"Letters From a Skeptic": Book Discussion

stiggy wiggy said:
So can I. Karl Marx, Frederich Nietzsche, Josef Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, Pol Pot ...............

Hard to find a Mother Theresa or Albert Schweitzer among you atheists.
Click to expand...
Double Standards. None of the atheist dictators tortured their victims indefinitely. Plus, remember that the West has the best propaganda machine. You think Stalin is bad because millions were killed under his rule (for various reasons, some justified others not so much), but you don't complain about the American settlers who exterminated Native American Indians and took over their lands.
 
stiggy wiggy said:
No. Atheist souls become frisbees everlastingly stuck on the roof of a garage in Buffalo.
Click to expand...
Wrong!!!!! Every time you see tennis shoes dangling from a power line... that’s a dead atheist. God keeps them on full display as an example to us all.
 
Last edited:
Vladimir said:
Double Standards. None of the atheist dictators tortured their victims indefinitely.
Click to expand...

Neither does any Christian. What a dumb comment!

Vladimir said:
Plus, remember that the West has the best propaganda machine. You think Stalin is bad because millions were killed under his rule (for various reasons, some justified others not so much), but you don't complain about the American settlers who exterminated Native American Indians and took over their lands.
Click to expand...

Even dumber comment. What's that have to do with Christianity?
 
stiggy wiggy said:
Neither does any Christian. What a dumb comment!
Click to expand...
Mainstream Christian theology teaches that their God will torture nonbelievers in hell for all eternity. This may be a dumb idea, but I assure you, it's very popular among your brethren. Christ himself came up with this punishment plan. Stalin, Mao, etc.. killed people by the millions, but not Jesus. He prefers eternal hell fire.

carm.org

What is hell?

What is hell? Hell is a real place. It is not mere unconsciousness. It is not for a short time. It is eternal torment in fire for all who reject Jesus.
carm.org carm.org
 
Vladimir said:
Mainstream Christian theology teaches that their God will torture nonbelievers in hell for all eternity.
Click to expand...

No, it doesn't. You made that up.

Vladimir said:
This may be a dumb idea, but I assure you, it's very popular among your brethren. Christ himself came up with this punishment plan. Stalin, Mao, etc.. killed people by the millions, but not Jesus. He prefers eternal hell fire.
Click to expand...

Yea, right. He had a funny way of showing it, forgiving everyone He met. You're full of dingo doo.
 
Caroljeen said:
Even Seinfeld, a show about nothing, could make something out of nothing entertaining.
Click to expand...
As I said earlier, it's possible my analogy only made my point less clear, so I think I'll abandon the allegory of the good/bad books/shows. :)

Caroljeen said:
I think Greg was spot on in how he answered Edward's question. Your observation is different than Edward's, imo. You are not looking at what actually happened but you are looking for what you would expect to see if Christianity is a real move of God. One thing you should expect to see if Christianity is not of God is its disappearance. It should have dissolved long ago.
Click to expand...
I don't see why. There doesn't seem to be any historical law to the effect that no religion can survive long unless it is founded on truth. If there were such a law, it would be very hard to account for the continued existence of so many contradictory religions.

Caroljeen said:
As Gamaliel said, "So now I tell you, have nothing to do with these men, and let them go. For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. 39 But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” Acts 5
Click to expand...
Gamaliel might have felt that this followed from the fact that God kept special watch over the Jewish people and the Jewish religion, and so would not permit any heretical movement to survive long enough to taint the faith. If one doesn't accept this as a fact, however, one doesn't need to accept his conclusion.

Caroljeen said:
I would expect those "signs of God's favor and inspiration" to be a church that looks and acts like Jesus. A church that is full of disciples of Jesus and full of the Holy Spirit spreading the message of the gospel in the same way the early disciples did.
Click to expand...
God could presumably raise up and sustain such a church, whose deeds were so unmistakably blessed that even we jaundiced skeptics would have to take notice. Why hasn't he?

Caroljeen said:
[. . .] As for Greg Boyd, he is a genuine Christian. I used to listen to his sermons online that are archived on the website of the church he pastors. He spent one whole year teaching on love, a core principle in the New Testament. He wrote a book on it called "Repenting of Religion". When I listened to all of those sermons on love, maybe 10 years ago, I was blown away! I had not heard anyone teach on love like he did. He might convince you that there are genuine Christians in the world doing the work of Christ in helping the poor and spreading the gospel. His church has many 'ministries' in reaching out to help those in need...feeding the hungry, clothing those in need, helping the homeless...etc. You can find out all about it.

whchurch.org

Home - Woodland Hills Church

Welcome! We hope that by participating in our community you’ll come to realize how much God loves you, and how much he wants you to participate in his beautiful Kingdom.
whchurch.org whchurch.org
Click to expand...
But I don't need convincing; I already believe there are people who are doing great good in the world out of a sincere desire to follow Christ. And I believe that there are people who are doing evil things out of a sincere desire to follow Christ, though you would presumably say they lacked a good understanding about what God really asks of us. This could be due to the work of God and Satan, respectively, or it could be due to the variety of human nature. I think the latter explanation is more likely.
 
Vladimir said:
1. Catholic Church (or any other church) presents itself as an organization through which God acts in this world. So, if a priest molests a child and then warns the child not to tell this to anyone or God will punish them, God is responsible for not doing anything about it. Assuming this God exists of course. If an organization knows it's executive members are rotten, and is not doing anything about that, then the head of the organization is responsible.
Click to expand...
We don't know what God is doing behind the scenes or in someone's life. I do know that God is just. Those who do evil will not go unpunished. We all reap what we sow. That's a principle which God set up. It includes Christians and so-called Christians as well. God corrects his children.
Vladimir said:
2. God is responsible for the worst of evils. Hell was created by God, and that place has unending torment and suffering. This is God's idea and plan and design. So, he is responsible.
Click to expand...
You are addressing someone who believes in annihilation. We all make choices, some are good and some are evil. We are responsible for what we do in this world. God will judge us based on our choices. God's desire and design is that everyone will repent and come to the knowledge of the truth. He takes not pleasure in the death of the wicked but that they should turn from their wickedness.

The God you present is not the God I know.
 
Caroljeen said:
We don't know what God is doing behind the scenes or in someone's life. I do know that God is just. Those who do evil will not go unpunished. We all reap what we sow. That's a principle which God set up. It includes Christians and so-called Christians as well. God corrects his children.
Click to expand...
So, tell me what did ancient Israelites reap for killing Amalekite children? They reaped blessings from their Lord, no? Also, Christianity teaches that Jesus forgives all sins. So, someone like Hitler can murder away and as long as they “truly repent” before they die there will be no consequences. He’ll be covered by Jesus.
Caroljeen said:
You are addressing someone who believes in annihilation.
Click to expand...
based on my understanding, this is not a majority view. Most Christians believe, like Matt Slick, that hell is eternal, and they hold their God is the kindest and most loving being in the Universe! As for annihilationism, that’s like death penalty. The punished dies and that’s it. Ok, I can appreciate this but then this is what all human tyrants do, no? They kill people in large numbers. So how is a God different?
 
stiggy wiggy said:
Yea, right. He had a funny way of showing it, forgiving everyone He met. You're full of dingo doo
Click to expand...
Christ did not forgive rich young ruler who refused to sell all his possessions. He brought the doctrine of hell with him too. Jews don’t have the hell theology that Matt Slick does. That’s a teaching brought to us by loving Jesus.
 
Last edited:
Vladimir said:
Christ did not forgive rich young ruler who refused to sell all his possessions. He brought the doctrine of hell with him too..
Click to expand...

No, He didn't. Stop making stuff up. It's not like people here don't have a Bible to catch you in your lies.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top