ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS FOR VINCE AND OTHER ATHEISTS
(1) Why are you an atheist instead of an agnostic?
Vince: "I am an atheist because I fit the definition. I lack a belief in god...I believe that if god exists he should be knowable."
How serious are you about confirming God's existence through spiritual experiences?
(2) If your skepticism were wrong, what evidence do you have that discovery of your error is your highest priority?
Vince: "I am not sure of what is being asked."
If your quest to find God is merely casual, then you will not find God. Surely you can recognize that if there is a God of love, then He might expect the quest to find Him to be your highest priority and therefore an all-consuming passion. So God issues this challenge to you: "If you seek Me
with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord (Jeremiah 29:13-15)."
(3) How do you know whether or not there are other types of evidence for God than the evidence you are willing to consider?
Vince: "I don't. There could be other evidence I don't know about that would convince me that god exists. That is why I don't claim god doesn't exist because I cannot know that. God should know what evidence I would need."
The case for God's existence is only as good as the assumptions made by the arguments. But assumptions derive from our experience. Therefore, the case for God is only as good as our experience. This fact has 2 implications:
(A) The acquisition of faith in God is not really a matter of "proof," because any alleged proof is only as valid as its underlying assumptions, which are shaped by our experience. So the real issue is what truth seekers find psychologically persuasive. But seekers cannot know in advance what would persuade them because none of us know how honest and open are spiritual quest is.
(4) What type of paranormal evidence would you accept for God's existence?
Vince: "I don't know."
Because you don't know, you need to find out. Please start with these 2 evolving threads on paranormal spiritual experiences:
(A) "The Right Prayer Partner" under the Prayer section of this site
(B) 'My Life Journey through then Lens of my Paranormal and Spiritual Experiences" under the Testimony section of this site
(5) If you could be convinced that there is life after death, would that convince you that there is a God?
Vince: "I don't know. Do we need a god for an afterlife? An afterlife could exist without the need for a god."
Because you don't know, isn't it important for you to investigate the evidence? By "evidence" I mean the paranormal verifications that many Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) and After-Death Communications (ADCs) contain verifications that have no plausible natural explanation. I invite you start with my evolving thread on NDEs and ADCs under the "Unorthodox Doctrine Forum" and post your reactions to the specific cases cited. Keep in mind that many atheists and agnostics are converted through their encounters with God or Christ during their NDEs.
(6) If you could be convinced that Jesus' resurrection appearances can be traced back to eyewitness testimony, would that convince you that there is a God?
Vince: "I don't know."
Well, for starters, consider these 2 facts:
(A) Paul gives a list of Jesus' resurrection appearances in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 that he has received from the eyewitnesses, the Jerusalem apostles. He received this list of appearances during 2 visits to Jerusalem during which his Gospel was checked out by the apostles, Peter and John and by Jesus' brother James (Galatians 1:18-19; 2:1-10). Of course, some of these resurrection appearances are described in detail in our Gospels.
(B) Paul himself claims to have experienced a resurrection appearance of Jesus (1 Corinthians 9:1; Galatians 1:12-13) that is so bright that it temporarily blinds him (Acts 9:1-8). His resurrection experience transforms him from an aggressive persecutor of Christians into Christ's greatest and most effective apostle.
(7) If Christ made Himself real to your subjective satisfaction, would you commit your life to His service?
Vince: "I don't know. I probably would because of the fear of Hell."
I appreciate your honesty. But please realize that Christ is unlikely to makes Himself real to you just to give you a "get out of jail free" card. Christ WILL make Himself real to you to establish an intimate deeply satisfying personal relationship with you in which you strive tp please Him and serve Him in all that you do. If I lay out Christ's conditions for making Himself real to your satisfaction, are you honest enough to meet those conditions to see what happens and then report the results of your quest to me? Let me add this: I don't approve of what some posters have said to you in this thread. If you wish, we could continue this conversion and interact about the success or problems of your spiritual quest in PMs. Or if you wish, I could give you my private E-mail address.
Just look around you ! can't you see the works their of ?
