Welcome to Gaia! ::

Since I'm coming in 5 pages into this conversation, please forgive me if I miss a point or restate something that has already been said.

Lethkar, what are you looking for?

I applaud that you scrutinize ever aspect of Christianity and make all people who claim to be Christian do the same. Honestly, you will probably find a lot of people to listen to you who are not strong enough in their faith, and you will encounter a lot of people fairly strong in their faith, who are simply not given a mind that is compatable enough with yours to explain it in the way you would like. But, you will also strengthen the faith of those seeking the answers to the same questions you are asking and who are willing to listen to the arguments myself and others make.

Here's what I believe about your question, again forgive me if this point has already been made, the time for Jesus to physically manifest himself has passed for now. The old testiment prophesied about a messiah who would be God in flesh, but before that time, the very idea of something like that was as amazing as Jesus not appearing to us today. Back then, they truly believed that God would only manifest himself inside the temple at Jerusalem at that only one man could ever see Him and only on one day a year and then only one day in that man's entire life, so the idea of God actually appearing to everyday people was absolutely unbelievable. The forty days in which Jesus appeared to man after His resurection was a means of changing the mindset of Yaweh's (or Jehova's) followers. It was a revolutionary idea that needed some time to be established in the minds of God's followers. But, once the idea was established, it did not need to be reinforced. You said, even if just for argument's sake, that God manifested himself to people, thus you believe, if just for arguments sake, that it is possible.

Therefore, you are proving my point. The people of this age do not need another revolution to believe it is possible for God to personally communicate with ordinary people. Once God had established the idea, He had to stop before he encroached upon free will.

As to Paul being forced to convert because of a manifestation of God, you have to read a little bit more into the character of "Saul." He was an avid follower of the Jewish culture, but because the religion had not, and still has not, accepted Jesus as the Messiah they were waiting for, he merely did whatever he thought was best for "God's people" the Jewish nation. However, when he discovered the truth about Jesus, that He was not in conflict with his belief, but the fullfillment of the Jewish religion. Saul did not convert because God manifested himself and prove Himself God. Saul already believed in God.
Saul was seeking to serve God.
Saul just needed to know the truth about God that his religious leaders were hiding from him. Today, it is no secret that Jesus was the Messiah because Jesus used his forty days after resurection to ensure that the truth would be readily available to everyone seeking it.

Finally, Lethkar, some people will never believe no matter how much of the truth they hear, the Bible promises that. I will make no move to convert you. I will only present to you the truth as God shows it to me.

Lethkar, let me leave you with this verse. Think of them what you will.
"A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it; But knowledge is easy to him who understands." Proverbs 14:6

Why did God call his human body Jesus?

My point is, we don't know why God does all the things He does. We can reason it in our minds, but ultimately we will not know until we see Him again. However, God does say that He will show us "the end from the beginning, so that you may know I am God." God said He will appear only for one lifetime to issue in the church age, and then again during the apocalypse. If He were to appear now, He would be changing His plan for the universe, then non-believers would jump on the Bible for being false.


Does America need another Revolution? Before you jump to answer this, let me explain. During the first American Revolution, the people entirely changed the way the government operated and the structure of the government. Do we need to change some of the people in the government? Oh yeah. Do we need to change the structure of the government? I don't believe so. The idea of a Republic was a new concept during the time, as was God communicating with the common man. When other countries started to follow America's example and started overthrowing their own currupt governments, they were following America's example, and forming similar governments. Once the idea was established, and seen to work, it did not need to happen again.

What more do you want Jesus to teach you? If He answered ever single question you had, He would take away your free-will. I may sound like a broken record, but I must stress that you do have free-will. Programming a teddy bear to say "I love you" does not mean it feels the actual feeling of love.

What do you call a miracle?

What would the consequences of that be? Have you heard about all the tsunami's recently? God flooded the entire world. I would say that is bigger than parting the sea, yet some people still did not believe. Or, if you would prefer an example outside of the Bible what about the Ice Age? Or the little Ice Age? God created the rules of nature and He knows that they are in a delicate balance. Do you honestly look at all the "natural disasters" and think "oh those just happened"?

I have one simple question that I think you really need to consider before you say anything else.
You want a miracle.
You want proof.

Do you want to believe in God?

Not "do you believe" or "will you believe" but do you want to consider the possibilty of a God?