Sincere and sufficient effort

@fmf said
You said something about my intellect.

So I did, but not only yours by intent.

@secondson said
So I did, but not only yours by intent.

What does "intellect" have to do with what we are talking about?

@fmf said
You believe that people having different beliefs from you is caused by their intellects?

Not entirely.

Consider the dichotomy between the spiritual and the intellect. If in fact there is. One can grasp only so much with the intellect, but if there exists components of the ideas and concepts relative to the existence of a creator that can only be "known and understood" by the agency of one's spirit, and if, as Jesus said, "you must be born again", because it (the spirit) is dead to God because of sin, then belief is gained by either an intellectual assent, or to make it a reality in one's life, by spiritual regeneration.

If there be a God, then there is only one. If there is truth, it is God's truth.

My "belief" is not caused by my intellect. Intellect can cause one to believe virtually anything.

My "belief" is caused by believing God.

@secondson said
Not entirely.

Consider the dichotomy between the spiritual and the intellect. If in fact there is. One can grasp only so much with the intellect, but if there exists components of the ideas and concepts relative to the existence of a creator that can only be "known and understood" by the agency of one's spirit, and if, as Jesus said, "you must be bor ...[text shortened]... by either an intellectual assent, or to make it a reality in one's life, by spiritual regeneration.

You believe your God figure needs some degree of "intellect" to spare humans from "damnation"?

@secondson said

If there be a God, then there is only one. If there is truth, it is God's truth.
virtually anything.

My "intellect" tells me that humans have many God figures. What is my "intellect" supposed to tell me about the God figure you favour?

@philokalia said
Well, you are explicitly right about the existence of other possibilities when it comes to Christ's resurrection, etc.

You are also right that someone could take a sophist's definition of what constitutes a "Christian" and say that Gandhi was one, but by any conventional definition, he was not.

--

Either there is a God, or there isn't. Of course, there is also ...[text shortened]... ] correct?

And if Orthodox Christianity is correct, then every other spiritual path is incorrect.

"Either there is a God, or there isn't."

You'll have to pardon me here, as I attempt to inject some non-binary thinking.

What is a "god"?

Is it an alien that has sufficiently advance capabilities, compared to us, that for all intents and purposes, that alien is a "god"?

"There is a single reality, correct?"

Actually, I do not know. There is a theory in Quantum Physics that every possible reality in fact does happen, in another dimension. If you are saying that both you and I are trapped in a single version of reality, I concur.