Malevolent Design: The Death Of A Loving God

[Mriana]

I don't think you actually read it if you think I confirmed you were a Jew and I don't think there has to be questions to address someone. Obviously I was dead on or you have no clue as to what I was talking about because you haven't studied it. And why are we not writing "god" as a word? We don't owe subservience to something that is only a human concept. There is nothing to give respect to since it is only a human concept. That line is really asinine and has always been annoying to me. Just write it and just say it. There is no censorship on such a word. There are only a few words that the FCC bleeps out and they pertain to a corruption of body functions and human behaviour- those words are Fortification Under Consent of the King, reference to manure, and sometimes a couple other words, but God/god/goddess/Goddess are not in that mix, so give up the silliness please.

 

And one more thing, IF I asked where God was when 6 million Jews were killed, it was rhetorical, however I did not ask that as far as I can see and recall. Secondly, I do not have my own concept of a god, atheism, humanism, agnosticism etc is not a religion, AND if you read my blog post in the blog area, I never once said I was an atheist nor did I say I was a theist (BTW, atheist isn't capitalized unless it starts a sentence or is part the name of an organization). I'm a humanist, which states what I do believe and not once did I commit hubris, although I guess I could if you would like, but I'm not that arrogant.

 

It also appears that I hit a nerve. I do have a tendency to do that. I'm use to it. Or the Rev hit a nerve. I don't know which now, since you quoted us both.

[Ariella]

"Founder of FSA"

 

LOL!

 

You do know that Jefferson was a Deist, right?

[Ariella]

I don't think you actually read it if you think I confirmed you were a Jew and I don't think there has to be questions to address someone. Obviously I was dead on or you have no clue as to what I was talking about because you haven't studied it.

 

Points, questions, whatever. But if you and RAS want "answers" or "rebuttals", it would be helpful to spell them out. Most of your points are about Christianity. I'm not a Christian, and I agree Christianity is a false religion. I'm a Jew, and seeing as Judaism isn't a religion anyway, I'm not much on dealing with "religion" issues.

 

And why are we not writing "god" as a word?

 

Because while you were reading Rabbi Moshe ben Mammon, it would appear that you had not clue you were reading the writings of a people who don't write the name of G-d ...

 

It also appears that I hit a nerve. I do have a tendency to do that. I'm use to it. Or the Rev hit a nerve. I don't know which now, since you quoted us both.

 

I despise liars. People who make false claims fall into that category as well.

[Reverend AtheiStar]

"Founder of FSA"

 

LOL!

 

You do know that Jefferson was a Deist, right?

 

You do know that free speech was something he was pasionate about, don't you? And as far as his Deism goes, I believe that that was just a cover for his Atheism. It was ok to say that you were a Desit. It was acceptable to push God all the way back to the point of creation and remove him from every single aspect of daily life. But say he didn't exist at that time? Oh, you might as well put a noose around your neck and tie it to a branch. It was suicide! Epicurus did the same exact thing. They both were too smart to come out directly.

 

Shall we look at some quotes from him?

 

"The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure."

 

~Thomas Jefferson to Lafayette, 1823

 

"To preserve the freedom of the human mind then and freedom of the press, every spirit should be ready to devote itself to martyrdom; for as long as we may think as we will, and speak as we think, the condition of man will proceed in improvement."

 

~letter to William Green Mumford, June 18, 1799

 

"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."

 

~Notes on the State of Virginia, 1781-82

 

"[N]o man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities."

 

~Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1779), quoted from Merrill D Peterson, ed, Thomas Jefferson: Writings (1984), p. 347

 

Certainly even you can see that he approved of keeping speech free, keeping religion a private, not a state, matter and allowing for the freedom from religion as well as the freedom of religion. Gee, doesn't that sound like the overriding theme of my group? Why yes, it does!

[Reverend AtheiStar]

Points, questions, whatever. But if you and RAS want "answers" or "rebuttals", it would be helpful to spell them out. Most of your points are about Christianity. I'm not a Christian, and I agree Christianity is a false religion. I'm a Jew, and seeing as Judaism isn't a religion anyway, I'm not much on dealing with "religion" issues.

 

We did spell them out, in detail no less -- and you ignored them. Apparently hard questions deserve silence. If you give up, just say it. You don't have to dance around the issues and be so deceptive.

 

Because while you were reading Rabbi Moshe ben Mammon, it would appear that you had not clue you were reading the writings of a people who don't write the name of G-d

 

I'll answer it for you. You fear your evil god. You're so terrified, in fact, that you can't even write out G-o-d for fear of reprisal. It must really suck to live that way. No wonder you're so angry!

 

I despise liars. People who make false claims fall into that category as well.

 

Then you should really hate yourself.

[Reverend AtheiStar]

That's funny, because I just re-read Mriana's post (prior to my longer one) and didn't see any questions, other than getting confirmation that I'm a Jew.

 

How convenient.

 

As for your "Where was G-d while 6 million Jews were being killed?", my answer is "What has happened since?" As impolitic as it can be to mention this, we got much more freedom out of the Shoah than we'd had since Rome ruled Judea.

 

That's your answer? A question? Exactly what I thought.

 

Again, YOU have your conceptions of what a god should or shouldn't be, and should or shouldn't do. In theological circles that's placing oneself in the position of a god, which is why I maintain that Atheism is a religion in which the Self assumes the role of G-d. You want a sun, but not the ionizing radiation from a sun that causes skin cancers, but I don't see you creating a universe in which the Laws of Physics allow that to happen. You want microbial life, but not microbial life that could ever harm anything, but I don't see you creating a universe in which the Laws of Nature allow that to happen. You want gravity, but not the accelleration of gravity that causes babies to splat when they hit the pavement, but I don't see you creating a universe in which the Law of Gravity somehow has a variable effect based on whether or not it's a baby hitting the cement or a planet bound in an orbit. In short, you want the Happy Fun Carefree universe, not one in which good and bad exists in balance. You're not an Atheist, you're just pissed off at G-d for not giving you a free ride.

 

Again with the false claims. I am an Atheist. I am not pissed off at your imaginary god. I'm pissed off at fucking nutbag fundies who want to force their religion down our throats all the while totally minsunderstanding even the very basics of Atheism or anything connected with it. I no more hate your god than I hate Darth vader. They're both fictional and both evil. Yet, I hate neither. You, my Pet Fundy™, suffer from what I've termed as Disbelief of Disbelief (DoD). You just can't grasp the fact that someone doesn't believe in your silly god. That's your problem, not mine. I'm also not a god. I'm better than a god. I'm real. That's a trck no god or goddess has ever been able to pull off. They just can't get away from the fact they're imaginary creations of fallible humans, created in their images.

 

If I were to create a universe it would look far different from this one. For one, there would be no disease. A loving father does not create such things. There would be no parasites. Why would a loving father create such things? Have you seen the Guinea worm, the botfly or the filarial nematode that causes elephantiasis? No, these would be eleminated. Aging would stop once you reached adulthood and there would be no age related disorders as humans would be perfect, with the slightest flaw. There would be no death, either. Our planet would simply expand to accomodate us, or we could jump to another nearby planet as space wouldn't be hostile, at all. I would also eliminate all doubt about my reality by making numerous daily appearances -- a necessity for a good leader. Just these few changes would create a much better universe, one where I, as a god, would be seen as benevolent -- and existent! We see nothing like this in the one we live.

 

You also suffer heavily from Battered Believer's Syndrome (BBS). No matter how much evil you see, your god remains a loving father who's just and wise. WTF? Do you view Hitler in the same light? Why not? I'll tell you why. Because he's human and so you judge him differently. You're so incredibly brainwashed that you can't see evil when it's right in front of your face. No wonder Jews got slaughtered over and over. Your sense of morality is beyond warped! I have to wonder if the Jews at the time continued to worship Hitler. Why not? He acted just like their god!

[Mriana]

I don't think you actually read it if you think I confirmed you were a Jew and I don't think there has to be questions to address someone. Obviously I was dead on or you have no clue as to what I was talking about because you haven't studied it.

 

Points, questions, whatever. But if you and RAS want "answers" or "rebuttals", it would be helpful to spell them out. Most of your points are about Christianity. I'm not a Christian, and I agree Christianity is a false religion. I'm a Jew, and seeing as Judaism isn't a religion anyway, I'm not much on dealing with "religion" issues.

 

Interesting. What is the difference between Howdy Dodee and McCartney? Not much. I think Maimonides would disagree with you.

 

And why are we not writing "god" as a word?

 

Because while you were reading Rabbi Moshe ben Mammon, it would appear that you had not clue you were reading the writings of a people who don't write the name of G-d ...

 

Oh I did and I questioned it then. It was still a human concept and not writing the name God is yet another dogma.

 

It also appears that I hit a nerve. I do have a tendency to do that. I'm use to it. Or the Rev hit a nerve. I don't know which now, since you quoted us both.

 

I despise liars. People who make false claims fall into that category as well.

 

What exactly did I lie about? I did not make any false claims.

[Mriana]

If I were to create a universe it would look far different from this one. For one, there would be no disease. A loving father does not create such things. There would be no parasites. Why would a loving father create such things? Have you seen the Guinea worm, the botfly or the filarial nematode that causes elephantiasis? No, these would be eleminated. Aging would stop once you reached adulthood and there would be no age related disorders as humans would be perfect, with the slightest flaw. There would be no death, either. Our planet would simply expand to accomodate us, or we could jump to another nearby planet as space wouldn't be hostile, at all. I would also eliminate all doubt about my reality by making numerous daily appearances -- a necessity for a good leader. Just these few changes would create a much better universe, one where I, as a god, would be seen as benevolent -- and existent! We see nothing like this in the one we live.

 

All too often believers place the unexplainable on a deity and even if they can explain it, they place what is bad either one God or on Satan. Jews don't have a Satan, so that leaves their God, which means God had a reason for doing it, such as a test- ie Job. However, in Job there was that one dude named Satan, which I just counterdicted myself, who convinced God (gee, he's easy) to test Job's faith. Now Spong calls this book protest literature and not at all historical. Whatever the case, God was most definitely involved in all that happened to Job. He was not innocent of any wrong doing, but Ha! God did it to "test Job" and Satan got all the blame. Seems to me God was equally guilty, but than again, I don't know anything because I don't believe in said deity. :roll: Thing is, I think Job was right with some of his accusations against God in Chapter 27:2. What is this in 27? Nephesh in 27:3b- very Jewish and Hebrew or is that ruach? I would say nephesh though (I don't have the Hebrew in front of me currently), but interesting how God multiplies children, yet killed off Job's. Hell must be for children, that is for sure, because that is not the only place innocent little children are harmed and killed- by God or at that order of God. And what is this in 40:4-5? Gee, IF God knows everything, what is the need for Job to put his hand over his mouth and not say what he thought? God supposedly already knows it. FAIL! The Devil Went Down to Georgia sounds like a cooler story/song. So what if Job lived 140 years (not the same as our time supposedly), had more children (probably not the same ones), and grandchildren for four generations, it would seem to me that, like Ernie Chambers, Job had a law suit against God. IF it were reality, I'd say sue the pants off the dude! But since it is JUST a story, it is not one I have to accept as having any value to it. It's so twisted that I don't see how anyone could accept it, but people do accept it as one God concept. One I think is a horrible concept. Of course, those who accept it say God had a purpose. :roll:

[Ariella]

Again with the false claims. I am an Atheist. I am not pissed off at your imaginary god. I'm pissed off at fucking nutbag fundies who want to force their religion down our throats all the while totally minsunderstanding even the very basics of Atheism or anything connected with it. I no more hate your god than I hate Darth vader. They're both fictional and both evil. Yet, I hate neither. You, my Pet Fundy™, suffer from what I've termed as Disbelief of Disbelief (DoD). You just can't grasp the fact that someone doesn't believe in your silly god. That's your problem, not mine. I'm also not a god. I'm better than a god. I'm real. That's a trck no god or goddess has ever been able to pull off. They just can't get away from the fact they're imaginary creations of fallible humans, created in their images.

 

Excluse me? How did I peg you wrong?

 

The Universe didn't turn out the way you want it. Tough luck. Instead of asking "Why?", or "What am I supposed to do with the Universe I got?" you decided G-d is both evil and non-existent. Instead of trying to understand what it might MEAN, you rant and rave about this imaginary Disney Land for Atheists that you'd have created, if only G-d were as smart as you. How unoriginal. You think you invented "I'm smarter than G-d"? You can't even imagine a universe that would make sense, or have physical laws that would work. You see "Parasite" and think "Evil", I see "Parasite" and think "Food chain and cycle of life."

 

If I were to create a universe it would look far different from this one. For one, there would be no disease. A loving father does not create such things. There would be no parasites. Why would a loving father create such things? Have you seen the Guinea worm, the botfly or the filarial nematode that causes elephantiasis? No, these would be eleminated. Aging would stop once you reached adulthood and there would be no age related disorders as humans would be perfect, with the slightest flaw. There would be no death, either. Our planet would simply expand to accomodate us, or we could jump to another nearby planet as space wouldn't be hostile, at all. I would also eliminate all doubt about my reality by making numerous daily appearances -- a necessity for a good leader. Just these few changes would create a much better universe, one where I, as a god, would be seen as benevolent -- and existent! We see nothing like this in the one we live.

 

I've raised three teenagers and a "loving father" (or "loving mother", for that matter) doesn't hand kids the keys to the car and tell them to go have a grand old time. Your Disney Land for Atheists would produce people who know nothing of any difficulty, or never wonder at the Universe itself. I just stepped outside and there is a "Sun Dog" overhead -- and I'm glad that the G-d I believe in created such things for me to go "Wow!" when looking at from time to time. A universe with perfect weather all the time would never have those things. A universe where crops always come in on schedule and in abundance would never give me the challenges and joys I get from making a harvest come in (I have a small peach orchard).

 

The universe you want is one I'm glad I don't live in. Not because I think I'm better than your imaginary "Sky Daddy" you hate so much, but because I enjoy the variety that comes from living somewhere other than Disney Land for Atheists.

 

You also suffer heavily from Battered Believer's Syndrome (BBS). No matter how much evil you see, your god remains a loving father who's just and wise. WTF? Do you view Hitler in the same light? Why not? I'll tell you why. Because he's human and so you judge him differently. You're so incredibly brainwashed that you can't see evil when it's right in front of your face. No wonder Jews got slaughtered over and over. Your sense of morality is beyond warped! I have to wonder if the Jews at the time continued to worship Hitler. Why not? He acted just like their god!

 

My G-d isn't a puppeteer. I don't expect G-d to arrive with the Divine Appliance Mobile if my fridge breaks, or Divine Lightening Bolts if some schmuck cuts me off in tarffic.

 

As I said, you're a typical petulant spoiled brat who didn't get all the freebies Christianity mistakenly told you that you'd get if you just BELIEVED hard enough, and so you decided you know better than G-d. You aren't just a little mad at G-d, you're stark raving loon pissed off as can be. It's a fixation, a thing that absorbs your free time and imagination. I know atheists and you're just not one of them.

 

The G-d you don't believe in, I don't believe in either. And I'm grateful that such a bogus deity doesn't exist, I must say.

[Reverend AtheiStar]

Excluse me? How did I peg you wrong?

 

You're excused. You said I'm not an Atheist and you said I'm mad at your god. Both of those are false claims. I lack belief in all gods and goddesses -- that makes me an Atheist. I lack any kind of anger -- or any emotion for that matter -- in connection with your god. The followers of this imaginary friend, however, are another matter. They piss me of as they are all too real -- and dangerous.

 

The Universe didn't turn out the way you want it. Tough luck. Instead of asking "Why?", or "What am I supposed to do with the Universe I got?" you decided G-d is both evil and non-existent. Instead of trying to understand what it might MEAN, you rant and rave about this imaginary Disney Land for Atheists that you'd have created, if only G-d were as smart as you. How unoriginal. You think you invented "I'm smarter than G-d"? You can't even imagine a universe that would make sense, or have physical laws that would work. You see "Parasite" and think "Evil", I see "Parasite" and think "Food chain and cycle of life."

 

Actually, it's you that doesn't understand what it would mean within the context of a god. The entire universe becomes a moral issue. It is this basic fact that just can't get. You obviously have a mental block.

 

I've raised three teenagers and a "loving father" (or "loving mother", for that matter) doesn't hand kids the keys to the car and tell them to go have a grand old time. Your Disney Land for Atheists would produce people who know nothing of any difficulty, or never wonder at the Universe itself. I just stepped outside and there is a "Sun Dog" overhead -- and I'm glad that the G-d I believe in created such things for me to go "Wow!" when looking at from time to time. A universe with perfect weather all the time would never have those things. A universe where crops always come in on schedule and in abundance would never give me the challenges and joys I get from making a harvest come in (I have a small peach orchard).

 

There is a huge difference between a "challenge" and a "difficulty" and the dark side of what we find in this universe. 50 million dead from the Spanish Flu is a "challenge?" One million dead every year from malaria is a "difficulty?" Thousands dead from tsunamis and earthquakes give you joy? Are you insane? A loving father does not make these things.

 

The universe you want is one I'm glad I don't live in. Not because I think I'm better than your imaginary "Sky Daddy" you hate so much, but because I enjoy the variety that comes from living somewhere other than Disney Land for Atheists.

 

I don't hate any imaginary friends. It is you who are projecting your hatred of my correct picture of your god onto me. Get it straight. I'm merely pointing out the truth and you don't like it.

 

So, I guess you must absolutely loathe the idea of Heaven, huh? No challenges, no difficulties, no variety -- must sound like Hell to you, huh? lol...

 

My G-d isn't a puppeteer. I don't expect G-d to arrive with the Divine Appliance Mobile if my fridge breaks, or Divine Lightening Bolts if some schmuck cuts me off in tarffic.

 

First, that's not what your holy book says. It clearly states that he is, most definitely, a puppeteer. All good and evil are directly caused by him. All actions are preordained by him. Everything you have ever done and ever will do was written down in the Divine Plan™. Second, instant personally delivered rewards and punishments need not be part of the plan of the Puppeteer.

 

As I said, you're a typical petulant spoiled brat who didn't get all the freebies Christianity mistakenly told you that you'd get if you just BELIEVED hard enough, and so you decided you know better than G-d. You aren't just a little mad at G-d, you're stark raving loon pissed off as can be. It's a fixation, a thing that absorbs your free time and imagination. I know atheists and you're just not one of them.

 

Like I said, again with the false claims (you're a serious addict). I was never instructed in my childhood that stronger belief would get me freebies. Wrong. I'm not mad, little or stark raving, at your god or any god or goddess. I don't hate Hera, even if she made Hercules' and Dionysus' lives Hell. Likewise, I don't hate Jehova, Yahweh, Jah or whatever the fuck you want to call your imaginary friend. I lack belief in all deities, making me an Atheist. The question is, why do you hate that fact so much? What is it about an Atheist who can correctly guage the evil of your god that pisses you off to no end? I'm going to say that, deep down, you know I'm right and you can't stand it! Come on, admit it for once and stop all these false claims.

 

The G-d you don't believe in, I don't believe in either. And I'm grateful that such a bogus deity doesn't exist, I must say.

 

Ah, so what you're saying is that you don't believe in the true nature of your god, if it was to be real? And, to go even further, you're glad he doesn't? Talk about blasphemy! I understand, though. Beliefs, as I've said before, aren't choices. You don't choose to believe in your version of a creator god. You were convinced some time ago and now no amount of hard evdience will shake that. In the same vein, I never chose to not to believe in the god of my parents. It just happened. The other gods, well I never did believe in them and so they just stayed where they were.

[Reverend AtheiStar]

I've raised three teenagers and a "loving father" (or "loving mother", for that matter) doesn't hand kids the keys to the car and tell them to go have a grand old time.

 

Really? And they're not dead? I can't understand how they actually survived your "love," seeing as how you downgrade all the "natural evil" (what apologists call it) to just "challenges" and "difficulties." Why didn't you let your children swim with pirahnas? Or play with venomous snakes or spiders? How come you didn't let them hang out and rub skin with lepers or drink blood that leaks out of every orifice of ebola victims? These are all things that your loving god made, right? They're just challenges, right? Why do you talk the talk and not walk the walk?

 

A loving mother or father also doesn't fill the car with hornets, rig it with poison gas or stash radioactive isotopes under the seat. Yet, this is precisely the kind of "car" we find ourself in, now isn't it? The planet we live on has death and danger around every corner. And if you survive it all? Aging slowly tears you apart till there's nothing left. Wow, such love!

[Mriana]

Excluse me? How did I peg you wrong?

 

You're excused. You said I'm not an Atheist and you said I'm amd at your god. Both of those are false claims. I lack beliefe in all gods and goddesses that makes me an Atheist. I lack any kind of anger -- or any emotion for that matter -- in connect with your god. The followers of this imaginary friend, however, are another matter. They piss me of as they are all too real -- an dangerous.

 

You go, Rev!

 

I don't hate any imaginary friends. It is you who are projecting your hatred of my correct picture of your god onto me.

 

You know, it seems to me that theists do a lot of projecting- esp onto their god concept. They rarely claim anything that comes their way as an effort of themselves or another human being. Even tax returns they thank their god for, yet they worked for it. Makes no sense at all.

[Reverend AtheiStar]

Excluse me? How did I peg you wrong?

 

You're excused. You said I'm not an Atheist and you said I'm amd at your god. Both of those are false claims. I lack beliefe in all gods and goddesses that makes me an Atheist. I lack any kind of anger -- or any emotion for that matter -- in connect with your god. The followers of this imaginary friend, however, are another matter. They piss me of as they are all too real -- an dangerous.

 

You go, Rev!

 

I don't hate any imaginary friends. It is you who are projecting your hatred of my correct picture of your god onto me.

 

You know, it seems to me that theists do a lot of projecting- esp onto their god concept. They rarely claim anything that comes their way as an effort of themselves or another human being. Even tax returns they thank their god for, yet they worked for it. Makes no sense at all.

 

The bitch was pissing me off with her incurable Disbelief of Disbelief! Do I doubt she believes in her god? No, I fully believe she's that delusional. Yet, she can't get it through her thick theistic skull that I don't believe in her Cloud Father™, or that I'm really not mad at him. How could I be? He's not real! I don't hate Thor for the thunder or Vulcan for volcanoes. Why would I hate her JewGod™ for anything? He's done nothing. He's as impotent as impotent gets! It's all these goddamn fucking believers that get me angry, not their silly deities!

[Reverend AtheiStar]

Excluse me? How did I peg you wrong?

 

You're excused. You said I'm not an Atheist and you said I'm amd at your god. Both of those are false claims. I lack beliefe in all gods and goddesses that makes me an Atheist. I lack any kind of anger -- or any emotion for that matter -- in connect with your god. The followers of this imaginary friend, however, are another matter. They piss me of as they are all too real -- an dangerous.

 

You go, Rev!

 

I don't hate any imaginary friends. It is you who are projecting your hatred of my correct picture of your god onto me.

 

You know, it seems to me that theists do a lot of projecting- esp onto their god concept. They rarely claim anything that comes their way as an effort of themselves or another human being. Even tax returns they thank their god for, yet they worked for it. Makes no sense at all.

 

The god program is a product of the believer's own brain and so we see their version of God take on characteristics that they, themselves, like. This is one major, major reason why religions end up so fragmented. It doesn't matter if they all read from the same book. It still has to be processed inside many very different heads.

[Mriana]

The bitch was pissing me off with her incurable Disbelief of Disbelief! Do I doubt she believes in her god? No, I fully believe she's that delusional. Yet, she can't get it through her thick theistic skull that I don't believe in her Cloud Father™, or that I'm really not mad at him. How could I be? He's not real! I don't hate Thor for the thunder or Vulcan for volcanoes. Why would I hate her JewGod™ for anything? He's done nothing. He's as impotent as impotent gets! It's all these goddamn fucking believers that get me angry, not their silly deities!

 

I wonder if we were to explain it to her like this:

 

Ariella, can you believe in Zeus (or pick any of the previous gods you want)? Does he seem real to you? As real as your god concept? Can you be angry at Zeus (or previous god)? IF you can't make or bring yourself believe in any of those gods existing, then that's atheism. There is no mental concept of such a deity.

 

 

The god program is a product of the believer's own brain and so we see their version of God take on characteristics that they, themselves, like. This is one major, major reason why religions end up so fragmented. It doesn't matter if they all read from the same book. It still has to be processed inside many very different heads.

 

This is very true and their basic theologies are very exclusive.

[Sexton Blake]

I've been suffering from a tooth ache for a week now and am satisfied that it is one of the ultimate signs of Idiot Design. What kind of sadistic god would put nerves in teeth? Your tongue and mouth tells you when something is too hot or too cold. If something is too hard to bite into, you shouldn't try.

 

Of course, we can now take pain killers and get teeth fixed but through most of our history we suffered as the pain went on and on (as it does not heal like a wound), even stopping people from sleeping. I can imagine people bashing out their teeth, trying to stop the pain, and sometimes even committing suicide to stop it.

[Mriana]

And back in Laura Wilder's day, regular drs did a yank and pull of bad teeth- particularly ones causing pain- without anesthesia, or at the very least they'd give you whiskey. If not for the headache afterwards, I think I'd prefer whiskey over nothing at all. UGH!

[Reverend AtheiStar]

I've been suffering from a tooth ache for a week now and am satisfied that it is one of the ultimate signs of Idiot Design. What kind of sadistic god would put nerves in teeth? Your tongue and mouth tells you when something is too hot or too cold. If something is too hard to bite into, you shouldn't try.

 

Of course, we can now take pain killers and get teeth fixed but through most of our history we suffered as the pain went on and on (as it does not heal like a wound), even stopping people from sleeping. I can imagine people bashing out their teeth, trying to stop the pain, and sometimes even committing suicide to stop it.

 

I actually discuss this in detail in the first chapter in my book. It's a subject I like to call "Malevolence in your Mouth!"

[Reverend AtheiStar]

I wonder if we were to explain it to her like this:

 

Ariella, can you believe in Zeus (or pick any of the previous gods you want)? Does he seem real to you? As real as your god concept? Can you be angry at Zeus (or previous god)? IF you can't make or bring yourself believe in any of those gods existing, then that's atheism. There is no mental concept of such a deity.

 

I've already done that. She ignores it. She's absolutely, insanely obsessed with the delusional idea of me being angry at her god -- and no other. I think she gets off to it! lol... Ohhhhhhhhhhhh! An Atheist is MAAAAAAAAAAd at my God! Ohhhhhh, the delicious contradiction!Yessssssssssssssssssssssssss!

[Mriana]

She's sounds like my relatives concerning atheists. They have no clue. Imagine a BIG vast nothingness or Black Hole when the word God is mention.

[Reverend AtheiStar]

She's sounds like my relatives concerning atheists. They have no clue. Imagine a BIG vast nothingness or Black Hole when the word God is mention.

 

 

I feel ya! My Mom, when I first announced my Atheism nearly 14 years ago, accused me of worshipping Satan! Her rationale? Everyone believes in something and if you don't believe in God, you must believe in Satan! Nevermind, that while it's true that everyone does believe in something, that something needn't be religious! And nevermind this is an extremely narrow false dichotomy! It's only God and Satan, folks. There aren't even other religions! No, to her, "Atheist" meant "Satan worshipper" and nothing else. She's come around, though. She understands now that Atheists lack belief in all gods and goddesses, not just hers -- and that we don't believe in Satan, either! lol...

[Mriana]

I thought Xians, esp Evangelicals, believed in Satan. We had a dog named Satan and my grandmother was so afraid that she would be calling Satan that she called the do Satin. My mother was "born-age" the first time and his name became Satin with her too. Poor dog. I'm surprised he knew what his name was, but I was the one who "held the course" and continued called him Satan. I never did run into the guy who was red, with horns and a tail, except in cartoons.

[Reverend AtheiStar]

I thought Xians, esp Evangelicals, believed in Satan. We had a dog named Satan and my grandmother was so afraid that she would be calling Satan that she called the do Satin. My mother was "born-age" the first time and his name became Satin with her too. Poor dog. I'm surprised he knew what his name was, but I was the one who "held the course" and continued called him Satan. I never did run into the guy who was red, with horns and a tail, except in cartoons.

 

They do. I was speaking of Atheists. Atheists lack belief in Satan, just the same as any other deity, minor or major.

[Mriana]

Well, I guess at a young age, was already on my way, esp since the only who came to the name Satan was our dog.

[Reverend AtheiStar]

Well, I guess at a young age, was already on my way, esp since the only who came to the name Satan was our dog.

 

Yeah, I'd say so. You already showed a humorous view of a character in Christianity who was specifically designed as a terrible antagonist! lol... You're not scared of the boogey man? How are you so brave? lol...