Hideously Complex Challenge For Christians.

[Grasshopper]

You'll get used to it, we rip the piss out of religion all the time. Partly it's just fun, partly to highlight stupid things about it. Educational comedy, if you will.

Well I don't know what to say. Whatever . . .It's a free world

[robvalue]

You don't like fun? Sorry if it offends you, that's not the intention. We come here partly to blow off steam in a world with something like an 80% religious population, where much of that religion is causing massive harm. We also have serious discussions. But we rarely get presented with very thoughtful arguments from theists, you are doing much better than most.

[Whateverist]

I was going to use the word 'cuntflake', but not everyone gets that.

Boru

There are online dictionaries.

Yeah but that would require clicking and all that.


(So cunt flakes have to do with menstruation?)

[robvalue]

Learn something every day! Not necessarily something useful :p

[Grasshopper]

That's not helpful. Atheism is logical, but anti-theism is an emotional stance, and often pretty juvenile. Try this:

The God of the Old Testament often commits atrocities, acts of barbarism and cruelty. Consider 2 Kings 2:23-24:

From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.

Mauling children for making fun of someone? Elisha called down a curse on some kids - isn't he the greater sinner? He used the power of God to kill children because .... well, because he was vain about being bald. That doesn't even begin to make sense. It's not a parable, it's a threat. What's up with that?

How do I answer that without it sounding like I'm supporting it. Hmmm . . .
The word "youth" used in that passage is used for men in their 20s (standard hebrew) so it wasn't the children that were mauled.
So some 20 year olds calling a man bald, not that serious. But Elisha was a prophet of god who'd just performed a miracle.
And calling someone bald wasn't a particularly kind thing in those hebrew times since baldness was often attributed to lepers who shaved their heads.
Then they said go up . . . After seeing Elijah ascending to heaven. Which meant they wanted him gone too . . . Or dead.
And 42 isn't a particularly small number. If 42 were mauled there must've been hundreds coming out of their homes in an organized fashion to shout insulting things
So to put it together- Hundreds of young adults come out of their houses like a streetgang and walk up to Elisha debasing him to a lepers stature and shouting for him to die/ ascend. Given the chance they may have even killed him themselves.

Just imagine yourself in south Central LA and a 42 person strong (minimum) streetgang thugs come up to you and tell you to die and call you something. It's basically the same thing.

But depends on how you look at it. I take it as a story. Tantric whose side are you on anyway?

[robvalue]

Do you find your conscience is telling you God is wrong to do this, but you feel you must defend it somehow? You can be honest here.

[Mudhammam]

That's not helpful. Atheism is logical, but anti-theism is an emotional stance, and often pretty juvenile.

Because nothing says "I'm a logical and mature person" like giving zero shits about misogyny, homophobia, and the psychological abuse of children.

[Grasshopper]

Do you find your conscience is telling you God is wrong to do this, but you feel you must defend it somehow? You can be honest here.

Not exactly . . . But I understand why you would think so. It is a touchy subject

[Aoi Magi]

You would make a fine detective. I am amazed how you could deduce their age, numbers and hostile behavior just from one sentence of mockery. Simply brilliant!
I am sure those 42 dead "youths" must now have learnt that calling a baldie "bald" is not nice, but I wonder if a kindergarten teacher could have come up with a way of teaching them the same lesson without actually having to kill them first.

[Whateverist]

Why didn't the youths call down a counter-curse on baldy? I picture the bears turning first one way, then the other, then around again looking confused and more than a little annoyed. How come we get free will but bears don't?