@Ferrocyanide I thank you for the break down of possible responses. My friend is Christian and when we tried to have further conversation about this topic, he told me a story about how at a time when he was barely making ends meet and living in a tiny house, he was able to save about $20 for Christmas. While at his church, there was a new family who had moved into the area and were having difficulty with money. A "voice" told him to put that $20, all that he was able to save, into the collection plate that came around. Less than 10 minutes later he found an envelope with his name on it and inside was a $100 bill.
I was getting angry on my friend's behalf and didn't want to make him think I was angry with him. I tried once just to say, "There is a human element here. Someone left that for you. It wasn't God wrote your name on an envelope with cash money inside." But apparently , the big guy in the sky who values free will so much, he can't affect our decision to believe by proving himself, the same guy who has to hurt people in order to teach them, is also a puppeteer and can influence the will of regular people to do his bidding. I am declining to further get into it with him.
He is such a lovely person, despite his ailments and spending a good portion of time in a wheelchair, he is cheerful, with heart of gold. I struggle being a dedicated anti-theist, because I believe religion and faith is harmful but I cannot destroy or attack the faith of someone I care about. Not to their face, anyway. So, I decided to come here instead to get it off my chest.
I was getting angry on my friend's behalf and didn't want to make him think I was angry with him. I tried once just to say, "There is a human element here. Someone left that for you. It wasn't God wrote your name on an envelope with cash money inside." But apparently , the big guy in the sky who values free will so much, he can't affect our decision to believe by proving himself, the same guy who has to hurt people in order to teach them, is also a puppeteer and can influence the will of regular people to do his bidding. I am declining to further get into it with him.
He is such a lovely person, despite his ailments and spending a good portion of time in a wheelchair, he is cheerful, with heart of gold. I struggle being a dedicated anti-theist, because I believe religion and faith is harmful but I cannot destroy or attack the faith of someone I care about. Not to their face, anyway. So, I decided to come here instead to get it off my chest.
