You're right, ‘Gilles’ (and 'Solo'), the Holy Bible is a solid “stick”, a solid rock for me!
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

@ Bravo ‘TomDC’, for that “the best post you've read there yet”:
“Factors such as 'love' are not evidence for the existence of God”...

Of course love is the result of some chemicals or stray electrical bio-circuits...
Congratulations!

@ TomDC.
Do not hurry my friend! You misinterpreted!

@ TomDC. Marian denies the Bible used by his ancestors, but it is obvious that he didn’t study it!

@ 'TomDC'. Say what you mean by self-control?
I, "deliberately", do not want to accept compromises! “It's annoying”, isn’t it?!

@ Marian
Your country, Romania, is a ‘Christian country’, where most are Orthodox, having knowledge of “Bible foul contents”, as you said.
Who is confused, you or the Romanian people?!

I just read, from above, this mention: “The universe doesn't require anything other than the fact that it is!”
But what about this verse:
“Now I (John) saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” (Revelation 21:1)

When will the world (and heavens) end?! On what occasion: the Rapture, the Great Tribulation, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the Battle of Armageddon, the end of Millennium, the Judgment of the Great Day, the Great Day of His Wrath, and so on?!

“I despair...” for those who criticize the Bible, but have not read it all, have not studied it carefully...!

@ TomDC. Don’t be reductionist, regarding self-control! People are slaves to whatever has mastered them: cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, adultery, and so on…

Smoking is a vice (among others...) practiced by worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. They are not led by the Holy Spirit, and they do only what comes naturally (they follow their natural instincts: sinful nature)…, and they can not apply SELF-CONTROL.

Diametrically opposed, God's Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

Evolutionists assumes that any theory can be true, but not the biblical revelation...!

In reality, only the Bible provides the preconditions for the intelligibility of man’s experience and reasoning. If the Bible were not true, it would be impossible to prove anything.
Evolutionists have the impression that they can know the truth, without divine revelation, but they are completely wrong!

See for example the DVD “The ULTIMATE PROOF of Creation – resolving the Origins Debate”, by Dr. Jason Lisle, and you will be elucidated!
For detailed information on creation, evolution and the book of Genesis, go for example to:
Answersingenesis.org

@ ‘Alan F’. Your puppy does not love you, but he only appreciates you, for food and shelter ...
Definition of true love I gave you before ... True human love can not be found in animals...

@ ‘irwanwr’. “Gospel of Barnabas” is not a book inspired by the Spirit of God, so, your interpretation is your responsibility...

Alan Fraser wrote:
“Factors such as 'love' are not evidence for the existence of God...and certainly not a precise Abrahamic one. My dog loves me...in a totally unreserved way; and by any definition of the word. Does that make him christian and bound for glory?”

Alan's dog is cheating us, because “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corintians 13:4-7)

@ 'bmike'. I want to be an obedient servant of God's word, but not of a human text...!

It is a pity to waste the gifts that God has given us, such as health, money, etc..

"Anyone is made inferior or worse or is overcome, to that [person or thing] he is enslaved."
(See 2 Peter 2:19)
I can not allow to be a servant of cigarettes...!

...“Great and marvelous are Your works,
O Lord God, the Almighty;
Righteous and true are Your ways"... (Revelation 15:3)

Have a Good News of CHRISTMAS!

And the angel said to the shepherds, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10-12).
Familiar verses, aren't they? So familiar, in fact, that it is easy to miss just how remarkable they are...:
“Fear not...
I bring you good news...
A Savior is born...
He’s lying in a manger...”
The birth of Jesus is not the way we would have planned it. No person, however poor, should have to be born in a stable. No delivery room, no doctor. Hay on the floor, animals all around. And the smell! The mess! This is no place for a royal birth.

But God sees things differently. He chose a man¬ger over a mansion. He picked a carpenter over a king. He designed a quiet coming over a world¬wide celebration. Why would God, the Creator of heaven and earth, send his Son to be born in such a lowly place?
Perhaps Jesus, the only Son of God, was bom in a stable to give hope to all whose lives look like one. We sure do make a mess of things. Sometimes our actions stink. And though we try to make the best of it, the winter wind still sneaks into the corners of our lives, and the nights get cold and dark.
Too many days too far from God? Too many years too hard on others? Too much mess? God knows... and he has some amazing words for you:
“I bring you good news...
I’ll give you great joy...
I sent the Savior, Christ the Lord!”
Want to know God’s answer to the deepest long¬ings of your life? "For God so loved the world, that he gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
Here we find the answer, in the most unexpected place. Look long at heaven’s barn-born baby - he’s the Holy One sleeping in the hay - and listen as God whispers: No mess turns me back, no smell turns me away. I was bom to live in lives like yours.
He knows exactly what you’re like. And still he loves you. He simply awaits your invitation to come in. One word from you and God will do again what He did back then. He’ll place his Son in the stable of your heart. He’ll give you the gift of eternal life.

Good news! Great joy! Eternal life! Would you like to receive this gift this Christmas? Will you tell God you do?!

[Father, I believe You love me. You gave your one and only Son for me – born in a manger, dying on the cross to pay for my sins, rising again to save me. I accept Your gift to live forever with You. Apart from You, I die. With You, I live. I choose life. I choose You!]

Irwanwr, sometime..., somewhere..., they say that there was an explosion of stupidity...

Plausible explanation we find in this book:
“ARMAGEDDON, OIL AND TERROR – What the Bible says about the future of America, the Middle East and the end of Western Civilisation”, by John F. Walvoord with Mark Hitchcock.

Until Armageddon, there will be no peace on Earth, says the Bible!