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To: Dr. Eckleburg; Alamo-Girl; Forest Keeper; blue-duncan; HarleyD; P-Marlowe; 1000 silverlings; ...
Kosta, you continually try to equate all "knowing" with "gnosticism." And that is a mistake

I disagree. What we know may be from God, but we don't know. We may think we know, but none has God's caller ID that he or she can show.

saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them

But we also know that we don't know from the heart, do we? It's a figure of speech as much as writing is. The "heart" in the bible is a concept associated with feelings, notions, hunches, etc. Somehow we intrinsically "know" that mercy is good (because we want mercy for ourselves); even the animals know what "feels good" without understanding why.

What have the Greeks produced but a lot of question marks and an erroneous belief in a dispassionate, distant God?

God is distant but He is not impersonal. God is a mystery. We can think of Him as passionate, and physical, and emotional, but even your own Westminster Confession expresses the ancient Christian truth that He is simple, indivisible, unchanging, complete, lacking in nothing, and passionless.

6,111 posted on 09/12/2007 7:52:21 PM PDT by kosta50 (Eastern Orthodoxy is pure Christianity)
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To: kosta50; Dr. Eckleburg; Forest Keeper; blue-duncan; HarleyD; P-Marlowe; 1000 silverlings; ...
We've gone down this road before: the demands for "proof" of God - in this case, the demand for God's "caller ID."

And it is late and I'm tired, so I'll just paraphrase here some of what I said back at post 5043 - namely that demands for "proof" of God are quite common among atheists on the science threads. They don't disturb me there, they don't disturb me here.

We Christians know that God revealed Himself in a way specifically so that man could not find Him by his own “wisdom:”

For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent...

For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. – I Corinthians 1:19-25

So we Christians join our spiritual forebears in the hall of faith (Hebrews 11.)

By faith, we know that God is One in Three Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

By faith, we know that Jesus is God enfleshed, that He was from the beginning, that everything was made by Him and for Him, that He resurrected and lives.

By faith, we know that God does not lie, that He does not change, that He will not leave us or forsake us, that He keeps every promise.

By faith, we know that God hears our prayers and answers us according to His own will, including extending mercy after judgment - and including leading us by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

and so on.

And so those who live primarily by reason – whether atheist, deist or theologian – are likely to say our faith is a “cop-out.” Worse they sometimes suggest to us - like they did to Jesus (Matthew 12) that we are following Beelzebub and not God.

To them I say – that is the point. All of this is according to God’s will. Only believe. It really is that simple. And when you know the power of God personally - or when He appears to you which He will and at that time every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord ---- then you’ll understand. Then, no one will ask for "proofs" including "caller IDs".

For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:8-9

Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. - Matthew 22:29

Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: - Luke 24:25

O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane [and] vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace [be] with thee. Amen. - I Timothy 6:20-21

Praise God!!!

6,121 posted on 09/12/2007 10:37:07 PM PDT by Alamo-Girl
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