"It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon" - Existence of God as a Matter of Course

Tokyo viewed from Mt. Takao

Existence of God as a Matter of Course

It is said that "The existence of God is a subject of debate in the philosophy of religion and popular culture (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existence_of_God)."

However, Christ Jesus did not prove that the God existed although He did not deny the existence of Satan.

From the beginning, if the God should exist but He did not have any relations with the human beings, there would be no use for the God for human beings.  Even if the God had created this universe and the human beings but had no interest in the human beings and was indifferent about the human beings, it would be useless for men to think about the God and pray to Him.

But if the God was in the position where He would be called the father in Heaven of the human beings, as Christ Jesus mentioned, the God must have the significant meaning for the human beings.

In this context, the following words of Christ Jesus should be reviewed:

Joh:5:24: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 

If we believe in the Gospel ad Christ Jesus, He was sent to this world by the God.  And if we believe the word of Christ Jesus, we will be given everlasting life and can avoid condemnation.  Finally, we will be lifted up from the world of death to life.

If this teaching is true, everybody who is not brainwashed and controlled by Satan would believe in Christ Jesus.  And, everybody will believe existence of the God beyond any arguments or theories that deny existence of God.

In other word, if one believes in Christ Jesus, he or she will not doubt existence of the God.

Put simply, we may say that the proof of existence of God is that Christ Jesus, who is the greatest man in the human history, took existence of the God as a matter of course.

Conversely, if one denies Christ Jesus who claimed that He was the Son of the God, nobody else, including Satan, never promises eternal life.  Satan might promise people rich and successful lives only if they follow Satan, but those who follow Satan should surely finally fall into the hell, according the Bible.

Poor men who have nothing to protect themselves with would surely believe in Christ Jesus.  But rich men who have money, social status, and many other things to protect themselves with would not find a need to follow Christ Jesus, believe His words, and love the poor like Christ Jesus.   

From another point of view, when one is in a crisis and danger without any means to cope with it, it is natural that he or she asks help from the God.

In this case, one thinks that the God can change a situation and execute a miracle to save a man.  And, based on the fact that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have survived up to today, we may say that there were many cases where the God had changed situations and executed miracles in the human history to save people.

Without many such untold cases, Christianity must have faded away at a certain past point in history.

Finally, we have to believe existence of the God, since Christ Jesus, the greatest man in history, took it as a matter of course.


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M't:11:21: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
M't:11:22: But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
M't:11:23: And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
M't:11:24: But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

"When a strong man armed keepeth his palace" - Where Faith is Tested

Tokyo

Where Faith is Tested

It is said in the Bible that nothing is impossible with the God.

However, it is not said in the Bible that God would immediately make those who believe in him materially rich and happy.  It is also not said that whoever believes existence of God will be allowed to enter Heaven only for his or her recognition.

But Christ Jesus said:

M't:5:3: Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
M't:5:4: Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
M't:5:5: Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
M't:5:6: Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

This teaching means that those who are materially rich, happy, strong, or evil are not loved by the God regardless of their belief in existence of God.

When a man is poor, unhappy, weak, or righteous, he cannot rely on money, other people, and worldly custom or law.  But the God should take care of him, according to Christ Jesus.  If this teaching of Christ Jesus is false, Christianity must have been forgotten at any point of time in these 2000 years.   If people will think that the God never saves those who are poor, unhappy, or righteous, Christianity should be forgotten.

However, even rich, happy, strong, and evil people sometimes wanted good luck and support from spirits (or even from Satan), since nobody can completely control his or her own fate.  From the beginning, nobody can decide when, where, and how he or she would be born into this world.  At the bottom of their hearts, even rich people know they are powerless against their fates.

But it seems that with power of money, most of worldly troubles could be fixed and most of material desires could be satisfied.  So, everybody wants money.

However, it is well recognized that with power of the God, spiritual troubles could be fixed and mental desires could be satisfied.  So, Christianity has survived.

Money cannot completely fix a problem.  Money is accompanied by selfishness, hatred, ignorance, falsehood, fear, cruelty, and evil.  And rich people would rather make others poor and unhappy for them to be rich.

Poor and weak people who cannot ask help from others or have no means to save themselves while being victimized by rich people would pray to the God and call His name for His help, if they know that the God loves such people.  They would rather ask help from the God even if they are not sure about existence of God.

If experiences in the human history proved that there is no God, there is no meaning in asking help from the God and it is useless to have faith in God.  And if nobody had ever been saved by the God, Christianity should have been lost in these 2000 years.

Rather, it is thought that many believers in the God have been saved from their predicaments and hardships in these 2000 years.  There must have been many such cases in the history, but most of them must have been untold, since these were mostly personal.

I this cruel world, those who are poor, weak, and handicapped are powerless and easily victimized by those who are rich, strong, and fortunate.  As they are so poor, weak, and powerless, they often have nothing but the God to ask help from.  And, in these 2000 years, there must have been many cases where those poor, weak, and handicapped people were saved spiritually with some necessary material help by the God, which shows that there is nothing impossible with the God.

But witness for these cases is usually not so widely announced.  People would say that they have been saved as they had good fortune, but would not say often that they have been saved as the God helped them.

Probably, if they admitted that the God had saved them, they should think that they are obliged to always and fully observe the teaching of the God, which they cannot do.  And if they cannot show full obedience and gratitude to the God, people around them might blame them.  Therefor, even if they understood that they had been saved by the God rather than power of money would not loudly talk about their cases.  They might say that they were fortunate and lucky.  And they may try to believe that their riddance of hardships was due to good luck but not due to help from the God.

What is more, help from the God might not come while poor, weak, and handicapped people are living in this world, although Christ Jesus assured that they would be welcomed in Heaven.  This is a crucial point where faith is tested.  If a poor, weak, or handicapped man believes in God and Heaven, he or she would be finally saved in Heaven after his or her living in this world.  Based on this conviction, Christianity has survived in these 2000 years.

Conversely, the fact that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have survived up to today is itself a proof of existence of the God.


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Lu:11:20: But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.
Lu:11:21: When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:
Lu:11:22: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.
Lu:11:23: He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.

"And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary" - The Highest Spiritual Event in 1273

Around Tokyo

The Highest Spiritual Event in 1273

Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–1274) wrote a great book to try to present his theory on the God and Christianity.

It consists of three parts. Part I treats of God, who is the "first cause, himself uncaused" (primum movens immobile) and as such existent only in act (actu) – that is, pure actuality without potentiality, and therefore without corporeality. His essence is actus purus et perfectus. This follows from the fivefold proof for the existence of God; namely, there must be a first mover, unmoved, a first cause in the chain of causes, an absolutely necessary being, an absolutely perfect being, and a rational designer. In this connection the thoughts of the unity, infinity, unchangeability, and goodness of the highest being are deduced. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summa_Theologica)

However, he abandoned the effort to further elaborate his theory as he met the God spiritually:

It is traditionally held that on one occasion, in 1273 at the Dominican convent of Naples in the chapel of Saint Nicholas, after Matins, Thomas lingered and was seen by the sacristan Domenic of Caserta to be levitating in prayer with tears before an icon of the crucified Christ. Christ said to Thomas, "You have written well of me, Thomas. What reward would you have for your labor?" Thomas responded, "Nothing but you, Lord."After this exchange something happened, but Thomas never spoke of it or wrote it down....

 On 6 December 1273, another mystical experience took place. While he was celebrating Mass, he experienced an unusually long ecstasy. Because of what he saw, he abandoned his routine and refused to dictate to his socius Reginald of Piperno. When Reginald begged him to get back to work, Thomas replied: "Reginald, I cannot, because all that I have written seems like straw to me" (mihi videtur ut palea). As a result, the Summa Theologica would remain uncompleted. What exactly triggered Thomas's change in behavior is believed by Catholics to have been some kind of supernatural experience of God. After taking to his bed, he did recover some strength.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Aquinas)

The God acknowledged Aquinas' effort and accepted Aquinas' wish to see the God.  However, in the wake of this communication with the God, Aquinas realized that what he had written about God had no value and thus abandoned his further efforts, although he did not deny his own work.

There can be infinite ways of describing the God.  But the God must be above those descriptions.  For example, even if there had been a primitive human being in Africa who though about future of human beings 3 million years ago, he must have stopped wondering about and dreaming of future any more if he had been allowed to glimpse the world of today in the 21st century as he got shocked so much.  Like such a human being, Aquinas must have been shocked to see infinite aspects of the God.   

Besides, Christ Jesus simply told His Disciples to call the God the Father in Heaven, while He did not teach them any theories, including those considered by Aquinas, about the God.

It is thought that whoever does not faithfully follow and observe the words and teachings of the God is not allowed to glimpse any aspect of the God.  In other word, those who do not believe in the God cannot see any piece of truth about the God, since they are not allowed to enter Heaven.

Anyway, it seems that the mankind spiritually climbed the highest position in 1273 after the first century when the Gospels were established.


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Joh 11:17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.
Joh 11:18 Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:
Joh 11:19 And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
Joh 11:20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.
Joh 11:21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
Joh 11:22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
Joh 11:23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

"If Satan also be divided against himself" - Whosoever shall Call on the Name of the Lord

Tokyo Bay

Whosoever shall Call on the Name of the Lord

On the TV display screens and smart phone screens, every picture is displayed.  These pictures and images displayed on these screens are coming from TV stations or internet-linked servers through the air in the form of electromagnetic waves.

In other word, those pictures and images/sounds provided on these screens are flying in the air, but we need a TV set or a smartphone to see pictures and images or listen to voices and sounds. 

Just like that, spiritual images and sounds must be flying in the space, but we need a special tool to capture these signals and reproduce them as images and sounds.  And this tool must be our brains.  If we don't have TV sets or smartphones, we cannot capture visual/audio signals and thus we cannot see or hear anything from signals flying in the air in the form of electromagnetic waves.

But as we have brains, we can capture spiritual signals flying in the space, as depicted in the Gospels.  But it is also true that we cannot necessarily see spiritual images and hear spiritual voices anywhere in any circumstances at any time.  What are the conditions required for us to see images and voices coming from the spiritual world?

In the Gospels, there are some scenes where Christ Jesus, His Apostles, followers, etc.  see spiritual images and hear spiritual voices.  Even there are passages depicting behaviors of Satan that is spiritual.

Religious people such as monks, priests, bishops, etc. train themselves through meditation, practice of prayers, hard studies and labors, etc.  They prepare themselves so that they can see spiritual images and hear spiritual voices.

However, the God can allow, at His will, anybody whom He thinks to be appropriate to see spiritual visions and hear spiritual voices.  However, if we have prepared ourselves to be suitable for receiving spiritual images and voices, the possibility that we are allowed to receive spiritual signals must be high.  Therefore, the more priests, monks, bishops, etc. want to receive these spiritual signals, the more they will train themselves.

As we can see any bad or indecent pictures and images on the TV or smartphone screens, any evil spiritual signals originated by Satan in the hell may be also received by trained priests, monks, bishops, etc.  If their spiritual training was not sufficient, they would be confused and put into a danger of losing sanity.

In case that ordinary people without necessary experiences of training can receive spiritual signals, most of them should go mad.  In this context, we are safe as we are separated from the spiritual world. 

Only prayers to the God seem to be a safe way for ordinary people to communicate with the spiritual world.

Act 2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:
Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

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Luk 11:16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.
Luk 11:17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.
Luk 11:18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.
Luk 11:19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.
Luk 11:20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.