Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives - Religion - Nairaland
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Can You Be Good Without GOD?? / Why Do People Reject God? / Paula White: Without Walls Or Without God? (2) (3) (4)
| Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by Nobody: 3:42pm On Oct 29, 2011 |
Contrary to the claims of atheists and agnostics through the centuries, man cannot live without God. Man can have a mortal existence without acknowledging God, but not without the fact of God. As the Creator, God originated human life. To say that man can exist apart from God is to say that a watch can exist without a watchmaker or a story can exist without a storyteller. We owe our being to the God in whose image we are made (Genesis 1:27). Our existence depends on God, whether we acknowledge His existence or not. As the Sustainer, God continuously confers life (Psalm 104:10-32). He is life (John 14:6), and all creation is held together by the power of Christ (Colossians 1:17). Even those who reject God receive their sustenance from Him: “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45). To think that man can live without God is to suppose a sunflower can continue to live without light or a rose without water. As the Savior, God gives eternal life to those who believe. In Christ is life, which is the light of men (John 1:4). Jesus came that we may have life “and have it to the full” (John 10:10). All who place their trust in Him are promised eternity with Him (John 3:15-16). For man to live—truly live—he must know Christ (John 17:3). Without God, man has physical life only. God warned Adam and Eve that on the day they rejected Him they would “surely die” (Genesis 2:17). As we know, they did disobey, but they did not die physically that day; rather, they died spiritually. Something inside them died—the spiritual life they had known, the communion with God, the freedom to enjoy Him, the innocence and purity of their soul—it was all gone. Adam, who had been created to live and fellowship with God, was cursed with a completely carnal existence. What God had intended to go from dust to glory now was to go from dust to dust. Just like Adam, the man without God today still functions in an earthly existence. Such a person may seem to be happy; after all, there is enjoyment and pleasure to be had in this life. But even those enjoyments and pleasures cannot be fully received without a relationship with God. Some who reject God live lives of diversion and merriment. Their fleshly pursuits seem to yield a carefree and gratified existence. The Bible says there is a certain measure of delight to be had in sin (Hebrews 11:25). The problem is that it is temporary; life in this world is short (Psalm 90:3-12). Sooner or later, the hedonist, like the prodigal son in the parable, finds that worldly pleasure is unsustainable (Luke 15:13-15). Not everyone who rejects God is an empty pleasure-seeker, however. There are many unsaved people who live disciplined, sober lives—happy and fulfilled lives, even. The Bible presents certain moral principles which will benefit anyone in this world—fidelity, honesty, self-control, etc. But, again, without God man has only this world. Getting smoothly through this life is no guarantee that we are ready for the afterlife. See the parable of the rich farmer in Luke 12:16-21 and Jesus’ exchange with the rich (but very moral) young man in Matthew 19:16-23. Without God, man is unfulfilled, even in his mortal life. Man is not at peace with his fellow man because he is not at peace with himself. Man is restless with himself because he has no peace with God. The pursuit of pleasure for pleasure’s sake is a sign of inner turmoil. Pleasure seekers throughout history have found over and over that the temporary diversions of life give way to a deeper despair. The nagging feeling that “something is wrong” is hard to shake off. King Solomon gave himself to a pursuit of all this world has to offer, and he recorded his findings in the book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon discovered [/b]that knowledge, in and of itself, is futile (Ecclesiastes 1:12-18). He found that pleasure and wealth are futile (2:1-11), materialism is folly (2:12-23), and riches are fleeting (chapter 6). [b]Solomon concludes that life is God’s gift (3:12-13) and the only wise way to live is to fear God: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (12:13-14). In other words, there is more to life than the physical dimension. Jesus stresses this point when He says, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Not bread (the physical) but God’s Word (the spiritual) keeps us alive. It is useless for us to search within ourselves for the cure to all our miseries. Man can only find life and fulfillment when he acknowledges God. Without God, man’s destiny is hell. The man without God is spiritually dead; when his physical life is over, he faces eternal separation from God. In Jesus’ narrative of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), the rich man lives a pleasurable life of ease without a thought of God, while Lazarus suffers through his life but knows God. It is after their deaths that both men truly comprehend the gravity of the choices they made in life. The rich man realized, too late, that there is more to life than the pursuit of wealth. Meanwhile, Lazarus is comforted in paradise. For both men, the short duration of their earthly existence paled in comparison to the permanent state of their souls. Man is a unique creation. God has set a sense of eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11), and that sense of timeless destiny can only find its fulfillment in God Himself. Original Article |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by manmustwac(m): 7:39pm On Oct 29, 2011 |
[size=16pt]I just cleaned up the mess.[/size] |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by Nobody: 7:50pm On Oct 29, 2011 |
^ Thank You !  |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by Jenwitemi(m): 8:13pm On Oct 29, 2011 |
People only reject the God put forward by religions like christianity simply because they are repulsed by him, bigot frosbel. Read the OT for confirmation. And yes, man can live without the bible god. It is even quite easy to do so since billions have been doing it for a long long time and they are still doing it. |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by Nobody: 8:20pm On Oct 29, 2011 |
^ Only 'children' resort to name calling. Forbid it that I should resort to your type of juvenile behaviour. Argue your case with some maturity, a little will suffice. |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by duke4ever: 9:21pm On Oct 29, 2011 |
frosbel:hey! Easy now. He only bared his mind. |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by Jenwitemi(m): 9:23pm On Oct 29, 2011 |
Nothing to do with being juvenile, bigot frosbel. I am only telling you what you are with the title "bigot". And you should be glad. Afterall, you are a "bigot in christ" which makes you Jesus' favourite.  frosbel: |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by Nobody: 9:24pm On Oct 29, 2011 |
Jenwitemi: if it gives you the thrills, feel free and go ahead , anything that makes you happy But please can you address the post, otherwise your abuse will be seen as avoiding the subject ! |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by Nobody: 9:27pm On Oct 29, 2011 |
Jenwitemi: if it gives you the thrills, feel free and go ahead , anything that makes you happy But please can you address the post, otherwise your abuse will be seen as avoiding the subject ! |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by duke4ever: 10:02pm On Oct 29, 2011 |
Jenwitemi:what is the meaning of this sort of life(Godlessness) without a purpose? If u have ur bible, I would like u to check Psalm 37:9,11,34. Dude, this life is not all there is. There is reward - good or bad, for all our deeds in life. Jehova loves you and want you 2 draw close to him and also serve him out of love not the morbid fear of the purported 'fire' punishment which is only but simbolic in any usage of it in the bible. The punishment for sin is death, shikenah! @ topic, a faithful servant of God in the past wondered also why the evil or wicked people prosper. That was Asaph. It got to a point that he became dissapointed and discouraged 2 carry out his God-given task. But the truth behind this seemingly prosperity and success against belief in God is miserableness and purposelessness of their lives. Read it up @ Psalm 73: 2-8. He later came to see the other side of their lives @ Psalm 73:15,16. Eventually, Asaph came to realise what was in store for the wicked(practicers of sin) - that Jehovah would ultimately set matters straight. (Pasalm 73: 17-19). David also wrote: "Hope in Jehovah and keep his way, and he will exalt you to take possession of the earth. When the (sinners) will be cut off, you will see it." - Psalm 37:9, 11, 34. There a no reasonable person after seeing the marvelous creation of God would still believe that there is no maker that deserves to be praise and worshiped. my pence |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by ronkebp(f): 10:33pm On Oct 29, 2011 |
A Godless person is a FOOL ( don't lookt at me) the Bible says it. Psalm 14, The fool says in his heart there is no God, '' and so on and so forth. They may seem to live a happy life, but deep down there is a vacuum, an empty space, that nothing can fill, sex can't fill it, riches cannot fill it, drinking (enough shaayooo) cannot fill it, no amount of clubbing can fill that hollow, the only person that can make your life complete is God (Christ). 1 Like |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by duke4ever: 11:36pm On Oct 29, 2011 |
yes, everyone needs God in his/her life, but what is more important is having the right knowledge about God, coz as they say: 'All that glitters is not gold'. Any road that comes with seemingly godliness may be false. First of all we need acknowledge that Jehovah created us as an expression of his love, and understand that he is the supreme one who deserves our exclusive devotion. |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by tpia5: 11:39pm On Oct 29, 2011 |
@ topic 1. the same reason why many christian marriages end in divorce while many non-christian couples are living happily together even though they dont know Christ. it all boils down to discipline, personal ethics, and moral values. 2. happiness is a very subjective term. 3. your thread title has two questions in it. i'm responding to the 2nd one. the answer to the first question is no. 1 Like |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by joyuchesun: 2:02am On Oct 30, 2011 |
Man can live without the god of the bible. And oftentimes it is better that they do. Because the bible is solely based on the interpretation of the reader, some who have interpreted it in a negative way, have created a god that instructs or compels them to do terrible things. This god, man can live without. 1 Like |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by Jenwitemi(m): 4:22am On Oct 30, 2011 |
If the gods of the world religions are the basis for determining whether certain people are "godly" or "godless" then christians like you should also be considered as "Godless" because you do not accept the islam's Allah as God in the eyes of a muslim. And the same will go for a hindu who will also see you as "godless" for not believing in Shiva or Vishnu. What do you think of this, duke4ever? How can your life have a purpose without Allah, Shiva or Vishnu? duke4ever: |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by duke4ever: 7:10am On Oct 30, 2011 |
tpia@:what u are talking about is 'self-righteousness' and discipline. No doubt, some people who do not live by bible principles more often than not appear seemingly happy. If u check my prevoius response, you would see some Biblical injunctions portraying the other side such people's live as opposed to the one on the outside. Remember that marriage as ur only example is not the only christian living. I'll give an instance from the bible, and u if borther so much ask me the qoutation later. During Jesus' earthly ministry, we read of a Rich-young-man who came to him and enquired: ''Lord what will I do to inherit God's kingdom?'' Jesus in answer made reference 2 the mosaic law, mentioning the ten commandments of God like stealing, fornication etc, and asked the man if he has been keeping all of it. The fact is that this rich young man has be living by this mosaic law and keeping then as a tradition and not even recognizing the author of such law. But Jesus recognising what was missing told him: ''Go sell all u have, and come be my follower''. The man saw it as an insult and left Jesus. Jesus was in a way telling us that there is more to being self righteous or keeping common man's tradition as law of God the almighty. If living by human philosophy and self righteousness were the altimate, Jesus wouldn't have come to rescue man from sin by his propitiatory sacrifice. My brother, many marriages fail today across divides of belief, there is no point making it exclusively christian thing. Living a self-righteous life is not the in-thing. There is more to that my brother. Nice sunday. |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by harakiri(m): 7:21am On Oct 30, 2011 |
ronkebp: This is coming from someone who wouldn't have been a Christian today if her forefathers weren't brainwashed by the slave merchants. This is coming from someone who can't prove the authenticity her bible being the true word of the creator rather all she can regurgitate are bits and pieces of what she has been fed with during Sunday-Sunday brainwashing sessions. This is coming from someone who believes she was created from dirt and magic. This is coming from someone who believes Noah fitted all the animals on earth in an ark (that's no bigger than a small tugboat). This is coming from someone who believes donkeys and serpents can talk. This is coming from someone who believes a man can lives in the belly of a fish for THREE DAYS without air,food,water. . .all because the bible says so. This is coming from someone who has been indoctrinated with Christianity from childhood and lacks the capacity to think independently outside religion. And yet. . .We that don't believe in god are FOOLS? If we are fools, what does that make you? Do you know how stoopid,reetard,foolish,dumb and dense your position is? 1 Like |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by duke4ever: 7:41am On Oct 30, 2011 |
joyuchesun:Yes I agree. Some have interpreted the bible wrongly making it hard for some people to discern the real truth of the bible. Ever come across this book 'What does the Bible Really Teach', published by Jehovah's Witnesses? Am reading it now and the information therein is quite timely and accurate. Jehovah's Witnesses in ur area of dimicile can get it accross to you. |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by duke4ever: 7:42am On Oct 30, 2011 |
joyuchesun:Yes I agree. Some have interpreted the bible wrongly making it hard for some people to discern the real truth of the bible. Ever come across this book 'What does the Bible Really Teach', published by Jehovah's Witnesses? Am reading it now and the information therein is quite timely and accurate. Jehovah's Witnesses in ur area of dimicile can get it accross to you. |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by divinereal: 7:44am On Oct 30, 2011 |
I am so proud of the Nigerian freethinking community on Nairaland (Harakiri et all). You don't let this religous fanatics slide, they get checked every single time. You guys/gals are AWESOME and give me a lot of hope for our country. It isn't a lot of minds needed to move a society forward, just a few. We are those few that will plant the seeds of rational thinking and reason in the people. Frosbel and co, you cannot use the bible to affirm that people are fools because they don't believe in your Jewish god of war that is circular reasoning. Circular reasoning is a formal logical fallacy in which the proposition to be proved is assumed implicitly or explicitly in one of the premises. For example: "Only an untrustworthy person would run for office. The fact that politicians are untrustworthy is proof of this." Such an argument is fallacious, because it relies upon its own proposition — "politicians are untrustworthy" — in order to support its central premise. Essentially, the argument assumes that its central point is already proven, and uses this in support of itself. Circular reasoning is different from the informal logical fallacy "begging the question", as it is fallacious due to a flawed logical structure and not the individual falsity of an unstated hidden co-premise as begging the question is. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_reasoning |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by tpia5: 7:59am On Oct 30, 2011 |
@ duke4ever the question was why do people who reject God live seemingly happy lives. My point wasnt that all of them live happy lives, but that many of them can teach christians a thing or two when it comes to things like personal ethics, priorities and self discipline. That's all, and no need for argument. |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by claremont(m): 8:19am On Oct 30, 2011 |
Human beings do NOT need religion to define morality for them, the capacity to do moral actions is innate in all human beings. Why should I rely on a religion whose entire premise is based on human sacrifice and celestial dictatorship to tell me what it means to be good/bad?! The reason a belief in the existence of a deity is NOT necessary to live a good life is simply because a God/gods does NOT exist anywhere. God/gods did not make man, it was the foolishness of primitive men that created a God/gods to explain away the origins of things they did not understand. Unfortunately, this same primitive thinking is still being upheld by supposedly highly educated people today, it's simply none-sense! |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by Nobody: 9:29am On Oct 30, 2011 |
.... |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by duke4ever: 9:38am On Oct 30, 2011 |
Jenwitemi:I know u can also ask if it's possible for someone's life 2 have purpose without Chineke or Olise. The last time I checked Islam talkes belief in Allah as the one and only true God. Sure we may have different names, but his real and original name, which no man nor other gods can bear is Jehovah. Psalms 83:18. Understanding the basic facts and truth about Jehovah God is the problem in the world, hense the confusion and differences. Pls do understand that not everthing that wears the toga of christianity is a true follower of Christ Jesus. May be we should have a little look @ the authenticity of the bible as true word of God the almighty. The bible was written by some 40 different men over a period of time and places. Despite that, through the inpiration of the Holy spirit wrote God's thaught, and not theirs. For instance, the song composer king David we read wrote about his adultry with the wife of Uriah, Abigeil. In a bid to cover up his sin, killed the woman's husband. Jehovah later punished him for that. Unlike other writers David exposed himself and the cosequencies therefrom to server as a deterent to others. Another example is the Apostle Paul who was a foremost persecutor of Christ followers before he got converted. This and many more he put down in writing. I could go on and on, but let me go to another part. The Bible scriptures, despite being written in different places over a period of time still agree with each other. The scriptures written in diff places and circumstances do not contradict each other in any way. Most of them alluded from each other's writeup to a make point. No wonder the bible says that men(that wrote the Bible) spoke as they were borne along by holy spirit 2Peter 1:21. Another fact is the fulfilment of biblical prophesies. All have been accurate and unfolding as it gets. Let me point out some of the recent prophesies we see fulfiling now. Great majority don't know why there is turn of event in this time starting from 1914 till date. The first world war came, destroyed, and calmed with the help of some peace keeping organizations that erupted thereafter. When it was taught it was 'uhuru' another bloody war dashed in, the 2nd world war in 19 fourty something, claiming oceans of blood which many religeous leaders were @ the forefront leading and killing in the name of God. Too bad!! After this, other fractional, religeous, ethno-religeous, sectarian, terrorism(even in our own country Nigeria) war continued unabated till date. The bible shows that things will continue to be bad until Jehovah wades in fully. Read about it @ Matthew 24:3-14; 2Timothy 3:1-5. Read it with descernment and u will come to understand that there can never be any other true word of God accept the bible. Ever tried Jehovah's Witnesses in their teaching of the truth about God? I pray thee, do. God promised that soon he will destroy man's Government, Daniel 2: 44 and install his heavenly rulership which will reign to time indefinit. He also says that humans will inhabit the earth again under his rulership when this earth becomes a paradise. Wicked men causing terror and all sorts bad things shall be cut off from this earth. Psalm 37:9-11, 29; Rev 21:4. This must shurely come to pass. We have abundant evidence to believe this as a fact coming from Jehovah himself. Find out about his true religion on earth today. 1 They don't engage in politics(they believe and proclaim christ as the rightful king of God's kingdom. That's the only one they campaign for. 2 They don't engage in warfare of any sort be it religeous, ethnic, racial, national, or whatever 3 They believe in an only true God and his name is Jehovah. Psalm 83: 18. 4 They take seriously the command to preach the goodnews to people of all the nations, doing it exactly the way their master Jesus commissioned it to be. 5 Their daily lives and living as christians is governed by the principles found in God's word the bible. 6 They do not eat blood. Leviticus 7:26; Genesis 9:4. 7 They believe that soon earth will turn paradise for humans to inhabit viva. Rev. 21:4 8 They worship only one God, not Trinity. I can go on and on, but let me stop here for now. you already know the religion am talking about? To cap it all, we need Jehovah God in our lives and we need to find his representative religeous organization on earth that possesses the above listed qualities found in his word the bible and associate with it. |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by duke4ever: 9:50am On Oct 30, 2011 |
tpia@:Actually, not all who claim or appear to be Godly are really. Many belie the claim by their conduct. My point is on giving one's life a meaning, pinning and defining it. That can only be possible when one learns about God and his son Jesus Christ. John 17:3. |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by duke4ever: 10:03am On Oct 30, 2011 |
Greggj:let's look @ it this way. Some one wanders in a tick forest and comes across a very fine beautiful house. Will it be sane for the person to reason that the house came by chance and had no builder? Can someone answer me |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by duke4ever: 10:11am On Oct 30, 2011 |
claremont:morality is acquired bro. What do u know about NATURE and NUTURE? If u happen to be wandering in a big forest and saw a well built and painted house, would u conclude that the house had no builder? |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by claremont(m): 10:43am On Oct 30, 2011 |
duke4ever:We don't know how the house came about, neither do we claim to know how it came about; but what we do know is that a belief in a God/gods does not explain away how the house came to be. If you do believe that because you see a house, it then means there must be a builder somewhere, the real question is how then did the builder come to be?! Who created the creator?! Surely, it is foolishness to assume that the creator conjured up himself! 1 Like |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by Nobody: 12:44pm On Oct 30, 2011 |
@duke4ever well said with your comments. |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by Sweetnecta: 3:48pm On Oct 30, 2011 |
frosbel is to unsure of himself that he is running between Jesoul, manmustwac, etc, etc, to keep his threads what he deems okay in his mind. He hates voice of dissension. Where will this one track mind lead you? While you are fighting a losing battle here, Alhamdulillah, Allah is changing the minds of people into Islam in Nigeria. From authentic igbo bloodline, we see people entering Islam, even now. Carry on your e-christian warrior mindset. You will be defeated, inchaAllah. 1 Like |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by Nobody: 4:01pm On Oct 30, 2011 |
Sweetnecta: Though I have personally never seen an Igbo Muslim in my entire life both home and abroad , even if this were to be the case it changes nothing. Just like you have millions of Christians in the north , you also have millions of mostly muslim yourubas in the south. The crux of the matter is not the number of people chanting ALLAH is GREAT but those few who are living a HOLY life in worship and LOVE for GOD. As Jesus said , the way to life is narrow and few there be that fine it. On the contrary with ISLAM everything goes, no quality just quantity. But I have 2 questions : 1. Why do you spend more time in this section than your ALLAH section. 2. Why not respond to this article, you can raise a new article for the purpose of discussing your problems. But do not derail from the topic. Thanks. |
| Re: Can man live without God? Why do people who reject God seem to live happy lives by tpia5: 4:06pm On Oct 30, 2011 |
the thread isnt about igbos nah. is frosbel igbo?  |
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