iceage writes:
Why is the quality of faith or belief in the unseeable so supremely important to God?
A false god or meme-complex requires such blind faith, but the real God?
False gods/religions have no evidence for credibility so as to generate any real measure of faith. On the other hand the Bible is rife with faith generating evidence for the existence of God which include the following:
1. Fulfilled prophecy. For example, Jesus cited OT fulfilled prophecy to show that he was indeed the messiah of which the prophets had spoken. Isaiah 53 is a good example of an ancient prophecy depicting the suffering messiah. There are a number of equally significant prophecies in Isaiah and Psalms depicting events relative to the crucifixion etc.
Scores of fulfilled prophecies or prophecies beginning to begin to come to pass for the latter days can also be cited. Not so with other religions.
2. Cultural and social issues support the veracity of the Biblical principles.
3. Personal experience evidenced when one draws near to the Biblical god, Jehovah become more prevalent the more one draws near to and adhere's to the responsibilities of the Christian life.
4. Answers to prayer which we who have experienced the spiritual birth via the Holy Spirit work to strengthen our faith. This, of course, means little or nothing to those outside of the
faith or who have failed to consecrate their lives to Jesus as both
lord/master and savior.
5. Archeology has worked to strengthen my faith. The Exodus video and the Exodus Case book by Dr. Lenart Moller, Swedish scientist who photographed the chariot debris at Aqaba along with the corroborating stuff in the region is a good example of this.
I've said the above to say this: Faith is so important to God that he continually provides evidence so as to provide a basis for our faith so that it is not blind. He delights in all of this.
God was angry with the Jews who had all the evidence for strengthening their faith but chose rather to disobey his commandments. Had they by faith trusted in him alone instead of whoring after other gods, he would have been well pleased with them and blessed them instead of bringing judgement upon them.
BUZSAW B 4 U 2 C Y BUZ SAW.
The immeasurable present is forever consuming the eternal future and extending the infinite past.
™ Version 4.2
