Blixa wrote:
You might not want to know what I am praying for right now...
Lol. You're wonderful. I'll be on the lookout for tornadoes coming my way.
Blixa wrote:
You might not want to know what I am praying for right now...
Blixa wrote:You might not want to know what I am praying for right now...
Hoops wrote:That is a good question isn't it? What is prayer for? I can tell you this: God is not held to the whim (or the cries of despair) of us. Prayer doesn't change Him, it changes us.Hoops, why do these people bother praying for God's help at all?
I have been quite direct. at the point that one is staring down a tornado and one prays for God to save one from it, what would you have God do?I don't know what you're trying to get out of us here.
Those are an entirely different subject.In the Bible, God stopped the rotation of the Earth ...
He certainly could. Are you prepared for God to act upon creation in such a profound way at the behest of our prayers? I doubt it.Are you saying God could do all this s***, but couldn't divert the path of a tornado by, say, 100 meters so that it missed this particular mobile home and thus spared this faithful family,
Sethbag wrote:In the Bible, God stopped the rotation of the Earth to give the Israelites more time in the day to finish the slaughter of their enemies. God caused the waters of the Red Sea to part so that the Israelites could cross over it on dry land. God caused the walls of the city of Jericho to collapse catastrophically after the Israelites shouted and blew their shofar in unison.
Are you saying God could do all this s***, but couldn't divert the path of a tornado by, say, 100 meters so that it missed this particular mobile home and thus spared this faithful family, and that we're all being unreasonable to expect that he do it?
...
To change the battery, I had to disassemble and move several car parts, including the windshield washer reservoir. I soon found that my tools would not fit all of the metric-sized bolts and several screws would not even budge. I used different tools and tried different positions, but nothing moved. The temperature outside was around 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-15°C), and the semitrucks whizzing by created wind gusts that were bitter cold. I had reached a cold, frustrating impasse.
I turned to the only help available. I prayed earnestly, explaining my need to Heavenly Father and asking if He would either loosen the bolts and screws or help me find a way to do it. Finishing my prayer, I again grabbed a pair of pliers and grasped a resisting screw. It was already loose! Silently and fervently expressing thanks, I removed the screw and continued.
Soon I found a frustrating, resisting bolt deeper in the car. Again, completely stymied, I prayed more earnestly for help, doing so with growing trust. This time I felt directed to remove some deeper bolts first and then twist the battery brace, which I did. The resisting bolt moved easily. In a few moments I pulled out the old battery.
...
Drifting wrote:
Hoops,
If you are so fond of getting answers to questions...
Prayer changes our spirit, our relationships, and our potential.So what did this family's prayer for God's divine protection change them into? Misguided fools?
I didn't ask what the consequences would be, I asked what specific, direct action are you expecting from God.Why, save one from it. Duh.
Most Christians recognize a difference between the history of Israel and the church age. Don't blame us if you don't.Right. How stupid of these people to read the examples of God's intervention on behalf of the faithful as an example to them that God could, or would, uh, intercede on behalf of the faithful.
So?I don't believe that a God exists at all.
At times, and according to His Providence, yes.But most faithful people are prepared to believe that God acts upon creation in such a profound way at the behest of the prayers of the faithful.
Your free to believe what you want. However, you have already shown that you have no desire to understand and consider what Christians believe. So what you believe about what I believe is immaterial to me. Unless you want to actually engage the positions one takes - which clearly you do not.I think that arguments such as yours are more a defensive apologetic than a constructive faithful approach
I don't recall doing that.- you acknowledge that there's no evidence that God does in fact intercede at all,
and you seek to find a way to explain God such that this is precisely what we should see.
Hoops wrote:4. God chose to not move this particular tornado to save this particular family.