Do You Prefer Fact Or Fiction?

[nailit]

After 55 years on this earth I prefer fact.
As much as it pains me, as much as it upsets me, I prefer facts over faith.
A few weeks ago I was nearly suicidal. Still prefer facts to 'faith'. If I had ended my life then, I would have been dead, end off, no atheist in foxhole here.
Just dont understand this religious preoccupation with living forever....
I honesty just dont get it?
What the hell are you going to to FOREVER?
It would be like watching a game of football that went on forever...there wouldnt be a point,

[burlyshirley]

^ that was to 19:40.

[Bobbisox1]

APG , similar but not sure if it was my sub conscious because my Mam had died a couple of days precious, I was 26 yrs old, I’d gone to bed and I appeared to hover over myself although I could see myself, I felt a serene sense of peace then a white flash and a bump, a feeling of being back in my body again

[douglas9401]

"Just dont understand this religious preoccupation..."

And yet...

[Bobbisox1]

// previous///

[Canary42]

Oh no, not the old "flash of light then dragged back" dream again. That's all it was, a dream.

[Bobbisox1]

In as much as it might be Canary, how do we know?

[burlyshirley]

There you are, canary has spoken. Problem solved !

[Bobbisox1]

There’s cynicism everywhere ( mainly on here) haha

[nailit]

People have Near Death Experiences, Some people have Alien Abduction Experiences.
Are they both real?
Is an an NDE more real than an alien abduction?

[davebro]

dunno - I will have to do some probing.

[Spungle]

Why be upset by something you choose not to believe in, Nailit?

The Apostle Paul made it simple for the suicidal jailor at Phillipi- " And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."

That truth holds as true today as 2000 years ago. No need for a discussion of any perception of "facts and fiction" - belief and faith was enough. Eternity with Christ is surely preferable to the alternative. But the choice is, of course, entirely ours.

[nailit]

//Eternity with Christ is surely preferable to the alternative. But the choice is, of course, entirely ours//

Miss out the carrot and go straight for the stick eh?
If I dont choose to believe as you do (not than I can make myself believe in non-sense) then away in to the inferno I go...

[Mamyalynne]

Are you currently feeling more settled Nailit?

Re Fact or Fiction - applied to life in general I am a fan of fact in most instances.

My beliefs are simple and I certainly lose no sleep worrying about what will happen after I draw my last breath.

[nailit]

//But the choice is, of course, entirely ours//
Anyway...at least according to your Bible...it isnt!
Would you like some Bible verses?
According to your bible, God hardens people hearts so that they CANNOT believe and thereby glorify himself.
Your own Bible states that God prevents man from finding him in order that he can then punish them for not finding him...
(As stated, Bible verses on request)

[archibaldy]

//Sirs, what must I do to be saved?//

What exactly did the Jailor need to be saved from?

If you look at it, nothing, all was well and he'd done nothing wrong. Paul & Silas took advantage of him when he was at a low ebb, instead of putting an arm round him and making him feel like a big man who don't need nobody and marches on his own two feet, they said you must believe in the same old rubbish we do to be saved - shameful manipulation of the weak there.

[Spungle]

Thanks archibaldy- an interesting perspective. In my view, the jailor was to be saved from death, and a lost eternity in hell. Instead of which, he came to believe in God, "rejoiced" as his family saw a changed man, and he came into the joy of salvation and Christianity. Paul, as you point out, could have stood back let the jailor commit suicide.

[Spungle]

No-one can make you believe, Nailit- it's entirely your choice. It's as complicated as you make it- the plain words of Holy Scripture are "if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." This is great news for all who accept it. Your excellent references from the Bible are always welcome. Before I found salvation, I attempted suicide on three different occasions. The questions you ask in your original post are all questions I have wrestled with too. I found that acceptance and faith was the answer. But not condemning your viewpoint- it just doesn't seem too positive.

[nailit]

//No-one can make you believe, Nailit- it's entirely your choice//
Belief is not a choice. That is ridiculous.
Beliefs are based on observable facts.
Can you make yourself believe that the moon is made of cheese?
Can you make yourself believe in unicorns?
I cant make myself believe in God either.
To believe in unprovable facts is superstition.
On a par with believing in the efficacy of homeopathy, alien abductions and the loch ness monster.

[Spungle]

"To believe in unprovable facts is superstition." Really? Thats a very interesting take on it, considering the most well-known and accepted scientific theories are believed by millions- the Big Bang Theory, Evolution and Gravity- all unprovable by science. I take it you dont believe in any of them. We all have a choice, Nailit. Whether we choose to believe that or not, is our choice!

[drmorgans]

We are very lucky in the West to be able to choose what we believe and whether we believe - whether that belief is chosen or indoctrinated. If we were living elsewhere then the choice to believe something else, or even to not believe at all could (literally) be deadly.