The Bible is a massive history of stories of men and women communicating with God. When Jesus left his disciples he told them he would send the Holy Ghost to guide them, not some book. The book has value but is subject to be altered by evil men. I find great value in reading the book and asking God for guidance in understanding what is true and what isn’t. See: James 1:5.
As for the scrolls, they’re open to the same scrutiny. I don’t read them and accept what they say blindly either. When something resonates as true it resonates. When it doesn’t it doesn’t. I didn’t mean to offer some defense of the scrolls or to claim they were more credible than the Bible. I don’t think I said anything that implied that either.
As for why I’m here and how I think God could eventually win this war, I think that because I think God CAN do anything, but whether or not he does depends largely upon us, and the faith we’re willing to exert collectively to bring his will into alignment with reality. God gave us agency, and when men don’t exercise that agency for good, He clearly doesn’t stand in their way. But I have faith humanity can finally get it done this time, so here I am.
As for me sowing doubt about God’s word, I’ve done nothing of the sort in my mind. I trust God’s word completely. The problem as I see it is that because the only place you’ve ever found God’s word is in the Bible, you haven’t considered the possibility that not everything in there is His Word. You’re operating under the same circular logic you learned in church as a child and haven’t given room for any other possibility. But I have. I trust the Holy Spirit to guide me and help me identify that which is truly God’s word and that which is merely the doctrines of men. You seem to not believe you have that ability. And as long as you refuse to believe that, your life will reflect that. But if you’ll exercise the faith of just a tiny mustard seed that God can speak to you directly, making you reliant upon your own revelations rather than on those of others you perceive as being better than you somehow, then your life would really open up.
And once again, your claim that mortal men cannot outsmart God is not being challenged here. So you can stop with that straw man. Men cannot outsmart God, obviously, but they can outsmart other men, and God will not force anyone to obey him and thus, the world finds itself in the state we’re in despite Him. Become part of the solution. Exercise faith in Him and in yourself as His child to change the world, and if enough of us do it, the prophecy of Habakkuk will finally be realized. God wills it. Let’s see if this time enough men will it too in order to make it a reality.
Wow talk about a lot to unpack.
The Bible is a massive history of stories of men and women communicating with God. When Jesus left his disciples he told them he would send the Holy Ghost to guide them, not some book. The book has value but is subject to be altered by evil men. I find great value in reading the book and asking God for guidance in understanding what is true and what isn’t. See: James 1:5.
As for the scrolls, they’re open to the same scrutiny. I don’t read them and accept what they say blindly either. When something resonates as true it resonates. When it doesn’t it doesn’t. I didn’t mean to offer some defense of the scrolls or to claim they were more credible than the Bible. I don’t think I said anything that implied that either.
As for why I’m here and how I think God could eventually win this war, I think that because I think God CAN do anything, but whether or not he does depends largely upon us, and the faith we’re willing to exert collectively to bring his will into alignment with reality. God gave us agency, and when men don’t exercise that agency for good, He clearly doesn’t stand in their way. But I have faith humanity can finally get it done this time, so here I am.
As for me sowing doubt about God’s word, I’ve done nothing of the sort in my mind. I trust God’s word completely. The problem as I see it is that because the only place you’ve ever found God’s word is in the Bible, you haven’t considered the possibility that not everything in there is His Word. You’re operating under the same circular logic you learned in church as a child and haven’t given room for any other possibility. But I have. I trust the Holy Spirit to guide me and help me identify that which is truly God’s word and that which is merely the doctrines of men. You seem to not believe you have that ability. And as long as you refuse to believe that, your life will reflect that. But if you’ll exercise the faith of just a tiny mustard seed that God can speak to you directly, making you reliant upon your own revelations rather than on those of others you perceive as being better than you somehow, then your life would really open up.
And once again, your claim that mortal men cannot outsmart God is not being challenged here. So you can stop with that straw man. Men cannot outsmart God, obviously, but they can outsmart other men, and God will not force anyone to obey him and thus, the world finds itself in the state we’re in despite Him. Become part of the solution. Exercise faith in Him and in yourself as His child to change the world, and if enough of us do it, the prophecy of Habakkuk will finally be realized. God wills it. Let’s see if this time enough men will it too in order to make it a reality.