Sometimes I want to ask God why he allows poverty, famine, and injustice in the world when he could do something about it, but I'm afraid he just might ask me the same question.
it does not compute if there is a loving god. it does, however, make perfect sense if there is nothing up there. where should that piece of logical thinking lead you? if god, who is supposed to be all powerful, has to wait for you to help him isnt that a bit like the us military waiting for peewee herman to come and save the day?
God gave us free will and the ability to work things out for ourselves. Also, God doesn't really care what we do.
so then was god just lying when he promised many times in the bible to help people? This is very odd. Jesus makes specific promises in the Bible about how prayer is supposed to work. Jesus says in many different places that he and God will answer your prayers. And Christians believe Jesus -- according to this recent article, "54% of American adults believe the Bible is literally true." In some areas of the country the number goes as high as 75%. If the Bible is literally true, then something is seriously amiss. Simply look at the facts. In Matthew 7:7 Jesus says: Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! If "every one who asks receives", then if we ask for cancer to be cured, it should be cured. Right? If "our Father who is in heaven gives good things to those who ask him", then if we ask him to cure cancer, he should cure it. Right? And yet nothing happens. In Matthew 17:20 Jesus says: For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. If "nothing will be impossible to you", then if we ask to cure cancer tonight, cancer should disappear. Right? Yet nothing happens. Note that if we take the Bible less-than-literally here, the statement "nothing will be impossible to you" becomes "lots of things will be impossible to you," and that would mean that Jesus is lying. In Matthew 21:21: I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. If "you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer", then if we ask to cure cancer tonight, cancer should dissappear. Right? Yet nothing happens. Note again that there is not a non-literal way to interpret "you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer", unless you replace "whatever" with "nothing" or "little." The message is reiterated Mark 11:24: Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. If God says, "believe that you have received it, and it will be yours," and if we believe in God and his power, then what should happen if we pray to cure cancer tonight? It should be cured. Either that, or God is lying. In John chapter 14, verses 12 through 14, Jesus tells all of us just how easy prayer can be: "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." [ref] http://godisimaginary.com/i1.htm
True. Plus we are here to learn and be tested. It amazes me how this stuff goes right over certain people's heads, like FT.
You shouldn't confuse God with the Bible. The bible, as with other religious texts, is inherently flawed; they were written by man. Religions are but mans attempt to know God. So far, man has largely failed.
without the religious texts where does the concept of a god come from today? certainly not from any evidence? "Ignorance of Nature gave birth to gods. Knowledge of Nature is calculated to destroy them."
There are numerous "other" books that have attempted to explain "God", "The Source", or whatever label you choose to affix to that which creation came from. I feel they are much closer to the truth than anything written thousands of years ago. Also, I disagree with your assertion that knowledge of nature is meant to destroy the idea of God. Quite the contrary, through science, we may be able to eventually prove the existence of God. As an example, are you familiar with the law of conservation of energy?
yes i have. you will find it on this list: http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/index.html http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/thermo.html