Why is belief in a higher power required?

[FallentoReason]

@ Godschild

http://www.evilbible.com/Rape.htm

It's pretty black and white: your god approves, and commands, killing and raping innocent people.

I've read the past few posts between you and Esquilax and I'm absolutely appauled by the fact that you even entertain the idea that somehow.. somehow all of this is remotely ok. You should seriously take a look at yourself, because your posts scream out "amoral".

You know nothing about scriptures

You'd be right in saying that about this particular subject. During my time as a Christian, not once did I hear these verses being talked about at church. I knew nothing of God's sickening acts against humanity.

and you use a biased interpretation instead of reading with an open mind

2 Samuel 12:11-14
Thus says the Lord: 'I will bring evil upon you out of your own house. I will take your wives [plural] while you live to see it, and will give them to your neighbor. He shall lie with your wives in broad daylight. You have done this deed in secret, but I will bring it about in the presence of all Israel, and with the sun looking down.'
Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." Nathan answered David: "The Lord on his part has forgiven your sin: you shall not die. But since you have utterly spurned the Lord by this deed, the child born to you must surely die." [The child dies seven days later.]

A DIRECT command from your god to rape other people's wives.

Numbers 31
They attacked Midian just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed all the men. All five of the Midianite kings – Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba – died in the battle. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. Then the Israelite army captured the Midianite women and children and seized their cattle and flocks and all their wealth as plunder. They burned all the towns and villages where the Midianites had lived. After they had gathered the plunder and captives, both people and animals, they brought them all to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the whole community of Israel, which was camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho.

A DIRECT command from your god to slay innocent people.

and determining for yourself what scriptures say, you allow these people to lead you around like a pig with a ring in his nose.

Are we reading the same book?? Your Holy Scriptures couldn't be more definitive on the evils God commands. There's *no* possible loopholes for interpretation when the LORD says... let me reiterate that... when the LORD speaks out to humanity and says "take their wives and sleep with them".

You need to prove to us that God commanded murder and rape and it would be refreshing to see a nonbeliever think for himself instead of parroting others.

Enough of your games! Explain right now how the killing, slavery and sleeping with people's wives is in any way justified. These atrocities are *in* your book, that's fact. But you know why you won't explain yourself? Because you have a two-fold problem:

(1) God allowed/commanded these things to happen. Naturally, there would be a damn good reason if that's the case, because we're talking about *God*. You haven't given Esquilax a single reason why the Word of God is filled with bloodshed, slavery and sexually immoral acts. This silence on your part leads me to think you're on this boat:

(2) If you so boldly believe God had *nothing* to do with these evils (despite some of these acts being brought about explicitly by him... your cognitive dissonance must be through the roof by the way) then that can only mean what we are reading is *literally* the word of man; stories of bloodshed and slavery purely dictated by man where no divine entity ever associated itself with said men.



Take your pick already. Either explain to us what's so good about genocide etc *OR* admit that the Bible contains non-supernaturally inspired content. Either choose to defend horrid acts against your fellow man *OR* admit what will undeniably be the beginning of the end for your beliefs; no god was associated in writing these "Holy" Scriptures.

It's a tough spot to be in, so I can see why you've been dancing around the issue in this thread post after post. But enough's enough. Take your pick.