Armchair Critic,

I asked: "Do you know God's reason why you don't want to come to Him for eternal life?"

Your response was:

<<What's God got to do with it, don't I have freewill? Not sure what you're trying to say?
- Why God wants me to follow this defiant path, is that what you're asking?>>

God's diagnosis of what you described as your "defiant path" is:

"But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

"Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused" (Romans 1:18-21).

My desire in responding to you is not to impose my values or beliefs on you but to encourage you to use your free will to examine God's diagnosis and treatment of the human condition from,

(1) the reliable OT, http://www.eerdmans.com/Products/0396/on-the-reliability-of-the-old-testament.aspx, and

(2) the trustworthy NT, http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/products/the-historical-reliability-of-the-new-testament-2/

Banjo,

<<I could have guessed it, OzSpen. I’m sure the Gospels, in particular, are very highly valued by most practicing Christians.>>

Yep! That's because they are reliable historical documents as research has demonstrated:

(1) Craig Blomberg, The Historical Reliability of the Gospels (1987): http://www.ivpress.com/the-historical-reliability-of-the-gospels

(2) Craig Blomberg, The Historical Reliability of the New Testament (2016): http://www.bhacademic.com/product/the-historical-reliability-of-the-new-testament/

Are you open to accept this historical evidence to demonstrate the credibility of the NT?

According to you statement, I don't think you'll want to pursue the evidence from reliable biblical documents because:

<<I'm a tough nut to crack, and not only that I'm already happy and humble in my present beliefs>>.

Hey Ozspen,
How can you be sure it's 'God's Diagnosis' if it was clearly written by someone 'other than God'?
In my view the best you can hope to argue here is 'Man's interpretation' of 'God's Diagnosis'.

The passage you presented:
"But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God."

I have real doubts about the writers underlying motives, understanding of science and leaps of logic.
- But then it was written 2 thousand years ago.

"They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them."
Again it feels like mindcuffs, They're stating something as fact in a manner that would prevent any questioning.

"They know" - where did we hear that before I wonder...

It doesn't leave a lot of room for someone to say 'I don't know' does it?
It seems like an outright ban on 'I don't know'.
'I don't know, NOT ALLOWED

"For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky."

I can imagine the discussion:
"How could you not know? Can you not see the earth and the sky?"
- "Yes I can see the earth and the sky."
"Well how can you NOT KNOW?"
- "Ummm... OK"

"Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature."

Maybe you look around see the land, the plants and the animals and within that you see God.
- But that doesn't necessarily mean I see GOD when I look at those things.
Sure it's all amazing and wonderful the beauty and diversity of all the different animals and creatures that inhabit the earth.
- But all I see is the land, the plants and the animals.

[Cont.]

"So they have no excuse for not knowing God."

It looks to me like they are forcing a belief on others with no room to question.
It looks like no more a religion than a means to control civil society during those times.

You must do as we say...

Methaphor:
Lets say hypothetically Christians were defined as people who spent their days walking aroung their town centre in a clockwise direction.
Lets say hypothetically Islamists were defined as people who spent their days walking around their town centre in an anti-clockwise direction.
Now lets say it doesn't really matter what each society believes, what's important is that in each society everyone is going in the same direction.
You can't have people stopping and blocking the way 'fence sitters questioning the status qao', and even worse you can't have people coming at you head on walking in the opposite direction 'disbelievers or adherents of different faiths', because if you allow that to happen the system that works as a whole would collapse.

Social engineering in ancient times might not be different from the political correctness religion of today.

In regards to the bible, at this point I've decided that I don't wish to read it.
I don't want to be tainted by it in the way that I've seen others lose sense of themselves and start rambling incoherent convoluted babble that only seems to try to: Display some moral authority by baffling me with bs.

(please don't take offense - I'm just trying to show you the 'I don't know' side of the fence)

The thing I haven't talked about yet is from a viewpoint of ethics I see fundamental flaws in your ideology.

Hey Not_Now.Soon,

'Without some insight on the matter it is easy to just say I don't know'

- My Fence-sitter attitude isn't a non-decision on the basis of laziness or ignorance in consideration of the topic;
It's just as much an informed and educated decision, it's just that I think differently to others.

I didn't say think 'and believe' in that last sentence; because I don't want to rely on 'belief',
I don't want to get into the bad sloppy habit of 'trusting in whatever I believe'.
- This would erode my ability to use the brain rationally and also opens one up to be manipulated by FEAR.

I trust in what I know, and if I don't know - I just say "I dunno".
It's really easy, and it saves a whole lot of bs later on.

Don't you hate people (well you wouldn't lol) who butt into conversations and claim to know something when they clearly don't know anything?
They come out with the most dumbest and retarded ideas just to try and be part of the conversation?
Lots of people do it but I'm not them, I'm just someone with enough courage to say 'I Don't Know'.

If God does exist, then he knows my heart and that I'm being true to the gifts he gave me.
He knows I align myself with the idea of 'pure ethics' rather than 'stoneage stories' that attempt to teach ethics but have the effect of baffling one with bs. Most Christians to me are not as moral and ethical as they make themselves out to be.

[Cont.]

I'll plan for the worst and hope for the best.

Do you think heaven will be a floating Hilton up in the clouds?
What if 'heaven' or 'hell' is the place - NOT say a location - but more a 'state of mind' that your soul will reside in if you are given some of Gods power when you die?
What if you get to see how your actions affected others in a positive or negative way; and how that positive or negative impression you made on others caused them to act as well, like a ripple effect of all your good and bad deeds amplified and you can see it all, your whole entire life clear as day.
The mark you left upon others was it good or bad? Will your soul be crushed by darkness of what you see or will you be filled with light by your mark on the world?

On the other hand we might just be roadkill when we die or God may be a kid with an Ant-farm, and that's how 'I don't know' works.

Also, this is for OzSpen,

- Since were on the topic and I forgot to mention it earlier -

What does the historical record say about this?

Jesus in Kashmir
http://www.oshonews.com/2016/09/24/jesus-in-kashmir/

Obviously I'm not saying it's true since I stand for the 'I don't know' side of the argument.
After all, I wasn't there at the time.
That's the beauty of 'I don't know'.