Why be good?

[Esquilax]

Were you abused as a child?

Yes.

Man...my parents never threatened me with "horrible threats of hell". Instead, they explained why God had sent his Son Jesus to die on the cross so that none who believe in Him might perish but have everlasting life.

Why are you assuming that your particular religious upbringing is the only form of religious upbringing? Or that the fact that your parents didn't see fit to either tell you about the "fiery lake of burning sulfur" written about in the bible, or allow you to read those passages in the bible, for that matter, means those passages don't exist?

What kind of a warped caricature do you envision when you think of a group of Christians getting together on a Sunday morning for services? Are people there out of fear, out of obedience, or out of love? 

You should talk to my wife sometime: raised by a devoutly christian family, she grew up believing in literal demons that sometimes stalked the earth, from the fire and brimstone hell that I mentioned earlier. Now, I'm not saying that's every christian family's experience, but by the same token, I expect you not to assert that it's nobody's experience either.

No. And this is why most of what is argued in this forum fails miserably. Science can say nothing about God.

You still haven't justified this assertion, you're just using it as a means to keep god safe from falsifiability. That might make you feel better, but I'm not obligated to accept it until you've justified it.

Because God is immaterial, and science deals only with the physical, material world.

Why? Because you said so?

Because there is a huge difference between the two (and deep down, you know it). But hey, this forum exists for the entertainment of its members...not their enlightenment. I get that now.

Don't presume to tell me what I know, Randy.