Do you think God loves you? Why?

[Masterblaster]

Hello

Make the case for a loving God!

Start with your best indication that this is, in fact, the case. Use example, scripture,doctrine, personal belief, whatever.
I will debate to the contrary, and I will no doubt, have help.
Give it your best shot!

[Masterblaster]

[Replying to JehovahsWitness in post #24]
Hello Jehovahs Witness

Apologies for not replying sooner.

You say -
1. God's kingdom is a government.

Explain this please! What is a government. Is this in Jehovahs Witness literature?

I want to go back to looking at John talking about God's love for believers. It looks ' out of kilter' to me

What do you think of this?

John 26: 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

He loves you because you loved me and also,you believed that he sent me.?????

This is very cushy, don't you think?

[Masterblaster]

Hello

John 3:16 (NIV) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life

Do we take this person's word for it?
That is not much to go on. Where did he get this notion?
Did he pull it out of the sky?
Is this the indefensible Achilles heel of Christianity.
It is beginning to look like it is!

Hello
This has been a good discussion. I have reached the conclusion that most devout Christian's believe that God loves them. They believe in this idea presented in
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life

Help my unbelief and all that but there is a little bit more explaining to be done.

So God the deity sends part of himself the Son to earth to suffer for our sinfulness. This is to show that he loves us??
You know what this sounds like.

It sounds like Sumerian/Greek and Roman mythology. Are Christian's saying that those mythical processes were valid but that the originators of mythology were telling lies up to then.

The whole thing cannot work and it will never act as a vessel for truth. It does a disservice to the core teachings of Jesus and it acts as an anchor to Hope, moving forward.

Are we playing cards with a pack of lies, as many Skeptics are suggesting.
Do you honestly believe that this really happened.
Do you believe the John Gospel??
You are entitled to believe what you like.
Thanks

[The Tanager]

[Replying to Masterblaster in post #32]

I understood two main claims from your post, which (if I understood you correctly) raises these questions from me:

1. What Sumerian, Greek, and Roman myths talk about God incarnating as a human in order to redeem us from sin?

2. Why couldn't such a thing work?

[Masterblaster]

[Replying to The Tanager in post #33]

Hello The Tanager
I will answer your question with a question. You ask, why could it not work.

Are you saying that the Sumerians,Greeks,Romans, Hindus, Pagan religions, called it correctly when they identified a portal from up there to down here?.

Me personally , there are claims that aliens have advanced our technologies in the past that I would attach more credibility to.

Thank You The Tanager but I will not be contributing here again until February, please God. I have just met myself coming up the road. Can you believe that I started a thread about enlightenment with a John 3:3 quote. I am putting it down to fatigue. I will just say this, about the John Gospel.

"In John's Gospel, by contrast, there are no parables or exorcisms"

The price into the gig went up from the Synoptics( great name for a band) to John. Gone is the open door policy and the packing them in from the crossroads. Now you need a Loyalty card, endorsed by Jesus and you get to go into the exclusive Eternity(might be a band already) afterparty.
This is not the Jesus of the Beatitudes , for me.

This thread needs fresh input and I am tired.

Thank You

[The Tanager]

[Replying to Masterblaster in post #34]

Thanks for the thoughts you shared and for responding to mine. Have a great break! If my identifying a portal you meant were they correct that God could come down to Earth, then yes. But I'm not sure I understood your point.

I understand you feeling like there is a huge difference between the Synoptics and John, but I just don't see it. Even in the Synoptics, Jesus is telling people to repent and come into the kingdom. And in John the option is open to everyone.

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to JehovahsWitness in post #24]
Hello Jehovahs Witness

...

You say -
1. God's kingdom is a government.

Explain this please! What is a government.

A Kingdom is just a government with a KING.



You dont need Jehovah's Witnesses you just need a DICTIONARY and the ability to understand the meaning of words.


You're Welcome,

JW




RELATED POSTS

How was God's kingdom both "near" and "far" athe same time in the first century?
viewtopic.php?p=1140178#p1140178

[TRANSPONDER]

[Replying to Masterblaster in post #34]

Thanks for the thoughts you shared and for responding to mine. Have a great break! If my identifying a portal you meant were they correct that God could come down to Earth, then yes. But I'm not sure I understood your point.

I understand you feeling like there is a huge difference between the Synoptics and John, but I just don't see it. Even in the Synoptics, Jesus is telling people to repent and come into the kingdom. And in John the option is open to everyone.

Yes. This isn't my kind of chat. It's the sort of angels and dancing pinheads debate that I stay out of as (of course)I think theology is a total waste of time unless the factual basis for it is established.

But it's a refreshing change to read a discussion that isn't about why the tomb was open or whether ones' 'own city' means 'ancestral' so thanks for the thread here

p.s I'm pleased to see that,day or night, we are getting 30-40 browsers at any time.

[Mae von H]

Hello

Make the case for a loving God!

Start with your best indication that this is, in fact, the case. Use example, scripture,doctrine, personal belief, whatever.
I will debate to the contrary, and I will no doubt, have help.
Give it your best shot!

It seems you intend for us to convince you about an aspect of God’s character. That is, you’re asking one question but really want the answer to a different question.

This I can demonstrate by answering the question you actually ask. Do I think God loves me? Yes, absolutely. Why? He has convincingly told me so and very often.

[boatsnguitars]

I do not think that we take the author's word for it. I think the questions we need to answer to test out that author's claims are whether (1) Jesus taught that God loves us and (2) whether Jesus did anything that gives support for such a teaching. I think Jesus did teach that God loves us and that Jesus's resurrection gives support for that teaching being true.

All you are doing is repeating what a religious text says. I want to know - from you - if God actually loves you.

I wouldn't ask you if my wife loves me, I'd ask her. If I couldn't ask her, I'd look at her actions. I certainly wouldn't read the poetry in her best friends diary about her feelings towards me.

If she sent death and destruction towards me, unless I genuflected to her - I'd have to wonder.

[The Tanager]

All you are doing is repeating what a religious text says. I want to know - from you - if God actually loves you.

I wouldn't ask you if my wife loves me, I'd ask her. If I couldn't ask her, I'd look at her actions. I certainly wouldn't read the poetry in her best friends diary about her feelings towards me.

If she sent death and destruction towards me, unless I genuflected to her - I'd have to wonder.

Yes, God loves me. I believe this because I believe God tells me this daily in many intimate ways.