Oooops, sorry csteele!

I misread your gentle satire as yet another one of those mindless warbles that I dislike so much.

Guilty of too-rapid response - a premature expostulation, in fact.

Yours, red faced

Pericles

Dear katieO,

How do I personally respond to God?

I've answered that question so many times in other threads, so I'll simply say:

Faith has passed from the passive and complete acceptance of a body of truths to the honest search for total commitment. The world has become man-centered, meaning-centered, and the individual measures the traditional truths in terms of personal value.

I refuse to accept irrelevant sermons, a sterile liturgy, a passe and speculative theology which explores publicly dry and distant formulas, a law which does not explain its own origins. I demand a pastor who reaches me in honest dialogue. I will not be bullied by an authoritarian demand for the observance of parish boundaries, nor by moralizing which ignores the true and complex context of modern life.

I do not fear hell because I cannot fathom it. I do not seek heaven because it offers no image I can grasp.

I struggle to find myself, to love my fellow human beings, and to hope that in this way I am truly loving God.

I don't know if that answers your question. But there it is.

Snake asks
'I would like to ask all these convinced and devout posters if they think their god is an interventionist one, and how do they reconcile "their god" with all the others that people believe exist and who adamantly have faith in.'

Jesus Himself said that all that came before Him were thieves and robbers. He Himself claimed to be the only way to His Father. Either He was lying or telling the truth.To claim access to God except through Christ makes a mockery of His death and subsequent resurrection. It is not described as the narrow way for no reason. Without Christ's shed blood there is no forgiveness of sin and no one would receive eternal life.

All those who deny Christ are in the same boat as the god deniers and hod haters. They are still in their sin. Thankfully for those living it is not to late to turn to the only living God who is merciful enough to forgive and save you.

Deny Christ at your peril but don't try and make out that He is equal to some man whose body rotted in a grave.

Dear Cat.... I can be naughty/cheeky at times :) sorry..no offense... it was just too juicy.

My most valid point would be to refer you to Professor McCready a prominent microbiologist in Australia and suggest you have a chat about why he believes in God, in Christ, the Bible etc.

He could far better answer your questions than I, and on common ground.

Foxy outlined the usual 'Arguments' but each one does have an answer for the skeptical. They are only of real value to those already believing.

Pericles is in good form.. we must start PAYing him for his incisive analysis of others posts :)

Onya P

Dear David,

God may not be provable through mathematical formulae or properties of physics, but we live in an era where the evidence of an Intelligent Designer is all around us. Just look through any telescope in an observatory and peer to the edge of the massive cosmos. View the monitor of an electron-scanning microscope and delve into the intricate world of a microscopic cell. Try to comprehend the massive library of complex information inherent in the digital code that turns a fertilized egg into a human being. Study principles of quantum mechanics and investigate the world of extra-dimensionality. Review the nature of your conscience, subconscious, standards of morality, and thoughts of religion.

Then, try to reconcile all of these realities with a basic theory of randomness and chaos.

Based on what we know today, I truly believe that atheism (not believing in any kind of God) is a much bigger "leap of faith" than theism (believing that some kind of god exists).

Foxy: "Then, try to reconcile all of these realities with a basic theory of randomness and chaos."

A basic theory of randomness and chaos? Is that supposed to be the alternative to an intelligent designer?