I'm an evangelical Christian - ask me anything

[Insieme]

I'm happy to answer questions, though I'm not interested if people just come on to be insulting.

I can only give my views and talk about what I believe - evangelicalism covers a broad spectrum of beliefs and I can only speak for myself.

Ask away!

What happened before the Earth was created? Did God sit around twiddling his thumbs? Who created God?

Why do you think the Bible has all the answers when it was written 2000 years ago

I don't think anyone on this thread thinks that.

As I said upthread a tiny bit, OP offered to answer questions about being an evangelical, not debate anything any Christian at any time ever believed.

@MissConduct I'm sorry if I don't take kindly to being called things like that. I don't like it when people use their religion to justify prejudice.

ILikePaperHats, I'm happy to answer questions posed out of genuine interest. When you end your list of questions with 'it's totally ludicrous', before even reading an answer, I can't help but think you are just being goady. I think that is disrespectful to people who have genuine questions.

ILikePaperHats

You believe it is totally ludicrous because you are ignorant. I meant that in a gentle sense, that you are ignorant about the bible and it’s teachings.

You cannot state something is ludicrous if you know very little about it. By that I mean study it in great depth and develop understanding (a doctorate for example).

OP has been very gracious on this thread.

None of this is 'right' to our modern minds, but in the culture of the time, this rule was an improvement on the pagan culture of the time where the woman had no rights or defence at all.

I appreciate that it was a long time ago. But if, as you feel, the god who spoke a universe into existence was behind the bible then wouldn't it have been able to shape society so as to be less barbaric?

If you think of it the way you are then why would social services get involved in violent families? Following your logic if the humans doing the bad thing don't know any better then it's okay to leave them to it?

If even social services don't take someone's background as an excuse for such abusive treatment why would an all power god?

Headinhands in a previous answer I explained that God has given us freewill. As a result, he doesn't force anyone to believe in him or behave in a particular way. So the pagan cultures in biblical times would have their own 'rules', and the people in them would not be forced by God to be more good, kind, or fair.

In my previous answer I said that God could have controlled us all and prevented evil, but then we would just be like automatons. That doesn't sound lovely either.

I'm not sure I've followed your argument about Social Services. When we see evil, surely we all have a wish to do what we can to make the situation better? Part of living in an imperfect world is trying to do the right thing and improve the lives of those around us. I'm not sure why we wouldn't do that?

Just to be clear: God allows bad things to happen, he doesn't will them to happen.

Do you believe that God doesn't intervene anymore, if we all have free will and he allows bad things to happen. It seems that you are saying that everything that happens on the earth at this time is down to humans, which of course I agree with. So his job was to create the world and then sit back and watch us trash it? Waiting of course to judge us on our efforts when we die.

Does this debate make you question your faith at all?

@SegmentationFault - I truly understand how hurtful the historic role of the church has been in justifying and contributing to the oppression of people with same sex orientation. It's one of the main reasons I renounced Roman Catholicism and moved to a Christian denomination that has moved past that and embraced inclusivity for all.

My point was that by linking out to that article, which provided a synopsis of the theological justifications traditionally given for that oppression, the OP was not endorsing every single word in the article.

In my previous answer I said that God could have controlled us all and prevented evil, but then we would just be like automatons. That doesn't sound lovely either.

Haven't you just described heaven?

God allows bad things to happen, he doesn't will them to happen.

See how do you square that? If I saw someone raping a child I'd do everything I could to stop it. I wouldn't care about the rapists free will. If I turned a blind eye and someone later found out I could have done something but didn't, and I tell them I respected the rapists free will, why would I be seen as evil, but when god doesn't act he still retains his all good persona?

Can you explain that for me?

In heaven our hearts will be changed; we will always want to do the right thing. There won't be a struggle between what we want to be and what we actually are. There won't be any disease or sadness or regret. Yet we'll still have perfect freedom. I'm looking forward to it!

In heaven our hearts will be changed; we will always want to do the right thing.....Yet we'll still have perfect freedom.

Makes you wonder why god doesn't just change everyone's heart's right now if he can do it while preserving our perfect freedom?

Insieme, he could have created the earth and us like that too, so there would be no need for hurt or suffering, but he created the good and the bad, our ability to be both. If he created everything that is. Which was my original point, he himself would have created evil, if indeed he created everything.

The question of why God allows evil is a problem that goes back to the begining of religion, and not just Christianity. God has made morally perfect beings (angels) but they have no free will. God gave us free will and it has to be a binary state, otherwise where does it stop? This is a fairly good treatment of the question:

www.beliefnet.com/faiths/the-problem-of-evil-why-doesnt-god-stop-tragedy.aspx

Part of my thinking on the issue is that we tend to anthropomorphize God. She is not human and does not need to act by human logic or in ways that we would approve of. I would love it if God made my teen age son pick up his room, but he has free will and suffers the consequences when he can't find his Airpods or a clean pair of shorts to wear to crew practice.

Lookmorecloselier Would you rather have the love of people who chose to love you willingly, or of people you had created in such a way that they had to love you?

OP:

What makes you think that Christianity is the "correct" religion? Don't you worry that it's only because you were born in a Christian era and place? And that if you had happened to be born in India you might be a Hindu or a Sikh, or if you had been born in Mexico 1500 years ago you might have believed in Kukulcan the feather serpent?

Over the course of human history there have been thousands of religions, presumably because it is human nature to seek an explanation for our existence. How can you believe that you found the one true one from those thousands, knowing that the main reason this one is so widespread is because people went around the world invading countries and enforcing their beliefs?

Just to be clear: God allows bad things to happen, he doesn't will them to happen.

So by that logic, if bad things are down to the free will bestowed on us by God then so are the good things that happen and the good has nothing to do with God either.

Because you can’t have it both ways, so if you genuinely believe that bad happens because of the free will of God and that he has no control over the bad, then you have to concede that the good that happens has no bearing on God either. Because otherwise your free will argument is completely nul and void.

I've created two people, they love me kind of because they have to, me being their parent, it's innate. There is practically nothing they could do that would make me turn my back on them or, if I was god, send them to be tortured in hell. If they stopped believing in my existence for some strange reason given that they can see me, I'd love them regardless, and still want the best for them. I know you will say you can't compare, what with my non supernatural state and all, but then you started the comparison. 😉

Anyway, God doesn't ALLOW everything. He doesn't allow us to sprout wings and fly to Saturn. So why does he allow our cells to mutate into cancer?

And automatons is what people of a faith are already. Yes, you have free will as to whether to give your life to God, but once you’re there it is the fear of what will happen if you stop believing that keeps so many there.

A murderer on death row can give his life to God as he is being led to the chair and he will, according to the bible, be granted a place in Heaven. Never mind the bad that he did to get to the chair in the first place, the love for the father is all that counts.

Can people not see how disturbed that way of thinking really is?

I knew someone who was dying of cancer. He had been brought up a Christian and was led to believe that his faith would pull him through. His cancer was a test of his faith, and he genuinely believed that and that God would bring healing.

So his partner asked for prayer from his congrigation, his friends, etc, and the responses came back and were about how God would be granting healing to him, because he was one of God’s children. As time went on he became sicker and sicker, it was inevitable because he had a terminal diagnosis. And the sicker he became, the more he believed that his faith in God couldn’t be strong enough because God hadn’t granted him healing.

And then he died. And after he died, whereas before his wife had received hundreds of messages of support, she now received none. Because his faith wasn’t strong enough, and as such God didn’t grant the healing.

He, fortunately, had lost his faith weeks before he died. But she is left with the doubt of others that the reason he died was because he didn’t give enough of himself to God.

The thing is, if Christians don’t agree with this stuff or believe in it then they need to start speaking out against it. Because the overriding message of the churches is currently one of intolerance and judgement.

If your religion tells you to go and spread the word of God you can’t blame people for not wanting to know when the churches you are calling them to are putting conditions on them wanting to belong.

So while you *meaning the general you rather than the OP specifically) don’t want to be that kind of Christian, the reality is that it’s that kind of Christian which is being pushed to the fore and sold to the masses, and as such it’s little wonder that people don’t want to know.

SummerGems

Your post is ignorant and contains prejudice towards Christians.

One example, a very sad example, does not mean Christians all heartless. Without hearing both sides of this story and knowing all the details it is a meaningless point.

You have lumped Christians into one box, deciding they are all intolerant and judgemental and need saving from their own faith.

Have you been a Christian? Have you studied the bible and the faith? Have you encountered millions of them and canvassed their opinions and attitudes?

I would imagine a faith that's been around over 2000 years could stand a bit of criticism. In my experience I have encountered some hideous 'Christians'. Ones who hit their children because "spare the rod etc". Ones who justify bigoted and outrageous views in the guise of their religion. Ones whose religious practice fills so much of their time that their kids are passed from pillar to post to accommodate it.

I’ve been around enough Christians to know that the overriding practice put out by the church is one of intolerance and judgement.

Let’s not forget that it was the church who have attempted to block gay marriage on numerous occasions. That it is the church who have been responsible for the lac of abortion in Northern and Southern Ireland and worse,even contraception over the years.

That it was the pope who went to Africa at the height of the AIDS crisis and spread the message that contraception and as such condoms were against the will of God.

Let’s remember the countless abuse committed by Catholic priests over decades and how the church covered it up by simply moving the priests to the next parish while silencing the victims.

Let’s remember how many churches have blocked adoption by gay couples on account of their homosexuality.

Shall I go on? It is because of the countless Christians I have come across That my view is as it is.

The church stands for prejudice. If you don’t want to be a part of that then don’t be part of the church, otherwise be prepared to be associated with prejudice and intolerance.