WHAT'S WITH A ABSENTEE GOD AND A BLIND FAITH FOLLOWING...SERIOUSLY

For thousands of year of wars,famines,death and pestilence peoples across the ages never lost faith in him.....but hey he is nowhere to be found...

He's waiting for you to come to know him before cleaning up isle 3.

god then

He had thousands upon thousands of years to clean it ....he couldnt even bothered to clean this mess.......lol

I'll try.........

Like I said, he loves us so much that he wants as many who are willing, to be redeemed - cleaned from our sin that's infecting us and brought back into a relationship with him.

What are you waiting for? Come to him, he loves you and is drawing you. :)

Prayer of Salvation - Our First Real Conversation With God
The "prayer of salvation" is the most important prayer we'll ever pray. When we're ready to become a Christian, we're ready to have our first real conversation with God, and these are its components:

We acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God; that He came to earth as a man in order to live the sinless life that we cannot live; that He died in our place, so that we would not have to pay the penalty we deserve.
We confess our past life of sin -- living for ourselves and not obeying God.
We admit we are ready to trust Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
We ask Jesus to come into our heart, take up residence there, and begin living through us.
Prayer of Salvation - It Begins With Faith in God
When we pray the prayer of salvation, we're letting God know we believe His Word is true. By the faith He has given us, we choose to believe in Him. The Bible tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)

So, when we pray, asking God for the gift of salvation, we're exercising our free will to acknowledge that we believe in Him. That demonstration of faith pleases God, because we have freely chosen to know Him.

Prayer of Salvation - Confessing Our Sin
When we pray the prayer of salvation, we're admitting that we've sinned. As the Bible says of everyone, save Christ alone: "For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

To sin is simply to fall short of the mark, as an arrow that does not quite hit the bull's-eye. The glory of God that we fall short of is found only in Jesus Christ: "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6)

The prayer of salvation, then, recognizes that Jesus Christ is the only human who ever lived without sin. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Prayer of Salvation - Professing Faith in Christ as Savior and Lord
With Christ as our standard of perfection, we're now acknowledging faith in Him as God, agreeing with the Apostle John that: "In the beginning was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." (John 1:1-3)

Because God could only accept a perfect, sinless sacrifice, and because He knew that we could not possibly accomplish that, He sent His Son to die for us and pay the eternal price. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.." (John 3:16)

Prayer of Salvation - Say It & Mean It Now!
Do you agree with everything you have read so far? If you do, don't wait a moment longer to start your new life in Jesus Christ. Remember, this prayer is not a magical formula. You are simply expressing your heart to God. Pray this with us:

"Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen."
Prayer of Salvation - I've Prayed It; Now What?
If you've prayed this prayer of salvation with true conviction and heart, you are now a follower of Jesus. This is a fact, whether or not you feel any different. Religious systems may have led you to believe that you should feel something - a warm glow, a tingle, or some other mystical experience. The fact is, you may, or you may not. If you have prayed the prayer of salvation and meant it, you are now a follower of Jesus. The Bible tells us that your eternal salvation is secure! "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

Welcome to the family of God! We encourage you now to find a local church where you can be baptized and grow in the knowledge of God through His Word, the Bible.

Last Edited by Morganite on 02/20/2013 11:59 PM

And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself......And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

What do you want to know..

the current work of God has been, for Him, only six days.

A day is like unto a thousand years and a thousand years as a day. Physicists have determined that a thousand years compressed into a day is the speed of light.

John confirms this.."God is light."

Know ye not that we shall judge angels?
For all the despair in the pages of our history, the Lord God hath determined that the results will be a glory unimaginable for those that have believed on Him.

we re being tested by god for a after life reward

You think on a very small scale..... God gives you a choice. What have you done to help those in need? Suffering is part of life and in death. A small child may see a suffering elder and latter become a volunteer doctor and stop the suffering of 1000's of people in his/her lifetime .

GOD is quick to punish as he is to help and answer prayers. I believe most people are quick to ask for help in times of need but forget to give thanks in times of good harvest.

There is purpose for all that happens.

Im not suffering personaly ..it doesnt mean i dont feel the ones suffering around me (and im well known to be very generous,never spare a penny to help someone)...close or from far away.

I dont want to feel like blaspheming but its just a question(s).

I sense a fear of GOD ....That is good.... Now find yourself and then you will find GOD and Jesus Christ , all the love that you will feel is unbelievable .

I was blind....now I see.......

The idea of organized religion in itself is just... well TO ME it is nonsense. I grew up church of christ (not latter day) and believed everything from church until I was old enough to start seeing through the inconsistencies. Here is one for the christians, why is the old testemant considered "invalid, and old law?" Why would a god who is the alpha and omega (beginning and end) have to change the rules about half way through? Did god realize that he didn't need crazy numbers of animals sacrificed to him? Did he wake up one day and decide slavery was bad? Or in Lot's case, send his daughters out to get raped by a mob so the angles didn't have to??? Silliness.

Edit: Saying Jesus came and changed everything is not a good answer, btw.

Last Edited by luke0311 on 02/21/2013 12:50 AM

I lost faith in the church decades ago.... The Old Testament is for his chosen people... the Jews ... they were taken out of bondage and tested. Most of the laws pertain to them. I have read the entire Bible and am now going through it again taking notes.

As for the trials you speak of it is nothing, GOD gives and takes at will....

There is purpose in all that happens...

Well, I would argue that nothing has "purpose" in a god's plan. Take the middle east, for instance. The muslim brotherhood is rising to power, and from somebody who has served front lines, I'll tell you I KNOW evil is out there, but I don't think "evil" comes from a god or deity, it is all perspective on what is "evil." The spectrum of human emotion and good vs evil is such a complexity that it makes it easy to just assume god made it that way, and there are only extremes. God can be found in your own mind, your free will is proof of that. I can do whatever I want that would be considered "blasphemy" and this "god" doesn't do anything, but back in biblical days? Watch the fuck out, he's keeping tabs!!! The fact that we live in a world so dark and evil is more proof that this "god" is evil, and doesn't deserve a lick of worship from any of us. Power of prayer is a selling piece to make you tithe, or add to that collection plate. Power of intimidation through "damnation" is one hell of a crowd control tactic.

Edit: I don't know if there is a god, or gods, or aliens, or whatever, just like the rest of ya'll....Any claim to have a personal relation with the lord is just laughable at worst, extremely arrogant at best.

Last Edited by luke0311 on 02/21/2013 01:26 AM

I used to feel the same way about God as many of you seem to -- until my eyes were opened. There is so much more out there than just us. Nothing I can say will convince anyone else of God's existence (just as nothing/no-one could convince me back then, either), but amazing things can happen if you open your heart

If you think that the pope is the highest authority of God on earth - then you have missed your guess. Do not equate one particular religion, or even some misled people within a particular religion as the voice and validation of God. Open your mind and your heart - you might be surprised.

Read the book of Revelations ... It all leads to a day of judgement... I have 2 sons that were in the Military , a Marine and the oldest in the Army , I could tell you a story that still brings me to tears this day.

People are evil... they refuse to believe and you will be judged in time. I never claimed to have a personal relation with GOD ... other than my faith and love to him.

On another note.... have you really researched why the muslims hate everybody?

I have read Revelations, along with the bible in its entirety throughout my youth, cover to cover. I'm a former Marine myself. I have felt what many would refer to as "god." Try this on for size... I'm the point in my platoon, we have a dismounted patrol the next morning through the most fucked up part of Fallujah. That morning, I have a calm over me, I knew that something would happen but I would survive and my buddies would be ok too.. Strange, but i had zero fear. Went on the patrol, boom, IED goes off. 2 40mm mortars sitting in a 55 gal drum of gasoline (accelerant). Now, only the nose cone of one of the mortars exploded, giving me some shrapnel in the right thigh that I still carry today. Now, was that god warning me? Fuck if I know. Maybe the frequency we operate on is slightly behind the physical world? People have premonitions of things like this all the time, must be GOD right? That answer is not good enough for me, and this coming from somebody who cheated death and had this "godly" sensation prior and right up to the event. This universe is mysterious, put your damn bible down and start your real study of our history and our place in the cosmos.

Respect to both of your boys, mam, and Semper Fidelis.

Last Edited by luke0311 on 02/21/2013 02:01 AM

I hope you realize he is not a physical being

Thank you for serving our country and most respects to you , but as a elder I can see ignorance ,self pity, and arrogance in you... but its part of life, in time you will grow up.

Thank you for sharing that experience with us, but don't make the mistake in thinking that you are the only one that has experienced something like that. You can talk about it, and that makes you a much stronger person than I am. I don't know how you do it, but I stand in awe at your strength. Don't give up on God, though. You were meant to live, so live that purpose. Saepe Exertus, Semper Fidelis, Frater Infinitas.

you can't know what he knew and not get consumed. Allowances of the corruption of innocents can only go on for so long. The whole system is going to suffer the consequences. I just hope that there is some sort of contingency plan in place. Either way, the next pope is the last. Prophecy or not, they lost their hold on the game

and just for the record I am not a mam but a male

Well then sir, same as before utmost respect. I can understand that I am still young in my years of knowledge (26), and I can't avoid the facts that I have had more than just that one near death scenario. I can buy into the whole "you are here for a reason," but I don't think that reason is a plan from an individual all powerful god. Self Pity? Find me a veteran that has been put through the ringer of war and doesn't have some ounce of "self pity." I think our definitions are a little off though, my self-pity comes from being the only one from where I am from to come home intact and alive (out of the 6), so that is simply a reality, though I don't consider it "self" pity, but more of a "collective" pity that is us veterans that served in combat roles. You, as an elder, I respect your intuition and your knowledge, and will take your advise into serious consideration.

My thing is this: What if "god" was testing me, or trying me out, and did this by taking away those that are most precious to me (honestly, Marines in combat mean way more than the most loving immediate family) and test me through trials..... Well, he is doing a horrible job as a coach, and a dad, which is what he is supposed to be, right? We are his children after all? My conclusions are this: If the SHTF and all of a sudden god is calling upon people that have leadership capacities during this type of situation such as myself, I will happily kneel and cry in joy, but all too often, the rational answer turns out the evidence. So I guess you could say I'm an agnostic in limbo waiting for the call...

EDIT: The agnostic in limbo waiting is contradictory. It was more sarcasm than a belief. My point being, I will not have faith in something that isn't real to me, though I have a strong christian background. You could say my previous faith was rocked so hard that I looked at other possibilities, and found more things that are true to me than an organized religion that decides who goes to heaven/hell, etc.

Last Edited by luke0311 on 02/21/2013 03:09 AM

Vicarious redemption, an immoral teaching if I ever heard of one. You know they had a name for it in the same backwards illiterate parts of the middle east that Christianity came from? It was called scapegoating, where a tribe would pile the sins of the community on to the goat and drive it in to the desert to die of thirst. Thus cleansing the tribe of their sins.

You raped someone? Don't worry, just put your sins on the goat you are forgiven.
Killed someone? No problem, just do the same.

Sound familiar?

Last Edited by LSDreamer on 02/21/2013 03:09 AM

There is no subjugation or rank structure in real life - there is only what is. What we have been through is truly terrible, but it does not have to change us. We have witnessed the worst that humanity is capable of, and there is no denying that. If you are anything like me, you wish you could forget everything and be who you used to be - but that is not possible.

There is no rhyme or reason to why things happen to us, and for us to try and understand it is futile - we are nothing but the blink of an eye or the beat of a heart - but that does not make us useless, only weathered.

You are my brother, and you will never stop being so. I love you, and you can never do anything that would change that. Please stop doubting God, because you were meant for great things. Do not worry about your physical body or the physical creation around you - you have already faced death. You do not need to prove anything to anyone, other than God, and if I may be so bold, I am fairly certain He is more than impressed with you :-)

Why don't you stick to the LSD, or better yet, get clean. If you looked over the words you just typed with a clear mind and an open heart, you would be disgusted. By the way, you misunderstand Christianity, the REAL Christianity, greatly.

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My God is not "ABSENTEE"... sorry about yours.



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Great thread OP. I have been asking myself the same questions for many years. Something does not add up.