Pray tell, friend, what sign would you, happymurtad, be convinced by? Maybe you would ask for visual proof of God Himself? But if you were granted that proof, maybe you would say that you're schizophrenic and you can't trust your eyes and that you need another form of proof. It's kinda hard to have a honest discussion with "you people" when you discount and discredit any experience that doesn't meet your lofty self-referential standards.
It was raining. hard. If I got soaked, important documents would be ruined, not to mention me being miserable. I asked for a sign; and a sign was delivered to me; not in the form I wanted or wished for(rain stopping immediately) but in another form that solved two problems: problem a) hardworking man doesn't have rent for the night, but has an umbrella he doesn't want and doesn't mind the rain problem b) miserable man on the verge of losing his faith asks for a sign and a way out from this rainy predicament
Solution:
- guide Man A into the path of Man B.
- inspire Man B to reach out(hail) to Man A.
- And the rest is Providence as we know it.
How is that not convincing, o ye of little faith?
Dude. I really mean it when I say, "be happy."
Life is short. Find what makes you happy and do it.
It really doesn't help me at all to see you struggle with your faith. Honestly, if we just met on the street or in a bar or at a Starbucks and you told me your faith was restored because of what happened to you, I'd just smile.
To me though, I'm more inclined to view things through my own set of lenses. To me, the only people I'd really
expect to see out walking in a storm like the one you described would be someone with car trouble or someone seriously strapped for cash. The fact that they would cross paths and that both would be willing to agree on a trade only strikes me as normal. But that's just me.
A few months ago, just before my birthday, my check engine light came on in my car. It's a fairly newer model, so I was surprised and upset, but I had to get it fixed in order to renew my plates that expired on my birthday. Every place I looked to get it fixed quoted me a charge of over a hundred dollars just to do a diagnostic test. There was no telling how much the repair would be. I had no other choice, so I was prepared to cough up the money.
A few weeks prior, a good friend of mine, who is actually a theist, had a dream that I was her personal shaman. lol. No joke. She said I was supposed to give her advice and she would end up helping me some how.
As it happened, I did end up giving her some really helpful advice about some relationship issues she was having.
The morning I was planning to take my car in, she called out of the blue to tell me about this really awesome mechanic who just fixed her AC for free. Long story short, she recommended me to the guy and it turns out there was just a tiny plastic valve that had come loose on my car. He set it straight for 10 bucks. We joked that her dream must have been true. Now, had I really believed in shamans, I'd call that a sign.
But the problem with that line of thought is that it is entirely subjective. We see what we want to see, even when it's not there. The truth of the matter is that good things happen to good and bad people. So do bad things.
How many prayers went unanswered that same day in Syria and in Baghdad and in Chicago? How many families were left with their bad days only turning worse?
And what of the man who sold you the umbrella, if Islam really turns out to be true? Such a hard life, yet what awaits him on judgment day?
For me, disbelief works so much better. It makes way more sense. I accept it as true. For you, belief works better. I promise you I won't get in your way.
Topic: Hi, I'm new and I'm lost.