Shabbat Shalom,
This is meant for andrergsanchez. All quotes are his.
Quote:I'm not sure what you want me to do that I have not yet done. Perhaps you are the one what has not read these books in the right context and perspective? If you are not the
means God has choosen to shine his light on my path, then surely another means is there, and I won't starve for his light. If this is not the path of God, the true God, I'll be glad to be turned away from it.
I do not aim to be the one to enlighten you. That is not my job. I can only share with you some thoughts, experiences and reflections of what I have learnt. It is Yahweh who does the calling and the enlightening in depth. If you think that you need to find the answers elsewhere there is nothing that shall stop you. I, too, seek to learn as much as I can, and not just from this site. His Truth is bigger than all of us. But I know what I seek and I recognise His voice through His Word. How would you?
Quote:But then I could never take the scripture any more seriously than the Quran, or for that matter, the ancient myths of Greece and Rome and Carthage.
Therein lies your problem. You do not seem to seek enlightenment. You seem to have a preconceived idea of who Creator is, and you are looking for proof of such. If you truly seek the Creator, then look for His Word. Through His Word you shall find life. But if you are not prepared to unlearn then the learning stops.
Quote:Everytime I open my eyes I have a direct revelation from the Creator Himself. There is no other source of light, all that I see is revealed to me by him. This I know for a fact.
Beware, for the adversary himself transforms into an angel of light to deceive the world. So what is your "fact" if you cannot prove it?
Quote:I don't believe in proof. There is truth, experience (revelation) and judgement. Proofs do not exist.
So what are you looking for? What is your point then?
Quote:I do not claim to have intimate knowledge of God's nature, complete with the answers to all of our problems, but I know he exists. My fear is of puting the Bible, or any other book considered as holy, between myself and God. Of making lies my refuge, and falsehood my hiding place.
Perhaps this is how Islam started. A direct revelation. A belief that slowly transmuted itself into something that assumed a mantle of truth because of an unwillingness to belief that which was written before. So despite what you said that Islam would not have started, this is how it started.
Quote:Actually, he thought he was possessed by a demon. Judging by his life (and death), I bet his first impression never left him, despite his rethoric.
And eventually he thought it was his god. And he shared it with others. And they believed him. And today the world is as it is. Are you any different seeking direct revelation if you are unable to discern who God is? If you have no basis for his existence other than the trees, animals and stars? The animistic religions think as such so what makes you different?
Quote:The main argument seems to be that the prophecies were fulfilled, which could only happen if the Bible was written by God. When I look at it though, I'm not particularly convinced. They often seem vague prophecies, that could be manipulated a million ways to fit a million different outcomes. If we look at more contemporary collections of prophesies, we can see just how easy it can be to "predict" history.
If you continue to lump contemporary collections together with Scripture, what do you think you can find in Scripture that shall make you change your thoughts?
Quote:I trust God, but why should I trust the Bible to tell me about him? Surely God has not abandoned all the millions that lived without ever having the chance to look at one, or hear the name of Jesus.
Who says that they are abandoned? And what makes you think that they all need to hear the name of Jesus?
(Mat 12:38) Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from You.”
(Mat 12:39) But He answering, said to them, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Yonah.
(Mat 12:40) “For as Yonah was three days and three nights in the stomach of the great fish, so shall the Son of Adam be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
You do not have to believe this, of course, if it was just the statement of a man with a messianic complex that was further boosted by his relatives and friends to fulfill the scores of prophecies, which "could be manipulated to fit a million different outcomes," as you stated,
Quote:From what I remember of the story of his birth, it seems pretty clear that his parents filled his head with the idea that he was the Messiah, and while not everyone was interested in accepting him as such (clearly), I am sure there was a deep longing among people for it. People cooperate with madmen all the time. You can find about a billion cults alive today, from those of people claiming to speak with aliens, to those of people who claim to be the Messiah. It happens. People take their own lives for these blatantly false religions.
Sure they do. People are guilty of many things. But how do you know that the religions are blatantly false? What is your yardstick?
Quote:I have trouble making sense of the concept of the trinity. When I read such things, they strike me as nothing more than word play, poetry.
Who told you that god is a trinity? Where did you get that idea?
Quote:For example, I cannot understand how God could separate his spirit from himself. For that matter, I have trouble understanding how God could separate his spirit from -anything- that exists.
Do you really expect to know the full extent of the power of the Creator? Probably not. But yet you deny Him and limit Him by hinting that God cannot do certain things because you cannot understand certain things. Your approach should be to find out what He wants from you, not the extent of His power as He has revealed according to your perception.
Quote:My question is, why? Why criminalize symbolic behaviour, with the death penalty no less?
Does it remain symbolic when they actually do behave in such a way?
Quote:It's not that I don't "agree" with Yahweh. The question I'm asking myself is not, "Do I think God is right?", but "Do I think this is God?". If I can't make sense of these things, to accept him as such I would be risking idolatry. I don't want that.
Putting your intellect in the way is idolatry! So how do you resolve this as we all need to think with what we have?
Perhaps it would be better if you shared your thoughts with us and let us see where we can help you anchor your thoughts with Scripture. Otherwise, another approach may be to "taste and see that Yahweh is good." Learn and do. Think and act. Act and think. That's how many of us "manage to have a different degree of certainty of scripture." If it does not work for you then so be it.
Quote:I have read most, though I will admit I may have missed parts of them between readings.
There was the first big clue as to why this thread dragged to this point. Remember the start of this post? I quoted you. Which is why I advised you to read YY and re-read. The answers are there. Find it. Don't dissect my words, or Robski's or Matthews or even KP's posts. It does you little good. Study the Scriptures and study all of YY which has to do with the Scriptures. Everything. Don't skip parts or you lose the plot and do yourself a disfavour. You want a shortcut? Just do it! Do not get analysis paralysis! C'mmon, the prophets wrote over hundreds of years and Yada and KP did all the recent work, all we have to do is read. Is that too hard?