Does God's Existence Depend On What We Believe?

Question:
If I don't believe in God, does that mean He doesn't exist?
Does He need us to believe in him to exist, or his existence (or not) is independent from what we can believe?


My Reply:
If you don't believe in chocolate chip cookies, does that mean they don't exist?
If you're drowning, and I threw you a life-preserver, but yet you don't believe in life preservers, aren't you still drowning?

God exists, whether you believe in Him or not.

On that note though, won't you be saved from drowning if you grab onto the life preserver that you don't believe in, whether you believe it exists or not?  And if you're saved by it, then won't you in fact believe in them?  Just something to think about.

Why don't Atheists believe in God?

Question:

Why do atheists say that religion has to much faith when it takes more faith to believe that there is no god whatsoever and that everything is an accident and that a "big boom" came out of nowhere.

My Reply:

Most atheists aren't disbelieving in God because of faith (or lack of). Most atheists (whom I've talked with and/or listened to) don't believe in God because of pain, and anger that comes from this pain.
I think everybody either does or wants to believe in something, but when they're hurt, and people tell them that they should go to the place that just happens to be the place that hurt them in the first place (church, Christians, religious organizations, faith in God, etc.), they push away because they don't want to be hurt again, or because the previous pain has never healed.  And who wants to believe in a god that hurts and justifies the actions of those who hurt you?
So in the cases that I've come across, it's not so much disbelief for the sake of not believing, but disbelief as a choice. That's one of the reasons (I think) that even proof of God wouldn't change their minds.

---Pastor Andy

Confused About Faith and God

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Question:

I want to believe but it's so hard for me to believe in God. A while back I had a lot of faith in my religion (Christianity) and I was the happiest guy in the world because I always felt there was someone who truly loved me no matter what. I would do my best to keep the commandments and in doing so I felt that I was doing the right thing and so no matter how much I would go through I wasn't worried because according to scripture, God would help me get through it. I would even go to church by myself because my mom was an Evangelical Christian and I was LDS so I would sit by myself in church, however I never felt lonely. Recently I lost my faith due to everything that goes on in this world. For example, the Bible says the Earth is only 6,000 years old but I know better than that and I know evolution was the means by which Humans came into existence but then again I had a friend who believed that god used Evolution to create Humanity. In conclusion I don't care if I have to blindly follow my religion because having faith in God made my life soooooooo much better! Even if there is no God I'd rather believe than not. I need advice on how I can gain faith.

My Reply:

So let me get this straight...you were solid in your faith when it came to going through anything in your personal life, and you lost your faith when it came to questions about things outside your life but in the rest of the world?
My friend, I see that your problem was recognizing Christianity as a religion where you had to do things in order to feel holy, and how you feel as your confirmation of God's existence. But being a Christian is about being in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and because of this relationship, you are already ARE holy (regardless of how you feel).
There are problems in the world simply because we live in a world tainted by sin. Check here to help with another view on this, as well as other questions: http://www.answersingenesis.org/
The LDS' idea about God and Jesus is also tainted by sin, which may also be what helped you get to where you are now. Have you tried talking with your mom about Jesus? Try reading her Bible (not the book of Mormon). For example, look at John 14:6, and compare that to what the LDS said about Jesus.
To be perfectly honest, if questions about the world are what caused you to fall out of faith, I have to wonder what kept you in the LDS faith for so long?  For example, have you ever seen the golden plates?  History says nobody but Smith has. Have you done research on events and places in the book of Mormon? Archaeology has and continues to prove and give evidence to the Holy Bible and its events, cultures and locations, but nothing has been proven or discovered in terms of the book of Mormon. So what (other than the feeling of God's presence) kept you involved with the church of LDS?  And with so little to base your LDS faith on, why such difficulty in believing in God through Christianity?

---Pastor Andy

Can Truth exist?

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Dear Pastor Andy, can’t truth and lie exist only in imagination? I mean morality, not science. You can't deny something real, like math...math is real.

My Reply:

OK, let's look at it your way..."math is real". I tell you 13x7=28. You tell me 13x7=91. Only one of us can be right, right?
Now, I can show you 3 ways to prove that I'm right...addition, multiplication, and division. And when I do the math my way, it always comes out 28.

Where's the truth? Is it true to say that 13x7=28? If you said you agreed, then would you be lying, or maybe compromising? But even in compromising, are you not betraying the truth, even a little?

My point is that there's a right way and a wrong way. There's also not only a truth, but even an Absolute Truth, and that Absolute Truth is what leads to the correct answer. But if such is the case, then all the other ways must be wrong, or lies, for they don't result in the correct answer. And if you say your way is the correct way, even though it doesn't come up with the correct answer, then you either must be lying, or wrong.
So yes, Truth does exist, so does Absolute Truth.

To see 3 ways that 13x7=28, CLICK HERE.

---Pastor Andy

Do You Believe In Ghosts?

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Question:  Do you believe in ghosts?

My Reply:

Do I believe they exist? Yes. Do I believe in them? No, meaning that they're not ghosts as we know from media or hype...they're demons. There's no such thing as a friendly ghost. Their main goal is to get people to become confused about God, and thus lose their faith in God.

If we believe ghosts are dead people, then we're saying God doesn't know what He's doing, God doesn't see all that goes on, or one may assume that even dead people can continue to torment the living, thus questioning God's promised judgment.
They may tell you things or cause you to believe that they're protecting you. This is also how bad people prey on their victims...they work on them through trust.

My point is, yes, they exist...I know this for a fact. But they're not something to mess with, become interested in, or "believe in".
Demons lie, and have no truth or good in them.

---Pastor Andy

Why do atheists attack Christians without merit?

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Question: 

This was actually an answer to a post in Philosophy that surprised me: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;…

Atheists, not scientists, believe its time to end religion. Science never proves or disproves religious origin and all unbiased scientists will cop to that. Only the hard-core atheists use science as evidence for their claims, but they are irrational about it.
The above was a great lead in for:
http://www.deism.com/dogmatic%20atheism.…
Then, a leading atheist, based on science, changes his position.
http://www.biola.edu/antonyflew/flew-int…
There is room for a creator!

My Reply:
I honestly find it odd that Atheists want to get rid of religions altogether, for Atheism seems to have turned into a religion of its own.  Anyway, here's how I understand it all:

It's not that Atheists don't believe, but that they REFUSE to believe in the existence of God...they CHOOSE not to  believe, even when the evidences are staring them right in the face.  (Agnostics are those who just don't know).
But at the same time, we both (Christians and atheists) are out on a mission.
I heard a guy on the radio the other day who said, "When asked if there's anything better than going to heaven, most people say 'no'. But I say 'yes. The one thing that's better than going to heaven is bringing somebody there with you'."  So you see, we Christians are out to introduce people to Jesus, the only one who can save them from death, sin, hell, etc., while atheists are out trying to save them from...(foolishness?) believing in a God that they refuse to believe exists.
I guess you could also look at it in the way that we each witness to people of other faiths. We tell them not of our own opinions, but of Truth, thus trying to persuade them to realize their need to turn  to God and repent.  Atheism, on the other hand, has become a faith that witnesses to people of God-believing faiths with their own opinions about God, trying to persuade them to NOT believe in God at all.
So in the same way that we believe in the urgency of getting the Word out about Jesus, atheists believe in the urgency to "save" people from what they consider as the "foolishness" of believing that God exists.
And so this, I believe, is why they attack us so much...we're “competing” for souls.
In terms of science, I agree that it's mostly about theories. But in trying to prove or disprove God's existence, many scientists have actually become Christians due to the results of their research, especially archaeologists.  So as more and more discoveries are made about the evidences of God's existence, as well as events mentioned in the Bible, atheists may soon have to begin looking for a new source to back up their opinions.

---Pastor Andy

Christianity Borrowed from (Other) Religions?

Question:  What percentage of Christianity do you think is borrowed from older religions and belief systems? Why? Please keep your answer short.

My Reply:

OK, how's this for brief?  NONE of Christianity is "borrowed" from older religions and beliefs.  Although, Christianity is the fulfillment of Judaism, so if you want to consider it as "borrowed", Judaism would be the closest to the answer, I suppose.

---Pastor Andy

Who Really Deserves Eternal Torment?

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Question:  

I am curious as to who in the history of the whole world deserves eternal torment. For this, we will leave Satan out of it. So in other words, "Who really deserves eternal torment besides Satan?" I think Satan is just metaphorical for the side of people that is prone to sin and makes bad decisions, but if you would please leave your religion too because in a way I am making a poll. I won't disrespect your beliefs and I hope you will do the same. I personally don't even think Hitler deserves such torment.

So far in my research, some people said that there is someone in the world that deserves this. So I ask, how do you feel about a human being more forgiving?  If it’s true that God would not forgive someone for his/her sins and I, as a mere mortal, would (and I believe I would be more forgiving, actually, and if you think about it, more just too. Although I am not saying that I am better than God, I want to get that clear right away). Think about this: Have you ever been seriously hurt? If not, think of a time that you were scraped up. Remember the pain…go back to the pain that you endured and then imagine it 10,000,000 times worse and it will never end nor go numb. Think about this. Does anyone deserve that for something as little as not believing?

My Reply:

Who deserves eternal torment?  We all do.  Seriously! I mean, look at us:

• God tells us not to do something and we do it. 
• God tells us to do something and we don't.  
• God calls us to be holy, as He is holy, and we choose to be secular.
• God sends His love, and instead of receiving it, we debate whether God even exists or if His love is sufficient.
• God tells us to make every effort to be at peace with one another, and we choose wars.
• We were given the planet to care for it, and we litter and pollute it.
• We were given authority over the animals, and we abuse them.  
• We were given emotions to feel, and we abuse substances in order to feel numb. 
• God sent His Son and we killed Him. 
• We threw away God's standards and replaced them with our own cultural standards, then complained that God's not fair.  
• And we continue to commit the same sin that Adam & Eve committed that got us here in the first place...we try to live our lives (or certain parts of it) without God. 

Dude, we all deserve eternal torment.  But praise the Lord, He's given us another option! :)

---Pastor Andy