lets just suspend belief for a moment and assume that we do belive in god.. he supposed to be almighty but he feels the need to prove to his mortal creations that he alone has the right to rule.
he decides to do this by allowing them to suffer unspeakably for centeries.
then he sends his son to earth, so that his son can suffer unspeakably and die too.. his son dying is supposed to atone for the creations sins, but instead of calling it quits there, god allows them to continue suffering.
So therefore faith=stupid.
If I had said that I would understand you being riled. But I didn't - you did!
Now stand in the corner until you have cooled down.
In answer to whether I believe the sun will fail and the Earth will break up, just like
my pitiful body - Yes! But the sun will last around 4.5 billion years longer than my pitiful body.
and may you all have peace!
this is another general question for the board and i ask your indulgence because i am trying to understand how others think.
if there truly is no god/god... what is wrong with the existence of religion?
Paulapollos your post was very good and well thought out. You last paragraph summed up the situation very well.
Western society no longer uses Christianity as a template for laws and behaviour. We are rapidly moving towards a secular society. Unfortunately Muslim countries are not. Even so, if Muslims had no religion to attribute their harsh treatment of wrongdoers and abuse of women to, they would still act in the same way. Blaming their religion is just a smoke screen.
The Roman Catholic Church did much the same for many years of its history. Every society has had its way of doing things but religion has allowed them to shift the blame by claiming they were acting as agents of god. Even if I believed in the existence of one god who created the world, I wouldn’t blame him for mankind’s selfish behaviour.
As a gladiator I urge you to - ask not what you can do for your god but what your gods can do for you.
lets just suspend belief for a moment and assume that we do belive in god.. he supposed to be almighty but he feels the need to prove to his mortal creations that he alone has the right to rule.
he decides to do this by allowing them to suffer unspeakably for centeries.
then he sends his son to earth, so that his son can suffer unspeakably and die too.. his son dying is supposed to atone for the creations sins, but instead of calling it quits there, god allows them to continue suffering.
I’m a mortal man so god doesn’t need to prove himself to me. I have already accepted that I shall die that will be the end. My atoms will be recycled and one day become stardust again.
All belivers need is to meet is an immortal man and god will have proved himself to them. Waiting until they are dead for proof that they will live forever is not a smart move. I know its all about faith but evidence trumps faith in the game of life.
and may you all have peace!
this is another general question for the board and i ask your indulgence because i am trying to understand how others think.
if there truly is no god/god... what is wrong with the existence of religion?
shechaiyah - It’s gracious of you to still talk to me after I likened you to a spider losing legs.
Glad you are still around.
does anyone here think this command still applies in force today as it did 2000 years ago?.
There's not much in the bible that makes any sense to me but this edict from Paul, that most modest of men, is as apt and timely as his advice that wives should be submissive and in subjection, being as they are the weaker vessel.
and may you all have peace!
this is another general question for the board and i ask your indulgence because i am trying to understand how others think.
if there truly is no god/god... what is wrong with the existence of religion?
Frank Sinatra, when asked what he thought of religion famously said, “ I'm for anything that gets you through the night - be it prayer , tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniels. ”
Alcohol and religion induce illusion and many people, including me, need a little illusion in their life. Religion has done much harm but also provided millions of people with hope and comfort. They died believing they would live forever in heaven and once dead were incapable of realizing they had been tricked.
The Roman Catholic confessional was a cunning plan to make the church money. On the other hand it enable people, for a small fee, to go on their way feeling validated, redeemed and free from the burden of guilt. Psychotherapy provides a similar service. Religion, like many of the crutches used to help us through life, can be a force for good or bad. Used in moderation it is likely a positive force and provides a social and spiritual service for the community and individuals.
Many times on this forum I have said that I have no problem with people believing that a loving god is watching and caring for them. If it helps them to be more loving, so be it. I also envy people who are able to have faith that they will survive physical death. Alas without a belief in a god I shall have to stick with Sinatra’s plan ‘c.’
A slave of life who won his freedom then lost the plot.
when i was a jw, the key issue that caused me to doubt the wt was the trinity.
the wtb&ts's blatent misquotations and misrepresentations of religious scholarship to fit their anti-trinitarian presuppositions are horrid and inexcusable.
that issue, however, was not the issue that caused me to become a christian.
As XJW4EVR has repeated his little rant I will repeat my retort.
Ah! We have seen this tactic used many times. Start a discussion about faith. Then however polite and reasonable the responses, accuse the non-believers of being unpleasant.
Absolute proof that only those that believe in the resurrection are decent people. The Jehovah's Witnesses use this ploy all the time. Such a Christian approach!
(for the purposes of this post, i want to say that being angry, though a real emotion, is not healthy if it continues to fester inside you.
i think anger is reasonable if it helps you to move on from point a to point b. in addition, because of the real issues anger can bring, if you feel that after many years you are still angry over your jw experience, i strongly encourage therapy.
long term anger is destructive to the individual).
AK - Jeff I read though your post earlier and missed how well written and insightful it was. I just read it again three times.
I guess we all hide behind our armour and pretend we are tougher than we really are. We come here because we can never forget. For me, what I miss most is how much I loved so many of the people I shared a hope for the future with.
I will never love that way again.
(for the purposes of this post, i want to say that being angry, though a real emotion, is not healthy if it continues to fester inside you.
i think anger is reasonable if it helps you to move on from point a to point b. in addition, because of the real issues anger can bring, if you feel that after many years you are still angry over your jw experience, i strongly encourage therapy.
long term anger is destructive to the individual).
Anger is a good and positive emotion. It moves us to action. It is life saving and life changing.
Once it has served its purpose, like any emotion, it needs to rest. It will always be there to call upon should the view of the world that we have come to depend upon be challenged. Until then life is for living.
when i was a jw, the key issue that caused me to doubt the wt was the trinity.
the wtb&ts's blatent misquotations and misrepresentations of religious scholarship to fit their anti-trinitarian presuppositions are horrid and inexcusable.
that issue, however, was not the issue that caused me to become a christian.
XJW4EVR WHat I have gotten in return is name-calling, insults and condescension.
Ah! We have seen this tactic used many times.
Start a discussion about faith. Then however polite and reasonable the responses, accuse the non-believers of being unpleasant. Absolute proof that only those that believe in the resurrection are decent people. The Jehovah's Witnesses use this ploy all the time. Such a Christian approach!
