30 Apr 21
@divegeester saidWhy not use a demonstration that all humans - and not just a minority - can find credible? It smacks of convoluted human imaginings. It sounds every bit as contrived as the Book of Revelation, the virgin birth, transubstantiation, The Trinity and The Lake of Fire.
The atonement is a demonstration of god’s authority of life over death.
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19 May 21
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@FMF
But you use to believe in the resurrection of Christ when you were a Christian.
Am I right ?
Remember when you believed in the resurrection of Jesus ?
19 May 21
@sonship saidThese two counter-questions do not address the OP question which is obviously rooted in my loss of faith rather than in what my faith used to be.
@FMF
But you use to believe in the resurrection of Christ when you were a Christian.
Am I right ?
Remember when you believed in the resurrection of Jesus ?
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19 May 21
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@FMF
When you had faith, do you remember why you then thought it was important that you did believe in the resurrection of Christ ?
What do you remember about why it was important to salvation to have such a faith?
19 May 21
@sonship saidIf you are unable or unwilling to express your own answer to the OP's question, so be it.
@FMF
When you had faith, do you remember why you then thought it was important that you did believe in the resurrection of Christ ?
What do you remember about why it was important to salvation to have such a faith?
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21 May 21
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@FMF
Oh I don't think I am "unable" to answer you.
Serious consideration is below.
Why do I have to believe in the resurrection of Jesus?
If you mean why do you have to believe He is alive in order to be your Lord and Savior. If Christ is dead He cannot be your Lord and Savior. And if He did not rise from the dead then He is dead.
I think saying Jesus is DEAD though is the same as saying He cannot be Lord.
Saying Jesus is DEAD is saying really, if you have a need to be justified, Jesus isn't
available to justify you.
Or by not believing in His resurrection you are saying God did not stand by and vindicate anything crucial Jesus said about why He came. He came to die and to rise. His dying a redemptive death and rising in a confirming resurrection is too central to His reason for being period.
"I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep . . . Even as the Father kwnos Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep . . . For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it away from Me, but I lay it down of Myself, I have the authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it again. This commandment I received from My Father." (See John 10:11,15,17-18)
Intrinsic to WHY Jesus came is for Him to obey the Father and lay down His life for His sheep. That is death. And He has authority to take up His life again. That is resurrection.
There are too many other sayings of Jesus which indicate the same thing in different words.
"Martha said to Him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection in the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes into Me, even if he should die, shall live. and everyone who loves and believes into Me shall by no means die forever. Do you believe this?" (John 11:24,25)
Here Jesus does not say "I will resurrect." He says something stronger - He IS the resurrection. He IS the resurrection at that moment and the divine life of God to be imparted to the believers.
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21 May 21
Because I simply don't.
All believers can point to a time when probably they simply DIDN'T believe.
I had a period when I looked intently into the eyes of people telling me about Jesus. I double and triple checked by looking into their face and asking myself - "Does this person REALLY believe what he is saying? Does he REALLY believe that himself or is he being dishonest."
All I am saying is that I recall this skeptical period in which I didn't know. But I was intently interested to examine if OTHERS truly believed what they were saying or whether they were being pretentious or tricky for some strange reason - deceiving me.
It seems to me to be parochial - rather than divinely inspired - to insist that I do.
Let's say one is in New York. And New York is about to go up in total destruction. At the airport on the tarmac is a jumbo jet. If you are on the jumbo jet, that jet will successfully remove you from New York City taking all its passengers away from the sure destruction.
If you don't get ON the jumbo jet, you'll remain in danger.
If you don't believe that there IS that jumbo jet sitting there ready to take you,
you are also still in danger.
You have to believe that the jet is there in order to board the jet and be saved.
The analogy may not be perfect. I think it is appropriate in many ways.
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21 May 21
I think it is hard not to believe in Jesus as you read through perhaps aloud the Gospel of John. I think it takes more work to not believe then to believe in Christ.
But then again, I am under the great mercy of God to have somehow been endowed with the ability to believe this Man.
I think child-like trust is not child-dish. And somehow I was subdued and willing to humble myself as a little child and call out to the Lord Jesus. And calling He responded. Like the story of the prodigal son, the Father ran towards me and fell on my neck with affectionate kissing at my coming home to Him.