Kris Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Professor--- that picture makes my heart break! If I had the power to make things directly better for that dear child, I would. But--- god, who supposedly has all of these great powers, just sits back and let's this kind of shit happen all the time. Just sickening!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironhorse Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Professor--- that picture makes my heart break! If I had the power to make things directly better for that dear child, I would. But--- god, who supposedly has all of these great powers, just sits back and let's this kind of shit happen all the time. Just sickening!! Most here feel free to blame God for the evil and suffering on earth. Lets suppose you had the power, what would you do to relieve all the suffering? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest afireinside Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 And Christians will still keep believing God is giving them pay-rises and good investment advice while at the same time he's allowing this. Pretty consistent with the God of the Bible actually. Praise God for he is goooooood!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironhorse Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 And Christians will still keep believing God is giving them pay-rises and good investment advice while at the same time he's allowing this. Pretty consistent with the God of the Bible actually. Praise God for he is goooooood!! Is this your answer? The question... Most here feel free to blame God for the evil and suffering on earth. Lets suppose you had the power, what would you do to relieve all the suffering? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantophobia Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Professor--- that picture makes my heart break! If I had the power to make things directly better for that dear child, I would. But--- god, who supposedly has all of these great powers, just sits back and let's this kind of shit happen all the time. Just sickening!! Most here feel free to blame God for the evil and suffering on earth. Lets suppose you had the power, what would you do to relieve all the suffering? Look, Junior, don't start barking up that particular tree. I've spent over 20 years involved in activist and charity work, and it is astounding how much of the "pain and suffering" I've seen in my local communities and on a national scale can be directly traced back to Christianity and the Christian church. Talk to me after you've watched someone sobbing as his lover dies of HIV-related causes, and then two days later, is kicked out of his home and loses everything because he and his partner of 8 years were not allowed to legally marry, thanks 100% to Christians, and thus his partner's father who kicked him out 15 years previously is legally "next of kin" and takes everything. Talk to me after you've fought repeated battles to see single mothers treated with some sort of dignity as they work multiple jobs in order to provide for their children while Christians smile patronizingly call them "entitled" and that these women and their children should suffer because "they shouldn't've had sex before marriage." Talk to me after you've looked into the eyes of a terrified teenager who has just discovered she's pregnant, and her parents insist she have the baby to "teach her a lesson" about having sex with her boyfriend, and she has no idea how she is going to survive the next year, much less the next 18. Take your own favorite book's advice, and put down those rocks and pull the log out of your own eye. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator TheRedneckProfessor Posted April 17, 2014 Super Moderator Share Posted April 17, 2014 It identifies the belief that Christ established His Kingdom by His Death, Resurrection, and ascension to the throne of God in heaven, and thus that the kingdom of God is now being extended throughout the world through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ. That's a really nice "kingdom" your christ established. Here's a picture of one of the children of the kingdom of heaven, as established by your jesus: Well Prof, you see that child is depraved. Born under a curse. We live in a fallen world. Jesus will swoop that child up into his loving arms once that vulture is done with him. Unless he's a heathen of course. Blah blah blah... The child would have been better off had it been aborted, then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymistake Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 And Christians will still keep believing God is giving them pay-rises and good investment advice while at the same time he's allowing this. Pretty consistent with the God of the Bible actually. Praise God for he is goooooood!! Is this your answer? The question... Most here feel free to blame God for the evil and suffering on earth. Lets suppose you had the power, what would you do to relieve all the suffering? Uh nope. We do not blame the Easter Bunny. We do not blame Santa Claus. We blame neither the Tooth Fairy nor the Boogy Man. And if we don't think God exists then we don't blame him either. What people have been trying to tell you is that in the stories the fictional character called God does evil deeds. These are no more real than Darth Vader blowing up the planet of Alderaan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I would remove this type of horror from the earth if I had the power--- you better fuckin believe it!! I would find a way to allow for all creatures to be fed, and would allow for a peaceful existence for all. And I would not require worship from anyone or anything. I would do it because of my altruistic nature. So, I would do the exact opposite of what your god supposedly does Ironhorse! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator TheRedneckProfessor Posted April 17, 2014 Super Moderator Share Posted April 17, 2014 Professor--- that picture makes my heart break! If I had the power to make things directly better for that dear child, I would. But--- god, who supposedly has all of these great powers, just sits back and let's this kind of shit happen all the time. Just sickening!! Most here feel free to blame God for the evil and suffering on earth. Lets suppose you had the power, what would you do to relieve all the suffering? You are speaking out of both sides of your mouth here, TinPony. You just got finished telling us how the kingdom of heaven had been established here on earth with the resurrection of our lord and savior. The king should be able to rule his kingdom. Now you are saying that god cannot prevent the suffering and evil that occurs in what you say is his own KINGDOM. Which is it, TinPony? Is the kingdom of heaven here on earth, as you say; or is the king not able to rule his own kingdom, as you also say? You may want to have it both ways, but this old redneck ain't gonna let you. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest afireinside Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 And Christians will still keep believing God is giving them pay-rises and good investment advice while at the same time he's allowing this. Pretty consistent with the God of the Bible actually. Praise God for he is goooooood!! Is this your answer? The question... Most here feel free to blame God for the evil and suffering on earth. Lets suppose you had the power, what would you do to relieve all the suffering? Didn't he show special treatment to the Jews in the desert? Could he not do that today? It's said all children are from God, why then allow poverty stricken mothers to conceive? Why does health and wealth theology only apply to America and wealthy countries? If I was God I would bring equality and at least a bit of rain to barren land, did God use up all the rain in the big flood? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJG Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Professor--- that picture makes my heart break! If I had the power to make things directly better for that dear child, I would. But--- god, who supposedly has all of these great powers, just sits back and let's this kind of shit happen all the time. Just sickening!! Most here feel free to blame God for the evil and suffering on earth. Lets suppose you had the power, what would you do to relieve all the suffering? Assuming your God exists (the God I used to believe exists, BTW), do you suppose God allows starving children to die in the dirt with scavengers waiting to pick at their carcasses in heaven? If not there, why here on earth? If I was your God I would have skipped the Beta release (earth) and gone directly to Creation 2.0 (heaven). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 No answer from the Christian on why: his god established a system of slavery for his kingdom on earth (Lev. 25) his god told the ancient Hebrews to kill the elderly, rape young virgin girls, kill young boys (Num. 31) But the Christian will say "god establishes his kingdom on earth!" He fully believes that jesus and his father, the god of the old testament, were one. He fully believes that jesus/yaweh/allah commanded those things in the old testament, when there was no earthly king for the Hebrews (they were a theocracy). Now he has the gall to say "how dare you blame god for being mean." "What would you do in his place?" I wouldn't institute ANY form of slavery and I wouldn't give license for rape. Your god is space hitler, and being a Christian makes you a Nazi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtify Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Professor--- that picture makes my heart break! If I had the power to make things directly better for that dear child, I would. But--- god, who supposedly has all of these great powers, just sits back and let's this kind of shit happen all the time. Just sickening!! Most here feel free to blame God for the evil and suffering on earth. Lets suppose you had the power, what would you do to relieve all the suffering? I'm saddened by your reaction to the photo. You will stop at nothing to defend your god and it makes me sick. Maybe we don't have the simple answers you are craving, so that you don't have to concern yourself with the injustices of life; but, coming up with actual solutions to problems is a much better course of action than praying to imaginary beings. All you are suggesting is that we worship the 'visible image of the invisible god' and then all the problems in the world will magically be resolved. That's just stupid. If I had the power that your god supposedly does, I would just forgive humanity and teach them how to get along. I would forget all this nonsense about blood atonement and create a world where people could love one another. Is that too much to ask from someone who was supposedly powerful enough to have created the universe? You're really starting to remind me of this guy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantophobia Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I'm saddened by your reaction to the photo. You will stop at nothing to defend your god and it makes me sick. Maybe we don't have the simple answers you are craving, so that you don't have to concern yourself with the injustices of life; but, coming up with actual solutions to problems is a much better course of action than praying to imaginary beings. All you are suggesting is that we worship the 'visible image of the invisible god' and then all the problems in the world will magically be resolved. That's just stupid. Not only that, but Ironhorse's implication that somehow "God" is more merciful than us mere humans. Again, it's like YOU HAVEN'T EVEN READ THE BIBLE. I have seen nothing in the bible or in Christianity that would suggest that "God" is kinder, more loving, or more merciful than some of the humans I know on earth. Instead of emotionally tormenting loved ones with constant back-and-forth tests of fidelity and fucked-up mind games, cursing them with generations of punishment, or even just killing one's own child as "sacrifice," I know people--including myself--who are working to (for example) help welfare-to-work women transition into the workplace with needed attire and all of the assistance that goes with job searches, doing homework and being "big siblings" to children who have been abused, escorting women to and from Planned Parenthood where a gauntlet of "loving Christians" scream abuse and call them murderers (even when they are just going to pick up birth control pills), fighting at the local and federal level so that all citizens of the US can be legally married and their families protected, fighting on an international level so that gays won't be murdered outright in their own countries or little girls married to old men against their wills or women's genitals mutilated in the name of chastity... all edicts of your "God," btw. Ironhorse and other Christians claim God is merciful and loving, but if that were true, several of my friends wouldn't've spent term break helping to bring water to a village in Africa so that the children that don't die of AIDS first don't then die of cholera. Or let's talk about the nurse practitioner friend who donates spare days to seeing clients for free at his city's homeless shelter. Or my friend in Singapore helping to fight child prostitution rings. No four year old needs to be raped repeatedly and infected with multiple STDs in order to be "tested" and "grow stronger" in your God's love. That isn't love. That isn't mercy. That's sadism. It is abundantly clear that neither "God" nor Christians have the market cornered on mercy or love, so don't even start that "hat would you do?" crap here, Ironhorse. I can't speak for everyone else, but I will happily and without regret hand you your ass if you do, because I know too many people who ARE doing more than you, or your "God" to try to make this crap world a better place for all its inhabitants... conditions that would not be nearly as dire without your "God" and religion in the first place. Go listen to your U2 records and leave the big questions to the grown-ups until you are ready to deal with them, kid. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 For any Christian guest currently viewing this topic: Please ask yourself: Are you a premillennialist? -The notion that jesus will rapture his people out to be with him in heaven and then there will be a period of tribulation here on earth? Afterwards, jesus returns and gets the 2nd batch of saved? Are you a postmillennialist? -The notion that jesus will come after the supposed 1000 years of golden Christian era is completed? Are you an amillennialist? -The notion that jesus won't have a 1000 year 4th reich party here on earth? Are you none-of-the-above? Now after you've answered that, ask yourself why has god allowed such drastically different viewpoints about his coming? Are the other Christians truly deceived by satan, and you have the truth of the matter? Or is it opposite? That you have the false teaching and they're the correct ones? Now think about the many many instances where sincere Christians killed and tortured other sincere Christians because one camp's belief in a god was different from the other camp's belief in the exact same god. Now, this is most important. Think about the skeptic. Think about how different skeptic groups killed and tortured each other because one camp's none-belief in a god was different from the other camp's non-belief in a god. Hmmmmmm... Food for thought, Christians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I am not a Premillennialist. This is my view: Amillennialism - the doctrine of no "earthly" millennial reign, or no "earthly" 1000 year reign. It identifies the belief that Christ established His Kingdom by His Death, Resurrection, and ascension to the throne of God in heaven, and thus that the kingdom of God is now being extended throughout the world through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ. this doctrine does not hold that Christ must come to a worldly throne in earthly Jerusalem. Rather, it teaches that Christ reigns now and that after this present kingdom reign is over, Christ will return in judgment. The new earth will be the location of Heaven. Got it. So it's one of the several ways to interpret the minds of the gods. The words are there but there's no real agreement on whether they actually mean what they say. So when it says all this nonsense: 20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and locked and sealed it over him, so that he would deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be let out for a little while. 4 Then I saw thrones, and those seated on them were given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand years. 7 When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison It really means that this is just figurative nonsense instead of literal nonsense. A thousand years should just be read "a really long time" instead of "a thousand years" for no reason whatsoever (other than we think people back then were stupid and couldn't comprehend long periods of time and things like that...like we should imagine a primitive tribe that counts 1...2...3...many. Just because, right?). mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violetbutterfly Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Pantophobia... *standing ovation* 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midniterider Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Professor--- that picture makes my heart break! If I had the power to make things directly better for that dear child, I would. But--- god, who supposedly has all of these great powers, just sits back and let's this kind of shit happen all the time. Just sickening!! Most here feel free to blame God for the evil and suffering on earth. Lets suppose you had the power, what would you do to relieve all the suffering? It's not that we really blame God. We just infer that God doesn't exist because suffering continues even though people pray to God about relieving that suffering. If I was God, I'd snap my fingers and magically relieve all suffering. Is it really that difficult if you're God? "All things are possible with God (Matthew 19:26)", right? Says so, right there in your holy book. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator TheRedneckProfessor Posted April 17, 2014 Super Moderator Share Posted April 17, 2014 Pantophobia... *standing ovation* Seconded. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantophobia Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Pantophobia... *standing ovation* Seconded. Thanks, guys. It takes a lot to piss me off. That did it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midniterider Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Professor--- that picture makes my heart break! If I had the power to make things directly better for that dear child, I would. But--- god, who supposedly has all of these great powers, just sits back and let's this kind of shit happen all the time. Just sickening!! Most here feel free to blame God for the evil and suffering on earth. Lets suppose you had the power, what would you do to relieve all the suffering? Christians are generally about as skeptical about God performing some helpful supernatural activity as their non-believing counterparts. :-) The wishes I hear from Christians is that God accomplish something in a way that generally conforms to the way reality works anyway. Christian prayer - "Lord, I know that you won't just solve problem X right now because, though I tell other people you are all-powerful, I know and the non-believers know that it just aint gonna happen. So I pray that you put it on the hearts of the appropriate people/person to eventually get the idea to start working on solving problem X over a span of years which would be generally indistinguishable from the way that society handles problems. Then if I remember this prayer and see some positive result I'll say, 'praise Jesus!' " 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironhorse Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 The question again. Most here feel free to blame God for the evil and suffering on earth.Lets suppose you had the power, what would you do to relieve all the suffering? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest afireinside Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Ironhorse, we have explained plainly what we would do. If God takes the credit, God can take the blame. You know this...... What would you do if YOU were God? If you could reverse all the bad, start again and eliminate all this holding innocent people to account for his failures, would you do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest afireinside Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 "If I was God for just a day I would use my power so well The first thing I'd surely do Is destroy that place called Hell" C.S Lewis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironhorse Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Ironhorse, we have explained plainly what we would do. If God takes the credit, God can take the blame. You know this...... What would you do if YOU were God? If you could reverse all the bad, start again and eliminate all this holding innocent people to account for his failures, would you do it? Please post where it was explained plainly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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