RE: Fifty Questions That Christians Can't Answer
February 23, 2010 at 3:45 pm
(This post was last modified: February 23, 2010 at 4:26 pm by Thomas.)
All of these questions are very easy to answer not just from a Christian perspective but from any perspective, without the "its God's will" excuse. Here are your plain logic answers:
1) Six days of work and a day of rest. Doesn't that sound more like a parable of work ethics more than it does a realization of God's limited power? You're hunting for something that isn't there. Place your scrutiny aside and actually pay attention; you'll find Christianity, as with all religions, is a guide on how to live a successful life.
2) Jesus died for the sins of we pitiful creatures not just to save us from ourselves but to put the duty of strengthening ourselves into OUR hands, instead of having us constantly rely on God. We are no longer a hands-on group in His book and this question is the same as asking why God didn't make you a foot taller so more women would like you. We are all living in this world with imperfections, some have physical disorders and others have personality disorders. Its about using that limitation to become stronger, not as a wager to try and get pity from others.
3) Earth was created perfect. No pain, no suffering. It was meant to be Heaven on earth. The point, though, was that God wanted to create a creature that could CHOOSE to love Him or deny Him and He wanted His creation to prove to Him that they loved Him just as a woman wants you to prove your love to her by not sleeping around (falling to temptation). We failed that temptation and so God showed the world the intensity of His power by creating hunger, fear, pain, suffering, depression, disease, famine... the list goes on, but surely you see my point. Just as your girlfriend would extend her power over you if you cheated on her, by keying your car and never talking to you again, God extended the strength of His power by making earth a place that is less than desireable. All these things were created to test our faith in Him. Failing lies a worse fate.
4) Because people foolishly believe that God will create a miracle just for them so that they can live trouble-free. This doesn't just count for that old lady but also for people suffering from financial and social troubles. Selfish as we are, we want everything to be just perfect and we want God to make it happen. That old lady wasn't healed and no self-respecting Christian thinks she was. She probably got a burst of adrenaline from being talked up by some over-zealous preacher and was able to stand for a while. You know this answer, and you put it here just to stump easily fooled believers.
5) It does seem like a daunting task to build a boat large enough to fit every animal on earth in it. Keep in mind most insects, bird and any sea-animals had no need to be on the boat and the fact that there aren't actually millions of species on the planet unless you include insects (most of which are miniscule and can fly), but a good resource for getting an actual idea of how many would actually have to BE on the boat is earthlife.net/mammals/welcome.html and the total comes in around something more like 110,000 - which is a considerably more manageable number and about 88,000 of which consists of different species of spider. Considering that you're already playing with the idea that the animals flocked to the boat from devine intervention, I think that the animals could survive for a few days on what was there and that a man could build a boat big enough to hold them really isn't much of a stretch, nor would be him dropping them off on their respective continents, but I believe the idea is they all got off and spread out slowly.
6) This is the same as wishing all amputees could grow back their parts, and that life were just perfect in general. The sickness and disease is a terrible part of the world, but it is also something that makes a person stronger and wiser even in their youth. I gaurantee that child will experience a life more vivid and fulfilling than you ever would because they know their time is limited, so they appreciate so much in what you would see as so very little.
7) You believe what you like, but I believe that God created the Earth in His own time and in what we may have translated as 6 days, He took millions of years to do. Then again, I don't understand a blasted thing about carbon dating, nor do I understand how we could know that something is millions of years old with a process that isn't accurate enough to date something from, say, 10 years ago... thus proving that it actually works. Convenient that everyone is long dead that could have been there. Aside from that, I have a lot of confidence in science and its much more plausible to see those six days of creation as symbolic.
8) This does nothing but show your lack of understanding for what being "saved by the blood of Christ" actually means. No, the man would be held ACCOUNTABLE for his mistake, but not damned to Hell. This doesn't go to say that if he went off and killed six people and decided to rape a couple people, he'd still be off the hook, but making a mistake is just that: a mistake. Following the idea that God sees and knows all things, I'm pretty sure He can tell the difference.
9) I have a feeling I'm going to have to say this a lot more as I respond to your words, but our time on this earth is a test of our dedication to Him. You have your lifetime to make good decisions or bad decisions and if you choose to reject God and His Son then you choose to spend the rest of your eternity in Hell. That decision is out of God's hands when He has obviously put this out in front of you and you have decided to refute it. I'm sure you'll be begging for mercy at that point, but when you've had so many opportunities to simply CONSIDER His word as truth, would YOU spare you?
10) Its getting silly how you think this logic is actually logic. This is just you chasing an idea without actually considering the whole picture. You can't just HAVE the forgiveness without ACCEPTING the terms of the "contract" between you and God. You choose to believe and love God and Jesus, and THEN you can go to Heaven because you have had the sin wiped away. Otherwise, the sins are on your head. Since you claim to be so logic bound, here's a little programming logic to clarify:
If StillAlive != True Then
If AcceptedChrist = True Then
You = You - Sin
GoTo Heaven
Else If AcceptedChrist = False Then
You = You + Sin
GoTo Hell
End If
Else
GoOnLiving()
End If
11) The point is for us to prove to God that we are worthy of His gift of Heaven. We failed Him with His gift of earth and are spending generation after generation destroying it and He isn't willing to just GIVE us another gift if we aren't willing to preserve it.
12) See answer 11. He didn't give us free will just to do it; He had a reason.
13) Sodom and Gomorrah is a story meant to teach one to never look back on a life of gluttony, greed and lust when you have been freed of its hold. Need I say more? You may take it as fact or you may take it as parable, either way it is meant to teach you to control your desires.
14) Be honest with yourself. Say you have two children, and knowing they had the choice between right and wrong, you dedicated years to teaching the children how to live life as good people, but as they developed into adults one of them chose to defy you or do wrong on almost every occassion. This got to the point where that child was neglecting others, including the obedient child to the point of hurting their feelings, stealing from them and eventually beating them up for fun. No matter how often you punished that child in its life, it continued to grow worse and though it expressed its knowledge of right and wrong, the child made it clear that it purposefully did what you didn't want it to do because it had that choice. What would you do with that child after it became an adult? Think of life as our childhood and death as our entry into adulthood where we suddenly become fully responsible for the things we do with ourselves. You will either succeed in life and go to Heaven, or fail miserably in the eyes of Our Creator and go to Hell. That's not difficult to understand, and can you really hold it against Him when He spent so much time trying to tell us? Your time to go "okay, lesson learned" is right now.
15) Simple answer: re-read your Bible, if you have one and aren't basing this all off hear-say, that is. It is clear that our physical bodies are pulled from the earth after the end of times. So that would explain away your physical aspect, but do you honestly think the Creator of the Universe doesn't have the power to make you feel excrutiating pain without a physical form? Yeah... I didn't think so.
16) We are to rely on our faith in the knowledge of Him. What good would it be to have love if there were just some visual cue that meant that person would love you forever? How standing could a love truly be if it was as simple as flipping a switch and making it be so? Life is about LEARNING lessons and STRENGTHENING your character to become the best person you can become. In this same way, you are to live your life learning to improve your faith with God. Go back and read my response to number 3, it will explain why He refuses to appear to us. We must prove our faith to attone for the sins we revel in on a daily basis.
17) Each one of these was not a failure, but God imposing rules upon us to keep us from hurting ourselves. Adam and Eve had gained knowledge of the world around them so they instantly knew shame. Along with this they would also realize sex and without the pain and suffering of childbirth, would pro-create to the point of rendering the world fully over-populated before it was prepared, or even knew how, to feed itself. The flood was meant to wash away the sin from the world so that it could have an opportunity to start over new. A huge, world-wide flood has been scientifically proven as well, along about the same time as the flood. So, SOMETHING happened then and we're still here, so a big boat seems pretty logical after consider that. Lastly, God confused the human language to keep the thousands of people that were working on the building from dying as they didn't realize that there was no possible way to climb INTO Heaven. Science didn't have the hold over the world it does now, so God did what He knew would stop them from making a very sad mistake. If anything this should answer your "Why didn't God do anything?" questions.
18) Christianity teaches that we are to love all things, even Satan. God does not hate Satan, but allowed him the chance to become what he was not: The all-powerful being. Satan was jealous of humanity's ability to choose between right and wrong, so Satan challenged God and was cast to Earth where he was allowed to tempt those that God created. God allowed this because it was the reason He created humanity in the first place: to choose. He had Angels and they could only do what God allowed them to do. This was something new and Satan wanted to test it. The objective in our lives is to resist this test of evil and prevail on God's side.
19) See 17. Not failures but God saving us from our own ignorance.
20) Easy. Jesus died for our sins and we betrayed God by killing His only Son. Jesus is our key to Heaven now and it is no longer in God's hands for us to make it there. He still does subtle things to help us, but nothing like in the days before Jesus' death.
21) You're referring to both times before Jesus and times when the end of the world has come and the demons are released onto the earth. The word to note there is "released," meaning they aren't out and about at the moment. It is likely that Goliath, the giant you're referring to was simply a very large man, tallying in at 9 foot 9 inches by the Bible's calculations. Not exactly mythical, but very rare.
22) The Bible makes it very clear that sex is meant to be enjoyed, period, but simply it must be inside the vows of marriage. Feel free to pop your Bible open and check that out. What you're referring to are ignorant, mind-washed Christians that fear sin on a very unhealthy level.
23) Christians are just as human and just as likely to fail as any others. I'm sorry for your haughty attitude, which I am aware is a result of years of being confronted by many people claiming to be Christians, but without that edge of truth that they keep saying they have. A true Christian knows he is no better than even the darkest of souls in the eyes of God and he is humbled by this. Overzealous, in-your-face Christians are annoying and disheartening to me because they are lost in their own ego... I don't associate with them myself, but I wish you would use wisdom and realize that this is not a problem with the religion, but with that individual.
24) If ever you intended to be taken seriously, this is where you have completely discredited yourself. If you had actually gone and READ the chapter that you're referring to, you would know that Jesus is telling a story about a man who intended to rule over the land. This man, NOT Jesus, was asking his servants to bring in anyone that opposed him. If you knew this and are being purposefully deceptive then you are a very sad person indeed and only wish to deceive those who don't care enough to verify your statements. Otherwise, you are just very limited yourself, and did as little research on this as possible.
25) More savage hostility from someone who claims not to mind if Christians practice their religion. I've answered this question a few times already, but I'll do it again. All disease and famine in this world are a result of our own weakness. I know you don't wish to take responsibility for the actions of two people from thousands of years ago, but the point is that... were it you, you would have fallen in the same way.
26) Humanity is what has caused those poor children to starve and die, not God! Those same children that you speak of, whom I'm sure you make yourself feel better about by donating food and money, are being helped by CHRISTIAN missionaries on a daily basis! God is working through His people to do whatever He can to help those poor souls and the reason they're there is because heartless savages plague the world, stealing and gutting the earth of its innocense and morality. In Africa alone there are millions of children abandoned and dying because the government doesn't care enough to stop the raiders and slavers from stealing their food and those strong enough to work. If a sense of morality were instilled in their government, say, some sort of religious belief that guided their hand... relentless of whether it were real or not, they would NEVER allow those children to be hurt. What you speak of makes no sense what-so-ever! You spend your life blaming God when He is the one thing actually trying to fix it? This is foolishness.
27) Its perfectly normal to question the Bible. I can't say I agree with every translation of the Bible, nor would you ever catch me saying that it is the complete works (though many will swear by it, no matter the facts), but the message in the Bible is clear and has not changed despite all of the books that have been removed from it. It's simple: Believe in God. Believe in Jesus. Be a good person and share these ideas. Not hard and not lost with time and editting. Those that are concerned with everything else are those same people that love to make all things in life more difficult by placing down as many rules and red tape as possible. The life of a true, soul-satisifed Christian knows how to relax and enjoy life. We cause no discomfort to others and we love with all our hearts. Some would call us rare and a lot of times I would agree.
28) Honestly, the only evidence of... well, pretty much everything that happened in the history of this planet has little evidence other than the writings that were made about them. I wouldn't expect there to be evidence of something that happened 2000 years ago whether I believed in a religion or not. Like most of what you're saying here, that's an extreme.
29) Your words speak much of yourself. You lack a key understanding about Christianity and unless I'm not mistaken, its likely you tend to overreact and misundersand most things in life. Ask your friends and see how they look when they respond - you'll see that I'm not mistaken about your character. Anyway, Jesus was physically and mentally God's actual Son - meaning he felt himself to be a separate entity while on Earth. This is true much in the way that you would have a child and though that child is separate from you, they came from your body, so they are you. Just like your child may inherit your abilities to sing, dance and misunderstand complex ideas, Jesus inherited God's abilities to read a person's soul and heal all the pains of their heart. (Sorry about the jab, but try and appreciate the good humor in it.)
30) First of all, your logic is, as per your norm at this point, very flawed. If you believed that was a good thing to do because it saved your child's immortal soul, then you wouldn't regret that you did it and would, therefore, be purposefully commiting a sin. You can't be forgiven for a sin that you're not sorry you commited because you don't feel that you commited a sin. Pretty sure you would go to Hell for that. Second, the trials of this world are meant to be experienced. God created us to procreate and experience the world so that we may gain knowledge and grow wise with our age. Dying young or at birth is unnatural and sad... and its a little sick to realize most of these questions are intended to play off the weak minded. You will be held accountable if you convince some poor, mentally-unstable soul to kill their children.
31) Again, you're doing more harm than good by suggesting this. Satire is a difficult thing to portray across the internet. I would never abort my child, but its not my place to tell others what to do with themselves. I don't see how one could be an "abortion doctor" without hurting over it a little... I feel that it is wrong, in my heart, but the Bible really doesn't go into such detail other than to say that murder and taking innocense is wrong, but as far as when life starts to the point where the child shouldn't be killed? I have absolutely no clue and I don't think any Christian could actually PROVE to you that the Bible is against it. Definitely feels wrong, though.
32) Children are innocent in the eyes of God. No question, there, what's your point?
33) There are too many "Look at me, I'm a Christian; I know God now give me your money" Christians in the world for the true Christians to sit idle and let them take advantage of what should be a beautiful and harmonious religion. Plus, that's really lazy and shows no faith in the religion being effective at all. Not to mention that Jesus told us to go out and preach to men... Doesn't make much sense to claim a religion but not do what the defining prophet in it told you to do. Your mind is a conundrum of logic.
34) You've spoken to a lot of people that didn't know how to handle your aggressive nature. I've got no fear of your words, though, you are nothing more than an angry child who got burned because he didn't want to play along with the meaningless traditions and red tape. I was in your shoes, but I chose to persevere and see through to the fact that the people were the problem, not the religion. God uses those that believe in Him to help those that are hungry and suffering. We've covered why God doesn't just make it all better for everyone. It is a trial for all of humanity. Those that suffer must work to make their lives better. Those that have made their lives better, should help those that suffer. God will grant the spirit, the strength and the integrity to do what needs to be done, but its up to you to make it happen: He will not grant YOU a get out of jail free card. Stop stirring the pot of ignorance and go help those people you seem so concerned about.
35) You're asking why extremist minds have the tendency to take control and convince others to kill each other? I know you'll hate this answer, but God isn't the one you need to be blaming for all this. Satan places his hands wherever we allow them to go. Even into the hearts of rulers that believe their religion is strong. God is peace. Satan is war. Killing to defend your nation from persecution and destruction is separate from killing simply to destroy those that don't think or believe as you do. Undersand the difference.
36) This is simply a reference to how greed can blacken a good heart. Hard to get into Heaven when money is all you care about. Makes a lot of sense, actually.
37) Funny that you would say that. Yes, that makes a lot of sense. We are to suffer through this life, humbled by our humanity and spend our lives helping those that need us even when we may have nothing more to give than a kind word. That is the heart and soul of a true Christian. The things of this earth will mean nothing when we die. Heaven is the gift of a good life spent giving more than taking. REALLY not difficult to see the reasoning in that.
38) Well I believe, in the original conception, we were to live on earth happily but not fully graced by God. Then, after death, we were to ascend to Heaven to live eternally in perfect bliss. Satan kinda messed that up, so we have slowly spent the time we've spent on earth destroying that perfect image that God created. We were the only creatures God created with the power to change the perfection He made. Invariably, we chose to destroy instead of preserve and haven't ever stopped.
39) Again you miss the entire point. Jesus was placed on earth as an example to us on how we should model our lives. If Satan had not tempted Jesus then it would be pointless as Satan tempts humanity every second of every day. Jesus had to pass the test of life just as we did. Jesus could have fallen away from God just as we do, but the point was that he had a human body and a human mind with the soul of God. Jesus came to prove that we could be children of God on earth, free of sin.
40) That is a sad thought, but the truth of the matter is that all of humanity has their chance and I, personally, believe that those that go to Hell will be the ones that purposefully were evil in their life. As sad as it is to imagine, stepping into Heaven will relieve the heart of all those negative feelings such as sadness, regret and pain. Though I believe we will retain the knowledge of those losses, our hearts won't ache like it does on earth. I know that may be hard for you to understand, but to experience the taste of it you can have on earth just by realizing these things is absolutely amazing. If only you knew what it really meant. You would see that there are definite holes in those ignorant beliefs that plague all belief systems (even atheism), but you would feel a freedom within yourself that you've never experienced before.
41) I haven't found anything scientific that negates Christianity or any belief in God. I've met a lot of athiests bent on saying that's what it means, but even if all these scientific theories are true, there's nothing saying God couldn't have done all of these things... A favorite quote of mine is "Atheism - The belief that there was nothing and then nothing happened to nothing and then nothing magically exploded for no reason, creating everything." How much sense does that make to you? None what-so-ever, but you believe it. If you were truly dependent on scientific principles then you would realize that there is nothing in this world that is created or changed without something making that happen. Things don't just suddenly happen. A great science project would be for you to go sit in an empty room with a square block in front of you and do nothing until that block does something without something else making it happen. Nothing will happen. Something had to create this universe where nothing happens unless something makes it happen. What you believe makes no sense.
42) I wouldn't know. I've met many Muslims, a few Buddhists, several Jahovah's Witnesses, one Wiccan, tons of Atheists and a handful of Jews in my short 24 years and either they've fallen away from their beliefs, converted to Christianity, or lived what anyone would consider a very unhappy life. I'm sure there are others out there that are very content with their religion and I've no doubt they have been spiritually fulfilled, but if that is the case then it is because the same God I follow has filled their soul just as Jesus fills mine. I don't claim to know everything and no Christian should, so its not difficult for me to imagine that God created multiple religions for the parts of the world that Christianity had yet to touch. I don't know, and that doesn't scare me. I believe what I believe and I am proud of it.
43) It was a test to see if she would obey. She failed the test, as did Adam, and they were punished. You will find that you are punished on earth for all of your sins. It is apparent to me that if you are not punished on earth for your sins, then Hell is where you will learn how mistaken you were.
44) The serpent was Satan and God had cast him to earth. Satan disguised himself as a snake and tempted Eve. The Garden of Eden isn't just a story on the creation and failure of man, it is also a parable for those that fail to do what is right. Consequences must be had when laws are disobeyed. This simple concept, if truly learned early in life, guides children through adulthood and keeps their desires to hurt others at bay. We call it morality and it serves a very important purpose in keeping the world civil and happy.
45) No, the Bible makes it very clear that Adam & Eve were the first and only humans. Yes, this did mean that Cain and Abel had to marry their sisters and their children to their cousins/aunts and uncles. The same is true for Noah and his family. It was necessary in order for them to propogate. If you were the last man on earth, and there was only one woman left, would you not attempt to repopulate the earth? That would require you being okay with your children doing the same thing with one another. As sick as we see that as being today, we feel that way because God gave forth new laws to Moses... 400 years after Noah and his family began to populate the earth again. Before that time, God had not condemned incest.
46) No sin goes unpunished. That's not really that hard to understand. Christians are sinners just like everyone else in the world and they're no better than them nor does that mean they with-hold from any of the sins an unsaved person commits. If in truth they are saved, though, they will be filled with an unbearable regret and though it may take time for them to ernestly feel shame for their actions, they will ask for forgiveness and be freed of it. That does not free them of consequences, but merely allows them to be free of sin in the eyes of God. I firmly believe, for example, that if a Christian man rapes another man's daughter and that girl's father kills the rapist even after he has truly begged God for forgiveness, that the girl's father has done no wrong in God's eyes (nor my own), but that doesn't mean he won't spend the rest of his life in prison. So, clearly both men may see eye-to-eye in Heaven, but on earth they were enemies.
47) After the flood, God made it clear that no man would live any longer than 120 years and that has pretty much been standing from that point on. I'm not sure what death certificates you're referring to from that time stating otherwise but someone living for 40 years and dying doesn't mean someone else didn't live 800 years and I have my doubts there were too awful many death certificates in practice that long ago.
48) Do you blame God for everything that happens in your life that isn't good and give Satan credit for everything good? The Bible makes it very clear that Satan inhabits even the wisest of men. His favorite game is corrupting those that believe God is leading them. I believe that is why you have such shakey views on Christians - you've met far too many that were either weak or completely taken with evil.
49) "God's Plan" is an old and tired statement used by old and tired Christians who have spent their lives hiding from people like you so they don't have to answer complicated questions. Find someone that is up to the challenge and has some answers... I have a feeling you run from those people because you don't want them to prove you're wrong and judging from your words you chase the feeble-minded to empower yourself and your lacking beliefs. Try challenging yourself to arguing with someone who is tried and able. You will quickly find your destructive missiles are witless peas being shot from a bent straw.
50) Because God wanted someone to love Him because they WANTED to love Him and not because they had to.
1) Six days of work and a day of rest. Doesn't that sound more like a parable of work ethics more than it does a realization of God's limited power? You're hunting for something that isn't there. Place your scrutiny aside and actually pay attention; you'll find Christianity, as with all religions, is a guide on how to live a successful life.
2) Jesus died for the sins of we pitiful creatures not just to save us from ourselves but to put the duty of strengthening ourselves into OUR hands, instead of having us constantly rely on God. We are no longer a hands-on group in His book and this question is the same as asking why God didn't make you a foot taller so more women would like you. We are all living in this world with imperfections, some have physical disorders and others have personality disorders. Its about using that limitation to become stronger, not as a wager to try and get pity from others.
3) Earth was created perfect. No pain, no suffering. It was meant to be Heaven on earth. The point, though, was that God wanted to create a creature that could CHOOSE to love Him or deny Him and He wanted His creation to prove to Him that they loved Him just as a woman wants you to prove your love to her by not sleeping around (falling to temptation). We failed that temptation and so God showed the world the intensity of His power by creating hunger, fear, pain, suffering, depression, disease, famine... the list goes on, but surely you see my point. Just as your girlfriend would extend her power over you if you cheated on her, by keying your car and never talking to you again, God extended the strength of His power by making earth a place that is less than desireable. All these things were created to test our faith in Him. Failing lies a worse fate.
4) Because people foolishly believe that God will create a miracle just for them so that they can live trouble-free. This doesn't just count for that old lady but also for people suffering from financial and social troubles. Selfish as we are, we want everything to be just perfect and we want God to make it happen. That old lady wasn't healed and no self-respecting Christian thinks she was. She probably got a burst of adrenaline from being talked up by some over-zealous preacher and was able to stand for a while. You know this answer, and you put it here just to stump easily fooled believers.
5) It does seem like a daunting task to build a boat large enough to fit every animal on earth in it. Keep in mind most insects, bird and any sea-animals had no need to be on the boat and the fact that there aren't actually millions of species on the planet unless you include insects (most of which are miniscule and can fly), but a good resource for getting an actual idea of how many would actually have to BE on the boat is earthlife.net/mammals/welcome.html and the total comes in around something more like 110,000 - which is a considerably more manageable number and about 88,000 of which consists of different species of spider. Considering that you're already playing with the idea that the animals flocked to the boat from devine intervention, I think that the animals could survive for a few days on what was there and that a man could build a boat big enough to hold them really isn't much of a stretch, nor would be him dropping them off on their respective continents, but I believe the idea is they all got off and spread out slowly.
6) This is the same as wishing all amputees could grow back their parts, and that life were just perfect in general. The sickness and disease is a terrible part of the world, but it is also something that makes a person stronger and wiser even in their youth. I gaurantee that child will experience a life more vivid and fulfilling than you ever would because they know their time is limited, so they appreciate so much in what you would see as so very little.
7) You believe what you like, but I believe that God created the Earth in His own time and in what we may have translated as 6 days, He took millions of years to do. Then again, I don't understand a blasted thing about carbon dating, nor do I understand how we could know that something is millions of years old with a process that isn't accurate enough to date something from, say, 10 years ago... thus proving that it actually works. Convenient that everyone is long dead that could have been there. Aside from that, I have a lot of confidence in science and its much more plausible to see those six days of creation as symbolic.
8) This does nothing but show your lack of understanding for what being "saved by the blood of Christ" actually means. No, the man would be held ACCOUNTABLE for his mistake, but not damned to Hell. This doesn't go to say that if he went off and killed six people and decided to rape a couple people, he'd still be off the hook, but making a mistake is just that: a mistake. Following the idea that God sees and knows all things, I'm pretty sure He can tell the difference.
9) I have a feeling I'm going to have to say this a lot more as I respond to your words, but our time on this earth is a test of our dedication to Him. You have your lifetime to make good decisions or bad decisions and if you choose to reject God and His Son then you choose to spend the rest of your eternity in Hell. That decision is out of God's hands when He has obviously put this out in front of you and you have decided to refute it. I'm sure you'll be begging for mercy at that point, but when you've had so many opportunities to simply CONSIDER His word as truth, would YOU spare you?
10) Its getting silly how you think this logic is actually logic. This is just you chasing an idea without actually considering the whole picture. You can't just HAVE the forgiveness without ACCEPTING the terms of the "contract" between you and God. You choose to believe and love God and Jesus, and THEN you can go to Heaven because you have had the sin wiped away. Otherwise, the sins are on your head. Since you claim to be so logic bound, here's a little programming logic to clarify:
If StillAlive != True Then
If AcceptedChrist = True Then
You = You - Sin
GoTo Heaven
Else If AcceptedChrist = False Then
You = You + Sin
GoTo Hell
End If
Else
GoOnLiving()
End If
11) The point is for us to prove to God that we are worthy of His gift of Heaven. We failed Him with His gift of earth and are spending generation after generation destroying it and He isn't willing to just GIVE us another gift if we aren't willing to preserve it.
12) See answer 11. He didn't give us free will just to do it; He had a reason.
13) Sodom and Gomorrah is a story meant to teach one to never look back on a life of gluttony, greed and lust when you have been freed of its hold. Need I say more? You may take it as fact or you may take it as parable, either way it is meant to teach you to control your desires.
14) Be honest with yourself. Say you have two children, and knowing they had the choice between right and wrong, you dedicated years to teaching the children how to live life as good people, but as they developed into adults one of them chose to defy you or do wrong on almost every occassion. This got to the point where that child was neglecting others, including the obedient child to the point of hurting their feelings, stealing from them and eventually beating them up for fun. No matter how often you punished that child in its life, it continued to grow worse and though it expressed its knowledge of right and wrong, the child made it clear that it purposefully did what you didn't want it to do because it had that choice. What would you do with that child after it became an adult? Think of life as our childhood and death as our entry into adulthood where we suddenly become fully responsible for the things we do with ourselves. You will either succeed in life and go to Heaven, or fail miserably in the eyes of Our Creator and go to Hell. That's not difficult to understand, and can you really hold it against Him when He spent so much time trying to tell us? Your time to go "okay, lesson learned" is right now.
15) Simple answer: re-read your Bible, if you have one and aren't basing this all off hear-say, that is. It is clear that our physical bodies are pulled from the earth after the end of times. So that would explain away your physical aspect, but do you honestly think the Creator of the Universe doesn't have the power to make you feel excrutiating pain without a physical form? Yeah... I didn't think so.
16) We are to rely on our faith in the knowledge of Him. What good would it be to have love if there were just some visual cue that meant that person would love you forever? How standing could a love truly be if it was as simple as flipping a switch and making it be so? Life is about LEARNING lessons and STRENGTHENING your character to become the best person you can become. In this same way, you are to live your life learning to improve your faith with God. Go back and read my response to number 3, it will explain why He refuses to appear to us. We must prove our faith to attone for the sins we revel in on a daily basis.
17) Each one of these was not a failure, but God imposing rules upon us to keep us from hurting ourselves. Adam and Eve had gained knowledge of the world around them so they instantly knew shame. Along with this they would also realize sex and without the pain and suffering of childbirth, would pro-create to the point of rendering the world fully over-populated before it was prepared, or even knew how, to feed itself. The flood was meant to wash away the sin from the world so that it could have an opportunity to start over new. A huge, world-wide flood has been scientifically proven as well, along about the same time as the flood. So, SOMETHING happened then and we're still here, so a big boat seems pretty logical after consider that. Lastly, God confused the human language to keep the thousands of people that were working on the building from dying as they didn't realize that there was no possible way to climb INTO Heaven. Science didn't have the hold over the world it does now, so God did what He knew would stop them from making a very sad mistake. If anything this should answer your "Why didn't God do anything?" questions.
18) Christianity teaches that we are to love all things, even Satan. God does not hate Satan, but allowed him the chance to become what he was not: The all-powerful being. Satan was jealous of humanity's ability to choose between right and wrong, so Satan challenged God and was cast to Earth where he was allowed to tempt those that God created. God allowed this because it was the reason He created humanity in the first place: to choose. He had Angels and they could only do what God allowed them to do. This was something new and Satan wanted to test it. The objective in our lives is to resist this test of evil and prevail on God's side.
19) See 17. Not failures but God saving us from our own ignorance.
20) Easy. Jesus died for our sins and we betrayed God by killing His only Son. Jesus is our key to Heaven now and it is no longer in God's hands for us to make it there. He still does subtle things to help us, but nothing like in the days before Jesus' death.
21) You're referring to both times before Jesus and times when the end of the world has come and the demons are released onto the earth. The word to note there is "released," meaning they aren't out and about at the moment. It is likely that Goliath, the giant you're referring to was simply a very large man, tallying in at 9 foot 9 inches by the Bible's calculations. Not exactly mythical, but very rare.
22) The Bible makes it very clear that sex is meant to be enjoyed, period, but simply it must be inside the vows of marriage. Feel free to pop your Bible open and check that out. What you're referring to are ignorant, mind-washed Christians that fear sin on a very unhealthy level.
23) Christians are just as human and just as likely to fail as any others. I'm sorry for your haughty attitude, which I am aware is a result of years of being confronted by many people claiming to be Christians, but without that edge of truth that they keep saying they have. A true Christian knows he is no better than even the darkest of souls in the eyes of God and he is humbled by this. Overzealous, in-your-face Christians are annoying and disheartening to me because they are lost in their own ego... I don't associate with them myself, but I wish you would use wisdom and realize that this is not a problem with the religion, but with that individual.
24) If ever you intended to be taken seriously, this is where you have completely discredited yourself. If you had actually gone and READ the chapter that you're referring to, you would know that Jesus is telling a story about a man who intended to rule over the land. This man, NOT Jesus, was asking his servants to bring in anyone that opposed him. If you knew this and are being purposefully deceptive then you are a very sad person indeed and only wish to deceive those who don't care enough to verify your statements. Otherwise, you are just very limited yourself, and did as little research on this as possible.
25) More savage hostility from someone who claims not to mind if Christians practice their religion. I've answered this question a few times already, but I'll do it again. All disease and famine in this world are a result of our own weakness. I know you don't wish to take responsibility for the actions of two people from thousands of years ago, but the point is that... were it you, you would have fallen in the same way.
26) Humanity is what has caused those poor children to starve and die, not God! Those same children that you speak of, whom I'm sure you make yourself feel better about by donating food and money, are being helped by CHRISTIAN missionaries on a daily basis! God is working through His people to do whatever He can to help those poor souls and the reason they're there is because heartless savages plague the world, stealing and gutting the earth of its innocense and morality. In Africa alone there are millions of children abandoned and dying because the government doesn't care enough to stop the raiders and slavers from stealing their food and those strong enough to work. If a sense of morality were instilled in their government, say, some sort of religious belief that guided their hand... relentless of whether it were real or not, they would NEVER allow those children to be hurt. What you speak of makes no sense what-so-ever! You spend your life blaming God when He is the one thing actually trying to fix it? This is foolishness.
27) Its perfectly normal to question the Bible. I can't say I agree with every translation of the Bible, nor would you ever catch me saying that it is the complete works (though many will swear by it, no matter the facts), but the message in the Bible is clear and has not changed despite all of the books that have been removed from it. It's simple: Believe in God. Believe in Jesus. Be a good person and share these ideas. Not hard and not lost with time and editting. Those that are concerned with everything else are those same people that love to make all things in life more difficult by placing down as many rules and red tape as possible. The life of a true, soul-satisifed Christian knows how to relax and enjoy life. We cause no discomfort to others and we love with all our hearts. Some would call us rare and a lot of times I would agree.
28) Honestly, the only evidence of... well, pretty much everything that happened in the history of this planet has little evidence other than the writings that were made about them. I wouldn't expect there to be evidence of something that happened 2000 years ago whether I believed in a religion or not. Like most of what you're saying here, that's an extreme.
29) Your words speak much of yourself. You lack a key understanding about Christianity and unless I'm not mistaken, its likely you tend to overreact and misundersand most things in life. Ask your friends and see how they look when they respond - you'll see that I'm not mistaken about your character. Anyway, Jesus was physically and mentally God's actual Son - meaning he felt himself to be a separate entity while on Earth. This is true much in the way that you would have a child and though that child is separate from you, they came from your body, so they are you. Just like your child may inherit your abilities to sing, dance and misunderstand complex ideas, Jesus inherited God's abilities to read a person's soul and heal all the pains of their heart. (Sorry about the jab, but try and appreciate the good humor in it.)
30) First of all, your logic is, as per your norm at this point, very flawed. If you believed that was a good thing to do because it saved your child's immortal soul, then you wouldn't regret that you did it and would, therefore, be purposefully commiting a sin. You can't be forgiven for a sin that you're not sorry you commited because you don't feel that you commited a sin. Pretty sure you would go to Hell for that. Second, the trials of this world are meant to be experienced. God created us to procreate and experience the world so that we may gain knowledge and grow wise with our age. Dying young or at birth is unnatural and sad... and its a little sick to realize most of these questions are intended to play off the weak minded. You will be held accountable if you convince some poor, mentally-unstable soul to kill their children.
31) Again, you're doing more harm than good by suggesting this. Satire is a difficult thing to portray across the internet. I would never abort my child, but its not my place to tell others what to do with themselves. I don't see how one could be an "abortion doctor" without hurting over it a little... I feel that it is wrong, in my heart, but the Bible really doesn't go into such detail other than to say that murder and taking innocense is wrong, but as far as when life starts to the point where the child shouldn't be killed? I have absolutely no clue and I don't think any Christian could actually PROVE to you that the Bible is against it. Definitely feels wrong, though.
32) Children are innocent in the eyes of God. No question, there, what's your point?
33) There are too many "Look at me, I'm a Christian; I know God now give me your money" Christians in the world for the true Christians to sit idle and let them take advantage of what should be a beautiful and harmonious religion. Plus, that's really lazy and shows no faith in the religion being effective at all. Not to mention that Jesus told us to go out and preach to men... Doesn't make much sense to claim a religion but not do what the defining prophet in it told you to do. Your mind is a conundrum of logic.
34) You've spoken to a lot of people that didn't know how to handle your aggressive nature. I've got no fear of your words, though, you are nothing more than an angry child who got burned because he didn't want to play along with the meaningless traditions and red tape. I was in your shoes, but I chose to persevere and see through to the fact that the people were the problem, not the religion. God uses those that believe in Him to help those that are hungry and suffering. We've covered why God doesn't just make it all better for everyone. It is a trial for all of humanity. Those that suffer must work to make their lives better. Those that have made their lives better, should help those that suffer. God will grant the spirit, the strength and the integrity to do what needs to be done, but its up to you to make it happen: He will not grant YOU a get out of jail free card. Stop stirring the pot of ignorance and go help those people you seem so concerned about.
35) You're asking why extremist minds have the tendency to take control and convince others to kill each other? I know you'll hate this answer, but God isn't the one you need to be blaming for all this. Satan places his hands wherever we allow them to go. Even into the hearts of rulers that believe their religion is strong. God is peace. Satan is war. Killing to defend your nation from persecution and destruction is separate from killing simply to destroy those that don't think or believe as you do. Undersand the difference.
36) This is simply a reference to how greed can blacken a good heart. Hard to get into Heaven when money is all you care about. Makes a lot of sense, actually.
37) Funny that you would say that. Yes, that makes a lot of sense. We are to suffer through this life, humbled by our humanity and spend our lives helping those that need us even when we may have nothing more to give than a kind word. That is the heart and soul of a true Christian. The things of this earth will mean nothing when we die. Heaven is the gift of a good life spent giving more than taking. REALLY not difficult to see the reasoning in that.
38) Well I believe, in the original conception, we were to live on earth happily but not fully graced by God. Then, after death, we were to ascend to Heaven to live eternally in perfect bliss. Satan kinda messed that up, so we have slowly spent the time we've spent on earth destroying that perfect image that God created. We were the only creatures God created with the power to change the perfection He made. Invariably, we chose to destroy instead of preserve and haven't ever stopped.
39) Again you miss the entire point. Jesus was placed on earth as an example to us on how we should model our lives. If Satan had not tempted Jesus then it would be pointless as Satan tempts humanity every second of every day. Jesus had to pass the test of life just as we did. Jesus could have fallen away from God just as we do, but the point was that he had a human body and a human mind with the soul of God. Jesus came to prove that we could be children of God on earth, free of sin.
40) That is a sad thought, but the truth of the matter is that all of humanity has their chance and I, personally, believe that those that go to Hell will be the ones that purposefully were evil in their life. As sad as it is to imagine, stepping into Heaven will relieve the heart of all those negative feelings such as sadness, regret and pain. Though I believe we will retain the knowledge of those losses, our hearts won't ache like it does on earth. I know that may be hard for you to understand, but to experience the taste of it you can have on earth just by realizing these things is absolutely amazing. If only you knew what it really meant. You would see that there are definite holes in those ignorant beliefs that plague all belief systems (even atheism), but you would feel a freedom within yourself that you've never experienced before.
41) I haven't found anything scientific that negates Christianity or any belief in God. I've met a lot of athiests bent on saying that's what it means, but even if all these scientific theories are true, there's nothing saying God couldn't have done all of these things... A favorite quote of mine is "Atheism - The belief that there was nothing and then nothing happened to nothing and then nothing magically exploded for no reason, creating everything." How much sense does that make to you? None what-so-ever, but you believe it. If you were truly dependent on scientific principles then you would realize that there is nothing in this world that is created or changed without something making that happen. Things don't just suddenly happen. A great science project would be for you to go sit in an empty room with a square block in front of you and do nothing until that block does something without something else making it happen. Nothing will happen. Something had to create this universe where nothing happens unless something makes it happen. What you believe makes no sense.
42) I wouldn't know. I've met many Muslims, a few Buddhists, several Jahovah's Witnesses, one Wiccan, tons of Atheists and a handful of Jews in my short 24 years and either they've fallen away from their beliefs, converted to Christianity, or lived what anyone would consider a very unhappy life. I'm sure there are others out there that are very content with their religion and I've no doubt they have been spiritually fulfilled, but if that is the case then it is because the same God I follow has filled their soul just as Jesus fills mine. I don't claim to know everything and no Christian should, so its not difficult for me to imagine that God created multiple religions for the parts of the world that Christianity had yet to touch. I don't know, and that doesn't scare me. I believe what I believe and I am proud of it.
43) It was a test to see if she would obey. She failed the test, as did Adam, and they were punished. You will find that you are punished on earth for all of your sins. It is apparent to me that if you are not punished on earth for your sins, then Hell is where you will learn how mistaken you were.
44) The serpent was Satan and God had cast him to earth. Satan disguised himself as a snake and tempted Eve. The Garden of Eden isn't just a story on the creation and failure of man, it is also a parable for those that fail to do what is right. Consequences must be had when laws are disobeyed. This simple concept, if truly learned early in life, guides children through adulthood and keeps their desires to hurt others at bay. We call it morality and it serves a very important purpose in keeping the world civil and happy.
45) No, the Bible makes it very clear that Adam & Eve were the first and only humans. Yes, this did mean that Cain and Abel had to marry their sisters and their children to their cousins/aunts and uncles. The same is true for Noah and his family. It was necessary in order for them to propogate. If you were the last man on earth, and there was only one woman left, would you not attempt to repopulate the earth? That would require you being okay with your children doing the same thing with one another. As sick as we see that as being today, we feel that way because God gave forth new laws to Moses... 400 years after Noah and his family began to populate the earth again. Before that time, God had not condemned incest.
46) No sin goes unpunished. That's not really that hard to understand. Christians are sinners just like everyone else in the world and they're no better than them nor does that mean they with-hold from any of the sins an unsaved person commits. If in truth they are saved, though, they will be filled with an unbearable regret and though it may take time for them to ernestly feel shame for their actions, they will ask for forgiveness and be freed of it. That does not free them of consequences, but merely allows them to be free of sin in the eyes of God. I firmly believe, for example, that if a Christian man rapes another man's daughter and that girl's father kills the rapist even after he has truly begged God for forgiveness, that the girl's father has done no wrong in God's eyes (nor my own), but that doesn't mean he won't spend the rest of his life in prison. So, clearly both men may see eye-to-eye in Heaven, but on earth they were enemies.
47) After the flood, God made it clear that no man would live any longer than 120 years and that has pretty much been standing from that point on. I'm not sure what death certificates you're referring to from that time stating otherwise but someone living for 40 years and dying doesn't mean someone else didn't live 800 years and I have my doubts there were too awful many death certificates in practice that long ago.
48) Do you blame God for everything that happens in your life that isn't good and give Satan credit for everything good? The Bible makes it very clear that Satan inhabits even the wisest of men. His favorite game is corrupting those that believe God is leading them. I believe that is why you have such shakey views on Christians - you've met far too many that were either weak or completely taken with evil.
49) "God's Plan" is an old and tired statement used by old and tired Christians who have spent their lives hiding from people like you so they don't have to answer complicated questions. Find someone that is up to the challenge and has some answers... I have a feeling you run from those people because you don't want them to prove you're wrong and judging from your words you chase the feeble-minded to empower yourself and your lacking beliefs. Try challenging yourself to arguing with someone who is tried and able. You will quickly find your destructive missiles are witless peas being shot from a bent straw.
50) Because God wanted someone to love Him because they WANTED to love Him and not because they had to.
