one question only....

For me personally it's really a moment of self discovery. For a while I questioned whether I really believed a god existed or not. After doing my fair share of readings and research I just came to the conclusion that God doesn't exist.

@harry_situation please share your 'research' with us. I did some 'research' too and came to the conclusion that there was a God and then became a Christian (about ten years ago) - I regretted not becoming a Christian many years earlier!

@Bubblylan Do you believe the Bible to be historically account? If so, then how come the Chinese (Neolithic dynasty), the Egyptians (Dynasties 4, 5, & 6), Mesopotamians, Sumerians, and Peruvians have been extremely prosperous and thriving when the Biblical flood was supposedly to take place; and how come no mention of a global flood was ever recorded since these civilizations kept pretty good records?

I honestly don't believe that the bible or God should be looked at as the physical, but rather spiritual. You have faith in something you can't see. That's what having faith as a Christian is based on. I guess at some point I went from believing, to not believing, and than recently back to believing... I believe God works in mysterious ways. Ways we can not imagine. After all it is said that, He knows the plans he has for us, also that he exists outside of our time. This is simply my opinion. I am not a Christian that forces my believes on others. I just share it. I respect others believes. @Harry_Situation @Bubblylan

@Shaykie With that, I respect you and your beliefs.

@harry_situation I do believe that the Bible is historically accurate, based on their understanding of the words at the time. Given their limited scientific understanding, they may have chosen words/explanations which may seem wrong to us. We would need to look at the original language, not the translation and intepret it in the context of what they understood at the time. On the issue of the flood, there is historical evidence to support it. The "world" that was flooded was 'everything that could be seen' not the whole world, as we know it now, but the whole of the known world as known to the writers - basically the area immediately around the mediterranean sea. there are two possible historical/scientific explanations for the great flood - Europe and north Africa used to be connected (where Gibralta is now) and at some point, this land-bridge collapsed causing a tidal wave from the atlantic into the mediterranean, which would have been like a tsunami flooding everything on the coastal plains for a significant distance inland. or b) In Turkey, there used to be a land bridge between Europe and Asia containing the Black Sea. When this collapsed, the black sea would have also caused a tsunami to flood into the Mediterranean, to similar effect. Clearly, Noah's family could not have repopulated the planet on their own - they would have needed to breed with other people who had survived the flood.

You're speaking of real world events (such as natural disasters) that may have played inspiration to the stories within the Bible, but are not true historical contexts, correct? Meaning that there was a massive flood caused by a tsunami but there was no arc or mass gathering of animals loaded onto this arc, correct? Now that I would believe due to humanity's limited understanding of how the world worked and science. I mean if I went back in time and I used a gun to take down a deer in front of my ancestors they would assume I used magic and I was some deity. However I don't believe that the entire earth suddenly flooded after having rained 40 straight days. I mean if it did how come all the plant life didn't die? All that rain and flooding would have drowned all plant life. And how come all the sea life didn't die out? The freshwater from the rain would have killed all sea life. I mean there's a ton of things to nitpick about the Bible it's a wonder why certain Christian groups don't think about it.

I think you both taking the bible a little to literal. Yes! it is a perfect instruction manual for Christians, as well as stories of miracles of people that lived way before our time. Miracles are things that seemed impossible. Yet, they happened. However, it also states that God said not focused on the past as He is the only one who actually knows what happened, same for the the future. I believe that believing and having faith requires to believe that God exists and that he can make miracles can happen. Believing in the intangible brought to life. Experiences you have personally and see as a testimony. Once again this is only what i believe. We all free to express our own opinions and religions. @Harry_Situation @Bubblylan