Okay, Thask, this is what you wrote in another thread:
Quote:
Originally Posted by thaskalos
Boxcar, since this isn't the religious thread...I beg you to please come to your senses. Your assertion that humanity "hates" God is ABSURD. "God" is an unknown quantity...whose existence relies entirely upon the narrative of some books of questionable origin. People need concrete reasons in order to "hate". When they deal with the "unknown"..."hate" is the wrong word to use in order to describe people's feelings towards it.
Yes...whenever a survey is taken, most people say that they believe in a "higher power". But ask them if they believe in a bearded man on a heavenly throne who keeps score of humanity's "sins", and they will shrug their shoulders and go about their business...with nary a word of reply. Isn't that the very definition of "indifference"?
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The major premise to your post is that
"'God' is an unknown quantity...whose existence relies ENTIRELY upon the narrative of some books of questionable origin." You conclude from this premise that people cannot possibly hate God because we need
concrete reasons to hate.
Romans 1 immediately blows your premise out of the water because your entire premise rests upon the foundation of "some books of questionable origin", i.e. divine or special revelation. However, the apostle Paul clearly makes the case that man
knows God AND his invisible attributes, eternal power and divine nature
through His creation, i.e. natural revelation. But because of man's fallen, corrupt, sinful nature man does not acknowledge God any longer -- that is to say, man' does not desire to retain this knowledge, which God has made
evident within all men but rather they suppresses this truth in unrighteousness. In other words, man's natural moral/spiritual condition will not allow sinners to
retain a true knowledge of God. In the very suppression of this true knowledge, they manifest their open
rebellion against the Creator. This is why all unrepentant sinners are called God's
enemies in scripture (Rom 5:10; Heb 1:13, Acts 2:35, etc.).
Jesus also taught that men
love the darkness rather than the Light (i.e. God, his Son Jesus) because their deeds are evil and, therefore, won't come to the Light. Men are so comfortable living in their sins, so enamored with their sinful life they implicitly hate God and his Son (Ex 20:5, Deut 32:41; 32:41; Jn 15:18, 24, etc.)
In addition to men naturally suppressing their true knowledge of God, there is another profound reason why men are not consciously aware of this fact. And this reason is down right frightening. Not only are the hearts of fallen men desperately wicked (in open rebellion against God) but the natural human heart is utterly
self-deceived -- more deceitful than all else (Jer 17:9). And what makes self-deception so pernicious is that people who are self-deceived are very rarely conscious of it. The world is filled with people who
sincerely believe about themselves that they are good people, and such people would be quick to tell us all the reason why they think so highly of themselves. But, of course, this opinion runs counter to everything scripture teaches about the natural man.
With respect to this condition of self-deception, Jesus made a huge point about it in Mat 7:21-22; 25:11. He clearly had in mind professing Christians -- people who thought they were true believers -- people who sincerely believed they were Jesus' disciples.
This is very scary stuff.. It is no wonder at all that Christians are exhorted to conduct self-introspection to see if they are indeed in the faith (2Cor 13:5). And Christians are also exhorted to pray for God to examine their heart, as well, so that He can reveal the things deeply hidden in the recesses of the human heart (Ps 26:2; 139:23-24; Lam 3:10; Gal 6:4, etc., etc.)
So...here's the bottom line: The vast majority of the human race have no idea they hate God, are in open rebellion against him and are his enemy. They don't because they have succeeded in deceiving themselves to believe otherwise. Such are the effects of man's fallen moral/spiritual condition. And there is not one single thing man can do to change his fallen nature.
'cap, haven't I often maintained that the Religion thread has a life of its own? And you thought it was down for the count, didn't you?
