Ten questions about God.

[suckseed]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDHJ4ztnldQ

I just saw this link on another forum, watched it, and wanted to share.
My conclusions are not the same as the makers of the video, for what that's worth - meaning I don't have an agenda other than to promote discussion.

The narrator is about as subtle as a jackhammer, so let it load and skip through it until you get the gist so you don't feel like you have to spend ten minutes on this.

I realize this should be in the P/R forum. But whether or not it is moved, it is my hope that it will result in a civil, dispassionate debate that does not end up with people attacking each other. Personally I can respect any opinion as long as it's thought out.

It's been my experience that people who believe in any religion base their belief on intangibles...which I can respect, I just want to know what they think about these questions.

I think of myself as an optimistic agnostic - meaning that I don't think anyone has all the answers, and we never will in our lifetimes. I believe that religions are just a primitive way to try to describe the nature of the universe, and it's about as accurate as a parrot imitating a human. So, before this gets moved, I encourage you to check this out and get back to us. Don't worry, the tits and cocks will still be there when you're done...

[GrimFusion]

Interesting topic, but shouldn't this be moved to the Politics and Religion board? I know that board doesn't get much traffic, but it doesn't really fit here.

[DJ_Asia]

That wasnt too painful.
I really have mixed feelings on spirituality,but on organized religion I think that Karl Marx "Opium for the Masses" pretty much sums it up

[JANIRA]

Arent Chrisitians the same ones that used to burn people who were non-Christianss. I myslef was raised cathloic, i belive in God. I dont belive in Organized religion, why? Cause i tts veryf hypocritical, to go into a place of whorship, listen to the prechers speak on what people are doing wrong, whos going to hell, whos not and so forth. And yet turn around and say im not here to judge,,,, yet they were doing while they were preaching! Its all a big mess. Each religion states that they are the right one to follow,, that they have seen god I.E. jehovas wittness as so as others, im not knocking that they belive in God or what have you , what i am knocking is their lack of tolerance, , lack of humanity, and willing to understand. I myself my mom taught me to pray, which i still do, i belive more in spirituality than religion. If you see religion has become very chaotic , and it seperates instead of bringing people togther to unify, to teach people to love. What they are teaching, its total contradiction, in my eyes . " I" belive as long as you are thoughtful, caring,, dont harm yourself or anyone, help others, and are humane. its the way to be. Its simple. I totally belive in karma..100% Karma , is the way i live by.

[JANIRA]

Look at the at the Indians, they were so peaceful, and so in their own right, and they whorshiped "The creators" creations, earth and everything around them, they enriched their lives with unity, beauty and knowleage, they werent burdened by all of this chaotic right and wrong ,, they just lived as they pleased.

[suckseed]

Here Janira. This is for you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3U0udLH974&NR=1

[yodajazz]

I don't have time to answer each question. But it sounds like they say that results from prayer are just random results. However it is my understanding that many things happen to people because of what they believe. For example, some people survive cancer for longer periods because they believe they can be cured. Others, who accept a terminal diagnosis tend to die faster.

Many things happen to people as a result of natural laws. I just happen to believe that God is responsible for creating those natural laws, as well as the abitlty to transcend his own natural laws.

I think that their answers were too simple to complicated questions. There is no garuntee in any religious doctrine that bad things will not happen to good people. But the Bible is full of examples of people who overcame tremendous obstacles.

Re: what Janira has posted; I do believe people have a right to be skeptical of most organized religions. I see them as violating many principles they teach.

[GrimFusion]

Well, whatever. I do want to refute this video a bit, and since it's obviously not going to be moved to the religion forum, may as well do it here.

Question 1: Why won't got heal amputees?
Answer: Faith exists because god refuses to prove it's own existence, so this question really boils down to a matter of what is and what isn't. So long as faith exists (which it does), God cannot prove itself.

Question 2: Why are there so many starving people in the world?
Answer: What would happen if we lived in a world where there simply was enough food for everyone? We'd overpopulate, overcrowd, and over-pollute. If no end came to food supplies, it'd then be obvious someone had a hand in creating enough food to feed everyone no matter what. That brings me back to the answer to my first question.

Question 3: Why does god demand the death of so many innocent people in the bible?
Answer: This one is a little hard to answer. In my opinion, anyone who takes the bible literally is fucktarded. The word of god was passed through a writer before the pen hit paper, and in some cases, I'd think it's obvious the writers could either misconstrue the information passed to them, or decide to sneak in their own opinions or beliefs. If you think otherwise, I'd consider you gullible.

Question 4: Why does the bible contain so much anti-scientific nonsense?
Answer: Science, the way we interpret it, did not exist back when the bible was written. Many of the things which are common sense today, nobody knew anything about in ancient times. That, paired with a game of telephone from the mouth of god to the pages of the bible could have very well lead to some odd, anti-scientific translations. As an example, perhaps in the story of Johna, Johna actually spent three days riding on top of a surfaced whale. Perhaps it wasn't three days but more like three hours. A lot could very well be lot in translation.

Question 5: Why is God such a huge proponent of slavery in the bible?
Answer: Again, you have to look at the times. There was much less populous back then, but they lived in such an arid environment that food was scarce too. The king didn't want to pay out enough to provide food in turn for work, so when a build project had to be done fast, it was much easier to MAKE people work. I know that's kinda a half-ass answer, as I can't support why such actions would be written into the bible, but at least you know why such conditions would have existed.

Question 6: Why do bad things happen to good people?
Answer: The bible actually explains this. Since the times of Adam and Eve, mankind has been prone to acts of evil. Whether you believe bad or evil stems from actions of the devil or not is all on you, but since that time, man has been allowed to sin and make choices. Going back to my first answer, though... in a state of bliss and perfection, there'd be far more questions about why things DIDN'T go wrong, thus proving someone had their hand in ensuring everything remain perfect, thus making God prove itself.

Question 7: Why didn't any of Jesus' miracles in the bible leave behind any evidence.
Answer: Again, let's go back to the answer to my first question. With proof of the existence of a higher power comes the death of faith and choice. Since faith and choice exist, God cannot prove it's own existence.

Question 8: How do we explain the fact that Jesus has never appeared to you?
Answer: There are a lot of people in the world whom claim that Jesus HAS appeared to them. You can't necessarily call them wrong if you don't have the evidence to prove them incorrect.

Question 9: Why would Jesus want you to eat his body and drink his blood?
Answer: As a reminder that he has sacrificed his body and blood to allow men and women to repent and be abolished of their sins.

Question 10: Why do Christians get divorced at the same rate as non-Christians?
Answer: Just because someone believes doesn't mean that they live in a different world. When divorce becomes a trend, it'll be a trend in every sub-culture. Does that mean that Christians who divorce aren't committing a sin? No. But it doesn't mean that they'll never be forgiven for it.

How many of these rationalizations would you consider "strange"?
Oh, by the way, I'm an Atheist.

[alphanumeric]

Look at the at the Indians, they were so peaceful, and so in their own right, and they whorshiped "The creators" creations, earth and everything around them, they enriched their lives with unity, beauty and knowleage, they werent burdened by all of this chaotic right and wrong ,, they just lived as they pleased.

yeah and then we got our collective asses handed to us...

[SmashysmashY]

Well, whatever. I do want to refute this video a bit, and since it's obviously not going to be moved to the religion forum, may as well do it here.

Question 1: Why won't got heal amputees?
Answer: Faith exists because god refuses to prove it's own existence, so this question really boils down to a matter of what is and what isn't. So long as faith exists (which it does), God cannot prove itself.
for an atheist you sure do pose some pretty bad arguments. i will only address a few of them though.

so you claim that god doesn’t heal amputees because that would constitute proof and preclude faith and god needs people to have faith for some reason that you’re keeping to yourself. well what about all the tens of thousands of people who claim to have seen miracles? doesn’t that belie the need for faith? you could say that you automatically assume that all miracles are false but in your reply to point 8 you say that you can’t call someone wrong who claims to have seen one because you don’t have proof they didn’t (this is also fallacious but it’s your argument and it contradicts your point 1). the point is if you want to say that god can only exist by creating a situation where any reasonable person can logically come to the conclusion that it doesn’t then it’s far more parsimonious to just say that god doesn’t exist.




Question 3: Why does god demand the death of so many innocent people in the bible?
Answer: This one is a little hard to answer. In my opinion, anyone who takes the bible literally is fucktarded. The word of god was passed through a writer before the pen hit paper, and in some cases, I'd think it's obvious the writers could either misconstrue the information passed to them, or decide to sneak in their own opinions or beliefs. If you think otherwise, I'd consider you gullible.
this question as well as 4 and 5 assume that god is perfect. if your counter to this is that god made it perfect but then people edited it and made it imperfect you’re just making a baseless assertion counter to reason that god was involved at all. wouldn’t a perfect god be able to stop imperfect people from mismanaging an editing job? even the head editor of a small town newspaper could handle that feat.




Question 8: How do we explain the fact that Jesus has never appeared to you?
Answer: There are a lot of people in the world whom claim that Jesus HAS appeared to them. You can't necessarily call them wrong if you don't have the evidence to prove them incorrect.
this is probably the worst argument that you could make. the burden of proof lies on the person making a claim, not the person who disbelieves. if you fail to meet the burden of proof your claim can be dismissed out of hand. and what do you think would constitute proof that someone didn’t see something anyway? you must believe that the guy on my box of lucky charms cereal exists because you can’t prove i didn’t see him dancing on my kitchen table this morning.



Question 9: Why would Jesus want you to eat his body and drink his blood?
Answer: As a reminder that he has sacrificed his body and blood to allow men and women to repent and be abolished of their sins.
in order for this to be valid jesus would have had to actually sacrifice something. sacrifice means loss. jesus didn’t lose anything in fact he gained stuff. so this argument needs to be refined as well

[NewYorker]

Look at the at the Indians, they were so peaceful, and so in their own right, and they whorshiped "The creators" creations, earth and everything around them, they enriched their lives with unity, beauty and knowleage, they werent burdened by all of this chaotic right and wrong ,, they just lived as they pleased.

By indians do you mean native americans or the people living in india? Doesn't really matter though as neither group were peaceful and had strict laws about what was allowed and what wasn't.

[JANIRA]

By indians i ment the natives,,

[trish]

That the god of Abraham is imaginary is just a simple hypothesis that simply answers a multitude of otherwise perplexing questions.

Ask your chaplain if religious belief may be right for you.
You should not lead a country while under the influence of religious belief. You should definitely not declare a war when under the influence of religious belief. Religious belief may be addictive. If you substitute religious belief for medical knowledge you may suffer from minor irritations, frequent infections, or unnecessary death. If religious belief persists after careful examination, you should see your doctor.

[danaleigh]

oh my goddess that was some funny shit Seed your on my smile list now hon ~hugs~