The distance between Christianity and the 4 Gospels

[Marcus]

The track record demonstrates that God doesn’t indiscriminately show himself to every Tom, Dick, and Harriet. Most of us, almost all, are subject to the testimonies of those that have witnessed/seen God.

Makes it kind of tough, doesn’t it?

I assume the “us” you are referring to is your group of believers. And yes, that is tough, and very unfortunate that you and your fellow believers feel you must force yourselves to be at the mercy of others who have convinced you that they have seen your god.

It seems a very difficult place to be, and one where you must have to ignore your own feelings and thoughts in order to fit in to the group requirements.

My sympathies.

[MG 2.0]

7Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Matthew 7:7-8

Knowing God and His Son is a continued lifetime effort. Although I would say, there are many examples where people have witnessed that God nudged them one way or another or opened up a path for them to know/understand Him.

Regards,
MG

[Marcus]

...God is purposefully inscrutable...

Unfortunately your god is inscrutable even for many people who seek His face. It's almost as if he doesn't exist.

That is, the difference between non-existence and inscrutability appears to be vanishingly small.

How else do people explain why they see something no one else does? Inscrutable is the new euphemism for "imaginary."

[MG 2.0]

The track record demonstrates that God doesn’t indiscriminately show himself to every Tom, Dick, and Harriet. Most of us, almost all, are subject to the testimonies of those that have witnessed/seen God.

Makes it kind of tough, doesn’t it?

I assume the “us” you are referring to is your group of believers. And yes, that is tough, and very unfortunate that you and your fellow believers feel you must force yourselves to be at the mercy of others who have convinced you that they have seen your god.

It seems a very difficult place to be, and one where you must have to ignore your own feelings and thoughts in order to fit in to the group requirements.

My sympathies.

How much effort have you put into knowing God and trying to understand His will for you? And if the answer is, “Very little or none at all”, why would you express sympathy for those that have?

Regards,
MG

[Morley]

The problem goes deeper than that.

Even taking MG's world seriously, it has no internal consistency. His professed rule, about a hidden God who never reveals himself until someone seeks him out, falls apart under even cursory examination.

This is akin to his earlier, goofy assertion that the lack of the miraculous in modernity can be traced to "one of the reasons they did kill the Christ was because he performed miracles."

13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13

Saul wasn't seeking God. He was participating in the stoning of Stephen. Saul had his experience with God without in any way asking for it. So did Moses and Jonah.

[MG 2.0]

I assume the “us” you are referring to is your group of believers.

Not particularly.

Regards,
MG

[MG 2.0]

Saul wasn't seeking God. He was participating in the stoning of Stephen. Saul had his experience with God without in any way asking for it. So did Moses and Jonah.

Yep. Back to what I said regarding witnesses.

Regards,
MG

[Morley]

Saul wasn't seeking God. He was participating in the stoning of Stephen. Saul had his experience with God without in any way asking for it. So did Moses and Jonah.

Yep. Back to what I said regarding witnesses.

Regards,
MG

What the hell does that mean?

[Marcus]

I assume the “us” you are referring to is your group of believers. And yes, that is tough, and very unfortunate that you and your fellow believers feel you must force yourselves to be at the mercy of others who have convinced you that they have seen your god.

It seems a very difficult place to be, and one where you must have to ignore your own feelings and thoughts in order to fit in to the group requirements.

My sympathies.

How much effort have you put into knowing God and trying to understand His will for you? And if the answer is, “Very little or none at all”, why would you express sympathy for those that have?

Regards,
MG

I've spent little time trying to know UFOs, but I can sympathize with those who feel they have had their lives changed by a sighting. I've also spent little time on various gods believed in by various other religions, but I can still sympathize with people who follow rules within those systems.

As for the god of your religion, why yes, I spent a fair number of years in that system, so yes, I can, with far more experience, sympathize with your experience.

But my sympathy for your situation contains a very specific circumstance that you explained like this

...Most of us, almost all, are subject to the testimonies of those that have witnessed/seen God...

People who believe they are subject to others because others say they have seen god are in an incredibly vulnerable position. They are subject to the whims and foibles of those "others", because those "others" say they have seen god. I really feel sympathy for those who have decided they must abdicate their own responsibility and follow along in those circumstances. That is a tragic mis-use of the life and brains every individual has, in my opinion.

In your case, it's not the first time in the last few days you've mentioned you are obligated to 'follow' others, regardless of how illogical or nonsensical a position that puts you in. I can really sympathize with that. Feeling stuck often makes one lash out, and I think that's what we are seeing from you.

[Morley]

The principle/doctrine of witnesses. “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” 2 Corinthians 13:1

You're saying God needed two or three witnesses.

Saul added to the others would be a few to many.

And Saul was not seeking God.