Does god need your help?

[Cecelia]

What I don't get is if as some Christians say that God is more lenient on people who haven't heard the gospel, then why didn't Jesus say "BTW guys make sure you tell nobody about any of this. Don't write any books, don't start a religion. My death alone is enough. It'll make it so less people end up in hell. And whatever you do, don't spread word about me at all."

I mean if anything, it'd be better to judge people when they don't know someone is always watching, than to not be clear about the rules and provide absolutely no evidence of your existence and expect people to buy it.

[robvalue]

I never claimed to be a Christian. I don't know where GC got that idea.

I become a catholic for a few seconds so I could argue "their side" of the whole protecting child molesters debate.

[KevinM1]

I always kind of chuckle when Christians start talking about god wanting a relationship with us and wanting us to live forever free of sin in the afterlife. Because it's so fucking stupid.

For one, why does a perfect being create anything? A perfect being would be atomic - inherently complete and singular. Why? Because the act of creation implies a want or need, and thus precludes that creature from being perfect.

Second, relationships - healthy ones, anyway - require consent from all parties involved. I refuse to be in a relationship with anything that would punish myself or others for saying 'no'. Indeed, I find such a creature to be my enemy because coercion through violence is morally reprehensible and should be stopped.

Third, the idea of sin is ridiculous. God can't abide by it, apparently. Well, that's pretty wimpy for an almighty, wouldn't you say?

Fourth, the entire setup is woefully inefficient. God knows that between unbelievers and those who still sin terribly despite believing, he may get, what, 25%-35% of the earth's population to join him in heaven? That's a lot of people who are being wasted. It would be more humane, and efficient, to either not create more people, or to just create them in heaven and remove the middle step.

I'm sure there are other things that are wrong with the typical Christian claptrap, but that's what always comes to mind immediately.

[Athene]

Oh, yes. 
It's absolutely required to demonstrate 'evidence' of your existence when you're intangible, inaudible, AND invisible.  

C'mon...Cut the cat some slack!

[The Valkyrie]

This is a question for all the religious people who ever try to act on god's behalf, in a small or big way, for example:

-Trying to convince others that God is real / their religion is true

-Supporting changes of laws on religious grounds

-Mistreating someone citing religion as the reason (even killing them, in extreme cases)

The question is this:

Does God need your help doing whatever it is you're doing? To communicate? To govern as he sees fit? To reveal his existence? To demonstrate the validity of the true religion? For justice to be served?

If the answer is yes, then your God is pretty feeble. No offense, but you're just a human. If he needs your help, he's more comparable to us than to a deity.

If the answer is no, then why are you acting on his behalf? Do you know better than God how he wants things done? Can he not cope on his own? Does he need protecting? Do things need to be a certain way before he can continue with his "plan"?

I suggest that the greatest act of faith and confidence in God is to leave all of that up to him, and to stop acting like he needs armies of people to do his bidding. Every action taken on his behalf betrays a lack of faith, and a frustration with his inaction. It also reveals an arrogance that you know better than God what should be done.

After reading that I was kinda expecting, "God needs your help.  Call <this number> to donate now!"

[Ravenshire]

Something else I've never understood about gawd. According to every christer faith I've ever heard of, gawd is a perfect being. How does a perfect being manage to create imperfect creations? Lucifer is supposedly a fallen angel, crated by a perfect gawd. How could he ever rebel? Even the "free will" argument falls apart here, because a perfect creation would never have reason to rebel against its perfect creator. After all, he's the perfect creation of a perfect gawd living a perfect existence in a perfect environment. And yet, the first two sentient creations (angels and man) both decided that rebellion was a better idea than hanging out in perfect environments with their perfect gawd. Then we get people like GC who not only buy into the bullshit, but can't imagine why we dont.

[drfuzzy]

This is a question for all the religious people who ever try to act on god's behalf, in a small or big way, for example:

-Trying to convince others that God is real / their religion is true

-Supporting changes of laws on religious grounds

-Mistreating someone citing religion as the reason (even killing them, in extreme cases)

The question is this:

Does God need your help doing whatever it is you're doing? To communicate? To govern as he sees fit? To reveal his existence? To demonstrate the validity of the true religion? For justice to be served?

If the answer is yes, then your God is pretty feeble. No offense, but you're just a human. If he needs your help, he's more comparable to us than to a deity.

If the answer is no, then why are you acting on his behalf? Do you know better than God how he wants things done? Can he not cope on his own? Does he need protecting? Do things need to be a certain way before he can continue with his "plan"?

I suggest that the greatest act of faith and confidence in God is to leave all of that up to him, and to stop acting like he needs armies of people to do his bidding. Every action taken on his behalf betrays a lack of faith, and a frustration with his inaction. It also reveals an arrogance that you know better than God what should be done.

Ah, but they have their "great commission" - Matthew 28:16-19
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.   
And that goes along with Philippians 2:10 
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. . . 
And that means that they will have WON, they will have been proved to be RIGHT.  Everyone will believe in Jeebus.  

Of course, there are also those stories in Revelation that has his nibs mowing down billions of unbelievers, blood rising to the level of the horses' bridles, and billions being sent to hell.  So everyone won't believe in Jeebus.  Until he chops their heads off while his minions cheer.  Then apparently, only the "faithful" will be left.  So finally every knee shall bow.  Yay!  Isn't it glorious?  (Yes, I'm being facetious - but my Mother thought the slaughter of unbelievers in Revelation was one of the BEST parts of the babble, so it's a nauseated facetious.)

And apparently the believers are the ones that have to do the preachin'.   As a church song says, "we are the hands Jesus has . . . we are the voice Jesus has . . . ".   (He clearly has neither.)  

I'm with you Rob - it's absurd.  But when the preachers come here, they think that they are being the best little sheeple Jeebus could have -- they're saving us -- we desperately need their help, because obviously we've just never heard the "good news".  They are incapable of seeing their preaching as the disrespectful abuse that it is.  And they are incapable of putting their brainwashing under logical scrutiny.  They simply can't see that their gawd is impotent, inadequate, flawed, and imaginary.

[ignoramus]

Under construction, sorry

[Silver]

IF god is so great, the last thing he needs is man defending him. IF god is so great, he should be able to stand on his own.

[robvalue]

Great replies, thanks guys

No other theist answers. In some ways, I take that as a good thing. It may mean they are taking a moment to think about it.

[/optimist]