The "God is Imaginary" blog

[Howl]

Please note that, I did not write the following blog, nor am I questioning anyone's religion. I just noticed that this is the most popular blog on myspace, I clicked the link, had a look...and it was interesting enough for me to read through and through.
I read a few of the responses to the posters "questions of faith", but it's not possible for me to read 6000+ responses from people (the majority of which reply with nothing but flaming remarks).
So I post this topic here, hoping that I can read all of your "civilized" responses instead. ^.^



The following blog can be found here:
God is imaginary blog

10 Questions Every Intelligent Christian Must Answer
Category: Religion and Philosophy
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If you are an educated Christian, I would like to talk with you today about an important and interesting question. Have you ever thought about using your college education to think about your faith? Your life and your career demand that you behave and act rationally. Let’s apply your critical thinking skills as we discuss 10 simple questions about your religion.

Here is an example of the kind of thing I am talking about: As a Christian, you believe in the power of prayer. According to a recent poll, 3 out of 4 doctors believe that God is performing medical miracles on earth right now. Most Christians believe that God is curing cancers, healing diseases, reversing the effects of poisons and so on.

So here is question 1: Why won’t God heal amputees?

It’s a simple question, isn’t it? We all know that amputated legs do not spontaneously regenerate in response to prayer. Amputees get no miracles from God.

If you are an intelligent person, you have to admit that it’s an interesting question On the one hand, you believe that God answers prayers and performs miracles. On the other hand, you know that God completely ignores amputees when they pray for miracles.

How do you deal with this discrepancy? As an intelligent person, you have to deal with it, because it makes no sense. In order to handle it, notice that you have to create some kind of rationalization. You have to invent an excuse on God’s behalf to explain this strange fact of life. You might say, "well, God must have some kind of special plan for amputees." So you invent your excuse, whatever it is, and then you stop thinking about it because it is uncomfortable.

Here is another example. As a Christian, you believe that God cares about you and answers your prayers.

So the second question is: Why are there so many starving people in our world?

Look out at our world and notice that millions of children are dying of starvation. It really is horrific. Why would God be worried about you getting a raise, while at the same time ignoring the prayers of these desperate, innocent little children? It really doesn’t make any sense, does it? Why would a loving god do this?

To explain it, you have to come up with some sort of very strange excuse for God. Like, "God wants these children to suffer and die for some divine, mysterious reason." Then you push it out of your mind because it absolutely does not fit with your view of a loving, caring God.

Third question: Why does God demand the death of so many innocent people in the Bible? Look up these verses:

- Exodus 35:2 – God demands that we kill everyone who works on the Sabbath day.

- Deuteronomy 21:18-21 – God demands that we kill disobedient teenagers.

- Leviticus 20:13 – God demands the death of homosexuals.

- Deuteronomy 22:13-21 – God demands that we kill girls who are not virgins when they marry.

And so on… There are lots of verses like these.

It doesn’t make any sense, does it? Why would a loving God want us to murder our fellow human beings over such trivial matters? Just because you work on the wrong day of the week, you must die? That makes no sense, does it? In fact, if you think about it, you realize that it is insane. So you create some kind of rationalization to explain these verses.

Question 4: Why does the Bible contain so much anti-scientific nonsense? You have a college degree, so you know what I’m talking about. You know how science works. You happily use the products of science every day: your car, your cell phone, your microwave oven, your TV, your computer. These are all products of the scientific process. You know that science is incredibly important to our economy and to our lives.

But there is a problem. As an educated person you know that the Bible contains all sorts of information that is total nonsense from a scientific perspective.

- God did not create the world in 6 days 6,000 years ago like the Bible says.

- There was never a worldwide flood that covered Mt. Everest like the Bible says.

- Jonah did not live inside a fish’s stomach for three days like the Bible says.

- God did not create Adam from a handful of dust like the Bible says.

These stories are all nonsense. Why would an all-knowing God write nonsense? It makes no sense, does it? So you create some type of very strange excuse to try to explain why the Bible contains total nonsense.

Question 5: Why is God such a huge proponent of slavery in the Bible? Look up these Bible verses:

- Exodus 21:20-21 – God says that it is OK to own slaves, and it is also OK to beat them.

- Colossians 3:22-24 – Slaves need to obey their masters.

- Ephesians 6:5 – Slaves need to obey their masters just as they would obey Christ.

- 1 Peter 2:18 – Slaves need to obey their masters, even if their masters are harsh .

And so on…

And why do all intelligent people abhor slavery and make it completely illegal? You have to come up with some kind of weird rationalization to explain it.

Question 6: Why do bad things happen to good people? That makes no sense. You have created an exotic excuse on God’s behalf to rationalize it.

Question 7: Why didn’t any of Jesus’ miracles in the Bible leave behind any evidence? It’s very strange, isn’t it? You have created an excuse to rationalize it.

Question 8: How do we explain the fact that Jesus has never appeared to you? Jesus is all-powerful and timeless, but if you pray for Jesus to appear, nothing happens. You have to create a weird rationalization to deal with this discrepancy.

Question 9 – Why would Jesus want you to eat his body and drink his blood? It sounds totally grotesque, doesn’t it? Why would al all-powerful God want you to do something that, in any other context, sounds like a disgusting, cannibalistic, satanic ritual?

And finally, Question 10 – Why do Christians get divorced at the same rate as non-Christians? Christians get married in front of God and their Christian friends, all of whom are praying to God for the marriage to succeed. And then they say, "What God has put together, let no man put asunder." God is all-powerful, so if God has put two people together that should seal the deal, right? Yet Christians get divorced at the same rate as everyone else. To explain this, you have to create some convoluted rationalization.

So, we have looked at 10 fascinating questions. In order to believe in God, you have had to create all sorts of strange rationalizations and excuses. If you are an intelligent, college-educated person, all of these excuses and rationalizations probably make you uncomfortable. If you think about it honestly, using the critical thinking skills that you learned in college, you have to admit that your answers to these questions make no sense at all.

Now, let me show you something remarkable. What if you instead assume that God is imaginary? A funny thing happens: the answers to every one of these questions make complete sense. Just look at all ten questions as an intelligent person:

1) Why won’t God heal amputees? Because God is imaginary, and he doesn’t answer any prayers. Every "answered prayer" is actually a coincidence. All scientific evidence supports this conclusion.

2) Why are there so many starving people in our world? Because God is imaginary, and he is therefore unable to answer their prayers.

3) Why does God demand the death of so many innocent people in the Bible? Because God is imaginary, and the Bible was written by ridiculous, ruthless men rather than any sort of loving being.

4) Why does the Bible contain so much anti-scientific nonsense? Ditto. Primitive men wrote the bible, not an all-knowing being.

5) Why is God such a huge proponent of slavery? Ditto.

6) Why do bad things happen to good people? Because God is imaginary and bad things happen at the same statistical rates to everyone.

7) Why didn’t any of Jesus’ miracles in the Bible leave behind any evidence? Because God is imaginary, and Jesus’ miracles are myths.

8) How do we explain the fact that Jesus has never appeared to you? Because God is imaginary.

9) Why would Jesus want you to eat his body and drink his blood? Because God is imaginary, and this bizarre ritual came from a pagan religion.

10) Why do Christians get divorced at the same rate as non-Christians? Because God is imaginary.

Do you see what has happened here? When we assume that God exists, the answers to these ten questions make absolutely no sense. But if we assume that God is imaginary, our world makes complete sense.

It’s interesting, isn’t it? Actually, it’s more than interesting – it is incredibly important.

Our world only makes sense when we understand that God is imaginary.

This is how intelligent, rational people know that God is imaginary.

When you use your brain, and when you think logically about your religious faith, you can reach only one possible conclusion: the "god" that you have heard about since you were an infant is completely imaginary. You have to willfully discard rationality, and accept hundreds of bizarre rationalizations to believe in your "god."

Now, let me ask you one last question: Why should you care? What difference does it make if people want to believe in a "god", even if he is imaginary?

It matters because people who believe in imaginary beings are delusional.

It matters because people who talk to imaginary beings are delusional.

It matters because people who believe in imaginary superstitions like prayer are delusional.

It’s that simple, and that obvious. Your religious beliefs hurt you personally and hurt us as a species because they are delusional. The belief in any "god" is complete nonsense.

You are a smart person. It is time for you to use your intelligence to free yourself from these delusions. It is time for you to begin thinking like a rational human being, rather than clinging to imaginary friends and childhood fantasies.


Why Wont God Heal Amputees?

God is Imaginary

 

[Dean Winchester]

This is mainly because the topic concerning religion, specially if it's a topic against it, tends to draw the attention of both believers and atheists. There's not absolute method to disprove the existence of an Almighty being (known by most of us as God), meaning that any conclusion based on theories remains as a theory itself.

Therefore, even though many, like I, believe in the existence of God, there are also others that refuse to believe it. I just answer every question related to this topic, or slightly similar to it, with the following statement:

"The fact of not being able to see something doesn't means it does not exists."

 

[der Astronom]

I'd tend to agree with what has been said in that article, although in light of intelligence, they neglected to consider that some people are so religious as to consider logic and all rationality as absurd because it's the "tool of the devil" and we're all evil for using it, but like he says, that's just another bizarre explanation to explain away the stuff that does actually make sense.

But what is life without rationality, of which we base most of our lives on anyways? People don't realize it, but we do use it at least to some extent, just as we use math all the time, but some people are just willfully ignorant of it as they are ignorant of the subject which they fear--and yet, have no reason to fear it because they use it and need to use it all the time. The fact that they do fear it is, however, amusing to me.

Of course, I realize that most of what the author has written is fairly accurate and well justified in my eyes, and it is quite amusing that certain religious people don't acknowledge it, and in fact, ignore it, but it is important also to realize that there is just no medicine for ignorance. We may let people know that it makes no sense to believe certain things, and that they're just buying into delusions perhaps, but we can't prevent them from ignoring these things. That's their choice, unfortunately, and making them realize these things is all that we can do--but ultimately, they have to choose it, and that's something we can't do for them.

I agree that religion is questionable, but if it makes others happy, and harms no one, then they're free to believe all the delusions they want. So long as they do not interfere with the things I or other people believe in or choose not to believe in.

 

[Donald Trump]

I am an atheist, so i dont believe in god.
There is also an antagonistic part of me, which says things to get a response out of people.
But the person who wrote this is almost sadistic, they want to cause others, with a deliberate and unprovoked attack on religion, to serve what purpose? none.
Angelus prefers maths to love, and thats fine with me, i dont feel the need to ridicule her beliefs to make myself feel better.
Its just a cowardly, cynical attack on religion, nothing more, it doesnt help out humanity in any way, which religion does.
It organises charities for the sick starving and homeless. It also offers hope to billions of people, regardless of whether you believe it to be false hope, religion still offers it.
Its very easy to criticise religion for its actions in the past and its attempted censoring of media.
However, that doesnt differentiate it from other orgainisations, take the US for example, the vietnam war, was a war against communism, they supported a dictator who wasnt even popular, they denied freedom to peoples of many countries, yet all is forgiven, because the US was acting in self defense, which is simply what religion does.

the genius author of this blog found parts of the bible that contradict itself.
I'm not sure how many books there are in the bible, but i do believe that there is over 26?
and they managed to find a few parts they contradict each other, wow that is really worthy of our praise.

Also we all know that the authors of the bible arent infallible, some of them were self interested, but they are only human.

also the answer to every question isnt because god is imaginary, that blog is nothing more than an opinion, not one shred of fact, mein kampf had more facts in it.

HEY GUISE GOD RNT HEELING TEH AMPUTEES? YA KNOW WHY? COZ HE DONT EXIST OLOLOLOL
that is a load of shit, god isnt a panacea, he doesnt fix everything. Life is complicated the rational atheists dont go around bawwwwing because we dont believe in god, we dont try to belittle other peoples beliefs.
We dont think we have any right to tell people what they think is wrong, oh well

 

[der Astronom]

There are actually issues that are due to religion though--they might not necessarily be the ones the blogger mentioned. I admit it's come to my attention through another poster posting in defense of why he explains his rationality for being an atheist, which is because creationism, due to religion, is pushing evolution out of science classes, and even though creationism isn't real science, they still continue teaching it as if it were truth, and even though evolution is purely scientific, they've been told to tell their kids that it's "just a theory" which is a misconception.

Another one is the concept of gay marriages. The majority of people who have a problem with this do so because of religion, and for the same reason, stem-cell research has been slowed--who knows; stem-cell research could save your life--even heal amputees.

And apparently, thanks to the religious folks, you can't buy alcohol on Sundays.

Although to a lesser extent, how about the coin that says "In God we Trust?" Do we all feel the same way about a nation that doesn't share the same religion? I suppose not.

I don't know why you believe there are only a few parts of the bible that contradict itself, but there are lots of them. There are even websites devoted to catching these contradictions, and based on what I've seen, they're no small things. One day, it says God's fine with stealing, and in the next verse, you see God says it's not alright to steal, and then you get several accounts describing the same things in a contradictory manner, which is pretty much the entire New Testament--if an entire book is filled with contradictions, how could you consider that to be only a few?

The concern is not that there were contradictions to begin with, but we don't expect a good book to be completely devoid of contradictions, but that if they had any, they would be so small as to be insignificant and they would be few and far between. But that's just not the case with the bible. Whenever it makes sense, it's being violent and terrible, and when it doesn't, it's just nonsense.

Pointing out that God isn't helping starving people or amputees is an observation--what's so inaccurate or opinionated about that? It is true that you don't see starving people who pray to God get saved or stop starving. It's also true that amputees don't get healed. There is nothing particularly "cynical" or "cowardly" about pointing out the truth, just as there is nothing cowardly or cynical about showing someone that the Earth is round rather than flat. I agree he could have more tact in expressing what he wanted to say about religion, but it's not based on mere opinion. You can't deny that the bible says or implies that the Earth was flat and 6000 years old, that there was a global flood, and that the first man was created from dust--these are all inconsistencies that aren't true, and they aren't true, not because of opinion, but because of real, objective, scientific observation and discoveries.

 

[Donald Trump]

There are actually issues that are due to religion though--they might not necessarily be the ones the blogger mentioned. I admit it's come to my attention through another poster posting in defense of why he explains his rationality for being an atheist, which is because creationism, due to religion, is pushing evolution out of science classes, and even though creationism isn't real science, they still continue teaching it as if it were truth, and even though evolution is purely scientific, they've been told to tell their kids that it's "just a theory" which is a misconception.

I think that's just fundamentalists though, some people have their own interpretation of the bible, some saying the earth is only 6000 years old, but by no means every or even most religious people believe that.

Another one is the concept of gay marriages. The majority of people who have a problem with this do so because of religion, and for the same reason, stem-cell research has been slowed--who knows; stem-cell research could save your life--even heal amputees

again fundamentalists, and stem stem researc has been slowed, that's politics not religion, the NRA does similar things regarding the sale of automatic weapons, it's in no way limited to religion.

And apparently, thanks to the religious folks, you can't buy alcohol on Sundays

1) you dont drink
2) in my country you can
and alcohol isnt exactly the most beneficial product ever.

I don't know why you believe there are only a few parts of the bible that contradict itself, but there are lots of them. There are even websites devoted to catching these contradictions, and based on what I've seen, they're no small things. One day, it says God's fine with stealing, and in the next verse, you see God says it's not alright to steal, and then you get several accounts describing the same things in a contradictory manner, which is pretty much the entire New Testament--if an entire book is filled with contradictions, how could you consider that to be only a few?

you're being pedantic, and that proves my point that there are websites dedicated to try and belittle someones beliefs, it would be like a website saying that all maths is lies.

Pointing out that God isn't helping starving people or amputees is an observation--what's so inaccurate or opinionated about that? It is true that you don't see starving people who pray to God get saved or stop starving. It's also true that amputees don't get healed. There is nothing particularly "cynical" or "cowardly" about pointing out the truth, just as there is nothing cowardly or cynical about showing someone that the Earth is round rather than flat. I agree he could have more tact in expressing what he wanted to say about religion, but it's not based on mere opinion. You can't deny that the bible says or implies that the Earth was flat and 6000 years old, that there was a global flood, and that the first man was created from dust--these are all inconsistencies that aren't true, and they aren't true, not because of opinion, but because of real, objective, scientific observation and discoveries

its an opinion, like god is neglecting them, which is total bs. Children get murdered everyday, damn you god for not helping them, you cant blame god for bad things that happen.
And of course its cowardly to be cynical about someone's beliefs. Cynicism is not believing which takes no courage at all, and to go around attacking people who believe, is cowardly tbh, it just is.
Also i hate the arroagnce of some atheists, 'we are rational because we dont believe in god, we dont believe in god because we are rational'
circular logic much?
It's a belief that god doesnt exist, not a scientifically proven fact

 

[der Astronom]

I think that's just fundamentalists though, some people have their own interpretation of the bible, some saying the earth is only 6000 years old, but by no means every or even most religious people believe that.

If the fundamentalists weren't such a big deal, then perhaps they wouldn't be causing so much trouble over it, but they actually are. If you look at the statistics though, there aren't a lot of people that think evolution was actually what happened. Many of them prefer that creationism were true, and probably wouldn't care if evolution didn't get taught and creationism replaced it.

again fundamentalists, and stem stem researc has been slowed, that's politics not religion, the NRA does similar things regarding the sale of automatic weapons, it's in no way limited to religion.

Ever heard of the controversy concerning the idea of "playing god"? There are people that disagree with stem cell research because the idea scares them. Perhaps not all of stem cell research is because of religion, but if religion were not a part of the problem, there would be less of a reason for stem cell research to be slowed.

1) you dont drink
2) in my country you can
and alcohol isnt exactly the most beneficial product ever.

Whether or not alcohol is beneficial is irrelevant to when and when you're not allowed to buy it. Can you think of any rational reason why you shouldn't be allowed to buy alcohol on any given Sunday?

you're being pedantic, and that proves my point that there are websites dedicated to try and belittle someones beliefs, it would be like a website saying that all maths is lies.

That is not what I said. Try not to twist my words. I said that people point out things like the Earth is round to people who think it's flat--that is not called belittling, that's called exposing the truth. These websites that dwell on the contradictions of the bible don't necessarily exist to belittle people's beliefs, but to inform people that there are contradictions that exist--they don't necessarily say the contradictions make their beliefs stupid or false; they just point out a contradiction that does exist in their book that they might have failed to notice. What you choose to do with such information or how you choose to interpret it is entirely up to you. Although I can't help but wonder how it is you think pointing out a contradiction implies your beliefs are stupid, when other people who did such things and I myself might never have said that.

its an opinion, like god is neglecting them, which is total bs. Children get murdered everyday, damn you god for not helping them, you cant blame god for bad things that happen.

Then maybe you can at least concede that God's existence is redundant. If he's not going to save helpless children from being murdered, much less, do anything at all, there's no point in praying for him or believing in him.

And of course its cowardly to be cynical about someone's beliefs. Cynicism is not believing which takes no courage at all, and to go around attacking people who believe, is cowardly tbh, it just is.

So you think it's an attack to point out some contradictions that are merely logically inconsistent and are not mere opinions, but observations, just as it is not an attack to tell someone the Earth is round and be able to prove it? Not believing when there's no reason to believe at all is not lack of courage, but rationality. If you have nothing to gain from believing in something that has little rational basis, it's not courage to continue believing it. If it leads you anywhere, it's called sheer dumb luck, and if it doesn't, don't say I never said there was a fine line between courage and stupidity.

There is nothing inherently cowardly about rationality. In fact, lots of people fear and shy away from it, when they have no reason to at all because they use it everyday, and there is no risk at all in using it. Might I suggest they're the cowards for avoiding something which has no risk, which is infinitely worse than avoiding something which does have a risk.

Also i hate the arroagnce of some atheists, 'we are rational because we dont believe in god, we dont believe in god because we are rational'
circular logic much?
It's a belief that god doesnt exist, not a scientifically proven fact

I never said that at all. I don't understand why people misinterpret an atheist's reasons for not believing, although I think it's because they don't listen well. It is true that atheists don't believe in God because they're rational, but I doubt the former statement you wrote is correct. How the rationality of atheists are explained varies from atheist to atheist, as not every atheist is the same, and I don't really think there are that many atheists who have that kind of arrogance.

You may want to read up more on science because there shouldn't be such a thing as "scientifically proven"--science does not prove. But it can disprove and support facts with evidence, but that's not considered to be proof, unlike what math does.

However, there are quite a lot of evidences that point away from the existence of god, as those mentioned above. The lack of a global flood, or the shape of the Earth and its age are all good indicators that if a God existed, it would not be the Christian one. Evolution is another one too. Although it is not science that disproves the existence of the Christian god, but the fact that the way he is described in the bible is riddled with contradictions, and the fact that he is described as being omnipotent and omniscient, when omnipotence is a contradiction and omniscience and free will make little sense together is nonsense. Such a god could not be said to exist. Perhaps it's an interpretation that he doesn't exist, but it is undeniable that God can't create a stone he can't lift, and still be called omnipotent when we're able to create structures we can't lift.

The bottom line is this. There is no objective explanation that vouches for God's existence, and it is not parsimonious to assume the existence of something for which there is no evidence--but it has already been made clear that there is no evidence for God. However, if people choose to believe otherwise, in light of what you may have explained to them, I cannot change what they wish to believe, and if my explanation changes nothing, I will leave them alone. I never cared to change them to begin with at all; I mentioned it in passing because it explains why I choose not to believe, but the fact is, I don't go up to every single religious person I see and try to change what they believe. But it is worth thinking about the lack of evidence for God existing, as rational though has never harmed anyone.

 

[elaurenta]

I believe in God--me.

joking. I believe in God. I am protestant, but i would never PUSH my religion onto anyone.

 

[The Phantarch]

I guess that science has never been able to disprove God. Too bad that that's a bona fide logical fallacy, I mean, what if I asked someone here to disprove elves, hobbits and the rest of middle earth, you simply could not do it. Same scenario.

I don't believe because as far as I'm concerned, extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence. As it is I'm convinced it's the case of Karl Marx "Religion is the opium of the masses" as after all it eases the pain of mortality and the death of loved ones. However if that were the case it certainly is one drug related issue clearing up rapidly.

 

[Donald Trump]

I don't believe because as far as I'm concerned, extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence. As it is I'm convinced it's the case of Karl Marx "Religion is the opium of the masses" as after all it eases the pain of mortality and the death of loved ones. However if that were the case it certainly is one drug related issue clearing up rapidly.

Firstly, don't quote if you don't know the correct quote, it's "Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions'
Secondly, Marx also praises religion for its ability to help man in times of trouble and the strength it gives him.

I mean, what if I asked someone here to disprove elves, hobbits and the rest of middle earth, you simply could not do it. Same scenario.

Explain to me how the universe was created, obviously you can't as it was created from nothingness, sounds like evidence of an omnipotent power dont ya think?
Also thats elves and hobbits arent in the least like religion, that damages your arguement because it's so stupid.

So because religion hasn't justified its' existence to you, it doesn't exist as far as your concerned?
Yeah, that's rational

 

[The Phantarch]

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?

 

[Erythritol]

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.

 

[der Astronom]

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.

 

[Erythritol]

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.

 

[The Phantarch]

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.

 

[Lord_Atomos]

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

 

[der Astronom]

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.

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.

 

[Erythritol]

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.

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.

 

[Rydia]

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.

 

[Donald Trump]

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

You're quite right, it is unfair, but it's unfair to group all muslims together and so on etc.
It happens because they normally hold similar views, and we only focus on denominations when they have a different view than others, but i think that's how people think.

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.

And I doubt whether anyone would disagree with you about this.

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.

It happens to whoever is in the majority and are easily identifible. Like Jews in Nazi Germany, they were in a minority, and were easily recognisable, most doctors and dentists were Jews, and the fact that almost all names that end in stein etc are jewish.
Chiang Kai Shek did the same with communists in Taiwan, he burnt them alive in furnaces.