Johnny Skeptic

Anyone who has just a modest amount of common sense knows that there is not a necessary correlation between power and good character, and that goes for everyone, including a God. Some people reject the God of the Bible because they do not believe that any God exists, but a lot of other people reject the God of the Bible because they believe that if he exists, he has poor character. Quite rightly, those people are not impressed by anyone's power, including a God's power.

Tigers!

Is there a connection between the title "God can predict the future, so what" and the body of the OP?

Johnny Skeptic

A game of semantics is not necessary. What does power have to do with good character?

Please reply to my post #17 in a thread at http://iidb.infidels.org/vbb/showthr...=1#post5129865 at the GRD Forum, and to my post #25 in a thread at http://iidb.infidels.org/vbb/showthr...55#post5129855 at the GRD Forum.

stuart shepherd

Did Jesus ever predict anything meaningful that came true?

He made predictions that have not come true.

Stuart Shepherd

Johnny Skeptic

Consider the following post that I made in another thread:

Nope, if a God exists, he is probably not the God of the Bible. I reasonably proved that in a thread at http://iidb.infidels.org/vbb/showthread.php?t=235279 at the GRD Forum. If you wish to embarrass yourself, please make posts in that thread.

Anyone who has just a modest amount of common sense knows that if Micah had predicted that the messiah would rule a heavenly kingdom instead of an earthly kingdom as the Jews were misled by God to believe, and that the messiah would heal people, and that the messiah would be crucified, buried, and rise from the dead after three days, and the Pontius Pilate would become the Roman Governor of Palestine, a lot more Jews would have accepted Jesus. If that would not have been the case, please tell us why it would not have been the case. Are you really going to claim that God would not be able to convince everyone to believe that he can predict the future?

Your argument that God used prophecy to strengthen the faith of the Jews after the fact does not work. No Jew who lived during Ezekiel's time saw the Tyre prophecy fulfilled, nor did any Jew for several more generations. As a result, surely some Jews gave up Judaism, or wondered why God did not quickly defeat all of Tyre. When Alexander finally defeated Tyre, some Jews must have wondered why Ezekiel did not mention Alexander, and some of them must have given up Judaism because of that.

The bottom line is this: If God loved the Jews, and wanted to protect them from being harmed by their human enemies, he would also have wanted to protect them from being killed by storms and parasites. With parasites alone, God has killed more people than all of the wars in history. Such being the case, God was far more dangerous to the Jews than all of their enemies put together.

If Jewish prophets had predicted when and where natural disasters would occur, how many of them would have been persecuted or killed? Answer, none. If a God exists, it is obvious that he does not want people to believe that he can predict the future.

Minnesota

Gotta say, the very same question occurred to me: What's the connection between the title "God can predict the future, so what" and the body of the OP? Or did you simply misspeak?

Johnny Skeptic

Gotta say, the very same question occurred to me: What's the connection between the title "If God can predict the future, so what?" and the body of the OP? Or did you simply misspeak?[/quote]

The title of this thread is 'If God can predict the future, so what?' The opening post says:

I assume that everyone would understand that "so what?" in the title of this thread, when considered along with the opening post, essentially means that even if God is able to predict the future, that does not mean than he has good character. Tigers knew exactly what I meant, and so do you.

Since you wish to join Tigers as a member of the grammar police, I wish to revise my opening post as follows: Even if the God of the Bible can predict the future, that on its own does not provide a reasonable basis for anyone to become a Christian.

Johnny Skeptic

The title of this thread is 'If God can predict the future, so what?' The opening post says:

I assumed that everyone would understand that "so what?" in the title of this thread, when considered along with the opening post, essentially means that even if God is able to predict the future, that does not mean than he has good character. Tigers knew exactly what I meant, and so do you.

Since you wish to join Tigers as a member of the grammar police, I wish to revise my opening post as follows: Even if the God of the Bible can predict the future, that on its own does not provide a reasonable basis for anyone to become a Christian, and with the further implication that the many threads on prophecy at this forum are incomplete without reasonable defenses of God's character at some other forums.

Minnesota

Gotta say I haven't seen the, "I'm right and you know I'm right" face-saving defense in some time.


I understand your need to justify your mistake, but don't you think the "grammar police" gambit is a bit juvenile? That you expect the reader to take you at your "word" when you write some things, but then interpret your "word" when you write others, is pretty arrogant. "I mean what I say when I say it unless I don''t mean what I say when I say it."

HelmetWB

I once argued with a believing friend that everyone 'demanded' that God live up to certain standards. I recall using the following scenario: what if God came to 'you' in a vision and demanded that you murder your mother and rape your sister? Wouldn't your response be to either to deny that God was God, but instead some demonic entity; or, in honor of modernity, assume that you were 'psychotic' and visit a psychiatrist for an antipsychotic drug 'fix.' Point being that you would deny God for 'cause;' i.e., if God was to win your belief then God must live up to 'your' standards, not His!

But then the 'story' of Western Philosophy was 'first' precisely that; the rejection of God for cause! Only later did Darwin give humankind a 'rational' alternative that left God out of the equation as to how 'we' came to be.