Posted on 06/27/2009 8:00:09 PM PDT by jhoge
Ayn Rand was an atheist. According to her one-time associate Barbara Branden, Rand became an atheist at age thirteen. Branden records Rand writing in her diary at that age: "Today I decided to be an atheist." Branden then reports her as later explaining, "I had decided that the concept of God is degrading to men. Since they say that God is perfect, man can never be that perfect, then man is low and imperfect and there is something above him – which is wrong." [Branden, PAR, p. 35.] Branden continues that Rand's "second reason" is that "no proof of the existence of God exists."
Rand therefore proposes two objections to the existence of God. First, belief in God degrades man, by positing something "higher" or more "perfect." Belief in God is anti-man. Second, there is no proof for the existence of God. While Rand would later emphasize the irrationality of belief in God, the impression from her writings is that her principal objection to belief in God was a moral or psychological one. [Ryan, OCR, p. 270.]
(Excerpt) Read more at solohq.org ...
Excellent question. Accepting your premise that all are simply "man-made" literature that demand faith by coercion, the answer is "no one." But let me further respond, if I may, by challenging that premise as it relates to the Bible.
The Bible's gospel message of salvation isn't something for sale; it's free. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 And salvation from sin and God's judgment is not something obtained by coercion, it's free to all who believe. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. John 3:16-17
The Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 The Apostle Peter tells us the same thing: So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. 2 Peter 1:19-21
The power of God's word cannot be underestimated. For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Hebrews 4:12-13
A person's denial of God's existence is forced and temporary. The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; there is no one who does good. The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. Psalm 14:1-3
Every person has received sufficient knowledge and evidence of God but there are those who, because of sin and unbelief, choose to suppress the truth. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. Romans 1:18-25
We have all sinned and are called to repent. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. Romans 5:12
Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. Acts 17:30-31
The gospel message found in the Bible not only talks about God's love, it also talks about His wrath toward the wicked and unrepentant. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. John 3:36 God will pour His wrath out on all sinners who choose to reject the salvation offered through His atoning death on the cross, but the gospel offers good news for those who believe. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. Romans 5:8-9
For anyone who dies without repenting from sin and believing in Jesus for salvation, the Bible says that Hell and the second death await them. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15
And according to Jesus, the fires of Hell are eternal. "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. . . Then He will also say to those on His left, "Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels." Matthew 25:31-33, 41
Jesus Christ is coming back to Earth one day. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. Hebrews 9:27-28,p>And His return will be in spite of people who doubt His second coming. Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation." For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:3-9
And it's after His return that everyone will be judged and acknowledge Jesus for who He is. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11
Anyone who thinks this acknowledgment will be coerced can decide that issue as they're acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord but the important question is not whether it'll be coerced but rather whether it'll be your first time doing so. If it is, you'll probably be wishing it wasn't.
Consider the following story Jesus told about life after death for an unbeliever as well as a believer. "Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.' And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house--for I have five brothers--in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!' But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'" Luke 16:19-31
Jesus preached the gospel message before he was crucified. Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." Mark 1 14-15 And the gospel was proclaimed after Jesus' death and resurrection. Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 And the gospel message is still given today and still has the power to show people the way of salvation. In the words the Apostle Paul, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16
It is important to know that the Bible also says there are forces at work seeking to blind people to the truth of the gospel. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:3 The gospel message is foolishness to the unbelieving person as the Apostle Paul writes, For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.1 Corinthians 1:17-18
And finally, for those who believe, the question inevitably arises, "How do I know I have true faith, or how do I know I've truly believed?" The Bible answers those questions in 1 John: By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. 1 John 2:3-6
Now that the gospel message as been presented, the question is, how do you respond? Does it prompt you to repent and believe or do you choose to reject it? There is no coercion here, only eternal consequences.
And let me close by saying with all gentleness and respect, anyone who hears the gospel message and chooses to reject it will be entirely without excuse on that great and terrible day when all will stand before God. Peace, A
No, that was Judaism.
You get your own opinion, not your own facts.
Still, when Germans were barbarians, the Jews were the chosen people of G-d.
G-d, I don’t worry about. Its the neighbors the cause me worry.
Read it again, this time the whole chapter.
Then read Numbers 31 to see it all put into practice
Asserting that the Declaration of Independence affirms the existance of G-d is like asserting that the Charter of Virginia affirms the continued subjection of the US to the British Crown.
You have obviously decided to deny obvious truths, and I can’t help you with that.
“I think it was inspired by God but written by men”
I agree, I guess we may differ about what “inspired” and “written” might mean. Maybe not. In other words, I don’t think men just came up with it, but wrote as inspired, that is “God-breathed,” so I regard it as God’s word.
Excellent post! Mr. 2 copper coins doesn’t seem to want facts to get in the way of his theory.
That’s a whole lot of Thomas Jefferson and not much else. We all know Thomas Jefferson was not a Christian. He claimed to be a Deist, so far as I know. At any rate the vast majority of the signers of the Declaration were Christians indeed.
“But if a man finds a betrothed young woman in the countryside, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die.” Deuteronomy 22:25
Forcible rape = death penalty.
Exploiting a young woman to the point of deflowering her, taking advantage of her = you provide for her the rest of her life.
I really have no problem with either precept.
Understood, lol. I notice you spell God "G-d", something often done in the Jewish tradition of treating God's name with unusual care and respect. The names of the ones who cause you worry, well . . . certainly no need for the same level of respect there.
As long as we're on the subject of respect, allow me to share on a related subject, fear. Here's what Yahu'shuah or Jesus had to say about fear that I, goyishacup or no, find helpful: Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28 Peace, A
Thomas Jefferson and Adams.
That said, the Founding Fathers, the Framers of the Constitution and other prominent American politicians who were Deists and thereby not Christian, include Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Cornelius Harnett, Gouverneur Morris, Hugh Williamson, James Madison, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Ethan Allen, Thomas Paine, Elihu Palmer, and to an extent, George Washington himself.
Other than these, did the rest really matter much? Also remember, the vast majority of the Christian population was kept out of the electoral system through the requirement that voters hold estate and have income.
I’ll just give you something to think about. Imagine a presidential candidate today, who could make any of the statements that I had posted of Jefferson and Adams, during campaigning, today. He or she wouldn’t last a day. That’s how far this country has fallen, where candidates can feign religious belief to fool the idiot masses.
Look at Obama. Christian, he says he is!
A lot depends on how one chooses to define conservatism. Atheists generally are not socially conservative. (I said generally - there are some who are.) For many, the most important aspect of conservativism is social conservatism.
So the answer is, yes and no. :)
I trust that G-d will show justice. The neighbors, not so much...
No doubt He will toward most, but I'm trusting He'll show mercy because divine justice for the unforgiven sinner is eternal punishment. And as Woody Allen put it, eternity is a long time, especially toward the end.
Which end?
Say I was a math whiz, and I liked solving Differential Equations. After 10,000 years I would have solved them all, and i would move on to my second favorite thing...integration. After another 10,000 years I would have solved all the integrals, and would have to move on to my third favorite thing.
Eventually you get down to and beyond your list of things you like, and into the things you don’t care for at all. In time, heaven becomes hell.
Better to be a Buddhist and hope for total annihilation.
Allen's point, you appreciate no doubt, is that eternity has no end. But you make a good point: Like the scenarios you described, humans are finite. God however is infinite the Bible tells us.
Infinity and eternity are hard for a finite mind to fully grasp, but I agree that a finite heaven would become a hell. But I also recognize that an infinite God is what will make heaven heaven and eternity is one of the things that will make hell hell. Peace, A
Of course being sent to Hell would have an end, but it would have a beginning (the start). The other end of the time duration isn’t defined.
Of course your G-d is asserted to be double infinite...no beginning and no end.
Of course 2 times infinity is merely infinity.
The Bible is just the written compilation of mere mortal men. Fiction, if you will.
Like all other religious works.
The Bible was written by mere mortal men inspired by the Holy Spirit, the same person of the Trinity who convicts the hearts of people of sin.
The Bible is fiction? Really? Just like stories of the possiblity of moon travel were regarded as science fiction in the 1800s, I suppose. The truth will out, my friend. In the meantime, you're entitled to your view, wrong as it may be. And here's something to keep in mind: those who receive the message of the Gospel and choose to reject it will have all eternity to contemplate the consequence of their choice as well as any belief that the Bible's message of sin and salvation was mere fiction. Peace, A.
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