So lets say God appeared right in front of you.

[reverendjeremiah]

Well--(non-joking answer) since I have the gift of reason, I always act for an end, I always desire to be happy, and my free will only operates with such freedom because I don't always know the best ways to make myself happy...in other words, because I can convince myself that several different things could make me happy, I feel free to choose any of them.

Reason as a GIFT?! Reason is not a gift. Reason is something that one must WORK to understand and acheive. Just because people can arbitrarily make a choice (typically blinded by intent) does not mean it is reasonable. Show me something you think is reasonable, and I will show you another person who thinks it isnt. The closest we can come to true reason, as emotionally leaning beings, is to bolster our thoughts with logic. Logic goes beyond the human condition, and therefore must be worked on.

If God is who they (the Christians) say He is--He's pure happiness--He's the fulfillment of all desire and all being. If I really knew that total reality, there would be no excuse to pick anything other than Him--I would be compelled by my own inner freedom (because my freedom exists to allow me to choose what will make me happy) to worship Him.

If god is who they say he is, then he is twisted and absurd. Pure happiness? I guees if he gets off on things like eternal torture in a lake of fire, sure, he has eternal happiness. Watching little children get raped and murdered and doing nothing to stop it? Sure, if that makes him happy. Freedom would be an illusion in a cosmos dominated by an all powerful, all knowing being. We would merely be pawns playing out his script, ants under his magnifying glass, toys for his amusement. And what possible use is worship good for? Appeasing the ego of a being who knows everything and can have whatever he wants at the snap of a finger? Someone who has to stoop to base threats of torture in eternal fire for his creations to appease his ego?

Do you really love God? Do you really want to make him happy? What will you do if he tells you that sending you into the lake of fire for all eternity will make him happy? Ask for an even higher power for help? Will you jump in willingly? Dont give me that "I know he will not ask me that" excuse..a man who openly brags about a flaming eternal torture chamber is NOT to be trusted with ANYTHING they promise.

That is--IF God appeared to me. I haven't seen any visions lately. Of course, Christians say that that non-appearance of a big vision to me is because He respects my freedom, and wants me to battle heroically to choose Him, and so only gives us glimpses--bite-sized increments of knowledge of God.

Thats funny..we skeptics say that if you have a vision, and you arent on drugs, then you need to go see a doctor, and a non-appearance of a vision is EXACTLY what you would expect in a godless environment.

If that's true, I think the fact that I'm on this chat-room shows that there's a down-side to that kind of freedom. The ignorance such a God leaves me--the fact that it does not seem absolutely certain to me that there is a knowing, loving God, who is the fulfillment of all my desire--leaves me just enough room to reject Him, too. So I guess the real question for me isn't: "what if God appeared in front of you right now"--because, inasmuch as He ever does to most people (if He existed at all) He is right now to me, in the little moments of life. The question to me is: "what are you going to do with the little evidences that you could interpret for or against God right now?"

If god left you ignorant, then why complain? Thats "his will". Who are you to oppose his will. Hey, you are the believer, not me. One does not see a creation from a loving god. One sees the environment as a product of a godless universe. Prove to me your god isnt fuckin with you and playing with you for his amusement. Prove to me your god hasnt sent you here to this forum in order for us atheists to laugh at you. It doesnt matter what you think or I think. If an "all powerful deity" exists in this cosmos he can do damn well whatever he wants regardless of whatever promises you think you have with him. Where did you get those promises? From a book? Did men write that book claiming "god" was guiding their hand? Yeah.. humans are very trustworthy when it comes to god. They NEVER insert their own greedy intent into their discussions of what "god" wants..do they? It doesnt matter wether a god exists or not..such a god would be malevolently absurd and the source of all absurdity.

That's the darndest thing about reality--as long as you're open to it, it keeps on asking the same darned questions over and over again until you're dead. I feel like I can reject God 80 bzillion times and the 80 bzillionth & 1st, the question is still going to be there, until I give it a shot.

Been there, done that, didnt like it, dumped it.

All I know is that if god appears between me and the urinal he's getting pissed on. At my age the kidneys don't handle false starts very well.

If god puts himself and yourself into that situation, he has only to blame himself.

Then again, if god is ANYTHING like that prick in the old testament, he will blame you anyways and punish you for it.