Welcome to my blog. I've created this blog in hopes of having a written debate with a Presuppositionalist Christian. I prefer in-person debates that we can video and put up on YouTube, but so far I have yet to find a willing opponent since I debated Sye Ten Bruggencate in June 2012.
Hopefully we'll get this written debate started on this blog very soon, and post the format and the rules followed by the actual arguments as they're made. Stay tuned.
Dan
Hi my name is Brian. I read the debate you recently had with Caleb and well, it stirred up a lot of emotions and passion but ultimately was let down by the debate because I felt that it went absolutely no where on the surface level. However, I was filled with joy simply due to the fact that you have an incredible desire to "know." That is where it all begins whether you believe it or not. Seek and ye shall find.. My friend you are definitely seeking and God draws near to those who seek truth. You spend a lot of time trying to argue about something you don't even believe is real.. Why? Where is the benefit in consuming your life trying to convince people that something is not real? If God does not exist then what does it matter if there are people who do believe? Now the opposite of that would be a very different scenario. Why would a believer want to bring a truth about something to someone who does not believe? In this case there would be consequences for the non believer and the believer. If you truly want to know if God is real and all the hows, whys, whos, and whens then do what God has instructed you to do and ask him? If you wanted to get to know someone on an intimate level would you go around asking everybody other than the person you are trying to build a relationship with about that person? If I wanted to get to know you I would not spend my time getting a million different view points about you from a million different people... I would come to you personally. Does that make sense? If you want o know how the universe works or why it works or what a black hole is or why you have eyebrows or what time is or how a diamond is made or why diamonds are made or why you think the diamond is beautiful or even what beautiful means then start asking God himself. He clearly says this throughout the Bible. Knock and he will answer, come up "here" and visit me. He does not say how fast or when he will open the door but the door will open when he decides to open it and you will be responsible for being able to notice when the door opens so you can come in. He will not force you in to his house, you have to willingly come in and ask to come in. We are not robots and God truly lets us decide what choices to make. If you don't want anything to do with God he will honor that with removing his presence from you eternally. That is all Hell is...simply the absence of God..That is what makes it so terrifying. The more time you spend thinking on this subject the more you will be drawn to his presence.. Ultimately, it all comes down to RELATIONSHIP..You can not do anything or know anything without building a personal relationship. The more you try to build it the more God will reveal to you as you are mature enough to handle the information he gives you. How do you build the relationship with someone you don't think is real? Simple, its called faith and here is how it works. I sat down one day and pretended to talk to God with the understanding that I didn't even think he was real and said " God, if you are real I want to know you. I honestly don't think you are real and have no real motivation for wanting to get to know you so please give me the desire to want to have a relationship with you if you are really out there" I told God I don't believe in you and don't even want o believe in you but if you are who I have heard others say you are than give me the hunger to want to know you. The rest is history.
ReplyDeleteNow I am ready for any questions you might have about your father in Heaven
ReplyDeleteHi Brian, you ask several important questions, so let's start with..."If God does not exist then what does it matter if there are people who do believe?" Because what people believe inform how they act, and actions have consequences. For example, a large percentage of the US population resists taking steps to combat climate change because they believe God will protect them from global disasters. This belief will have negative consequences for myself and my descendants. This is just one of many reasons why we need to honor the "one true god" (reality) and not the ancient myths we call Christianity.
DeleteIronically your use of "faith" is exactly what Caleb was arguing against. But more importantly, you and I probably agree more than you realize. I would suggest the book "Thank God for Evolution" by Michael Dowd. Michael was a fundamentalist Christian when he realized that "God" did not stop revealing things to us 2,000 years ago. He realized that nature is what we were calling "God" and that in the pre-scientific era of the Bible, it was a reasonable interpretation for the time. We know so much more now, that to anchor our understanding 20 centuries in the past while the world has present day problems is foolish and dangerous.
DeleteI agree with you that it takes a good deal of maturity to understand. We venture into adulthood protected and nurtured by our parents, growing and learning until eventually we are our parent's caretakers. I still see a largely religious society in adolescence, waiting to be told what to do; unable to act independently and take on the responsibility of adulthood.
It's a shame, our parents could use our help.