RE: From atheism to Christianity? How so?
December 29, 2013 at 2:33 pm
(This post was last modified: December 29, 2013 at 2:35 pm by Lemonvariable72.)
agapelove Wrote:What you have to see is that all prayers are answered, and sometimes that answer is no. To a man with no faith, he will see the no answers as being unanswered prayers when they are actually answered prayers. So, the study itself could never accurately measure the effectiveness of prayer for that reason. God could arrange the circumstances so that those prayers which were answered yes would never have a statistical significance, and He might do that because He only allows us to approach Him in faith and not by testing.So when a mother prays desperately for food for her starving child, your god says no and lets that child die a agonizing death because it's part of his plan? If thats the case your god makes me want to vomit.
(December 29, 2013 at 8:49 am)Tonus Wrote:I'd like to add one thing to your point too. He threatened adam and eve with death if they broke the rule, but adam and eve had no way of understanding death like we do as no animals in the garden of eden died.(December 28, 2013 at 8:25 pm)agapelove Wrote: God knew we would fall which is why He prepared a Savior before hand. You are indicting Him for doing nothing to stop it, but I think you're not acknowledging that God is offering everyone a choice.If he knew we would fall, then he designed us specifically with that in mind. Not only did he not stop it, he deliberately set it in motion. Everything that follows does so because he designed the first humans to fall short, then punished all of humanity for their success in falling short.
The only rule given to the first pair of humans is to avoid one tree in the utopian paradise that god has provided them. If he hadn't introduced this temptation, would Adam and Eve not have free will? If so, then the only way for them to exercise their free will was to break the one rule given them. If not, then we suffer because god added an unnecessary obstacle that was designed solely for the purpose of causing humanity to fall.
The story is written so as to put the blame squarely on god's shoulders, which is why it's such a tricky one for Christians to explain, and why there are such varied (and often unclear) explanations for it. Just the basic story --where god pats himself on the back for his "good" creation then watches it turn on him-- forces the believer to blame humanity for a shortcoming that is built into it. As you delve deeper the questions get tougher and the explanations more and more bizarre.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
