O dovada pentru existenta lui Dumnezeu din filosofia mintii — un thread 🧵🧠

If I enter heaven, it will be entirely because Jesus Christ saved me by His grace. That grace brought me to faith, united me to Christ in baptism, enabled my obedience, restored me through repentance, and preserved me to the end. The difference is that, by grace, I did not finally reject Christ, while the person in hell freely rejected Him and died unrepentant. Even my cooperation with grace gives me no reason to boast, because God first enabled every good response. Baptism and obedience are not alternatives to trusting Jesus. If Jesus commands us to believe, repent, be baptized, obey, and persevere, then doing so is trust in Jesus, not trust in ourselves. Calling obedience "self-trust" would perversely make disobedience evidence of faith. At this point, Ryan, you have been told many times what the Catholic Church actually teaches. If you continue portraying it as "trust in yourself," you are not refuting Catholicism; you are knowingly misrepresenting it.

I can assure everyone that such requests for money are not preventing baptisms. They cover costs of events in parishes. Yes, they also were a historical method to pay the priest who was impoverished himself. If someone had no money then they would not be denied. My personal policy is not to ask for anything but I did not refuse a gift if it is offered.

Protestants are making a nothingburger out of a minimal fee many Greek Churches have because baptisms are usually large celebrations, not empty “symbols.” This covers baptismal robe, candles, perhaps icons, and the celebration feast after. Many churches simply ask for a donation. This is nothing, btw, compared to most fundie churches which demand 10% tithe whereas most orthodox churches leave it all voluntary. This is just more ignorant moral gotchas because they have no intellectual arguments for their sects.

It must be so miserable being an atheist

Paul? You’re not a ‘non-resistant’ non-believer if you demand God meet your terms. In Orthodoxy, God reveals Himself to the humble, not the proud. He’s not hidden. You just won’t see Him until you lay down your pride, stop treating Him like a lab experiment, and repent.

Orthodox Saints answer the question: do Muslims and jews worship the Christian God? 🧵

This reading of history is stupid. Whatever you think of the reign of Tsar Nicholas II. It is not the case that the orthodox allowed communists to win. Wars were fought, men died trying to prevent it. They did lose, but it rains on the righteous and unrighteous.

Holy Martyrs and Confessors of the Orthodox Faith, imprisoned and martyred under communist tyranny, pray for us!

St. Gregory of Nyssa, ratio’ing God’s enemies since 375 AD

From an atheist perspective it makes no sense to actively deconvert christians. First off, it is simply a reality that Christianity has been a net-positive for humanity. The decline of Christianity also is associated with less charity work, more depression, more authoritarianism, and collapsing birth rates. See my recent debates with Phil Zuckerman and Lawrence Krauss for references. Even if I left Christianity I’d still desire that most people in society remain christian. Second, what’s the point of evangelizing for atheism and creating more ex-christians? We, christians, believe we are saving eternal souls. But on an atheistic worldview there are no eternal souls. At best, you’ll live to about 80 and then you believe you’ll cease to exist. So why spend your few remaining days online debating with christians? Go enjoy what little time you think you have left! If you are convinced Christianity is false, do you really want to live your short life arguing with people online every day? Additionally, you won’t accomplish anything worthwhile. You’ll just convince more people to think like you, which doesn’t amount to anything positive. If successful, you’ll just create a society where we see higher rates of depression & authoritarianism, and less charity work. If atheism is true and Christianity gives many purpose and meaning, then why actively work to remove that from people? You may say it’s because you value truth, but you’re assuming truth necessarily has objective value. If there is nothing beyond the physical you can’t assume truth has objective value or is necessarily useful. What should matter is what is best for mankind, and Christianity is good for humanity, as the research shows. So let christians be happy, and you should go live the little time you think you have left enjoying what you can. Do you really want to spend most of your time in front of a computer fighting with Christians?