@fmf saidThe reason I believe is because I believe it is all true, the rewards and consequences are nothing more than part of reality as it is.
You have talked a lot about the "something you get out" of your religious belief. Because of your faith, you get solace, you get purpose, you get meaning, you get moral direction [a.k.a. "true north"], you get a worldview, you get a "meta-narrative", and you get help from Jesus [in good times and bad], you get eternal life, etc. etc. There are probably more that don't come to mind. Taken together aren't these the reasons you believe?
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@kellyjay saidYou like all the things you "get" from believing-what-you-believe, so ~ it's hardly surprising ~ that you "believe it is all true".
The reason I believe is because I believe it is all true, the rewards and consequences are nothing more than part of reality as it is.
If you didn't "get" what you "get", there is no reason to think you'd proclaim it to be "reality".
Here you are telling us that "the rewards" are "part of reality" but when I asked you if you would still believe - even if everlasting life ~ one of "the rewards" ~ were not part of the deal, you went into a three-week rhetorical foetal position.
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@fmf saidYou can paint it anyway you like, it is, after all, only your opinion nothing more.
You like all the things you "get" from believing-what-you-believe, so ~ it's hardly surprising ~ that you "believe it is all true".
If you didn't "get" what you "get", there is no reason to think you'd proclaim it to be "reality".
Here you are telling us that "the rewards" are "part of reality" but when I asked you if you would still believe - even if everlasting life ~ o ...[text shortened]... of "the rewards" ~ were not part of the deal, you went into a three-week rhetorical foetal position.
@fmf saidNothing dodged here, you have nothing but your opinion, you tell me that all of the
Dodge noted.
time. When I tell you a truth about me that doesn't line up with your point of view
I'm wrong, you are very opinionated. I tell you it isn't just getting something out of
God that I'm a Christian, you disagree, surprise.
I didn't marry my wife so I could get things out of her, I love her, I love the Lord.
I turned toward the Lord not so I could get things out of Him, He showed me His
love for me, and I reciprocated, if that is getting something out of it in your eyes
so be it, I"m not going to go twenty rounds with you as you justify your opinion
to me. I don't care what your opinion is on this matter. What an anti-christ thinks
about Christ is unimportant to me, note that!
@kellyjay saidWe are both just sharing our opinions, KellyJay. I am engaging yours while, literally for months, you have been spending most of your time running away from the shared opinions of others.
Nothing dodged here, you have nothing but your opinion, you tell me that all of the
time. When I tell you a truth about me that doesn't line up with your point of view
I'm wrong, you are very opinionated. I tell you it isn't just getting something out of
God that I'm a Christian, you disagree, surprise.
@kellyjay saidAs I said, it seems your faith has distorted your ability to comprehend the nature of faith. I give you a string of examples of things that are clearly very important to you, which together comprise the substance and tenets of your faith - all of which are things that you "get" from it - and you just flee the scene in a flurry of little pouty retorts.
I tell you it isn't just getting something out of
God that I'm a Christian, you disagree, surprise.
I didn't marry my wife so I could get things out of her, I love her, I love the Lord.Did you not "get" loved back?
Did you not "get" her as a partner and companion and confidante?
Did you not "get" someone who then placed you at the very centre of your life?
Did you not "get" her commitment that she would stick with you through thick and thin?
Did you not "get" someone that perhaps spared you a life of solitude and loneliness?
Did you not "get" someone who would bear your children?
Did you not "get" someone who would raise children with you?
Are you seriously claiming you didn't "get" anything as a result of marrying her?
Do you seriously think you can claim you didn't marry her to "get" a whole load of life-changing realities by waving away the evidence that you obviously did and simply replacing it with a trite and simplistic "I love her"?
@fmf saidIf all you do in life is look at what you get out of things, what a pity.
Did you not "get" loved back?
Did you not "get" her as a partner and companion and confidante?
Did you not "get" someone who then placed you at the very centre of your life?
Did you not "get" her commitment that she would stick with you through thick and thin?
Did you not "get" someone that perhaps spared you a life of solitude and loneliness?
Did you not "get" ...[text shortened]... he evidence that you obviously did and simply replacing it with a trite and simplistic "I love her"?
