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Posted By: Stephen, on host 204.216.159.120
Date: Thursday, December 17, 1998, at 23:20:32
In Reply To: Re: Justness vs. Mercy posted by Dalí on Wednesday, December 16, 1998, at 16:21:25:

A word of warning: expect nothing in this post to have any sort of cohesive value. I'm quite tired as I write this, and it's more or less just randomness. Oh well, what'd you expect on this forum?

>
> I've heard an explaination that God allows sin in this world so we can see His love. If there was no sin, then we wouldnt be able to see God's work, or need him at all. So in a skewed sort of way it's for our own good.

Thanks God. You're such a great guy, allowing evil and suffering just so we can see how nice of a fellow you really are. As for all those folks stuck in Hell, well, they just get all of eternity to see your love, right?

>
> Da 'Im just a human so i cant understand" lí

I think that sums it up. I know I'm going to come across seeming differently than I intend to, but I think most explanations that try to offer any insight into why a God would act the way He would are silly. If God exists, we can't _EVER_ hope to understand Him. Or His motivations.

And yet, I still believe in God. Why? It's something that I can't put a finger on. The term for it is apriori knowledge -- something that proceeds any sort of logical reasoning. I just finished a Phil 101 class where we read a very interesting excerpt of a book written by a guy named Halverson (sorry, I forget his first name and the book. Still have it around here somewhere, if anyone's really interested I can find it). Neat guy, he used the human sense of awe about the universe as proof that God was real. We have this sort of ingrained incredible wonder about the physical space that we live in, he reasoned that there was no way it was all some sort of cosmic accident.

I realize this is by no means a logically sound argument. But that's the point. It's a completely subjective idea. You can't prove God exists. It requires a leap of faith that proves to be a stumbling block for a lot of people. I believe this is what Tyler had trouble with.

I have an interesting thought here. For the longest time, I have felt like I just can't comprehend reality. I ask everyone who reads this to just sit and think about the nature of the universe. Just try and ponder a beginning to reality. Or, if you view it differently, a reality that simply always existed, but just in a different form. Try something a bit simpler: imagine death. Just try and comprehend your total non-existence. Everyone else on this planet can probably imagine a world without you in it, it should be easy for you to. And I don't mean an "It's a Wonderful Life" type of deal where you were never born, I mean imagine if suddenly you were no longer part of reality.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't get my mind around any of those. When I really try and think about them, it gives me a clue as to how clueless I am. Thus, not accepting something just because I don't fully understand it becomes quite easy. I accept that reality is, yet I don't understand how it came to be. I accept that at one point I will die, yet I can't begin to imagine any other form of existance or non-existance than what I have right now.

Couple this with just a sort of inherent belief that God is real, and you have my basic world-view. Why or how I know God exists I can't explain, but I don't feel the need to. I just accept it.

At any rate, I'm falling asleep here.

Steph "All I need to do is figure out is what God I believe in" en

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