The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday (page 50)

DS211

Because belie ing the Bible,for many, makes people think "well if it is my time to go its my time to go", or "its all part of this wicked system of things", or "they will be resurrected and will enjoy eternal life, death is just the beginning".....my problem with these outlooks is that it creates a cynical portrayal in the mind of people who think this way, making you appreciate this life less because its in this wicked world. I know as a witness i became cynical to everyday life. But when you focus all your time on the Bible and hope for the future without learning about where you are in the present, and also forget to study about how we got here not just as spiritual people but as beings of a physical universe, you tend to not see warning signs. Like i said not all theists or christians are this way bit many do develop that cynical view that this life isnt good enough and will be done away with, replacing it with the new.

cofty

Very few women praise God for labour pains... the joy and praise comes later - Caliber

So now you have the most important part of your argument to present.

How was god ignoring the tsuanmi a blessing to the victims?

I notice you have ignored my reply to you regarding your moral skepticism.

bohm

suppose a team of geologists discovered a 8.0 earthquake would strike a populated area within a week, but they choose not to inform the public.

one week later the quake strike and kill 20'000 people.

what would we think of the geologists?

this thread make me so sad. What is it with christianity that make people say such dehumanizing things?

humbled

No, cofty, I am not blaming the victims neither making the case for a god who is plotting world events.

I am disturbed that we are so hung up on the idea that god is the mover and shaker in this at all.

I am disgusted that we aren't doing better than arguing about whether or not GOD is to blame.

The islanders do better--they believe the ocean god gets hungry and eats them from time to time. they make it their business to avoid being eaten.

why can't we do the same?

Help each other deal with reality---

Apognophos

How was god ignoring the tsuanmi a blessing to the victims?

Waiting for someone to say, "Well, they got to heaven faster."

What is it with christianity that make people say such dehumanizing things?

A complete lack of faith in themselves, that's what. They don't have high enough self-esteem to stand up for their own values, or in some cases they are simply cowed by fear of a world without God, so they feel they have to accept a tyrannical God over nothing at all.

I am disturbed that we are so hung up on the idea that god is the mover and shaker in this at all.

He created the $%^&ing Earth, of course he's the mover and shaker. Nobody's saying he made the tsunami happen, but he made the planet that has tsunamis happen on it. That's like saying an architect is not responsible for a badly-designed building of his that collapses, because he didn't personally push it over with a bulldozer.

humbled

Apognophos, This is probably not a discussion I should be in.

I never signed on that God was your idea of god. It is not clear to me that a generally great place to live(earth) was set up by an individual.

Job had his complaints of god and god never explained what or why he did anything. The story could be a description of blind natural energy. Humans try to make sense of it.

I am astonished that no one cares how ancient the knowledge was that was not carried forward that might have saved lives.

Are we really this disfunctional?

OnTheWayOut

I have been mostly away from JWN on break, so I won't wade through all these pages of responses.

Great opening post. The 2004 tsunami extremely moved me to serious questions about God and His lack of action.

I imagine most responses were no better than the pastor's ones. If anyone tried to claim that there is an "afterlife" or future of some kind of paradise or spirit life or some other kind of reward, I still say the price was too high. Allowing children to be torn from their parents' arms to suffer and putting many living remaining ones through such anguish over their loss. What bastard would stand by and not prevent such a tragedy if he could do so- no interfering with free will or universal issues- just simply causing the event not to happen or minimizing it.

I suppose it's as simple as many of us not believing that believers cannot see how obvious this issue is and believers unable to see what our problem is with God standing by doing nothing because "He" didn't cause the problem.

cofty

Help each other deal with reality---

Humbled if you are not a theist then the tsunami raises no problems for your worldview.

caliber

How was god ignoring the tsuanmi a blessing to the victims? there is no great immediate blessing of course, only grief and pain

How is it a blessing for my uncles that dead in the WW1 &WW2 ? But I do foresee some , things that you no longer accept

so why bother you with them ? I beleive you feel that no amount of blessings and reward justifies pain so why go down that

road to be mocked and belittled ? Beside you are well aware of the Bible promises... must I list them so certain ones can throw

stones and eggs at them ?

bohm

Caliber:

How is it a blessing for my uncles that dead in the WW1 &WW2 ? But I do foresee some , things that you no longer accept

so why bother you with them ?

oh, so its a bit like: its bad to beat your children because it cause them pain, but if you give them presents and treats afterwards it evens out?

The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday

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