The problem with this is you're making the one mistake many religious folk make trying to prove or justify: they quote a book/books that means absolutely nothing to the non-religious.
I didn't want to be the one to say it since I don't have a lot of horsepower on this forum, but that's exactly how I feel. I'm sure BigMike is aware that any competing religion has plenty of followers who can point to their own texts as proof of their rightousness, and I'm willing to bet that they can all quote passages and tie them into history, but the existence of a book does not prove its validity.
If God really does exist, then he would want you to learn about him and he will reveal himself to you. All you need to do is just get serious about knowing Him.
I thought so, too. I tried like mad to find some faith many years ago, at a rather critical point in my life, and studied pretty hard on all things churchly and bible-ly. I was doing whatever I could, opened up fully and humbly to all possibilities, looking for any sign that any of it was the least bit valid. I didn't get diddly. No signs, no light, no hint, no feeling, no glimmer of hope, no encouragement whatsoever. Started thinking that maybe lots of people who wanted me to get on board were all very happily living a great big lie, and making something that didn't exist the most crucial focal point of their life. Faith may make life easier, but if it is not real, personal faith, it's no good to me. I couldn't find faith, so I decided I would rather live a harder life that I believed in than half-arse a religion just to have a set of rules to live by and the approval of the community.
If religion makes your life better, by all means run with it. I'm chosing to leave it alone. I think I've said all I want to say about this topic, so I can shut my trap before offending anyone (further). Such a volatile subject matter.
So much for alien life forms...though I do want some spaghetti. Tomorrow, maybe.
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