I appreciate your comment. I agree there is a sense in which mankind has never been without hope, because God Who is the uncreated, pre-existent Creator of you and I (Genesis 1:26-27) has always desired to have relationship with us, His masterwork. It was His profound love (John 3:16) that caused Him to send His One and Only Son to earth-to live and serve among us and then to die on a cruel cross for each of us, and for our sins that we may share in His glorious, resurrected life here and now and for all eternity. I pray you will come to a point in your life-as I did in mine-when Jesus will become more than an interesting historical figure, but your personal loving Lord and Saviour, Leader, and Friend. That’s certainly His desire. Blessings to you and yours this Christmas season. @reverenddarrenmcclelland
@@reverenddarrenmcclelland ... You are making an argument with scripture that depends on that same scripture. It's circular logic. Theologians since Augustine of Hippo have been struggling to prove the existence of the deity and none have succeeded.
@@LittleChap-r4u It’s great that you have studied this out. I respect that. Like yourself I am widely read, educated in extrabiblical philosophy, and history. Its true that theologians and philosophers since Augustine of Hippo have grappled with the question of how to rationally and convincingly prove the existence of God. Likely, this ongoing struggle stems from the complexities of human reason, the nature of God, and the limitations of empirical evidence to prove spiritual/metaphysical realities. I grappled with this most of my adult life until I discovered that God, as conceived by Augustine and other theologians is transcendent, infinite, and beyond human comprehension. Augustine himself emphasized the interplay between faith and reason, famously stating, “I believe in order to understand.” Faith, for him, was essential as a starting point for understanding God, which challenges the purely rational approach. I would encourage you to study out the opposing side with the same voracity you have studied other sources. That would mean reading the Bible cover to cover, or at least the Four Gospels. We cannot intelligently criticize or dismiss epic and influential works of literature until we have studied them ourselves, so as to come to our own personal conclusions. I’ve no doubt you will do just that. @reverenddarrenmcclelland
@@reverenddarrenmcclelland ... You: " Its true that theologians and philosophers since Augustine of Hippo have grappled with the question of how to rationally and convincingly prove the existence of God. " ______ Therein lies the fault. You proceed with an assumption not in evidence and work to reach a goal. It's the difference between an algorithm and an open equation. It the first assumption is 'I don't know if a god exists or not' you then ask 'what sort of proof could exist that would make an agnostic knowledgeable. This is why atheists are also agnostic.
Man has never been without hope. We don't need to hope a god will visit us and "save" us from his father's wrath.
I appreciate your comment. I agree there is a sense in which mankind has never been without hope, because God Who is the uncreated, pre-existent Creator of you and I (Genesis 1:26-27) has always desired to have relationship with us, His masterwork. It was His profound love (John 3:16) that caused Him to send His One and Only Son to earth-to live and serve among us and then to die on a cruel cross for each of us, and for our sins that we may share in His glorious, resurrected life here and now and for all eternity. I pray you will come to a point in your life-as I did in mine-when Jesus will become more than an interesting historical figure, but your personal loving Lord and Saviour, Leader, and Friend. That’s certainly His desire. Blessings to you and yours this Christmas season. @reverenddarrenmcclelland
@@reverenddarrenmcclelland ... You are making an argument with scripture that depends on that same scripture. It's circular logic. Theologians since Augustine of Hippo have been struggling to prove the existence of the deity and none have succeeded.
@@LittleChap-r4u It’s great that you have studied this out. I respect that. Like yourself I am widely read, educated in extrabiblical philosophy, and history. Its true that theologians and philosophers since Augustine of Hippo have grappled with the question of how to rationally and convincingly prove the existence of God. Likely, this ongoing struggle stems from the complexities of human reason, the nature of God, and the limitations of empirical evidence to prove spiritual/metaphysical realities. I grappled with this most of my adult life until I discovered that God, as conceived by Augustine and other theologians is transcendent, infinite, and beyond human comprehension. Augustine himself emphasized the interplay between faith and reason, famously stating, “I believe in order to understand.” Faith, for him, was essential as a starting point for understanding God, which challenges the purely rational approach. I would encourage you to study out the opposing side with the same voracity you have studied other sources. That would mean reading the Bible cover to cover, or at least the Four Gospels. We cannot intelligently criticize or dismiss epic and influential works of literature until we have studied them ourselves, so as to come to our own personal conclusions. I’ve no doubt you will do just that. @reverenddarrenmcclelland
@@reverenddarrenmcclelland ... You: " Its true that theologians and philosophers since Augustine of Hippo have grappled with the question of how to rationally and convincingly prove the existence of God. " ______ Therein lies the fault. You proceed with an assumption not in evidence and work to reach a goal. It's the difference between an algorithm and an open equation. It the first assumption is 'I don't know if a god exists or not' you then ask 'what sort of proof could exist that would make an agnostic knowledgeable. This is why atheists are also agnostic.
@@LittleChap-r4u Thank you for your comments.
I appreciate you sharing your thoughts.
@reverenddarrenmcclelland