Enjoy one of the very few opportunities you can see adult performer Marc Dylan actually wearing something. Thanks for this rare moment to ParagonMen.
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neehh….
I like you
I guess I don’t worry too much about whether my doubt/unbelief is a sin or not, bcuease I doubt the existence of God, so a sin against Him is meaningless to me. I don’t believe questioning is wrong. I think everyone should at times challenge those beliefs we hold most dear. Here was a good summary of faith someone gave me in another .“… faith that saves is a gift (Eph. 2:9; Philip 1:29) and therefore cannot by definition be a work that we perform. Yet, faith too is mental. Let me explain.St. Augustine noted that faith is “resting in the evidence.” Some think that faith is devoid of evidence or that the more faith one has the less evidence is required. But faith believes with the evidence, not against it. Faith is always “faith in” or “faith that”. Faith is not the opposite of thinking or reasoning.Faith is trust in someone or something. Faith is having more certainty than doubt. Faith is not some amorphous wish or hopeful desire that something might be the case. Faith believes with the evidence and never against it.There are Three Elements to “Faith”1. Faith begins with knowledge (notitia). Cognition (mental processes) is the primary faculty involved with notitia. Faith is not an empty container but is filled with content. Faith necessarily entails “faith in” something or someone. Simply bcuease faith involves religious knowledge does not require us to be less certain about the content of our faith. When our religious convictions are logically sound and fit the facts, then we are justified in holding our beliefs with certainty.2. Knowledge, then, leads to mental assent (assensus). Assent moves us from cognition to conviction. When we assent to a belief we are admitting the truth of a claim or we are agreeing with the facts of a claim. Assent to facts is what makes belief possible. There is an emotional element involved with assensus wherein a personal element of assurance is present, but we must not confuse our subjective assurance with the objective facts of a belief. Mental assent is necessary in all our beliefs. Assent includes knowledge of (notitia) and acceptance that (assensus). One must not only know the truth but also accept it as fact before belief obtains. Mental assent, though necessary, is not sufficient. Mere acceptance of truth falls short of genuine faith.3. Finally, faith comes to completion with trust (fiducia). From cognition (= awareness), to conviction (= acceptance), to commitment (= appropriation). Whereas notitia is primarily intellectual, assensus emotional, fiducia is volitional. Faith is a trust that surrenders the soul to the facts. The seat of faith lies not in the intellect alone, nor in the emotions alone, or in the will alone. True faith that involves all three elements finds its rest in what the Bible calls the human heart (Rom. 10:9-10), lies in all three.”So I agree with you first comes knowledge, evidence, reason, data, etc. And the examples I can think of where Jesus deals with doubters, He presents them with evidence. He shows doubting Thomas His risen body, and he shows doubting John the Baptist (through his disciples) His miracles. But also in both examples the doubters were looking or desiring evidence. Thomas came back with the other disciples to the room Jesus appeared before, and John sent his disciples to ask and see if Jesus was the Messiah.So that is what I’m trying to do: research, look for evidence, try to gain more knowledge, etc. If I find God again that would be great and the best case scenario. If not, I at least have learned more about a topic that tries to answer the big questions.