Originally posted by AThousandYoungThere are many factors which influence what religion a person follows. One of the biggest is obviously what your parents (or other socially close people) beliefs are otherwise we would expect a somewhat more uniform distribution of faiths throughout the world.
Supposedly, Jesus said he was God.
So did the Pharoahs in ancient Egypt.
How come the number of people who make a "leap of faith" believing one is not the same as the number of people who do the same for the other?
Another factor is how evangelistic a religion is. For example, I haven't seen any of pharaohs followers on tv trying to spread their religion.
One very important factor is how closely a religions "message" fits what peoples personal views are or what they are looking for. I have often heard the phrases "I couldn't believe in a God who would..." or "If I am wrong I don't want to be right."
Peoples religious beliefs are much more about what they want to be true than what they have deduced to be true based on the available evidence.
Even if we take the Bible as evidence of God, the Bible portrays a wrathful, violent and selfish God and yet people pick and choose the bits that they want to believe and not the bits that they don't like.
Its not so much that Jesus or Pharaoh said they were God but more a question of what promises they made if you believed in them.
Originally posted by AThousandYoungThey say the hidden god plays hide-and-seek. Whoever said the divine lacked a sense of humour?
Supposedly, Jesus said he was God.
So did the Pharoahs in ancient Egypt.
How come the number of people who make a "leap of faith" believing one is not the same as the number of people who do the same for the other?
Originally posted by AThousandYoungSupposedly, Jesus performed miracles, taught his followers, and was a swell guy. Supposedly the Pharoahs were simply bossy and getting slaves to build and make their realm great, while they relaxed in splendor. If you had been there at the time and had both options available to you, which would you have chosen?
Supposedly, Jesus said he was God.
So did the Pharoahs in ancient Egypt.
How come the number of people who make a "leap of faith" believing one is not the same as the number of people who do the same for the other?
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Originally posted by twhiteheadIs it selfishness to place God above all other things and above all other people or is it simply the right thing to do? After all, if God be God then everything you have and everything you are is because of him. If you so choose to exclude him from your life and not say so much as "thank you" who is being the selfish one?
There are also lots of examples of "I am more important than you" and "what I want counts more than what you want" etc.
I suppose his feeling of self importance and desire to be worshiped goes way beyond selfishness.
As far as being selfish, have you ever given your life for anyone and then gone to hell and back for them?
Originally posted by AThousandYoungThe answer is simple. The gods of the Pharoahs are dead. The God of the Bible is alive. For me if God be God then he must be a God not only of the present but of the past as well. The God of the Bible fits this description. He is the Ancient of Days who has always been included in the affairs of men and worshiped by men generation after generation. Had the God of the Bible ceased to be worshiped like the gods of the Pharoahs I think it safe to say that such a god would be dead, or at least in relation to mankind.
Supposedly, Jesus said he was God.
So did the Pharoahs in ancient Egypt.
How come the number of people who make a "leap of faith" believing one is not the same as the number of people who do the same for the other?
Originally posted by pawnhandlerI don't understand the question. You mean if I had to pick between Pharoah as my god and Jesus, which would I pick?
Supposedly, Jesus performed miracles, taught his followers, and was a swell guy. Supposedly the Pharoahs were simply bossy and getting slaves to build and make their realm great, while they relaxed in splendor. If you had been there at the time and had both options available to you, which would you have chosen?
First of all, which one I'd rather worship has nothing to do with whether either, both or neither are gods. I don't know enough about the Egyptian religion to decide; let me look into it. As far as religious figures go, Jesus isn't bad; however the Old Testament God is a very creepy being who could easily fit into Lovecraft's fantasy mythos. Since Jesus acknowledges this god he carries that baggage with him.
I prefer polytheism though, so that makes me lean toward Pharoahs. The whole ego trip the OT God is on is disturbing.
Originally posted by whodeyHow do you know these things are true? The gods of the Pharoahs - the Pharoahs themselves - are supposed to be immortal. That's why there are mummies and treasure in the pyramids; so the newly dead god can have his body and loot if he should want them.
The answer is simple. The gods of the Pharoahs are dead. The God of the Bible is alive. For me if God be God then he must be a God not only of the present but of the past as well. The God of the Bible fits this description. He is the Ancient of Days who has always been included in the affairs of men and worshiped by men generation after generation. Had ...[text shortened]... aroahs I think it safe to say that such a god would be dead, or at least in relation to mankind.
You're statings things as fact that you cannot possibly know. You're using your religious beliefs to support your religious beliefs in a circular fashion. The whole point is that it's a "leap of faith" right? That means it's not a well thought out, rational decision; you just "leap" and now you believe. Why not "leap" for the Pharoahs instead?
Originally posted by pawnhandlerWhich one got crucified by his contempories?
Supposedly, Jesus performed miracles, taught his followers, and was a swell guy. Supposedly the Pharoahs were simply bossy and getting slaves to build and make their realm great, while they relaxed in splendor. If you had been there at the time and had both options available to you, which would you have chosen?