Understanding the excuses Proof #50 shows that Jesus is imaginary. Yet, despite the evidence that we all can see, believers make excuses to try to rationalize their belief. On this page we look at these excuses one by one. Imagine that you are talking to a devout Christian. You ask her, "Is Jesus real?" Her response might go something like this:
Excuse #1 - Jesus never promises to answer prayers Normally this excuse will be phrased with something like, "God is not a big vending machine," or "God is not your personal Genie!" And yet, there is no denying that we can find verses in the Bible where Jesus specifically promises to answer your prayers.
For example, in Matthew 7:7 Jesus says:
In Matthew 17:20 Jesus says:
In Matthew 21:21:
The message is reiterated Mark 11:24:
In John chapter 14, verses 12 through 14, Jesus tells all of us just how easy prayer can be:
In Matthew 18:19 Jesus says it again:
In Mark 9:23:
In Luke 1:37:
In other words, despite what Christians say to try to rationalize their unanswered prayers, Jesus does promise in the Bible, in many different places, that he will answer our prayers. There is no way to misinterpret what Jesus says, and these verses are not taken "out of context". Jesus clearly promises to answer prayers. It would be trivial for the all-powerful, all-loving son of God to materialize in the Flesh. Supposedly he has done it for hundreds of people. Supposedly he is in our midst already. Yet when we pray and ask him to materialize, nothing happens. For any rational adult, this proves that Jesus is imaginary, especially when you combine it with so many other proofs.
Excuse #2 - It is not Jesus' will to appear Often this excuse will be coupled with the following explanation, "Jesus is a conscious, sentient, all-knowing being. He has a will of his own, just like you do. He hears your prayer, but he has the option of answering, 'No.' We cannot know the reasons why, but Jesus has his divine reasons for never appearing on earth." This explanation, of course, directly contradicts all of the Bible verses quoted above. At another level, imagine for a moment that Jesus does exist. He is all-loving and all-powerful. He is "in our midst" already, according to Matthew 18:20. He has promised in many places to answer prayers. He supposedly hears your prayer. And then he just stands there laughing at you. "What, ME appear to YOU - you must be JOKING!!!" is what Jesus would be saying. In reality, what we have done here is create an unambiguous situation, as described in Proof #9. There is only one way for Jesus to appear in this situation: he must exist. Coincidence cannot answer this prayer. Since he does not appear, we know he is imaginary. Excuse #3 - Thou shalt not test the lord This is a really common one: "It says right in the Bible that thou shalt not test the Lord. In step 3, your prayer tests him, so of course he doesn't appear." Here's the most interesting thing about this rationalization. We are supposed to ignore all of verses in step 1 because "you can't take the Bible literally." But then we are supposed to take the verse that says, "Thou shalt not test the Lord" literally. This disconnection shows how strong the delusion of Christianity can be. Here is another interesting point: EVERY prayer is a test. If God cannot be tested, then no one can pray. It is also fascinating that millions of Christians keep prayer journals to track exactly what happens when they pray. See, for example, Prayer-journal.com, or this list of sites. Why don't these Christians pray for the resurrected Jesus to appear to them and track this prayer in their journals? Excuse #4 - It would destroy our free will if Jesus appeared to us This is the famous free will argument. Of course, if this argument were true, then God could not incarnate himself on earth. Jesus is supposed to be God. He supposedly came to earth and millions of people saw him. According to the Gospel of John:
Clearly the issue of "free will" is irrelevant. It is purely a rationalization. Jesus could appear to all of us today just like he (supposedly) appeared to millions of people when he was on earth. Excuse #5 - Jesus does appear to people - He appeared to a dozen people at the XYZ church last week The obvious response is, "Really? Can you prove that? For example, do you have a video tape showing his appearance? Did you ask Jesus a question, like 'what will be the winning PowerBall numbers next week?' that would certify his omniscience? Did you ask him to move Mt. Everest to Nevada to prove his omnipotence?" Excuse #6 - Jesus does appear to people - He appeared as an image on my breakfast toast this morning This video is typical of the genre: To rational people, these are called coincidences. If Jesus was going to appear to you as he did in the Bible, he would appear in the flesh as a living, breathing person.Excuse #7 - Jesus does not appear to me, but he does speak to me every day and guide me in everything I do. To rational people, these are called hallucinations. Since Jesus is an all-knowing being, if he were actually talking to you, he would be able to tell you things that no one else knows. You, as a person channeling Jesus, would be the smartest person on earth. You would ace every test you took. You would never make mistakes. You would know what the winning PowerBall numbers would be next week. You would be able to solve world hunger. Etc. The fact that none of these things are happening shows us that you are hallucinating. Drawing a conclusion Here are the facts:
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