...WHY DOES GOD LET THE RIGHTEOUS SUFFER? WHY DOES GOD LET THE RIGHTEOUS SUFFER? God puts the righteous people through tough times because he wants to test our faith, and make us stronger from them. God also wants us to rely fully on him for his help, and guidance through trials. If God didn’t put us through hard times we would not rely on him for anything and spend time praying and reading our bible as much because our life is too good. When God puts a trial in our lives he will always give us a way out. In the book of Job God test job over and over again by letting satin killing his seven sons and three daughters, burning his sheep and servants, taking away hi camels, giving him painful boils from head to toe, a nagging wife, and three discouraging friends. Job refuses to curse God because he knows that it will make him stronger, and improve his relationship with God. Job trusted God even through the hard times. God rewards job by doubling everything that job had lost. Sometime we feel like God is not there for us when we go through a tough time, but in the bible God promises never to leave us or forsake us…and he NEVER will! Sometimes God puts us through hard times because he wants us to be an encouragement to the people who may be going through that same thing. We need to remember that God has a perfect plan for us even though we don’t understand it. This is why God lets the Righteous suffer. ...
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...Question: "Why should we read the Bible / study the Bible?" Answer: We should read and study the Bible because it is God's Word to us. The Bible is literally "God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16). In other words, it is God's very words to us. There are so many questions that philosophers have asked that God answers for us in Scripture. What is the purpose to life? Where did I come from? Is there life after death? How do I get to heaven? Why is the world full of evil? Why do I struggle to do good? In addition to these "big" questions, the Bible gives much practical advice in areas such as: What do I look for in a mate? How can I have a successful marriage? How can I be a good friend? How can I be a good parent? What is success and how do I achieve it? How can I change? What really matters in life? How can I live so that I do not look back with regret? How can I handle the unfair circumstances and bad events of life victoriously? We should read and study the Bible because it is totally reliable and without error. The Bible is unique among so-called "holy" books in that it does not merely give moral teaching and say, "Trust me." Rather, we have the ability to test it by checking the hundreds of detailed prophecies that it makes, by checking the historical accounts it records, and by checking the scientific facts it relates. Those who say the Bible has errors have their ears closed to the truth. Jesus once asked which is easier to say, "Your sins are forgiven you," or "Rise, take...
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...beginning the christian life “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ...” 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, then you are a Christian. According to the New Testament, you are also a new creation. You are beginning a whole new life! And just as a newborn baby needs certain things in order to be healthy and to grow up, so do you, as a new Christian, need certain things to grow spiritually. First, you need to be in fellowship with other Christians. It is through fellowship that you will learn more about God and about how to live as a Christian. You should plan to attend church regularly and join a kinship group so that you can develop close friendships with other believers. Vineyard has many kinship groups that meet on different days and in different locations throughout central Ohio. Choose one that is convenient for you so that you can be encouraged in your new relationship with God! Second, you need to pray, which is simply talking to God. Prayer is how you will grow in your relationship with God and how you can begin to allow Him to work in areas of your life. And third, you need to read the Bible on a regular basis. It is through the Bible that God will speak to you about Himself and your life needs. Beginning the Christian Life Series was developed by Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Columbus for new...
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...2013 Revelation in Our Midst In general, God reveals Himself through His creations. It is God’s self-communication, which is accessed in faith through grace. It is a gift. It is directed to the entire human race, and it is a matter of how we receive His message and interpret it in our own ways. The truths revealed may be inaccessible to the human mind – mysteries, even when revealed; the intellect of an ordinary man is incapable of fully penetrating. God reveals Himself in word and in deed. The essence of revelation lies in the fact that it is the direct speech of God to His people. Revelation does not stop even if someone else is delivering the message of God. The best example for this is Jesus Christ. Jesus was sent to us by His Father to proclaim His words and wisdom. He is the sole and universal mediator between God and all of humanity. Jesus is both human and divine. He is divine in the sense that He is the Incarnate Son of God. He is human in the sense that He walked this very earth and preached His Father’s teachings in a language understandable to all. Honestly, I do not have a very strong faith in God. Yes, I believe in Him and His teachings; I believe they are right and just. But if I actually think about it more realistically, is God really controlling every thing that is happening around us? Is He always in the “behind the scenes” part of our lives and our decision making process? For me, the images of God as a lawgiver and as controlling are closely linked...
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...Atheist”, McCloskey shares with us his arguments on why being an atheist is more comforting (if you will) than being a Christian. McCloskey believes that the three proofs (Cosmological, Teleological, and the argument from design) are not a basis for proving God’s existence. McCloskey discharges the proofs by saying in his article, “, theists do not come to believe in God as a result of reflecting on the proofs, but come to religion as a result of other reasons and factors.” (McCloskey, 62). Although there are many ways that one could come to believe in Gods existence, thinking cosmologically, I can’t help but to look at Gods splendor around me or think of the universe, and doubt that God does in fact exist. In “Approaching the Question of God’s existence, Foreman says, “There are certain effects we see in the universe that show God exists.” (Foreman). Foreman touches on the fact that there is no one argument that proves one hundred percent that God exists. He goes on to share that these three arguments do have value, and when put altogether they all do prove to some degree that God does in fact exist. McCloskey attempts to break down each of the proofs to in a way persuade the reader on why these proofs are invalid. The first one he addresses is the cosmological argument. This proof or argument is the one that is most argued. First we must define a cosmological argument. A cosmological argument is an attempt to infer the existence of God from the existence of the cosmos...
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...Book final final THE GOLDEN RULE as THE SUPREME PRINCIPLE implications for FAITH Faith within the Limits of Love and Reason SECTION ONE: Why Reason Must Have the Final Word To see why reason must have the final word in all things, I will illustrate the role of reason in three different cases. This I think should suffice to make the point. (1) Consulting Some Authority Suppose we are confronted with two or more conflicting alternatives concerning what to say, think or do and in hopes of resolving this confusing conflict, we seek out some wiser person, some authority, who can give us the correct answer. This raises the question: Who is the authority we can turn to: our Mom, our Dad, our grandparent, a priest or a clergyman, a Rabbi or Ayatollah, a bodhisattva, a therapist or counselor, the Pope, a lawyer, a real estate agent, an auto mechanic? Well, of course, our choice depends on the nature of our problem. So, reason needs to play a role here in helping us to determine what kind of authority to consult. Okay, let us suppose that our conflict is of a religious nature. We still need to ask which priest, which clergyman, which Rabbi, which Ayatollah or which bodhisattva etc. to choose. So here again, reason has a role to play. There is more. After we have settled who to consult, sometimes we will find that the advice is really bad advice. Sometimes we will find that the advice is really good advice. On still other occasions, we won't know what to make of the advice...
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...these facts, a question arises:- “Why bad things happen to good people? Or why bad things happen in the world?.” There has been a lot of investigations from all type of people that practice different religions in reference to these questions, also psychologists and philosophers have been part of this big interesting research. Some of them have found that evil is located in the self, that means that we people have the free will to do right or do wrong, and if we choose...
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...ARIIKE FAGBURE L6CG RELIGIOUS STUDIES (Philosophy of Religion) A. Explain what is meant in the Bible by the phrase “God is good” The goodness of God is first revealed in his actions as a Creator. Genesis chapters 1-3 contain the Creation story. God created the world out of nothing – “creation ex nihilo”. Each act of creation is seen to be good. "And he saw that it was good" (Genesis 1: 10). The end result of God's creation is the Earth and mankind. Everything created was made for man to take control of. God is the image of goodness and as mankind was created in the image of God. (Genesis 1:27, "God created man in his own image.") This tells humans that they are required to be good, as good as God. Exodus 20 describes the Ten Commandments given to the Hebrews by God. Moses received the commandments by revelation from God on the peak of Mount Sinai. They were guidelines given for God’s people to live by. The underlying principle is that humans are to be good and being good means following the Ten Commandments. God's goodness demands that mankind worship only one God and nothing or nobody else "You shall have no other gods before me and you shall not make for yourself an idol." (Exodus 20: 3-4). These commandments show that God is the primary source governing how people should lead their lives because God is entirely good. The Ten Commandments show man how to be good by giving strict guidelines. (Thou shalt not murder; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal)...
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... This paper will cover the Agnostic, Atheistic, Christian, and Pantheistic views on Evil and why bad things happen to righteous people. The above religious viewpoints will be looked at from a Christian world view to see the differences and rationale behind the thinking. The subject of if the Christian God is a loving God that wants us to be happy, why does he allow bad things to happen. (incomplete sentence as written, the end of it is phrased as a question, and to what degree is our happiness God’s primary desire?) As a Christian [comma] I look to the book of Job. The book of Job tells the story of a righteous man who was allowed to suffer. The theme and composition of the book is “Why are the righteous allowed to suffer?”. The answer to this come (form of word) in an interpretation of the story of Job. He was subjected to the most suffering allowed sans (?) him dying and he remained a devout follower of God. This showed the Devil who had made a bet with God that Job would be a follower with or without God’s blessings. After the Devil admitted defeat, God showered Job with blessings as reward for his patience and belief that God was looking after him. This shows that God rewards those who trust him in times of trials and tribulations. God wants us to choose him in my world view, free will based, and this fits with why he allows us to experience hard ships (one word) because it teaches his followers patience and also encourages...
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...of evil and why evil exists. If evil is the spiritual balance of good than without the presences of evil, we would not know the genuineness of good. This belief may be explained by the contrast theodicy that God may have reasons for evil in society. An example of a contrast theodicy would be that bad things happen to good people and is the connection between evil and God’s intent of good. People also question why God does not take away the suffering of people from the world. Again, a theodicy can give an explanation to this question. The big-plan theodicy explains that suffering may be part of God’s big plan and needs to happen for good of humanity. There are two...
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...be Blessed by God James 1:12 We all seek a blessed life. We might not use those exact words. In fact, we probably don’t. Today people talk about the “fulfilled life” or the “happy life.” But the meaning is the same. Question 1. What is it that everyone wants out of life? Answer: Happiness Lest we think that answer light or flippant, here is the second question and answer: Q. 2. Where is this happiness to be found? A. In God only. Here is a basic conundrum of life. We all by nature seek happiness. Some people think they find it in the things of this world. Late last night I was flipping through the TV channels when I happened upon a broadcast of Billy Graham preaching in some great crusade a half-century ago. As the camera panned the crowd, you could hear Dr. Graham say, “You will never find peace, you will never find joy, you will never happiness apart from Jesus Christ.” What a claim we make! I heard just that little snippet, but it stuck in my mind. What a claim we Christians make! We not only say that happiness comes through Jesus. We say that the only lasting happiness comes through him. We flatly declare that there is no ultimate peace or joy or fulfillment in sex or money or power or fame or degrees or buildings or gold medals or big estates or anything else that money can buy. Wealth can do many things, but it cannot buy peace of mind. Fame can do many things, but it cannot give us lasting joy. Power can do many things, but it cannot free us from guilt. Wealth...
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...answer each section from "The Story of the Bible": ------------------------------------------------- Write 2-3 sentences explaining why the Creation account is so significant to the Christian worldview. The creation account is so significant to the Christian worldview because it describe in the book of Gensis. So with that being said the Christian have proof of what God did and belief that God does exist. ------------------------------------------------- Write 2-3 sentences explaining what the Fall reveals about humanity and human morality. The fall reveals about humanity and human morality is that there is evil amongst us. Humanity reveals that there is a good/bad side and evil won in the fall. Human morality will change over time and God will forgive us. ------------------------------------------------- Write 2-3 sentences explaining the importance of God revealing Himself through covenants. The importance of God revealing himself through covenants were to provide a legal binding relationship. God is exploring his relationship with mankind. ------------------------------------------------- Write 2-3 sentences explaining what the prophecies about the Messiah tell us about Jesus. The prophecies about the Messiah tell us that Jesus will do nothing significant to Israel without providing a warning first. Everything that God does you will receive a warning before anything...
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...concept of the holiness emerges and why it takes a prominent position in the conversation between Socrates and Euthyphro. I will also explain the three definitions that Euthyphro uses in his response to Socrates and then present Socrates’s refutation of each of Euthyphro definitions. Also this essay will test my ability to develop my own argument as to what I think Socrates’s goal is in this dialogue. How do you know that is his goal? What features of the dialogue align his goals? I will also give own definition of piety/holiness and then take on the role of Socrates and respond to my own definition as I think he would. Plato conversation set close to the king Archon court were Socrates and Euthrophy cross words. The conversation surround Socrates trying to understand the concept of how gods see piety and impious in mankind. The debate between Socrates and Euthrophy is that Socrates wants a new form of definition for pious and impious needs to man needs to be judge by man not from god’s justice. The concept of holiness explain how to be devout religiously not the act of being love. The conversation emphasize the true meaning of piety and impiety, and important conversation between Socrates and Euthrophy took place because Socrates does not believe in tales mythology and Socrates would like a more reasonable answer to all his questions. At the end of the conversation both Socrates and Euthrypho concluded that holiness as something love by Gods because of stated of being holy ...
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...is, “Why would God allow this to happen?” He says that there is no answer to this question and that he does not know why bad things happen to good people. However, he says that it is not God who is causing the tragedy. He states that we live in an imperfect world where things will happen that are beyond our control. Kushner says that the best way to deal with tragedy is to understand that God did not cause the tragedy and that he is weeping with us. He also states that we must ask ourselves what we can do to get over it and prevent it from happening to anybody else instead of asking ourselves why God would allow it to happen. In the speech, Kushner references the story of Job. The...
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...honest evaluation of ourselves. The Bible tells us that we should “test our own actions” and “Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves.” Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.4 Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5 for each one should carry their own load. Galatians 6:3-4 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Romans 12:3 So in light of this we have put together a short exercise that can help us gauge ourselves and provide insight into one another’s lives. Some of these questions are difficult and we encourage you to take your time to stop and reflect on each one. 1. Tell me about your signature strengths? 2. Tell me how you use these strengths in life/work? 3. Tell me about your chosen career. Why did you choose this career path? What do you love about it? What would you like to change? 4. Tell me about your biggest weakness? What does it cause? What is its cause? 5. How do you determine whether something is right or wrong? 6. What do you need to do to improve your relationship with God? 7. How do you develop close relationships best...
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