Struggling with my Christian belief

Does religion feature on a birth certificate? I didn't think it did...

Just wonder how many of the 2.2 billion Christians are practicing or live moral lives Everyone who doesn't really have too much of a religion writes CofE on all forms etc and a muderer can have CofE or RC etc on their birth certificate

Just curious but I guess there's no real way of knowing

Starlady is right. If heaven exists then God isn't going to refuse entry to those who lived the best lives they could. We are not perfect so surely he can only expect us to do our best.

I never asked you to debate your faith, nina1959. Faith is totally different to Biblical texts. You said that you had read evidence for the literal truth of the flood and the Gospels. I simply asked for clarification of your assertions and gave evidence to show that the Gospels were not literal truth.

At no point have I asked anyone to justify their faith. Faith is personal. Religious texts are not.

Hapgran, if your c and gc are reasonably good people, I don't think you have to worry. I don't think God would condemn someone to Eternal Hellfirs just because of a belief or lack of belief.

I'm not willing to debate my faith Vampirequeen. I don't need to prove and provide evidence. I have unshakeable faith because of what I've been through and how I've come through it so for me, with or without concrete evidence, faith in a Divine universe is all I need. That's what religion is about. And with over 2.2 billion christians in the world, I don't think the bible needs proving.

Sadly it's not possible to study the original papyrus texts as they no longer exist.

Why talk about evidence if you're not willing to discuss it?

Having faith isn't the same as believing literally in the Bible.

With today's technology, the Hebrew scripts would be accurately translated.

Personally I don't question the bible. I've been through things and known I was not alone. Faith is what's required and I do have faith.

Ah but a claim is not the same as having evidence. There is certainly evidence of great floods in the geological record especially after the end of the last ice age. For example Doggerland disappeared under what is now the North Sea but there is no evidence that a man called Noah built an ark and collected examples of every creature on earth to save them.

As to the Gospels there is no direct evidence to when or by whom they were written. One train of thought suggests that they must have been written before AD70 as none of them mention the destruction of the Temple in Jeruselem by the Romans in that year. This would be strange as they could have used this event to prove Jesus's prophecy that the Temple would be destroyed brick by brick. However they could have been written down later and that even left out if they wanted to show that Jesus was the Temple being destroyed and rebuilt i.e. killed and resurrected. As to who wrote the Gospels, it is thought that Mark was a Roman convert and a follower of Peter. He wrote down the story as Peter told him therefore Mark was not a direct witness to the events. Matthew may or may not have been written by the apostle Matthew depending on which 'expert' you read. Luke was not an eyewitness. He was a follower of Paul who again was not an eyewitness. John is the most likely to be an eye witness account but again their are those who provide evidence to the contrary. However it is known that the Gospels were not officially attributed to anyone until between 180CE and 185CE. Up to this time there were many gospels in circulation. Irenaeus argued "that these four gospels and no others belong in a Christian canon." (Robert M. Price (2003)). It should also be borne in mind that the Gospels as we know them today have been translated many times. It is thought that they were originally written in Aramaic or Greek. Then translated into Latin. It was translated into middle English by John Wycliffe c1380 and gradually took on the form of English we recognise today. All those translations leave it open to interpretation whether intentional or otherwise by the translator.

Here's an interesting read.

www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10574119/Noahs-Ark-the-facts-behind-the-Flood.html

Well, we know at one time that the Mediterranean flooded quite suddenly but that was millions of years before the time of Noah and that the land mass between Britain and Continental Europe got covered in water over a relatively short period of time much more recently (about 10,000 years ago).
And Noah did live for about 930 years

Vampirequeen, both. Genesis mentions Noah and the flood and geological evidence points to rock formation that the great flood occurred. If you're asking me to prove it, I can't. I wasn't there. But there is plenty of written documentation but both scientists and theologians who claim it's true.

"Vampirequeen, I am C of E brought up, bible read, and also have read many of the certified documents by academics of theologians and professors. There is scientific proof of the scriptures and geological proof of events such as the great flood at the time of Noah."

Nin1959 before I answer this post could you just clarify a couple of points. Are you saying that the Flood happened as is says in the OT or that there is evidence of a great flood or series of floods taking place at some point in time? Are you saying that there is evidence that everything reported in the Gospels is accurate and unbiased?

Delia Smith is also a Catholic christian. You can't get anyone more grounded and stoical than Delia Smith. She wrote a book back in the 70's I think. It's out of print now but you can still buy a copy on ebay, link below.
She writes beautifully and describes God in a way which I think is much closer to the truth. I think Mary Berry is also a staunch believer. Delia's book is a very easy, light book to read.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/A-Journey-into-God-Smith-Delia-Paperback-Book-The-Cheap-Fast-Free-Post-/391523833333?hash=item5b28a395f5:g:f0wAAOSwHMJYLGSf

I think there are a lot of man made myths about God. Some Christians are very deluded and one of the things that can happen is if they have an attitude of superiority, which they are not supposed to have, it can put people off.
Others say they're Christians and put on a good act but behind the scenes, they don't live the life.

My belief is that God isn't a tyrant, he has been badly misrepresented and he's not going to throw a basically good human being who gets it wrong sometimes, into the flames of hell. I don't believe this at all. I do believe you have to faith though and I think rather than be indoctrinated, faith is a destination as much as anything. CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien were both Christians. All their books carried the message of good triumphing over evil. Both men endured times of no faith to having complete faith so it's a journey.

This link is nice to watch and it's all lines taken from scripture.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpSE3eZTCNo

I take comfort in the parable of the sheep and the goats . The sheep did not know they were sheep and the goats did not know they were goats.I believe that a merciful God will eventually deal with all of us with love but I have to remain agnostic on this topic.

Anniebach, your one liners mean that I'm not able to understand what you mean. Sorry.

It isn't always a choice that causes some not to believe , sorry but that sounds - toss a coin

It was explained to me theoretically. Basically it's a choice (freewill). If you believe that Jesus died for you on the cross, you are saved. It's not quite that simple. Being saved also means you continue believing and this leads you to live where you actively live doing good works through whatever it is that you do. If you're a bus driver, you're caring towards your passengers. If you're a vet, you care about the animals in your care and so on.
If you choose not to believe, you're not qualified to enter into the kingdom of Heaven. (Is it worth not believing?). But I don't know where you go. I don't think it's Hell. I don't believe in a loving God that condemns anyone just on the basis that they don't get it. I think people grow into a faith when they are ready and I think God knows this.

Me neither I thought it was eternal damnation or being denied the face of God, but I am a little rusty on the subject!

It doesn't and I didn't say it did. It was merely a projection of my own thought based on what my aunt had said.

Where in the bible does it say non believers are reincarnated ?

Buddhism isn't a religion. It's a belief system. But it's still all based on the principle of peace which is an extension of God's system of a loving creation. God is definitely about love, not anger or intolerance.

Norose, yes, I thought so too. x

(Not Buddhist non-believers, just those who haven't worked through their earthly life problems/difficulties)

Agree Ana neither have I perhaps it will be a very hot earth!!