Dark Virtue
New Member
[b said:Quote[/b] ]Dark Virtue,
Please understand that because you can make valid arguments and others cannot doesn't make your views right. I'm a huge Jeep fan, and I can tell you just about everything there is to know about them, but that doesn't necessarily make Jeep the greatest or best vehicle. It just makes me knowledgeable of them, and that is all.
I do not have the understanding of the Bible that you and others have, but I can tell you I have a great love for whom I believe to be its Inspirer, and a great appreciation for the book itself. Any arguments that I may have, and from those like me, should not be written off as "stupid." Me having an interest and belief in the Bible and the ultimate writer of it in itself should earn the slightest bit of support that it may be true. I might be wrong, but because of this belief I have surely there can be the smallest amount of respect for it, just as I respect you and your beliefs.
I think you may have misinterpreted my statement. I wasn't referring to "here" as the board, I was referring "here" as the problem before me. A good example of this is the concept of heaven and hell. Ask 10 different Christians what they're view of Heaven and Hell are and you will get 10 wildly different answers, yet they all consider themselves Christian and right above all other Christians. It's confusing to say the least. That makes it difficult to argue a certain point when you know the other side isn't even agreement on the issue.
[b said:Quote[/b] ]Also, you don't have to physically see something to believe in it.
Understoond. Let's use the Eiffel Tower as an example. I've never seen it, never even been to Paris. But yes, I believe it exists. Why? Other people have seen it, touched it, smelled it, experienced it. I know the concepts behind the mathematics, engineering and the applications used behind the construction of the Tower. I have studied its construction, its builder and have seen photos of it. So yes, I believe that it truly exists. I can not say the same about the Bible or God. Can you?
[b said:Quote[/b] ]Faith is not something that is unreasonable or irrational. You have faith that when you turn the key to your car the engine will start - it's just a confidence that you have; and that's what faith is.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Heb. 11:1 (KJV).
This is considered the classical definition of Faith, both the substance of things hoped for and the evidence that things exist that are not yet perceived with the senses. It is my understanding that the Greek word translated "substance" in Hebrews 11:1 is hupostasis, literally, "that which stands under." The derived meaning is "that which has real existence, the basic essence, the actual reality, the substance of something". The evidence of this cannot be found in the physical world. Thus, it cannot be proven logically. Does that make sense?