Posted on 02/07/2006 10:41:24 AM PST by DouglasKC
How could someone prove a false god?
Do you mean prove that a particular god is false? Or is it a rhetorical question?
A particular god.
If you're looking for my opinion then I'm going to answer with a distinct bias toward Christianity. :-)
I honestly don't think you can really "prove" it to someone who doesn't believe in the real God.
2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Only the father can dispel the delusion. Now it's possible that someone could be a work in progress, that God could be working with someone, to let them see the truth of the scriptures. In that case giving the evidence of scripture should be sufficient. At that point it becomes a matter of freewill...are they going to go with what God is presenting to them, or are they going to succumb to the ways of the world again?
Hope it helps....
Well, as you might guess I have a different take on those verses.
Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
Col 2:14 blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross.
Col 2:13 begins the thought of 2:14. Paul is speaking to Christian gentiles. It's important to understand this. Note in 13 that he says they are "dead" in their sins AND the uncircumcision of their flesh. All jews were circumicised routinely at 8 days old. That includes Christian Jews. Therefore, the "uncircumcised" are gentile converts to Christianity.
Three things occur in these verses:
1. Trespasses forgiven.
2. A "handwriting of ordinances" against them was blotted out.
3. This "handwriting of ordinances" that was against them was nailed to the cross
The word translated "handwriting" is:
cheirographon
Thayer Definition:
1) a handwriting, what one has written by his own hand
2) a note of hand or writing in which one acknowledges that money has either been deposited with him or lent to him by another, to be returned at the appointed time.
The sense of the word is that of an iou, a debt to be paid. The debt to be paid for sin is:
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The word translated "ordinances" (dogma) is closer to "decree". It's translated "decree" in 3 verses. It can, but doesn't have to mean a decree of God. For example:
Act 17:7 Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.
"Decree" (dogma) is the same word.
In other words, the penalty decreed for sin is death. The decree, the death penalty, was nailed to the cross with Christ. The Message Bible puts it:
Col 2:14 the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's Cross.
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Okay. So now we come to the next verses:
Col 2:16 Then do not let anyone judge you in eating, or in drinking, or in part of a feast, or of a new moon, or of sabbaths,
Col 2:17 which are a shadow of coming things, but the body is of Christ.
This is from Green's Literal Translation. Now there are a couple of things to note. First, "meat and drink" is literally "eating and drinking". And what is rendered "substance" in some translations is literally "body"...or the phrase "body of Christ".
Also, "is" is in italics because it isn't in the greek. It's added by translators to make their translation make more sense.
One more note: There is no punctuation in the greek. Punctuation is not inspired by God. There are no verse numbers in greek. There are no chapter numbers in greek? So what does the verse look like with punctuation altered a little and read literally?
"Then do not let anyone judge you in eating, or in drinking, or in part of a feast, or of a new moon, or of sabbaths (which are a shadow of coming things) but the body of Christ."
In other words, Paul is saying that nobody should judge the gentiles for HOW they were celebrating the holy days, except for the body of Christ. The body of Christ, fellow church members, should judge how they're eating and drinking and celebrating THE holy days and sabbaths.
The key point is that the gentiles WERE celebrating the sabbaths and holy days. There were some NOT OF the body of Christ that criticized them. These "others" had odd beliefs:
Col 2:18 Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind.
The "others" worshipped angels and delighted in "self-abasement".
The things they were advocating was NOT according to God's word in scripture.
Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Col 2:20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
Col 2:21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not;
Col 2:22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?
The only scripture Paul had was the "old testament". There was no "new" testament. Of the "old" testament, Paul says:
2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Now if Paul were making the case that the sabbaths and holy days were "man made" traditions and ordinances then Paul was either a liar or an idiot because clearly they were given by God.
If God isn't One, why adhere to any one over any other?
I'm not sure I understand your question in context of the article?
That's always the clincher. Good post, Douglas.
I believe in one God, creator of everything, but I am not a Christian. How would you prove that a god was false?
If you're asking how I would prove that you are worshipping a false god then I won't do that. In that case, I would say that you have an incomplete understanding of God.
But if you're not a Christian, I'll never be able to prove it to you. One of the jobs of a Christian is to share the gospel, the good news of the kingdom, the role of Jesus Christ, and your future in it. It's up to God to open up your understanding to the truth and then it's up to you to prove it for yourself and hold on to it.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Luk 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
Luk 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures,
If I were a Christian, then I doubt the question would even be asked. Too bad, there is no way all people will believe the same. I suppose if God does have a plan for all of us, this must be the way He wants it.
That is certainly true in this age. In fact the bible indicates that nearly the whole world will be under the influence of a Satanic, counterfeit religion. Only after Christ returns will the world finally know the truth.
I suppose if God does have a plan for all of us, this must be the way He wants it.
It's not the way he wants it. But he knows it's the nature of rebellion.
If God is truly all-powerful, and He created everything, then how can things not be the way He made them?
http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/jesusgd2.htm
I'm too lazy to post tonight. Just go to this web site.
Free will. God created the angels. Lucifer led a rebellion of the angels.
Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Luk 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Rev 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
Man likewise has freewill.
Deu 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
Deu 30:20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
Adam and Eve demonstrated it in the garden. Men and women choose a human way of life over a Godly way of life every day.
The bad news is that we will never choose God without his calling. The good news, the gospel, is that he will call everyone eventually to enter his kingdom. Christ will return and there will be a government of God upon the earth and into eternity. This was the main theme of what Jesus Christ preached:
Mar 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
This of course is a simplification of the truth's taught in scripture. Hope it helps.
References:
Thanks for the link. I agree with nearly everything on the page.
Doesn't God know what our free-will choices will be?
God only knows. :-)
My assumption is that he does know, but let's us make them anyways. Or he could purposely decline to involve himself with each and every one of our choices and only involve himself when needed to complete his overall plan of salvation.
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