Quote Originally Posted by LoLord View Post
I forgot to address one final point of yours. You noted that a man is not defined by his works alone, and this is a true statement according to the Bible; though you ought to recall Jesus praising the 'good Samaritan', who could not have been Christian because he did not know of the religion. However, a huge hole is that it must be better to search for answers than to declare them in ignorance; which is what you do. Any scripture can claim that our faith is more important than knowledge, and lead us into behaviours which are incredibly foolish (e.g., paying money to ascend through the levels of freedom, as is the case in Scientology). Your claim that people would not die for untruth is particularly dubious. By this logic, Islamic extremists must be convinced by truth because they are pledging their lives to Allah and dying for his cause.
All your misunderstanding stems from the flesh trying to understand that of the spirit. The Bible is a cohesive whole. At least try to understand that cohesive whole as it is presented rather than constantly misreading passage after passage. Really how many times do you need to be corrected? That's the least you could do if you still want to reject it. Don't throw into the pot as "the religion"; rather, the good Samaritan is showing a parable. What is the teaching? It is a teaching on mercy as God is merciful so the one who is a good Samaritan would surely accept the mercy of God's only begotten Son--most merciful act ever known to mankind!

Think about that. Everyone is subject to the opportunity for salvation from Adam to today. It is one in the same religion: the way to God. Common grace is sufficient for everyone; God goes even further with the special grace of the gospel. For someone who accepts the God of the mountains and stars, rejecting the idols worshiped by others around him, inextricably leads to Jesus Christ. Christians were not called Christians until Antioch. This doesn't mean a person is not saved before then. Enoch was raptured alive. David was a man after God's own heart. You don't abide in your own principle for you declare in ignorance atheism while not addressing the proof of the evidence given for God and Jesus being God. Knowledge of the gospel and proof of Jesus being God leads to faith, for faith is evidential, not blind as your faith in atheism. Think about that. What level of evil society have you paid into through your affiliations with atheism? Atheism is quite like scientology because they both believe in infinite regress of nature as their aliens still have a cause from something else in nature. Others are deists claiming the aliens created us, but they are not the ultimate Creator. Christians consider this evil for God to allow creation of mankind not in His image. Totally different morality.

It's a fact people don't willingly die for what they know is a lie. That's why you can't find any cases otherwise. Islamic extremists don't willingly die for what they know is a lie, for they truly believe in what they are doing. Your dubious attempt to not draw this distinction is dishonest on your part. The argument is not that they are convinced by what they believe, for clearly they do, but what then is the naturalistic explanation to account for their conviction? There may be several but none substantial like the eyewitness testimony of the Apostles for Islam is not founded a group eyewitness attestation, but other factors such as the most predominant anti-Caucasian faith or not wanting to give their lives to Christ and preferring to follow a murderous tyrant Mohammad when he did not get his way. What foolishness is the 40 million killed by the atheist Stalin, the 30 million by Hitler, and the 60 million by atheist Mao! Blind faith in atheism leads to blind murder!

When we look around us, there is no 'evidence' that a Deity exists because most such things can be explained by science appealing to natural processes. Even life is slowly becoming understandable in scientific terms, and scientists have been able to create amino-acids / self-replicators in laboratory settings, which is a huge step towards unravelling the mystery of biogenesis. You can close your eyes, your heart, and your mind to these developments, but that is your prerogative; no one can force you to rise from credulity. While one's pursuit of knowledge may not be enough to redeem him, it is better than making ignorant claims. The former is much more honest, though Psalms 14:1 would have it that any nonbeliever doing anything is futile. Given this, I hope you do not use too many modern medicines, as there are a great many atheists in the scientific community, trying to discover cures for diseases that God so lovingly provided us with. The problem with asserting that our works and investigations are inferior to faith, as is suggested in Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV) is that the claim that we ourselves are evidence of God's glory, and that we need only have faith, are claims made my numerous scriptures (e.g., the Qur'an repeatedly makes this dubious claim). Your faith is little more justified than any other, and yet you are so confident that you will dismiss them as fools (an amusing position).
Natural processes can't explain infinite regress, because if it were true, you would have happened already, having had an eternity to do so. So eternity past is a man made concept. God uses this natural world so many things are a natural like the natural man with flesh and blood. But nature can't explain the resurrection of Jesus or how miraculous healings occur or near death experiences that identify things they could not have known. Naturalism fails to address how a person can come to believe in Christ whence before they thought such a thing could never be possible. What has changed? God's grace has touched another heart.

Science glorifies God as the more we learn about science, the more we see God's working. Scientists can build an apparatus of already existing material, but they have no idea how to get that material to come into being for life. Abiogenesis fails at every level. Non-life never comes with a conscience, self-consciousness, God-consciousness, world-consciousness with a free will, mind, emotion, intuition and ability to commune; not even that of sight, touch, hearing, smelling, taste. There is no mystery of abiogenesis: it's impossible! You can close your mind to the fact the more we learn of these materials the further away abiogenesis is. Think how ignorant you are that you think the pursuit of knowledge is the purview of atheists only. The only thing atheists have a lock on when it comes to science is abusive of it and false theories abound, e.g. stupid something from nothing theory.

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good" (Ps. 14.1). You are the fool going to hell.

Works and faith go hand in hand, but new birth cannot be achieved by works for no amount of work can satisfy God. Remember God is infinitely great so only His work is the solution through His Son. James' epistle is known for discussing the matter of works and faith. It's funny how you keep missing the point about how new birth cannot be achieved by works. The point is well expressed here so why misuse this passage?

"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God" (Eph. 2.8).

Verse 10 reads, "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."

The good things He has planned for those He chose before the foundations of the world flow from His good tidings. Whereas yours flow from boasting in self. Which is better? That which stems from God or from selfish self centered on self and not centered on Christ? In fact, you can never truly do good, because self is already always at your center. You are so blinded by self you can't see how selfish you really are.

The Bible never says works are of no regard. True good works flow from faith. Your interpretation of things is twisted; even what you are arguing against is not what the Bible teaches, so you are building sand piles of nonsense. Faith and works are not in competition but complimentary. Faith is evidenced so should not good works follow in line with that faith?

You are totally mistaken about the Quran. They teach salvation by works not by faith alone. They work hard for their faith never knowing they are saved or not, not knowing the blessings of God that all one need do is believe to be saved in Christ. Think how hard a life that is in Islam to work and work like the Roman Church that great harlot to try to earn salvation. This is basically the common theme of all religions and atheism to work for it. Only in Christianity can you not work for initial salvation; for as the blessing of being saved provides, good works flow from that new life unto rewards; that is, not to be saved, but as related to the millennial kingdom when Jesus returns. it is the reward of reigning over the nations (Rev. 2.26,27).

While we can find no evidence for atheism or other religions, we can be supremely confident in God's proof through nature and Jesus being God because still to this day nobody can find a naturalistic explanation for the eyewitness testimony of the Apostles. This assures us that atheists are going to Hell as redemption is only achievable by what Jesus did on the cross and accepting it.

Eventually you will bow down to Christ, and He will reign over you with a rod of iron if you are still left living when Jesus returns.