The "God is Imaginary" blog - Page 2

April 8, 2008, 11:35 AM

are you quite done?

Fair enough I shouldn't have used the quotation marks.

I know your second point. I know that he was praising it and I think it's good for people to have hope (which can be read as faith here). I bear no ill will to people who are religious.
Maybe I should have made that clearer in my last point, never mind, we live and learn, eh?

April 8, 2008, 4:30 PM

That blog is retarded, imo. Who the hell puts that much effort into trying to debunk people's religious beliefs? That's just pathetic to me. I've said it many times, but I'll say it again, I really dislike how people are constantly down on religion, Christianity especially. It's getting very trite, to be honest. Boo bloody hoo, the Chrisitians killed a bunch of people back in the 1400s with the Crusades. Can we all move on now? What, honestly, is everyone's problem with Christianity? I don't understand why it's so frequently attacked. I don't ever see people attacking Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Shinto, or Hinduism. The beliefs of those religions are just as scientifically inaccurate and strange as Christianity. Is it because you've had a bad encounter with a Christian extremeist? Well guess what, get over it. One bad person is not indicative of an entire religion. If you think that, you're an idiot.

Now about those ten questions. Someone who has obviously never studied religion wrote them. That much is pretty clear. I'm just going to assume we're talking about the Christian god right now...so with that said...

Why doesn't God heal amputees?
Because God isn't a doctor. He's a laissez-faire kind of guy. Jesus redeemed humanity with his death, and so everything is cool between humans and God. There's no need for excessive contact.

What are there so many starving people in our world?
Because there's not enough food. Duh. God isn't some magical fairy godmother who makes the sky rain chicken legs. There is suffering in the world and always will be. If you want the Christian answer, it's because Adam and Eve were ejected from the Garden of Eden. Even in the Bible, God doesn't alleviate the suffering of people. He keeps out of it, for the most part. Jesus, when he was a man, did what he could to help the suffering.

Why does God demand the death of so many innocent people?
A lot of the quotes in question come from the Old Testament. God is a sadist in the Old Testament. Now, the person who wrote the blog called God a "loving God." He IS in Christianity. Not so much in Judaism. Ever notice the drastic personality change in God between the Old and New Testament? God is quite benevolent in the New Testament.

Why does the Bible contain so much anti-scientific nonsense?
Oh, I'm sorry. It's because their electron microscopes all broke down. Um, how about it was written THOUSANDS of years ago before many scientific advancements? Is it really so shocking that they didn't include a little footnote about God using quantum physics to create the universe? I can't believe someone would even ask such a stupid question. Use your common sense. Jesus. And that's the dumbest logic I've ever seen. "Well...it's scientifically inaccurate so....THAT MEANS GOD DOESNT EXIST!!! HAHAHA!!!" Yeah, that definitely follows. I can't really comment too much on the Old Testament because no one really knows who wrote it, but I don't think a lot of people (at least religious people *I've* met) believe that God literally penned the Bible himself and threw it to Earth. The scientific inaccuracies present in the Bible are ways to explain certain phenomena. Much of the imagery is borrowed from older religions. But yeah, if you wanna go with the brilliant logic of "WELL THE WORLD WASNT MADE IN 6 DAYS SO WHAT JESUS SAID IS DEFINITELY WRONG" you're...free to do so.

Why is God such a huge proponent of slavery in the Bible?
Well, gee, maybe because it was perfectly acceptable at the time? And that "all intelligent people abhor slavery" is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Now, I'm definitely NOT a proponent of slavery (I believe it to be personally/morally wrong) but the belief that slavery is wrong is something that is instilled within us socially. It's not like with education comes with the sudden belief that slavery is incorrect. The Egyptians were brilliant architects...oh gee, who do you think built those pretty pyramids? The founders of America were also brilliant men. Did they have slaves? Um, well, I believe they did. Intelligence does not dictate beliefs regarding slavery. Society does. I'm sorry. That's how it is. If you are raised in a society that views slavery as morally acceptable, no matter how intelligent you are, generally you too will believe it to be socially and morally acceptable. Argue all you want, but it is society that shapes our beliefs and morals.

Why do bad things happen to good people?
There is an entire book in the Bible devoted to this. It's called the Book of Job. This person is clearly ignorant.

Why didn’t any of Jesus’ miracles in the Bible leave behind any evidence?
What evidence does this person want? He performed small miracles like curing the diseased and turning water to wine. Should the Louvre have a pitcher of the wine on display or something? That's a dumb question. I'd also like to point out that Jesus existed 2000 years ago, and artifacts (especially in the middle east) are destroyed over time.

How do we explain the fact that Jesus has never appeared to you?
Because Jesus isn't your personal godmother. He doesn't just pop up when you have a problem. And (as WEIRD and insane as this is going to seem...) as a child, I DID have dreams of Jesus. (Especially weird since I'm not even religious). Anyway, there are many who claim to see Jesus in visions and stuff like that. Whether you want to believe them or not is up to you.

Why would Jesus want you to eat his body and drink his blood?
The person who wrote this is very stupid and ignorant. The eating the body and drinking of the blood is extremely symbolic. It is not literal. This is extremely clear to anyone who knows ANYTHING about Christianity. Anyone who even TRIES to pick on this is just an idiot. Every religion has their symbolic religious rites. This is Christianity's. Moron.

Why do Christians get divorced at the same rate as non-Christians?
...What? Because God isn't a matchmaker. Who the hell cares? How is that even RELEVANT?

Anyway, I'm sick of the Christianity bashing. Ohhh, to believe that God exists is irrational! Prayers are irrational! All religions are irrational. Big bloody deal. Humans are irrational by nature. Deal with it. I'd also like to point out that people who are religiously affiliated tend to have a higher quality of life and live longer. ^-^ It's not hard to see why, from a psychological view point. To believe that something in the universe is looking out for you or to put faith in something that is bigger than yourself is very reassuring to most people.

April 8, 2008, 10:24 PM

I would say it's better to put that in the context of that's why fundamentalists shouldn't be pushing creationism in school, or they shouldn't use religion as an excuse for not having abortion, not allowing gay marriages or not allowing stem cell research. You don't see Buddhists, Hindus or Shintoists going around pushing their stories of origin in public schools--do you?

I'd also like to know where you got the sources for religious people having better lives because the divorce rates for religious people certainly aren't any lower than in any secularist society, and having a "better life" is also due to opinion. People may say I'm unhappy because I don't "enjoy" a lot of the things they might enjoy like parties, huge mansions, loads of money, and lots of other trinkets that they enjoy having around that I don't. But I'm happy because I don't demand much.

April 9, 2008, 6:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angelus-Mortis

I would say it's better to put that in the context of that's why fundamentalists shouldn't be pushing creationism in school, or they shouldn't use religion as an excuse for not having abortion, not allowing gay marriages or not allowing stem cell research. You don't see Buddhists, Hindus or Shintoists going around pushing their stories of origin in public schools--do you?

I'd also like to know where you got the sources for religious people having better lives because the divorce rates for religious people certainly aren't any lower than in any secularist society, and having a "better life" is also due to opinion. People may say I'm unhappy because I don't "enjoy" a lot of the things they might enjoy like parties, huge mansions, loads of money, and lots of other trinkets that they enjoy having around that I don't. But I'm happy because I don't demand much.

It's not really hard to see WHY Buddhists, Hindus, or Shintoists don't push their views on people in public schools. Simple: they are not the majority and therefore cannot.

Who cares about divorce rates? As far as I'm concerned, that's completely irrelevant to the discussion. And while I realize that happiness is relatively objective, the study claimed that religious people reported being happier overall than those who were non religious. It was a majority type thing. I honestly don't think I could find it to show you because I read it a while ago. I just found it interesting, so I thought I'd mention it.

April 9, 2008, 11:45 AM

Fair enough, but at the same time, I don't believe parents should be shoving this stuff down their kids' throats. I mean, what if it turns out to be false hope, not only have the parents done them disservice by denying them freedom of choice and indoctrinating them. I mean with so many religions it is impossible to say which one of them has the right story (if any do).

If they have freedom of choice and pick whether they want to be Chrstian, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Quaker, Sikh or any other religion, I have no problem with that. People should have freedom of choice when it comes to matters as important as this.

April 9, 2008, 4:49 PM

i believe in god, just i dont believe in some of the things that people say to me. for one, god wouldnt hate homosexuals or bisexuals (like myself). but yet again, i heard from others that he does, idk but definantly do believe in god

April 9, 2008, 5:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erythritol

It's not really hard to see WHY Buddhists, Hindus, or Shintoists don't push their views on people in public schools. Simple: they are not the majority and therefore cannot.

Don't forget that there is almost nothing in their religion that tells them they need to convert other people to the same religion. I don't recall anyone in India being tortured because they wanted to be Buddhists instead of Hindus. Otherwise, if you'll just resort to the argument that they are not the majority, and can't push their views on people, that should also apply to the atheists as well because they're not in the majority, and you don't really have a reason to complain because nobody's really going to pay attention to what some atheist says. The only reason you are is probably because of the raging debates going on between Christians and atheists, when in fact, they leave out almost every other "heathen" religion from the picture.

Quote:

Who cares about divorce rates? As far as I'm concerned, that's completely irrelevant to the discussion. And while I realize that happiness is relatively objective, the study claimed that religious people reported being happier overall than those who were non religious. It was a majority type thing. I honestly don't think I could find it to show you because I read it a while ago. I just found it interesting, so I thought I'd mention it.

I can't really say "divorce" constitutes to happiness, particularly when religions like Christianity scorn such things.

But if people are happy with their delusions, I'm not going to complain about it. So long as they don't use their religion as an excuse to teach something as science that isn't science, to prevent gay people from marrying, or to prevent stem cell research.

April 9, 2008, 5:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angelus-Mortis

Don't forget that there is almost nothing in their religion that tells them they need to convert other people to the same religion. I don't recall anyone in India being tortured because they wanted to be Buddhists instead of Hindus. Otherwise, if you'll just resort to the argument that they are not the majority, and can't push their views on people, that should also apply to the atheists as well because they're not in the majority, and you don't really have a reason to complain because nobody's really going to pay attention to what some atheist says. The only reason you are is probably because of the raging debates going on between Christians and atheists, when in fact, they leave out almost every other "heathen" religion from the picture.

Orly? Let's talk about the raging violence between Islam and Hinduism in India. And the resulting millions of deaths. When someone is in the religious majority or is ALMOST in the religious majority and wants to be, they generally tend to try to push it on people. I think Buddhism and Shintoism are probably exceptions. However, I would like to point out that in Japan, Christians were heavily persecuted in the past for...wait for it...not being part of the MAJORITY religion. It's not a surprise. People tend to get into a sort of mob mentality. Like I said, it's not just the Christians who are guilty of it.

Quote:

I can't really say "divorce" constitutes to happiness, particularly when religions like Christianity scorn such things.

But if people are happy with their delusions, I'm not going to complain about it. So long as they don't use their religion as an excuse to teach something as science that isn't science, to prevent gay people from marrying, or to prevent stem cell research.

I think Catholicism is a little....hypocritical of divorce. They'll divorce you...but only if you pay them. That just seems strange. But I don't see what divorce has to do with happiness or anything having to do with this religious discussion. Marriage and love is too complicated a subject to try to dissect from a "this person is religious and this person isn't" type of viewpoint.

Well, I personally think it's a little condescending and arrogant of you to call religious people "deluded" but whatever. I definitely hate whenever religion is used against gay marriage, stem cell research, abortion, or scientific fact. I've had heated arguments about all of those issues with people. I just am trying to say that not ALL Christians think gays/abortionists are going to hell. There are many reasonable and intelligent Christians. Also, there are also many people who feel a certain way, which is NOT religiously motivated, on those issues. I know some people who are against gay marriage, not because of religion, but just because of personal convictions. Same with abortion and stem cell research. And as much as I want to throw up on my keyboard for typing this, those people are allowed to have those opinions. Some people earnestly believe that abortion is equivalent to murdering an innocent child (although, I can tell you if abortion were ever made illegal, I'd march the street protesting....but I digress...) Just because they hold those viewpoint, it doesn't necessarily make them stupid or ignorant (with a few exceptions...specifically creationism vs evolution...). They just have differing morals and opinions from yours.

April 9, 2008, 6:14 PM

I'd also like to add that "Christian" may be too broad of a term to use. There are many different sects of Christianity and many of them are quite different from each other.

Methodist, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and others are very liberal with their belief. They do not take the bible literally but on a symbolic level. They are concerned mostly with the new testament and do take in consideration the context in which it was written. Most of them also support liberal social values. And they are also proponents for evolution.

The Baptists and Evanglists on the other hand (And I'm sorry if I have the incorrect sects) often do take the bible literally. Many of them will be against the teaching of evolution.

You have Catholics, which are pretty odd. (I know because I was raised Catholic) They like to drink and when the vatican tells them to do one thing, most tend to ignore it. Or they just go to confession. And by the way, most of us actually do use brith control

(And pope Benedict scares us all)

And then you also have the Christian sects that no one would even think would exist. Such as the Gay and Lesbian Christian sect, and the feminist Christian sect.

And keep in mind that not everyone in each of these sects thinks the exact same way. I'm sure there are some people in what would be considered a fundamental religion who do infact believe in evolution.

I don't think it is fair to lump all Christians together.