Atheism is an example of the informal fallacy appeal to ignorance. Philosophically, it is indefensible. For that matter, so is theism. Agnosticism makes much more sense.
A man is driving down the road in the desert and is lost. He pulls out his road map and it shows he needs to head east in order to get to his desired destination city yet when he looks east with his very own eyes he see nothing but endless desert. At this point what is he to do ? Believe what his eyes tell him, or have faith in what another has written on a piece of paper years before he was born ?
There are no words in the Kingdom. Communication is by "communion"...like telepathy on a grand scale. Every thought in the Kingdom is shared with the entire Kingdom instantaneously. You recieve every thought in the Kingdom. Communication creates, and without your will, nothing would be created...because creation occurs unanimously. If you pulled out of the Kingdom, then, to make your own, it would give rise to a world such as this. This world is "foreign" to the Son of God, and it's language our Father does not understand, because it is not understandable. Tongues and words were made to block communion/communication resulting in towers of babel-ing nonsense. So to answer your question, the attempt to communicate comes from beyond this world. The communication link uses "words" to describe the Truth, which is really beyond words. The words used are designed to lead you to where there are no more words, restoring you to "communion". The communication link between the Kingdom and this foreign land is the "Holy Spirit". The Holy Spirit was "sent" to "save" the prodigal Son, who wandered away from the Kingdom. I, Jesus, learned of this Spirit. I learned that I am this Spirit. And so, I was "sent" to "save" the world. To understand this paradigm, be willing to accept that this world, and the Kingdom of God cannot coexist. They are entirely incompatible. Each is insane to the other. Nothing about the one makes sense to the other. In fact, they are opposites. And that is why this world is "anti". Because it is the opposite of Christ, it is "anti-Christ". One is true, the other is false. One is "objective reality". The other is "subjective reality". One is real...the other is illusion...mere hypothetical constructs in a very powerful mind which is divided against itself. "A house divided against itself" refers to the Son's mind. It cannot stand. So it "falls". The "fall" gives rise to this world, and the seeming existence of "man". Jesus
Yes, the creed does affirm that by the Son "all things were made". However, the key question is, "What for?" Our Father does not create "things". But this is a world of "things". Why? Let's go back to the prodigal Son scenario. If the Son of leaves the Kingdom, where would he go? Where is there to go? Understand, then, that to "go" anywhere, he must make someplace to go, and he must make a body to get there. But in this case, he makes not one body...not two...no! He makes a legion of bodies. And in this mistake, he makes a hell for himself. He makes himself into a devil. For is not the devil always "legion"? The mistake is the idea that separation from the Kingdom is even possible. That mistake plays itself out as a separation-themed imaginary world. Note well: each body is separate from another...and try as they might, they can never really "join". Not like in the Kingdom. This sets up a situation in which the Son crucifies himself in a million different ways. All pain is the pain of the Son. And every death is his death. For we are indeed one, despite appearances. That is why I ask you to love your neighbor as yourself...because he is yourself! However, if you do not "know thy Self", then you will not know how to truly love your brother. Understand that he is the Son of God, wandering away from home, crucified and suffering. His feet are nailed to the earth as long as you hide his identity from him. Hide it from him, and you will hide it from yourself. Therefore, love your brother by seeing your brother as he truly is. I don't just mean attitude. I mean it is actually possible to see your brother in glorious light. And that is why I say, "do not hide your light under a bushel". In order to see this way, you must remove first what blinds you. What blinds you are your beliefs about your brother, about yourself, and about our Father. If you believe our Father made this world, this is enough to blind you to the light. For this world is set up to block the light from being seen. It is, in fact, a defense against the truth. Jesus
Not at all. Allow me to explain why. To say there is a god or gods is an extraordinary claim that implies extraordinary evidence. What's more, a theist asserts the existence of god(s) based on variable criteria yet never hammering down exactly what God is. In fact the theist goes so far as to say that one cannot truly understand or fully comprehend god. Because of this long list of assertions that goes untested and for not having a concrete definition of what a god actually is, an atheist cannot be accused of appealing to ignorance. It's not that the atheist is saying... There is no evidence for God(s), therefore, there is no God(s). (which would be an appeal to ignorance on paper, unexplored) It's that the atheist is saying... There is no evidence for God(s) nor a means or criteria to establish what that evidence would constitute, nor a means to test if certain evidence pertains to God(s), nor an established means to comprehend the evidence since god(s) who the evidence applies to is not fully comprehensible, therefore the existence of God is impossible to determine. And if impossible to determine, not worth pursuing further investigation. We can't even say, "we don't know." (Like the agnostic.) To say we don't know suggests there's a phenomena which we can't explain or attribute to something and that defies all tests and falsifications for it. A rational person can do nothing when it comes to even rationally attempting to address the existence of God except conceptually. Until such time as we can begin to rigorously entertain the existence of a deity, we're forced to conclude that it's all in the head. For in that place there, it is undeniable that God(s) exist.
The Truth About The Trinity To lend understanding about the Trinity, I would posit once again the parable of the prodigal Son. God has only one Son. That is what it means "only begotten". The Son asks for his inheritance and leaves his home, the "Kingdom" for a far off land. This is the far off land, and you are the prodigal Son. But so is every"thing" else. The Son is not a "thing". But in wandering away, he made himself into many "things"...in fact, everything. And in identifying himself with these things, he lost himself. He no long knows who he is, and cannot remember the Kingdom from which he came. He has denied his is his Father's Son, and has denied himself. In fact, he is so confused that he thinks he originated from this foreign land. He may even think it some kind of testing ground. He is wrong, confused, superstitious, afraid, suffering and dying...over and over again. His mind is conflicted and sick. Our Father does not understand any of this. It is not understandable. First of all, it is not real. It cannot be known, only percieved. Our Father only knows, and he knows his Son is perfect, and also an equal. His Son was not created to "learn". The Son knows, like the Father. But to wander off and make another kingdom, the Son denied his knowledge. He has denied who he is. This placed him in the position of a learner. The Father will not teach the Son anything because that would imply inequality, and that would destroy the Kingdom, which is built on equality...no heirarchy. Meanwhile, the Son has learned his way into a labyrinth. The more he "thinks", the deeper he goes into darkness. He has essentially destroyed his own mind, locking it into circular logic. Our Father knows nothing of this strange world. To Him, there is only a lack of communication. For this reason was the Holy Spirit created, equal to the Father and the Son. And this was given to the Son at the onset of his journey away from the Kingdom to keep his inheritance safe for him and guide him home. The Holy Spirit has always told the Son the truth from the very beginning. But upon this quest into nowhere, the Son was not interested in the truth. In defense against the truth, the Son made this entire universe. It masks the truth well, and keeps it out through many ingenious, but confusing mechanisms. The body functions as one of these mechanisms. The body enables the Son to shut his ears from the truth the Spirit speaks always. I, Jesus, was as much the prodigal Son as any of my brothers. Why do you think I told that parable so well? But I opened my mind to the Voice of God within me...this is the Holy Spirit. This is the "savior" "sent" to guide us home. I listened and learned that I am He. Therefore, I am Spirit, not a body. If you would "follow" me, listen well. The Holy Spirit is the Teacher. The Teacher is your true Self. You are not who you think you are until you understand you are Spirit, and you are the indestructible Son of God. The Holy Spirits only purpose is to guide the Son out of this world by teaching him equality as an equal. That is why the Holy Spirit does not command you, and neither do I. For that would imply that we are not equals. Therefore, you must ask to be guided. It is Self guiding self-concept. You are not a body, you are Spirit. So you are not a "man", nor the "son of man". The Spirit will teach you to lay down your "life" as a "man", and take up your Life as the Son of God. That is the path I followed home. If you would follow me, that is the "Way" you must go. The Spirit does not ask you to get crucified. Brother, you are already crucified, many times! Rather, "take up your cross" and follow me. The body is your cross. Some may call it a "tight shoe". But I call it a cross. Follow me to know yourself as Spirit. Then you will be free. When you arrive back to the Kingdom, the Holy Spirit is your brother and your equal. There will be no more teaching. The Kingdom is oneness. We are one. We are the same. We all have everything. Everything is shared. And this is how we create, constantly. Because we are all the same, there is really no "we". There is One. That is heaven. That is creation. That is the Kingdom. That is the Son. That is reality. And that is love. Peace. Jesus
A guy came on ET to wish "other Christians" a Happy Easter... and this thread has turned into a debate about Christianity. This wasn't a open discussion... it was a sharing of goodwill amongst like minded people. Who ask any of you, for any of your opinions about Chistianity ! All this does is show me just how lost and empty life is without Christ, that non believers feel the need to attack a simple holiday blessing. What a world.
Public board, friendo. But what would you expect considering the ills that those that call themselves Christian impart upon not only themselves but the rest of the world. Think about that. Most that call themselves Christians, do not "live and let live" in the slightest but rather are at earnest imposing their views and relative morality upon everyone else... regardless if they are like-minded or not. Next time, take it in stride so you don't appear hypocritical.