loving and a sort of eternal (G)od would know what that is for each and every one of us and not even dent "free will" (whatever the fuck that is) by showing us, as we could still reject this anything, then I conclude there is no truth in the Bible. Apart from the speaking donkey bit.

Your mileage may vary.

Mageth

How can you know there are such patterns, if they can't be comprehended???

grendel prime

told you it was brain in a vat problem...
but whose brain and which vat?

Craigart14

I'ver read elsewhere that the exit from the shrine at Lourdes is littered with discarded canes, walkers, and such, but they've never found an artificial arm or leg. Just wondering: didn't Jesus give his powers to his disciples? Bishop Iraneous [sp?] said that in his time, the late second century, Christians were still raising the dead, and outside commentators have written--without being eyewitnesses--that members of this strange new religion were raising the dead. Why can't all the current crop of charlatans, er, I mean, disciples raise the dead? They claim to cure all sorts of conditions; why not death?

I did see a Dallas area preacher on television claiming to heal people. One of the people was an assistant producer on a news show, can't remember which one, and he "healed" her of a non-existent problem! She told him that one leg was shorter than the other, so he stretched her out on a table and began praying. He also touched her feet, and as he did so, he pulled the heel of the shoe farther from the camera out away from her foot. As he prayed, he slowly pushed the shoe back into position, which created the illusion that the leg in the foreground was growing. Guess they didn't have slo-mo instant replay in Jesus' day.

Seriously, though. Why can't Oral Roberts bring somebody back from the dead? Or at least resurrect the career of Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker . . . . Tammy Faye, as you know, is doing very well, having recently shared some hot tub time with Ron Jeremy.

Craig