tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13119076.post115971988230194711..comments2022-11-25T22:02:45.189-06:00Comments on Little Endian: On Carrots and SticksAlan Lundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175526514562663282noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13119076.post-1160117194866975262006-10-06T00:46:00.000-06:002006-10-06T00:46:00.000-06:00I've posted a response here, although it's not a g...I've posted a response <A HREF="http://travis.imeem.com/blogs/2006/10/06/KS9rhUIZ/the_threefold_path" REL="nofollow">here</A>, although it's not a great space since you have to be a member to leave a comment, but perhaps it will work for now.<BR/>- TravisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13119076.post-1160066067894077662006-10-05T10:34:00.000-06:002006-10-05T10:34:00.000-06:00Hi Travis,Thanks for stopping by. I covet your pr...Hi Travis,<BR/>Thanks for stopping by. I covet your prayers, and hope that if you stick around you will find the answers to your -- and Alan's -- questions.<BR/>Best,<BR/>-- Dr. ErnieDr. Erniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08937284969266444762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13119076.post-1159919227018307652006-10-03T17:47:00.000-06:002006-10-03T17:47:00.000-06:00Travis,Thanks for stopping by. There are, perhaps...Travis,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for stopping by. <BR/><BR/>There are, perhaps, a variety of ways that the process of salvation could be described. Several well-known verses (John 3:16 and Acts 16:31 come to mind) describe belief as the foundation. Your formulation, while not explicitly mentioning belief, still rests on belief. That is, why should I believe that the steps you suggest lead to God and salvation? Appeals to the Bible as the source of truth merely begs the question, why should I believe what the Bible says? Although it was only referenced but not specifically included in this diablogue, I have previously written about various aspects of the Bible that support the notion that the Bible is a flawed product of man, sometimes merely mistaken, sometimes purposefully dishonest.<BR/><BR/>Your proposed solution seems to be to assume that the conclusion is true. Assume God exists. Assume what the Bible says is true. Once you make those assumptions, everything else follows. But why those assumptions and not others? Why not assume the Koran is true and that Allah is God? Why not any of the other thousands of gods that have been worshipped by people around the world and over the millenia?<BR/><BR/>With so much riding on the answer, we might expect God (assuming for the moment that he exists) to make the true nature of our situation abundantly clear. But this is not so, despite the claims of Romans 1. I started out believing. I stopped because the evidence simply could not (in my view) support those beliefs, and the rationalizations offered by Christians are simply insufficient.Alan Lundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05175526514562663282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13119076.post-1159909667022223532006-10-03T15:07:00.000-06:002006-10-03T15:07:00.000-06:00Hi,My name is Travis. For the last couple of days...Hi,<BR/>My name is Travis. For the last couple of days I've been reading some of your diaologue. I find it interesting although a little drawn out by now.<BR/>I wanted to make a comment to Alan: Your original objection to Christianity seems to be that people are damned for not believing unconvincing propositions. But really people are not damned or saved simply on the basis of believing propositions, rather people are damned for rejecting God as they may know Him.<BR/>Christianity, as I understand it, claims something along the lines that if a person:<BR/>1. Earnestly seeks God from their heart.<BR/>2. Repents of their sin.<BR/>3. Accepts the freely given forgivenness of God.<BR/>They will be saved and come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.<BR/>As Paul writes in regard to universal sin:<BR/>"For what can be known about God is plain to them. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; for though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to him,"<BR/>This is just and right, although perhaps not obviously so.<BR/>You also seem to wonder how we can know these things. I would propose the way to do this is to follow steps 1-3 above, for Jesus himself says,<BR/>"I thank you, Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to little children;"<BR/>I am willing to write more about this or other of my thoughts if you would like.<BR/>Best,<BR/>- Travis KoppAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com