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If Man Made God Up [Spirituality & Religion]

If man fabricated the idea of God, what was his motive? Please don't say as a security measure, because "all have fallen short of the glory of God (meaning the holy standards of God, but all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that comes through Jesus. Roman's 3:23-24)", so that would do man no good at all. Security only works by grace, never "works". One cannot earn their way to heaven.

Nor is it fear, or at least shouldn't be. Followers of Christ do not follow Him out of fear...period! There is no fear in perfect love. 1 John 4:18. God's love is perfect because HE is perfect. A man who sacrificed His own life for another...in this case, the sin debt of the world...is no bully or threat, in any way. For without Him, we'd all go to Hell. He never came as a threat. Just the opposite! He came to save souls, who were already condemned by their sins, so we could have eternal life in Heaven. He didn't have to do that. But He did. In fact, He volunteered.

Throughout the Old and New Testaments, the only hero is God.  Rather than pave the way for personal gain, the truths of the Bible lead to self-sacrifice and surrender. Rather than instruct us how to earn God’s favor, the Bible tells us that no one is righteous (Romans 3:10, 23). In other words what this is telling us, is that not one of us can live up to God's perfect holy standards, because we have a sinful nature. That is why it took a pure, perfect sacrifice to pay for our sins. Note that we are in a state which already separates us from God. That's why we need Jesus. He is the only person who has access to His Heavenly Father, so we can receive forgiveness from Him, by Jesus's mediation for us.

Throughout history, those proclaiming the Bible’s truths, have been martyred, stoned, and driven into hiding (1 Kings 19:10; Acts 7:58; 2 Corinthians 11:25). Their death was not in vain. They loved God so much, they willingly gave their lives for Him. This was not men dying for other mortal men. This was men voluntarily giving their lives for the God they knew and loved. No one can transform the lives of men, except the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit transforms us into the image of Christ. 2 Corinthians 3:18
SW-User
Religion is about control.
It's aimed at the ignorant masses to keep them from revolting against the ruling class
That's why suicide is a mortal sin.
If it wasn't then all of the slaves would kill themselves and go to heaven rather than suffer their whole lives in torment and bondage...
LadyGrace · 70-79
@SW-User MAN is all about control. What he doesn't understand, he tries to manipulate and control. That can't be done with God. But you are right. Religion is all about control. Jesus is not. Huge difference.

Taking one's own life is a sin, yes. That's because if one has not been saved and they cut their life short, they can't repent if they are dead, and therefore would still be cut off from God and Heaven. For a Christian, it is an even greater tragedy because it is a waste of a life that God intended to use in a glorious way. The Bible clearly expresses the sanctity of human life (Exodus 20:13).
SW-User
@LadyGrace
All religious belief systems have been corrupted by men to serve their agendas of control and coercion.

The rumor is that the Vatican is hiding teachings of jesus that reject the church and tell that the temple of God is in each of us and we don't need priests to teach us God's word or places of worship to gather together..

It's easy to imagine why such teachings would be hidden by the church.

Where so ever two men gather together in my name, there to am i..
LadyGrace · 70-79
@SW-User I'm sure all "religious" belief systems have, that is correct, but those in Christ, who have a personal relationship with Him, are free in Him, not slaves, but freed from the grips of sin over them. Any who know Christ, understand that and what it means.

I take no stock in rumors.
Boallods · 26-30, M
Various "gods" are made up, but the LORD our God is not.
LadyGrace · 70-79
@Boallods Amen to that!!
DoubleRings · 51-55, F
i didn’t read your whole post because it’s too long but I think it was invented for a variety of reasons - mainly to preclude hopelessness in the purpose of everyday life, and to instill a moral order in society that would otherwise be uncivilized.
LadyGrace · 70-79
@DoubleRings Your observations are very interesting. Thank you. Those would be good reasons, and they do, but only for those who truly know Christ, not those who think they do, as the Holy Spirit is the Great Comforter. Without Him, no hope can be established when it comes to eternity and where one will spend it, but do you really think people care about other people, that they would invent this "just because they care"? I highly doubt it. Most people only care about themselves.

As for moral order, I can't see that either, because even in the old Roman days, history shows, now and then, that people will act any way they want and are immoral. It is the Holy Spirit that brings conviction, and if one does not have that, they would not care if God approved of their actions or not. Especially if they do not believe in God. So I cannot see that as stopping anyone from being immoral if they so choose. We see that in society today.
DoubleRings · 51-55, F
We will have to agree to disagree. @LadyGrace
LadyGrace · 70-79
@DoubleRings Thanks honey.
SW-User
God has a gender?
LadyGrace · 70-79
@SW-User It certainly does, because He revealed His plan in His Word. We are seeing prophecy unfold before our very eyes. What God is showing us now, is what this world looks like without Him and exactly why we need Him. He is the remedy, but people turn Him away, so you see the condition man has put himself in, with his rebellion towards Christ and appetite for evil. God has never forced man to rape, steal, or destroy.
SW-User
@LadyGrace I would believe this if the followers of god would be left out of the struggle. That’s not the case. A serial killer’s child can be happy,rich and famous while a follower can lose the child to terminal illness.
LadyGrace · 70-79
@SW-User Remember that this world has sin in it. That makes all susceptible to diseases, etc. What about people who do not take care of themselves, then develop cancer? God did not cause that. There are many factors to consider. The way everyone learns and grows throughout their lives, are by trials and challenges. Jesus never promised life would be easy. He promised to help us through our problems. This is a part of life we'll face until we die. Problems can help us grow stronger in many ways. They aren't there to hurt us. They are there to help us. The only tragedy is when we don't learn the lesson. Then we don't learn, grow, or advance. We just stay stuck. Not all are teachable.

 
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