To Yuyutsu.

Your response to my first point is off the mark. It's not about sin so much as about discerning what is true and what isn't. Sin is part of the equasion, but not part of that point. If you can not depend on something to be truthful, then you can't rely on it to be from God.

Another point you asked if I can think of anything that isn't from God. As it would turn out, I can think of several things that are not from God.

The response to my second point shows that you're feeling of following Gofd doesn't include following the truth, or knowing the truth. As long as I believe something and it brings me to God is not my only concern. You shouldn't dismiss something being true or false so easily. That's a discerning quality that you keep showing. Consider it from a different angle. If you make a claim and you've shown that much of what you believe doesn't depend on it being true or false, then your claim is weakened by your stance on being able or being willing to discern the truth. With politics, religion, current events, or any other matter, how can anyone take your points seriously if they find out you don't care if they are the truth or not. The best that can be done is to hear you and consider the points without counting them as reliable.

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Here, for your benefit, I'll give you something to help with strengthening faith, as well as holding up against any evil or any scheme you are near. The first element is to be sturdy and stand firm by the truth.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

(Ephesians 6-11-18)

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Each of these pieces of armor holds a positive effect. Holding on to what's true and not having any falsehood in you will keep you sturdy and make you stand firm.

Our stand to be righteous (sinless perhaps?) acts as a breastplate to protect our vital organs. What can be said about that? If we do right, not only will our own actions not come back at us to haunt us, but those around us will come to our defense if we are wronged. This piece of armor I think you strive for, but it is not alone.

The gospel of peace could be interpreted as a few things, but I'd wager it's either the good news of Jesus, or it's being at peace knowing that God is in control. From either of those come a readiness to act. Not fearful but ready and willing.

Having faith (trust?) will act like a shield against the troubles thrown at us and against the things that can harm us.

Our salvation; our being rescued by God, and saved by Jesus protects us the most. As a helmet protects us in our most vulnerable area, we can survive everything because of being saved. Even after death, God will hold onto us because of being saved through Jesus's sacrifice.

Of all of these our only weapon is God's word. Unless a person hears God directly they need to Know God's words through the texts He left us. If the texts are from God they will be reliable. Hence why I stand by the bible so much and not by any other religious text. They can not all be from God and be reliable.

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Lastly we are encouraged to pray. Each of these elements are important for a strong faith. The one I think you need the most though is to be able to know the truth, and discern what is true from what isn't. Otherwise you will be swept away with any philosophy that fits your liking. Or tickles your ears as it were. Of everything else, you seem kind and thoughtful, and very good about being strong in your beliefs. Just seek and discern the truth and all the other elements will be put to better use.

Dear Not_Now.Soon,

The only truth is God.

Whenever we perceive anything as other-than-God, this is only due to the distorting effect of our senses and mind.

For example, if you walk in the twilight you might see a snake and be startled, but when you shine on it with a torch, you discover that it is actually a coiled rope, nothing to be afraid of! Was the snake removed by the light of the torch? No, there was never a snake there in the first place!

Similarly, science (Einstein) has shown that all matter is in fact energy.

Similarly, all, including energy, is God, nothing can come, but from God.

«you're feeling of following Gofd doesn't include following the truth»

Why, following the truth is spiritually very important: what "the belt of truth" means is that you tell things as they are, no lying, no cheating, no hiding the truth - admit all your mistakes and weaknesses: "It is I who threw that stone which broke your window", "I didn't do the homework because I was lazy", "I do covet your money", "I did make private calls while I was paid for and supposed to work", "I did look lustfully at your wife", etc.

Material facts are not the truth, they are like the snake: yes, the statement "I saw a snake" is relatively true, but "there was a snake there" is false. A higher truth would be: "I saw a rope which I mistakenly thought was a snake", yet an even higher truth is: "First I perceived God as a snake, then as a rope, but really only God was ever there: my eyes which saw the snake and the rope, are God; my mind that shrieked upon seeing the snake then was relieved upon realising it was only a rope, is also God; the twilight was God; the torch was God; the light of the torch was God; the act of seeing was God; the time that passed was God".

The ultimate Truth = God, cannot be expressed by words.

To Yuyutsu.

Again I can think of many things that are not from God. To distance us from the philosophy that we are all God I witness my own weaknesses, my own sins, my own wrongs. However it's phrased, the witness of ourselves should be a witness against us being God. From there there are many wrongs done that we can say are not from God. God allows it for reasons we largely don't understand. But they are not from Him. Rape, and cruelty are not from God. Nor injustice, lies, or murder. In a world that is full of these things it becomes an obvious answer that not everything is from God, nor everything is God.

To make sense of this look at it this way. God is the potter, but He is not the pots He made. He is in charge, and is credited for all that there is, but there is still that ability to turn from God. To reject Him and to also commit evils that are not from Him.

The truth of the snake verses the rope is the kind of discernment I'm talking about. Knowing which one it is. They can't both be true. We do this with every day life, to judge what is true and what is false. Both with regards to misunderstanding like the rope seeming like a snake, as well as blatant lies. It is important to hold this foundation close to us even with our beliefs and our faith.

For now science might say everything is energy. But that understanding might change. To be honest I think the understanding
I learned is that all matter can be changed to energy. But unlike water that changes forms from solid liquid and gas, most other matter is relatively permanent. It can not change into energy without some kind of force behind it. Wood produces heat only if it's set on fire. Otherwise it does not change.

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