Delta4Embassy
Gold Member
Every so often, I write something pro-G-d and have the sense to save it. These are a couple fo those from over the years. I don't claim it's right, or better than others, it's just mine:
How can we be certain G-d exists? There's certainly no empirical evidence supporting it or we wouldn't even be asking the question. So if there's nothing concrete to set our backs against why do so many belive? Why are some willing to die for beliefs that can't be supported scientifically?
G-d gave us free will. Part of that freedom is to believe in Him, trust Him, love Him, and obey Him; Part of it is to reject Him for reasons including there's no evidence. Would it still be us exercising a choice if there was evidence and His existence was as self-evident as this planet?
If we KNOW G-d exists there's nothing to believe in, or put faith in, or trust in. We're simply submitted to an all-powerful being out of fear being far below Him on the food chain.
If there's room to doubt, or even logic supporting disbelief, but believe anyway, then it can be said we love G-d.
This Av 9th I learned how the Exodus Jews sent a dozen scouts into the Promised Land to recon. All but two reported back the land was unconquerable angering G-d. G-d expected the Jews to trust Him, most did not even after everything He had done for them. They KNEW G-d existed, but they didn't BELIEVE in Him.
...
Doubters serve a useful purpose. There always has to be balance in things. With faith it's those who argue against it. No up without down, on without off, positive-negative, etc. If everyone agreed about G-d and there was only 1 religion what would happen eventually is that 1 religion would divide into two or more factions and they'd then argue with themselves. Can never have good without evil, if you did the all-good group simply changes into two groups consisting of "more good" vs "less good." And "less good" becomes the new "evil." Consequently, G-d not only allows doubters to exist, but ensures they flourish. Sometimes I wonder if His apparent refusal to prove His existence is to fulfill this need and purpose. If we all knew beyond all doubt G-d existed, and never had reason to doubt wouldn't we then just become overly dependent upon Him? Society would likely stagnate and die off since we wouldn't be doing much for ourselves anymore and expecting G-d to take care of htings.
Instead, G-d sits back quietly refusing to prove He exists so we're constantly struggling with our faiths. Not just against those with different ones, but even amongst ourselves. But in the struggle is where true faith emerges. It's spiritual "exercise."
...
And some quotations I've come up being fond of reading those of others:
"If 65,000 repetitions makes one truth, why do we still argue whether G-d exists or not when billions have said more than once that He does?"
"If ya don't stir things up once in a while, all the important stuff settles at the bottom and you get hot water instead of soup."
"I'd rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I pretended to be."
"Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." But I say, "The unchallenged faith is not worth sharing. For just as vigorous exercise causes microscopic tears in muscle, and fractures in bones which then grow back stronger than before, so does having our faith in things challenged, struck, shaken, and scutinized, after which, it reforms stronger precisely because it was attacked.""
"Hope may be the denial of reality, but it can also be the knowledge that for every one step a monster takes towards us, the people who'll fight it have run two."
How can we be certain G-d exists? There's certainly no empirical evidence supporting it or we wouldn't even be asking the question. So if there's nothing concrete to set our backs against why do so many belive? Why are some willing to die for beliefs that can't be supported scientifically?
G-d gave us free will. Part of that freedom is to believe in Him, trust Him, love Him, and obey Him; Part of it is to reject Him for reasons including there's no evidence. Would it still be us exercising a choice if there was evidence and His existence was as self-evident as this planet?
If we KNOW G-d exists there's nothing to believe in, or put faith in, or trust in. We're simply submitted to an all-powerful being out of fear being far below Him on the food chain.
If there's room to doubt, or even logic supporting disbelief, but believe anyway, then it can be said we love G-d.
This Av 9th I learned how the Exodus Jews sent a dozen scouts into the Promised Land to recon. All but two reported back the land was unconquerable angering G-d. G-d expected the Jews to trust Him, most did not even after everything He had done for them. They KNEW G-d existed, but they didn't BELIEVE in Him.
...
Doubters serve a useful purpose. There always has to be balance in things. With faith it's those who argue against it. No up without down, on without off, positive-negative, etc. If everyone agreed about G-d and there was only 1 religion what would happen eventually is that 1 religion would divide into two or more factions and they'd then argue with themselves. Can never have good without evil, if you did the all-good group simply changes into two groups consisting of "more good" vs "less good." And "less good" becomes the new "evil." Consequently, G-d not only allows doubters to exist, but ensures they flourish. Sometimes I wonder if His apparent refusal to prove His existence is to fulfill this need and purpose. If we all knew beyond all doubt G-d existed, and never had reason to doubt wouldn't we then just become overly dependent upon Him? Society would likely stagnate and die off since we wouldn't be doing much for ourselves anymore and expecting G-d to take care of htings.
Instead, G-d sits back quietly refusing to prove He exists so we're constantly struggling with our faiths. Not just against those with different ones, but even amongst ourselves. But in the struggle is where true faith emerges. It's spiritual "exercise."
...
And some quotations I've come up being fond of reading those of others:
"If 65,000 repetitions makes one truth, why do we still argue whether G-d exists or not when billions have said more than once that He does?"
"If ya don't stir things up once in a while, all the important stuff settles at the bottom and you get hot water instead of soup."
"I'd rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I pretended to be."
"Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." But I say, "The unchallenged faith is not worth sharing. For just as vigorous exercise causes microscopic tears in muscle, and fractures in bones which then grow back stronger than before, so does having our faith in things challenged, struck, shaken, and scutinized, after which, it reforms stronger precisely because it was attacked.""
"Hope may be the denial of reality, but it can also be the knowledge that for every one step a monster takes towards us, the people who'll fight it have run two."
