Open Letter To Christians

[Randy Carson]

Hitchen ask this question which gets down to brass tacks: “Why would you want there not to be a God“? And the answer is a good one. What it does is strips away the intellectual veneer that many atheist try to wrap themselves in, trying to give the impression they have problems with the evidence to obfuscate their real reason. His answer to the question is spot on.

So essentially you can't argue the actual evidence and so turn to the despicable tactics of conmen everywhere and attempt to impugn the motivations of those who dare disagree with you, as though if you simply assert based on nothing that malevolent motivations exist, you've disqualified them from being allowed to disagree; but since you never bother to actually demonstrate that, it's mindless pablum designed to make you feel better about the utter failure of your position.

"If you disagree with me, there's something wrong with you," is a vile and childish epithet vaunted by know-nothing egotists with no hope of arguing their position and no respect for other people or themselves.

Kindly go fuck yourself.

Did you watch the video, Esq?

[Redbeard The Pink]

An accurate exegesis of scriptural context is not limited to adjacent passages, but must also include other teachings on the subject. for example in this case when I said 'context' I was directly speaking to mat 7:9-11 and it's match in Luke 11:9  9 So I tell you, continue to ask, and God will give to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will open for you. 10 Yes, whoever continues to ask will receive. Whoever continues to look will find. And whoever continues to knock will have the door opened for them. 11 Do any of you have a son? What would you do if your son asked you for a fish? Would any father give him a snake? 12 Or, if he asked for an egg, would you give him a scorpion? Of course not! 13 Even you who are bad know how to give good things to your children. So surely your heavenly Father knows how to give the Holy Spirit to the people who ask him.”


Clearly when Jesus is preaching the sermon on the mount in mat 7 verse 9 He is pointing back to the larger/more complete teaching recorded in Luke 11. How do I dare say this? Because is it word for word minus the parable and the summary. You can't accept one version, and ignore an expanded teaching on the very same quote.

That translation about the holy spirit is a mere convenience for you. In the translation I quoted originally, it merely says "good gifts." There is no mention of the holy spirit. We'd have to go to the source texts to figure out which translation is closer, but it doesn't really matter because even then we could still go back and forth about which translation is more valid. Suffice it to say that, at best, this passage may or may not be talking about those who seek the holy spirit, but the rest of the passage seems to read as if it's talking about god'd gifts in general. You're simply adhering to the bent that is more convenient for your argument, which leaves me to do the same.


As for my "un-cited scholars," I'm talking about whoever it is that teaches the preachers I've been listening to since I was a child (which includes a wide range of speakers from various corners of the faith). Any time I've heard the aforementioned passages taught, the aforementioned interpretations have been the ones in play. One of the unfortunate things about ancient texts like these is that they're so easy to bend, warp, and simply mis-quote for the convenience of the argument at hand.

[Randy Carson]

Try to focus very carefully on the following question:

Tell me, nope, which of these things - which produced great suffering - would automatically endanger the immortal soul of one caught up in it?

Randy, the immortal soul is not the only thing worth considering. Why try to pull focus to this one particular issue when, in every other context, you'd most likely understand the value of temporal suffering?

Esq-

As much as you seem to ignore it, I am right from time to time in this forum. This is one of those times.

Nope Wrote:
So, the Holocaust, the Black Plague, the Great Famine in Ireland, the Armenian Genocide and any number of horrible events did not anger your god enough to return to earth. Yet the fact that two men can legally marry is the tipping point that makes him want to destroy a large portion of humankind?

It is obvious that those events did NOT anger God enough to "return to earth". Does it follow that they did not anger God at all?

And to the point, nope writes, "the fact that two men can legally marry is the tipping point that makes him want to destroy a large portion of humankind?"

Tipping point? Is nope highlighting that gay "marriage" (technically, it's civil union since marriage is a sacrament between a man and a woman, but whatever) is the point which "tips the balance of the scale"? If so, what else is on that scale to which gay marriage was added?

Abortion? Human trafficking? Pornography (of all kinds)? We could create a huge list of things that are not pleasing to a holy God.

[Mudhammam]

God said He will allow the world start spiraling down quicker, to bring an end to this world for His peoples sake.

I don't know what sounds more psychologically disturbed, being God or one of his personally handpicked drones.

[Spooky]

God said He will allow the world start spiraling down quicker, to bring an end to this world for His peoples sake.

I don't know what sounds more psychologically disturbed, being God or one of his personally handpicked drones.

Cult leaders tend to know it's all bullshit.  I would say being one of the moronic masses is more depressing.

[Cephus]

Happy to see all religions go ... As long as they don't take away our Christmas holidays and the Easter long weekend!  hehe

They won't, those are both wholly secular holidays today.

[Cephus]

We can only know the mind of God in so far as what has been written. What has been written from the point of Past events (even though for us it speaks of the future) is of the ever increasing iniquity of man. To the point of God seizing control of the earth from man, breaking the seal and pouring out his wrath. We know the SCOTUS' decision is not in compliance with God or His law/will for us. therefore one can observe yet another piece or component being placed into play that will end the reign of man.

That's like saying we can only know the mind of Voldemort in so far as what has been written.  Since you have no evidence whatsoever that God actually exists, God deserves no more respect or acceptance than Harry Potter.

[Cephus]

Perhaps it is time for you all to open your eyes and realize that the SCOTUS decision is an instance of God's will being done and accept it for the rebuke that it is of your presumption in assuming you know the mind of God.  Why is humility so lacking among the flock anyway?

Could be that you all should remember what God did in Egypt, He allowed the hardhearted Pharaoh to do as he pleased, then God had His turn at demonstrating that to defy Him brings a cost to the defiant. God said He will allow the world start spiraling down quicker, to bring an end to this world for His peoples sake. Are you absolutely sure you've not jumped into the spiral.

GC

You mean that stuff that never happened?  Come on, you have to learn the difference between history and mythology.

[Spooky]

You mean that stuff that never happened?  Come on, you have to learn the difference between history and mythology.

[Longhorn]

Happy to see all religions go ... As long as they don't take away our Christmas holidays and the Easter long weekend!  hehe

They won't, those are both wholly secular holidays today.

AND they help big companies make a shit ton of money, so they're not going anywhere