Chapter 9: “God isn’t defined. God cannot be comprehended or described. One must simply have faith.”

Boy oh boy! How I regret to have chosen to read this complete nonsense!!
Nonsense Number 1: “ an appeal to faith is also an abandonment of reason.”
How much worse can you get? The sky is the limit, hahaha!
What I can say is this: “Soap and education . . .” hahaha
I am not interested in what other people think or believe.
10 unusual finds that challenged scientific beliefs: https://listverse.com/2019/01/30/10-unusual-finds-that-challenged-scient...
10 debunked scientific beliefs of the past: https://listverse.com/2009/01/19/10-debunked-scientific-beliefs-of-the-p...
I am not taking criticism from the scientific community. They have no ethical authority, to me they have no authority at all. They mean nothing to me. Let them stop wasting all those billion dollars in cancer research and find a cure for tumors and then MAYBE we can talk.
Evolution and cases of fraud, hoaxes and speculation: https://www.conservapedia.com/Evolution_and_Cases_of_Fraud,_Hoaxes_and_S...
The statement that appeal to belief is abandonment of reason is so stupid a retarded monkey can do better.
My belief in God strengthened the moment I started verifying that my belief in practicing the Gospel produced the effects that the same Gospel attributes to God. I could not care less about having the green light from the scientific community. It would be as though I asked someone with cerebral palsy to teach me to repair a computer.
I have faith in God. My way of communicating my faith is very simple and has nothing to do with Armin’s theories: try practicing the Gospel and you will get to see the results. But of course, people are too stupid to accept my challenge and I never managed to “convert” anyone. Still, that does not bother me: Jesus came to earth and tried to convert the Jews but He – God – failed. Simply because God does not want to impose Himself. You are free to choose whether you want to believe or not. I am one of the lucky few who quit his previous life and job in order to try. I suffered enormously, because I had to learn by myself from scratch, but today I am perfectly happy that I did. My option includes some reason too. But I would not like it so much if reason was the only tool in this process. First of all, with reason you do not get anywhere. Second, you run the risk of screwing your brain and become like Armin.
On the contrary, to me reason is fundamental when I have to cook, clean my arse, repair a computer, overhaul a car or a motorbike and plenty of irrelevant operations such as those.
Apart from that, I avoid the interference of reason, because I like the artistic touch, the eccentric line of thought and talk, the original touch in life’s occupations, lateral thinking, creativity and the like. Things that add spice to life, because in the long run rational talk bores me to tears.
The day I start believing that if I make a claim I have to back it up with evidence I will know the time has come to disappear from the face of this earth.
Armin talks about pottery and diamond necklaces, but they are not God, they bring no fancy surprises to my life, they are just worthless objects like the vast amount that fill this earth. I too would apply reason to them if it was not that I am not interested either in pottery or in necklaces. I am much more at ease with the challenge to disassemble a laptop - to replace the motherboard and reassemble the lot .
“Reality exists independently of your beliefs” says Armin. And I say “God exists independently of the whole scientific community.” The whole scientific community could disappear and the world would naturally go on all the same. Nothing is indispensable.
Whether you accept that or not, is perfectly indifferent to me.
This is the kind of language I like:

Matthew 13 New International Version (NIV)
The Parable of the Sower
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’[a]

16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

The Parable of the Weeds
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

I think maybe today I shall not be posting my comments to Chapter 11 because I have more important things to do. We shall see.