If you don't believe in the God of the Bible, what would it take for you to believe? [Spirituality & Religion]

@Emosaur What is your criteria for "clear" and "undeniable"? Do you know what that might be? It is so interesting that many people put science and the Bible at odds with each other, but scientific study was actually birthed out of a desire to understand God's creation and gain a greater understanding of God.

@Emosaur It once was taught in our schools as a scientific fact... but we have moved away from that teaching in the past 50 to 70 years. It is interesting how quickly I am told by others that I am "wrong". Where did their "human curiosity" come from? If a person does some research on the beliefs of significant scientists throughout history, they will discover that many have a significant faith. And for many, their faith fueled their desire to learn. If you research Sir Isaac Newton you will find these quotes which give evidence of his belief in the God of the Bible: “This most beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.” “He who thinks half-heartedly will not believe in God; but he who really thinks has to believe in God.” “Trials are medicines which our gracious and wise Physician prescribes because we need them; and he proportions the frequency and weight of them to what the case requires. Let us trust his skill and thank him for his prescription.” “How came the bodies of animals to be contrived with so much art, and for what ends were their several parts? Was the eye contrived without skill in Opticks, and the ear without knowledge of sounds?...and these things being rightly dispatch’d, does it not appear from phænomena that there is a Being incorporeal, living, intelligent...?” “Blind metaphysical necessity, which is certainly the same always and every where, could produce no variety of things. All that diversity of natural things which we find suited to different times and places could arise from nothing but the ideas and will of a Being, necessarily existing.” “Yet one thing secures us what ever betide, the scriptures assures us that the Lord will provide.”

@Emosaur So... I suppose that your answer to my original question might be that nothing could possibly influence you to believe in the God of the Bible, because, in your words "No matter how many people believe it, a lie is a lie."

@ms20182878 Isaac Newton was also wrong about gravity.

@suzie1960 Then I'm in great company, being labeled as "wrong" alongside him... What an honor! 🙂

@ms20182878 Can you explain the orbit of Mercury absent the hypothetical planet Vulcan? Newton's theories couldn't; Einstein's do.

@suzie1960 I'm glad to hear that you've studied that. Good for you. That's actually not on my list of topics that I typically delve into. So, what was Einstein's perspective on God?

@ms20182878 In Einstein's day a professed belief in christianity was almost obligatory. Although he made the comment about not believing god played dice with the universe (his opinion of quantum theory) I don't know whether he actually believed in the christian god.

Rather ironically, he won the Nobel Prize for his work on the photoelectric effect - which involves quantum theory. :)

I kno a lot of people aren't fond of Wikipedia, but I find it useful for an overview of a topic. The following link is to an overview of Einstein's religious beliefs:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_and_philosophical_views_of_Albert_Einstein

Make of it what you will, but his genius can't be denied.

@suzie1960 [quote]a professed belief in christianity was almost obligatory[/quote]
This is the important point that many ignore when they try to pull out the names of great thinkers who were on record as being Christian. I mean, there were a few like Blaise Pascal who wrote brilliantly on both worldly and religious matters, but he's in a very small camp.

@suzie1960 Can I ask how you determined that a belief in the God of the Bible was obligatory in those times? Who made it obligatory? And how would you determine that it wasn't a true belief for a person?

@ms20182878 We are not in a history class where such matters are taught. This is a moment for you to have a little faith, which is often a good thing.

@MissPriscillaPrim I was just asking some questions. Should I not ask?

@ms20182878 My point is, seek answers elsewhere if interested.

@ms20182878 [quote]Can I ask how you determined that a belief in the God of the Bible was obligatory in those times? [/quote]
I said it was [b]almost[/b] obligatory. The church exercised great power in those days. People in the West were expected to be christian. Even now there is something of a presumption that a white European is christian unless he or she emphatically states otherwise.

@suzie1960 The authority of the church was often also backed by strong social conformity.