Franics Collins

[athrock]

Actually it's quite simple as to why I've dismissed other religions.  Once I gave up my Christianity, I came to realize the one big question: Why would god choose a small subset of people to give his laws to, instead of giving them to everyone?  I saw much of the same sexism and homophobia in other religions as I did Christianity.  But more than that I saw that they were no different from Christianity.  A small group of people when the whole is considered.  One area among the hugeness of this earth.  Why give truth to a small group of people, expecting them to live by the rules you set, and then not telling the rest of the world what your rules are?  Most of those religions also require one thing to run them: Money.  They would not sustain if they did not have money.  None had an ancient set of morals that screamed 'too ahead of their time to be the values of the people who wrote the texts.'

Read Acts again...the early Church didn't have much money, Cecelia. Yet, it eventually overcame the mighty Roman Empire and then the rest of the world.

As for why God chose to begin with a small group, there are numerous possible reasons:

1. Ever notice how the the potency of bleach is diminished as it becomes diluted? The original church had much more "cleansing" power than what we see in the Church today.
2. God had spent a very long time preparing a small group to receive the Incarnation. This would have been difficult to accomplish on a global scale.
3. God has allowed the people involved in the Church to play a role in the salvation of the world. Just as he allows us to be co-creators when we procreate.


One more point - and this is one that you atheists CONSTANTLY fail to acknowledge: God is not going to send people to hell just because they have not heard the gospel. It just doesn't work that way. If your Baptist upbringing led you to believe otherwise, then blame John Calvin.

You might benefit from reading some basic Catholic theology.