No, because in my threescore and thirteen years, I have plenty of evidence of God’s providential interventions in my life, and others’ as well. They tell me that God is the God of the Bible and Jesus is my Elder Brother and Friend.
One instance, or rather several instances, that I frequently point to here is Maggie’s testimony.
I’m willing to bet that God isn’t an idiot. To be God, I bet He’s pretty smart and wouldn’t demand that we commit intellectual suicide to believe in him for no reason. What are we supposed to believe? How can we do the commands if we don’t don’t know who or what He is? If I can think of those questions, I imagine He already did and planned ahead.
I know this was not asked of me but…
No one has done what the Father did through Jesus. If you hear the words of Jesus with a desire to be free of sin’s power, you will understand He alone is able to free you. True freedom will only come through the sacrifice of Jesus. We do not serve a dead or pretend God. If you want eternal life (character of life, not length of life) call out to the only one who has it and can give it. He is not far but near to those with a humble heart. He will save all who call out to Him.
If a non-Christian testified how their god answers their prayers, intervenes in their lives, protects and loves them, etc, would this convince you that their god is real?
There have been two fairly extensive discussions recently on the relationship of our works and their necessity as complements to God’s grace, grace which we cannot earn with works, Spinoff: Law vs. Grace? and Monergism versus Synergism.
No. There maybe the odd experience here and there that might appear legitimate, but not in the numbers that I am talking about. Did you read Maggie’s testimony?
God isn’t in the business of hiding from us or taunting us. God wants above all else to be in relationship with us, mutually respectful, adult, give and take, enjoyable, mutally beneficial, friendship. We are expected to grow out of our diapers and engage in an adult fashion with him. He did say we are his friends as we obey him.
Something so obvious stands out about his claims that we shouldn’t need to mention it, but it is overlooked with the greatest of ease. He asks us to have dinner with him. To “dine” with him. Accept his invitation—anyone. He shows up every time.
Do you think belief is a choice? If so, can you choose to believe me if I told you that I’m actually an alien from another galaxy? Sure you can trust me, but that isn’t belief. Belief would require you to undergo a perfect lie dectector test which would verify that you believe my claim.
Actually, trust is a word that better describes faith.
What is a choice is what evidence and testimony you accept as legitimate. (Testimony is evidence if it is true, and there are different kinds of testimony. I already mentioned the testimony of the cosmos.)
Do you mean evaluating the evidence?
What are you going to do about all the sins, evil things you’ve thoght, said and done? How are you going to free yourself from your slavery to evil? Doing some good deeds is not going to fix all the bad you’ve done. Trying to do better is not enough to free you from the evil that rises up in you. Your stuck as a slave to evil unless someone more powerfull than evil saves you. We are all stuck unless someone graciously saves us.
That is part of it. But once you have validated a source as legitimate and trustworthy, say of testimony, you do not need to reevaluate every time.
Yes I read Maggies testimony. It sounds incredible and I have no reason to doubt her sincerity, however I can also quote testimonies that are just as amazing and powerful from non-Christians about their gods. Who should we believe? They both cant be right?
God gets real personal. Forget everyone else. What are you going to do about the evil in you?
I’m curious to see one. (Not Joseph Smith, please. 
The cognitive dissonance and contradictions within the LDS and their doctrines are incredible.) I’ve been keeping a Co-instants Log of God’s providence for over thirty-five years with retrospective entries for three decades before that, sometimes with multiple entries in a day. But I also know that testimonies are not necessarily compelling, especially to the resolute unbeliever.
Then there’s George Müller.
You have maybe seen this before, Nick, but I think it answers some of those questions:
Craig and I discuss death and the futility built into this creation starting about here.
Excuse me Anthony. Didn’t we meet on Titan centuries ago? I thought you sounded familiar. How’s the wife and kids? Heard any out of this world jokes lately? You knew how to tell em. I’m on vacation. Headed back to Andromeda next year. Everybody is retiring over there. I’ll be on high level security until the war is over. I’ve got my money on the xortzkousz’.
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” -Colossians 4:6
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