To David f.

Give me the beliefs and world views of other religions and texts, and I'll probabley consider them. Give me observations that coincide with those world views and I'll consider them more so.

It's not just the beliefs of every other world view is wrong and mine is right. It's that there are observations. Take them into account if and when you come across them. That is largely what I've said over and over again. With that in mind God is real. The only other reasoning is to ignore, dismiss, or belittle the observations that point to God. Regardless of the beliefs the person held before or after they were a witness to whatever they witnessed.

I don't have explainations for everything, but neither do I have my head in the sand refusing to see the world for what it really is.

(Continued)

Dear NNS,

Some people believe in God. Other people don't believe in God. It is nothing to get excited about.

Some people believe in God. Other people don't believe in God
david f,
The majority are disillusioned by the antics of the religious.

Davidf

That's the bleeding obvious. Also obvious is thefact that nobody who has left this mortal coil has been able to advise us one way or the other. So, mortals will never know the truth. I recently read a comment, from someone who claimed to believe in God, that you have to "experience God" to believe. He didn't explain or reveal his own experience. I don't understand that at all. How does one experience God?

So, it's back to either you do or you don't. I hope that God exists, and that there is something better ahead for us than life on earth; because that experience hasn't been anything to write home about, and it is sheer Hell for some people.

Dear ttbn,

I don't know either how one can experience God. We can't even control most of what happen to us. The philosophy of the Stoics maintains that we can control our feelings as to what happens to us. I have had a fairly good life, but it's really a matter of luck.

Ian,

<<There is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion>>

However, there is a biblical description that shows what religion does: "Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you" (James 1:27).

Instead of defining religion, it shows what genuine religion does: cares for orphans and widows and refuses worldly corruption of believers.

The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) in the US and the state and federal courts in that country have to decide on whether a belief or practice is or is not religious.

Augustine, at the end of the fourth century, wrote, 'Of True Religion', by which he meant worship - where Christians in public turn to God to give him special honour, respect and praise. See: http://vdocuments.mx/augustine-on-true-religion-de-vera-religione.html

Justin Martyr (ca. AD 100-165) considered true religion related to the teaching of passing 'through life without danger on account of the judgment which is to be after the termination of this life, and which is announced not only by our forefathers according to God, to wit the prophets and lawgivers' '(Hortatory Address to the Greeks', ch 1) at: http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0129.htm.