why doesn’t the Christian god just tell me he exists?
he is telling you, you’re just not listening
he doesn’t want to force himself on you
he only reveals himself to people who actively seek him
the evidence we have is clear enough that your disbelief is unreasonable
i don’t know
other (please explain)
0voters
I’m certainly open to him revealing himself. He can call down here any time and let me know he exists. So why doesn’t he? Please explain and justify your answer.
The answers I’ve listed above are common responses I’ve heard to this question. Here’s what I think of these responses:
he is telling you, you’re just not listening: I personally feel that I have my eyes and ears open, and if god wanted to tell me something in a clear unequivocal fashion he would have no problem doing so. So this response by itself is not at all convincing to me.
he doesn’t want to force himself on you: I find this response as absurd as it is common. Telling someone you exist is not the same as forcing them to pledge allegiance and obedience and love to you. God could tell us what he’s all about and leave it up to us if we wanted to be a part of it.
he only reveals himself to people who actively seek him: often Christians say this when they mean that you should pretend god exists and pray to him under that assumption. Some have written a “skeptic’s prayer” just for this purpose! My problem with this is that it’s like telling a kid to pretend he has a friend and talk to that friend. Some kids will become convinced they really have a friend this way. Praying to a god you don’t think exists would promote a similar self-delusion if done enough.
the evidence we have is clear enough that your disbelief is unreasonable: I’ve examined the evidence for the Christian god and could probably write a substantial, enlightening essay on just about any apologetics topic you could mention. My conclusion from this is as follows: the evidence does not clearly disprove god, but neither does it make his existence clear enough that disbelief would be unreasonable. I personally think that god is pretty unlikely given this evidence, but I am not sufficiently well equipped to defend that position. I can defend the position that the evidence for god leaves a LOT of room for very reasonable doubt. So I don’t buy this response either.
i don’t know: fair enough. God is mysterious and all that. I have not found this to be a very common Christian response.
If you have other reasons or would like to discuss the above in more depth, let’s hear it.
Note: do not take this as indicative that I am thirsting for god or anything like that. I’m not. I’m just open to the possibility that he exists. If he doesn’t, I’ll get along just fine. If he does, I may have to change my plans a bit but I expect that would be alright as well.
The top four are the only responses a christian can give. something I never liked much about christianity. Atheists and agnostics alike are boxed up and shipped away to each of these reasons.
I’m sure someone here could better provide the verse and situation better than a heathen like me can, but after Jesus came back Thomas was unconvinced that Jesus was actually Jesus risen. So, Jesus let Thomas put his finger into his wounds to show that he was who he claimed to be but Jesus made a point of saying that those who believe in him by faith alone are superior to those who demand something more. In that vein, I think it would be reasonable to think that from Jesus’s perspective, he’s already given more than enough evidence and that those who still demand more don’t deserve what he is offering.
It seems like Jesus breaks the fourth wall in that story. Who is he talking to when he says “blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe”? At this point the women at the tomb have seen the risen Jesus and they tell the disciples, whose reaction we are not given; then the disciples (save Thomas) see Jesus for themselves, followed by Thomas’ story and Jesus’ rebuke. So where are these people who have not seen and yet believe? Is Jesus speaking into the record here to encourage blind faith in future generations?
Didn’t Jesus say that he’d be back? I honestly don’t know, but I have the impression that he made it clear that he didn’t intend to stay dead. As for who he is talking to, wouldn’t the world be a good answer? He is god after all, at least within the confines of the narrative we are discussing. If there every was a character that could break the fourth wall, God would be it.
So not only does Jesus appear before Thomas, but he actually allows Thomas to stick his finger into his wounds? Does Jesus love Thomas that much more than he loves me? Why?
I’m no doubting Thomas by any stretch of the imagination. I’m pretty sure that a simple appearance out of nothingness would be quite enough to convince me of Jesus’ existence. I can’t imagine that I’d actually have the nerve to ask to stick my finger in his wounds if Jesus, say, suddenly appeared in the passenger seat beside me on my commute to work.
But for whatever reason, I don’t get an appearance from a mortally wounded, bleeding Christ. I don’t get a voice in my head telling me that Jesus is God and that he will save me. I don’t get a phone call or a postcard or nothing. Why should it be that someone else gets to stick his fingers into the wounds of Christ in order to become convinced that Jesus is actually a God and I get only the story from a third party that someone once stuck his fingers into the wounds of Christ?
It’s a helluva lot easier to have faith in someone’s alleged divinity when you yourself see the person walking on water than it is when someone else tells you that someone else who told him that the person was once seen walking on water. Right?
Unlike Aporia, I would very much like for a God to exist who would grant me eternal bliss for merely accepting the fact that He exists. To love and adore such a being would be no problem. It would come naturally. I mean, geez, I love my father and mother and they are nowhere near perfect.
As long as I get to go to heaven because I am convinced by the evidence that Jesus exists, why should I care if someone else gets to go to heaven, too, because of his lucky guess? On the contrary, I say bully for them. I say good guess.
No. In that vein, Jesus has given enough evidence to Thomas but not to anyone else to whom he has not allowed to feel his wounds much less to those to whom he has not even appeared or sent a postcard.
Hey man, I can’t disagree with your reasoning, but it would seem that the Christian god puts a very heavy premium on faith. Personally, that isn’t quite what I’m looking for in a divine being, but I guess that’s one of the reasons I’m not a Christian. I think it would be silly to demand that the Christian god be something other than what he’s been for the past 1600-odd years.
A lot of the time what a Christian prays for and expects usually results in something unexpected. That is not to say if we get an answer it is usually not directed to our ego, rather to the good of the whole.
Why just the Christian God? Why be picky? If you are going to fish You may as well be prepared for something other than just trout. If you catch a Bass would you throw it back? Or a nice big catfish? Ok bluegill/sunfish/brim that you may want to throw back. Now if you catch a turtle… welll check around it might be illegal but, it could make a tasty soup… yes, you can too relate this to gods.
In situations like this I am reminded of a Chinese fable. It is about an emperor who sought more power, which caused his subjects all manner of discomfort so eventually a dragon comes to him in the guise of his adviser and offers the emperor the ability to make the sun and the moon rise and set. The emperor thinks this is awesome so he gladly accepts and gets ready to demonstrate his amazing new power. But the dragon stops him and starts explaining to the emperor what would happen if he were to make the sun and the moon rise and set willy-nilly. Instead it would be far wiser for the emperor to get up very early in the morning and make the sun rise then and it would be very wise for the emperor to wait until the end of the day to make the sun set. And that’s what the emperor did every day, thinking himself terribly important even though the dragon hadn’t actually given him any power at all.
Kris I wasn’t sure if your questions were aimed at me, but just in case it was, I only feel comfortable making comments concerning Christianity since it is the faith I follow. I know nothing much concerning other faiths.
I would be happy to play host to any gods that would like to tell me about themselves. I mentioned the Christian god specifically in the thread title because I know whatever argument we have will end up being about Christianity anyway. But I didn’t want to give the impression that god = Christian god by titling the thread with “god” unqualified.
Actually it was adressed to all and any who ask such a question, be they atheist or theist.
Will God talk to me to prove its existence, My god, that is probably the most lonliest question , the most saddest question and the most heartwrenching question anyone could ever ask. Think about it. When we reach out to shadows for acknowledgement or challenge, there is something distinctly desperate rummaging around in the back of your mind. And then to make things equally sad lonly and heartwrenching… There is always going to be an answer from the person standing next to you because, they too are questioning the shadows for answers.
