Struggling with my Christian 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.

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 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.

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.

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

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

You wanted evidence of God Vampirequeen.

Yeh, I don't get it either tanith. Evidence of mans belief in God maybe. Not sure what it has to do with the man who spent his life in poverty and said he had "nowhere to lay his head"

I think the Pope and the Vatican are the most corrupt organisation on earth along with other forms of organised religion. But when I look at the skill in the design and works of St Ignatious in the photo above, that's where I see proof of God.
I don't think God can be proven or denied, we're just mere human beings.
But I have been through enough to know that a divine presence has at times steered my life. I don't need proof. I know.

I've never asked for proof of God. Why ask for proof of something that is unprovable? I simply question the literal nature of Biblical texts.

Vampirequeen, you did ask for proof of the biblical texts which if you believe they are Godbreathed, is the same thing. But isn't that going round in circles anyway? The reason I don't discuss or debate is because it's endless. I'd rather pick dandelions.

I never once asked for proof of God.

Godbreathed doesn't come from the original Aramaic texts but from Greek translations. The Greek word 'theopneustos' can be translated as Godbreathed or God inspired. Godbreathed suggests it is the word of God written down verbatim. God inspired suggests human input.

Your suggestion that I am asking for proof of God is based on semantics.

So let's get things straight.

I have never and would never require proof of the existence of a God/Gods/Supernatural being. Such things are based purely on faith and the question faith is to question the very core of a person's belief system. Each person has the right to believe or not believe in a God/Gods/Supernatual being.

Religious texts were written down by humans and those included in the Bible were chosen by men for a variety of reasons. If they wanted to give the laity true access to all the information they would not, for example, have left any of the Gospels out. I do not question the existence of God simply the truth of everything that has been written in his name.

Well for someone who doesn't need proof you're making enough of a racket.

And Vampirequeen............to be honest I don't need another of your 'I know it all' lectures. People either believe or they don't.
If you don't believe what's in the bible, that's fine with me.
I don't have the time to go into a long endless debate which at the risk of sounding like a parrot, is what I said earlier.
I'm done here. I don't care what anyone else thinks.

One more time.

Faith is personal and not to be attacked. Texts are texts.

You started to talk about evidence I simply carried on the discussion. You seem unable to differentiate between faith and text so brought up the subject of Godbreath. I simply pointed out that it's a translation from the Greek and has more than one accepted translated meaning.

If you feel you cannot carry on with this discussion then I'm happy to drop it.

On this one occasion I don't think will God will mind if I utter the word .............bollocks!

Forget to add.............Amen.

What language were the gospels originally written in?
And in what language did Jesus and his disciples speak to eachother? Some of the names of the disciples aren't hebrew names. eg James, Thomas.

Do you have to ask God's permission to say rude words .

Most people in Judea at the time of Jesus spoke Aramaic so it's assumed that's the language he spoke. It's also assumed that some of the Gospels (not just the accepted ones) were written in Aramaic but none survive (or at least none have been found). The earliest still existing fragments are written in Greek.

We can live in hope that some fragment earlier than those we already have turns up and adds to our knowledge. Think how amazing it would be to see the words written in the language they were spoken. Who knows what might still be hidden in some desert cave.

Some of the names of the disciples aren't hebrew names. eg James, Thomas.

Er, TriciaF you do realise that these are Anglicized versions of names such as Yacov & Tauma, that would have also had Greek & Roman influence over the past two thousand years?

Language is so interesting. Spoken and written.
I read an article at the weekend written by someone who recently met 2 Assyrian (from Iraq) priests in New York whose written language was almost the same as that in the Yiddish shopfronts they saw there.

ps Riverwalk - crossed posts. No I didn't know that. What about Peter?

And Luke? fom Wiki:
"Many scholars believe that Luke was a Greek physician who lived in the Greek city of Antioch in Ancient Syria, though some other scholars and theologians think Luke was a Hellenic Jew.[2][3] Bart Koet for instance considered it as widely accepted that the theology of Luke–Acts points to a gentile Christian writing for a gentile audience. Gregory Sterling though, claims that he was either a Hellenistic Jew or a god-fearer.[3]"

No-one believes all of what is in the bible, because it is contradictory. What intelligent people do is to find the essence of what matters for leading a good life. I have several vicar friends, all of whom are absolutely clear that the bible is not the word of a god and is not to be taken literally; that it was written far too long after the events for the Chinese Whispers effect not to have crept in.

It saddens me that some people who have a faith are made miserable by it - see the OP and her concerns - or use their beliefs to endorse their unacceptable behaviours.

I have a lot more respect for those who lead a good life because they truly care, rather than because they are instructed to by folk who lived 2000 years ago.