Belief or No Belief Comes From Trust or No Trust in a Witness

Submitted by M. Tovey (United States), Nov 23, 2009 at 14:03

While setting aside the acerbic tone contained in MR REDMOND's response, it will be noted that in his assertion that there is no witness to the religious assertions of others seems to contradict centuries of a telling and retelling of countless affirmations (and denials) of things religious, up to and including the one most important to true Christianity, that of Jesus Christ, for whose reference I have taken to the use of the name Yeshua. Is this a figment of my imagination? My faith, underscored by my own investigation of the written record and the parole evidence of so many that I have lost count, tells me otherwise; but let us suppose that others have a better understanding of such things and see the record, even in my own arcane way of understanding.

MR. REDMOND has many with whom he can associate his understanding of such things, and if there was any perceived attempt on my part to minimize what he holds to be his view, I am willing to concede his right to such views without condemnation, for it is not my right to impose nor convert him to what I believe, according to my understanding of the Hebrew Holy Scriptures, but merely to be a witness.

Yet I will provide a distinction to my beliefs that separates a true Christian's understanding as it pertains to being associated with any of the other religious persuasions (like that of the Ft. Hood assasin), including that of supposed Christianity practiced without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (which is false belief and hypocritical on the face of it). Without elaborating as to the efficacy of the influences of a true relationship with Jesus Christ, the influences of the Holy Spirit are the bases of witness that a true believer has in Jesus Christ in order to be obedient to His commandment: that to love as He loved, and to forgive as He forgave. In that, there is that distinction that a true believer has in the face of the opposition to the witness required by being obedient to Him. (Under that true influence of the Holy Spirit, a true Christian does not need to 'go postal' in order to be obedeint to Jesus Christ).

Now, as may be assumed by the centuries of religious contentiousness perpetrated upon humankind, it is never going to go away until the truth of the matter be revealed, and only in a final confirmation of belief in what one is willing to place one's faith is there going to be a final conclusion of the matter, even if there is no desire to believe in a deity. Entering the threshold of Human mortality, with or without a relationship with Jesus Christ, will provide the answer to that better than any witness I could ever provide.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".