I know that many people have questions reguarding what is written in the Bible. And i don't pretend to have all the answers. Believe me, there are many things i don't understand. But then again, i know that i'm only a man.

I also know it took me many years of study to be able to "defend" my beliefs. But it makes me appreciate my beliefs even more when i am questioned like i have been in this thread. Heck, i even have questions that i don't have the answers to. But i think thats good, as it makes you keep looking. When you become used to something, you tend to take it for granted.
Like i have said before, i have had things happen to me since my accepting Christ as my saviour that can't be explained by anything except God actually being there. But first it took a step of faith by me before i could see.
Thats all i'm hoping for everyone here. To have those types of things happen to them also, so that they can find comfort.

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I'm not intending on questioning you or your beliefs. I'm fortunate to have someone like you to ask questions to.

I'm just trying to make some sense out of it all.

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I understand Zero. There are some things that we will never "understand".
That doesn't mean we can't reap the benefits of believeing it. To be honest, i don't understand fully how a gasoline engine works. I know the basics, but if you asked me to explain it in detail, i wouldn't be able to do it. Or the computer.....i couldn't explain that at all. But it works whether i understand it or not.
Did you know that when Noah came off the ark, God made the animals fear humans for the first time? Genesis 9:2 tells of God saying that to Noah. Before that, the animals didn't have the fear of humans that we now call the "natural fear of humans".

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I am curious, where does the part where Noah preached for others to board the ark come from or warn of the flood?

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I know it's a wee bit late to get into this, but after reading the first three pages of discussion (and the last page), I cannot BELIEVE the level of maturity on all sides. I have NEVER seen a religious debate last more than 20 posts or so before starting to dissolve into taunts of "You're going to hell", "I hear their invisible man can beat up your invisible man" and general crap. I am very happy to see how open minded and polite (yet still direct) everyone seems to be in this topic.

I was raised Catholic, was confirmed... When I became 18 and moved away for college, I did not go to church once and God was an afterthought. I have quite a severe history of depression, I dropped out of college at 19 due to a combination of a lack of maturity and general inability to handle the pressure. Not once did I turn to God. I moved back in with my parents, went to school for a summer semester and did fantastic (straight As), but then general depression and anxiety set in again and I flunked out again. By this time I had "gotten together" with my girlfriend of now 3 years through the internet (I had known her for about a year and a half prior to that), and she was not at all pleased with my general lack of progress in life. Things got really bad between us and with my life in general, I screwed up my chances at a couple jobs, then I think I finally got to my last straw... I begged, prayed, cried for another chance. I was about ready to give up, when I got a call from a place I had applied to a couple months earlier, where I still work three years later. This brought me three hours closer (yet still 3 hours away) from my girlfriend, and that blessing of a job (however crappy it can sometimes be) brought me the opportunity to work from home, and I now live within 15 minutes of the woman I plan to propose to within a few months.

The point of all this and how it relates to the subject at hand? I'm not going to outright say that I turned to Jesus, begged for forgiveness, and all my problems were solved. It's not that simple. I was born with talents and gifts that I believe God gave me. Setting aside biochemical issues that I had only partial control over, I completely squandered those gifts through laziness and general apathy. I had to hit rock bottom to realize that I was still Christian but just didn't choose to live that way. My problems didn't all go away, but I've worked much harder since and made much better use of what God gave me, and I believe that "luck" has repaid me for my hard work and for living a better life in general.

Sorry for getting a bit off track here, I thought this might provide a new perspective for someone, even if they don't believe as I do.

+1 to DKF ---

Thank you for posting that.

:thumbleft:

Cheesey, just to clarify, did you convert to Christianity or were you raised as one?

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I was raised in what i consider a cult.
I "converted" to Christianity at age 20.

Pack93z.....you keep asking for when Noah preached to the people. His whole LIFE was preaching to the people. Thats what he did full time. He was a righteous man in God's eyes. I don't believe God would have called him that if he had kept such important life changing gifts to himself.
I doubt that Noah waited till God told him the flood was coming that he suddenly started telling people to repent. Noah's whole LIFE was telling people to repent.

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You just did it now....Eternity? with the cheese?

:thumbright:

This I agree with, however what we are to believe is that he was the only righteous man?

The fable goes that he warned people of the coming flood, yet the bible speaks nothing of it. Instead he was chosen.. while the others simply perished.

I am going to abandon the discussion, because I have asked this and similar questions to men of cloth many a time without a solid explanation.

God gave us his book to guide us, yet the book is filled with open questions..

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