That's true, as far as it goes. However, may I draw your attention to Romans 1:20, which states:
New International Version (©1984)
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
This sentence is basically saying that because of... everything... we know God exists, right? That's what they mean by "understood from what has been made". What an utterly ridiculous argument to make in the 21st century. It's just bat shit crazy to say that now. The people back then believed lightning, earthquakes, volcanoes, and just about everything that happened to them in the world (good or bad) had some sort of causative agent behind it (they named it god). But nobody sees things that way anymore. Do you look at lighting and think, "Wow, look at God's eternal power and divine nature", even though we have a completely fine understanding of it in terms of it being a naturally occurring phenomena? Do you see the moon up in the sky and think about how great God is for moving it across the sky for us, even though it's easily understood as moving naturally under the force of gravity? Of course not, because you're not an idiot; but the people back then... they DID think those things.
In our modern times, everywhere you look, what you see is evidence that there is no supernatural force at work. That the world works naturally and SCIENCE is what has given us the ability to overcome this ancient nonsensical position. So isn't it possible that those people were just too ignorant to see the world any other way... so they made up god to explain things? Just like every other religion that has ever been invented does? Honestly, can you tell me that's not possible? Move past that brick wall of faith you've erected inside your brain, and see if you can find any flaws in that argument. Why do we have to explain this stuff to you? Why can't you see this for yourself that they were clearly just wrong? I don't get it. You're not 5 anymore, and this isn't rocket science.
Based on reason, logic and evidence, the phrase from Romans is undeniably false. I have every reason to reject God and so do you. EVERY reason. So I ask you what is more likely? That there exists an invisible sky man who literally hides every bit of evidence from all of us, even though a magic book says 'everything exists, therefore the Christian God'... Or the people who wrote it were so scientifically ignorant that they saw God's fingerprints on everything as a means of explanation? The answer is obvious. Your book is just wrong. Just like it's wrong about so many other things.
So, if there was somebody who had genuinely never for a moment suspected somewhere in their heart that God was real, that person may have some excuse. But the bible says that is not the case ( although I don't know how this applies to those who, due to age or illness, are unable to think about God. )
Which God? And why do you think the bible is correct here? Just because you do? Or can you point to any sort of evidence that it's right?
Most users here seem to be former believers who decided the scientific evidence disproved God, or who were disillusioned that they couldn't see the proof of God or didn;t experience God the way others claimed to ( and if you're honest, the way they genuinely seemed to.
God isn't real. The former believers on this site were wrong about God, and now they're right. All you have to do is open your eyes. But you won't. You're more than happy to stay brainwashed thinking that everyone is evil and that we all deserve death, and that you, for some reason, have found the correct religion, even though every religious person in the world thinks that about their religion too.
Jesus said "knock and the door shall be opened unto you, seek and you shall find", and He gave examples to indicate that sometimes perseverance is needed. I believe the Holy Spirit is available as a gift to all those who genuinely, sometimes persistently, seek Him.
And lots of other people say that's just not true. Maybe you should hear them out instead of just blindly sticking to your ancient superstition.
I just think the entire premise is so dumb. You're saying that the difference between getting the greatest gift in the history of the universe all rides on the difference between a please and a pretty please with sugar on top. How stupid is that?
Here is the other possibility, magicmiles. What if you've just been brainwashed to believe he's there when he's really not? That could also explain why I don't believe and you do, couldn't it? Isn't that EXACTLY what the case would be with ANY other religion on the planet other than your super special God version? I mean, if a Thor worshiper said I wasn't seeking Thor with all my heart, would you say he was right, or that he was delusional and Thor doesn't exist? When you realize that's all I'm doing to you, maybe you'll see how embarrassingly stupid the entire premise of Christianity is.
I refer again to the Roman scripture, and wonder if you have ever had a time, even a moment, when you have known somewhere within you that God is real.
No. I really haven't. I was never a believer. I do not think my mind works like that.
For a good portion of my life, the question of religion was as important to me as knowing the average temperature at the north pole. I just didn't care. Now, after digging into it a lot, I do not believe my mind is set up to work the way yours does. I won't blindly believe the things I read in the bible (or any other book) just because it's old and some people seem to think holds truth. I need more than that. Maybe that's because nobody drilled God into me; or maybe I'm just way less gullible than you. The fact is, the bible doesn't hold truth. Every facet of biblical Christianity that is critical to the faith is more likely untrue than true. Examples: It is more likely untrue that Jesus rose from the dead. It is more likely untrue that God created the world in 6 days. It is more likely untrue that Jesus was born from a virgin. It is more likely untrue that God sent himself down to Earth to sacrifice himself to himself so we could be free to do bad things and still get to the happy place when we die. Nonsense, all of it.
I'm sorry if some of the things I said in this post were offensive to you, but you're just so obviously wrong here. God isn't real, and it's frustrating as hell trying to get you to see that when you obviously can't seem to get past your faith wall and look at the others side of the argument with an open mind.
I think the key to getting some sort of understanding on this is to grasp just how holy God is and to then realise how evil we are. And I think the problem we all struggle with is an inability to do this very well. I will certainly say that it must be almost impossibly hard for non-believers to see God as being so holy, and His need for justice so strong, that He wipes out sin completely. I find it mind-blowing myself.
I found this essay useful in reminding myself that at my core I am a helpless sinner:
Here is yet another possibility, magicmiles. You are a good person. Your son is a good person. Everyone you surround yourself with every day is a good person. God doesn't exist, but you believe He does because you've been brainwashed to believe so. When you see tragedy in the world, that thought that goes through your mind about how a loving God could ever do such a thing, is trying to make you see the truth, and you should be listening to it. The reason you find the notion that God wants to wipe out sin 'mind blowing' is because it's an utter crock of shit. You've never sinned in your life because to sin is a crime against God, and there is no God to begin with. Sometimes you do bad things just like everyone else, but that's because you're human, not evil.
At the very least, PLEASE do not pass your superstitious nonsense on to your child. Do you really want him going through life thinking every person he meets is evil? That is father is evil? Have you told him that you think HE is evil? If you don't find that disgusting, then you're just not right in the head.