An Atheist's Answers To Christian Questions

These are questions frequently asked of atheists by christians, and my answers to them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jxsnyNWMxE On hell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfk4UA8M2Vo On human sacrifice (Judges 11)

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• God
• prayer
• power
• glory
• sin
• bully
• punishment
• prophecy
• free will
• fear
• forgiveness
• genocide
• design
• holy spirit

[BishopNo]

The deity of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic (Abrahamic) faith traditions didn't start out alone. The religous course went from polytheism, to henotheism (as Muller uses it), to monotheism (a strict montheism within Judaism and Islam, and a tripartite monotheism w/in trinitarian Christianity). The God of the 10 Commandments was the high deity. Elohim (longuistically related to Allah, both being Semitic), the plural of eloah [god] (or El [God]), describes the other deities.

[Largo64]

@BishopNo You're right, of course, but however you describe them they are the imaginings of barbaric, tribal people. There is nothing about them that makes them superior to any other god ever imagined by humans. They are as capricious, spiteful, angry, vengeful, jealous and bloodthirsty as all the others. I have rejected them all.

[BishopNo]

@Largo64 Some of these same deities are also represented and viewed by their devotees as compassionate, merciful, just, grateful, loving, and good. How can they be these things while being capricious, spiteful, angry, vengeful, jealous and bloodthirsty? Because these attributes find their origin in humankind. The deity is the representation. The projection. And a way to try to find human terms for the very human, and thus complex, experience/perception of the transcendent.

[Largo64]

@BishopNo That's very insightful. But because the deity (whatever a particular culture's name for him might be) IS the projection of human virtues AND faults, the idea that it is trancendent is all the worse. If people try to reflect all the characteristics of their god, and their god is just a reflection of them, the result is a like inbreeding. People may still try to emulate the worst characteristics of their god, just as he reflected the worst of theirs.

[dustoff7]

Intelligent, obviously well-thought, and nicely articulated. It amazes me the vitriol and poison generated by the "chosen ones" when someone dares question religion.

Yeah, sign me up for that. Not.

Great job. I enjoy your video takes, but don't understand the pointing to "links" to your right or left... is that on your channel?

Anyways. Interesting. Thought provoking.

[Largo64]

@dustoff7 The pointing thing is because the information box used to be to the upper right of the screen. Since I did this YT changed the page format. I always used to point to the box. It just isn't where it used to be!

[SmooveHD]

We already live in Hell

[2eelShmeal]

Haha classic!

You do have a soothing voice. Not abrasive at all.

[squizill]

to me Hell would be living the one true life we know of as a brainwashed, mindless zombie of religion!

[tiroaaaa]

just sent this video to my girlfriend who go's to church every sunday

[TheNeosdad]

I Love You, I will Pray For You My Brother :-) Remember Brothers and Sisters, You do not need a religion to have God. God is Love, I Love him, and I Love every single one of you as equally :-)

[TheNeosdad]

I Love You, I will Pray For You My Brother :-)

[XXXstuppiXXX]

@theparodyworks i myself as a christian can say that its not we christians that believe the world is gonna end in 2012 is the scientists that found that answear and you atheists believe in science dont ya ?

[JstNEarthling]

@BishopNo That's part of our dilemma, one only has to read their so called literal word of god(bible) and it will give one plenty of examples of every emotion and spite and hate etc etc. All exhibited by their god of the bible for one. The bible is the most contradictory book ever written by mankind...so if you need to know how a person can be evil nasty and at the same time angelic in regard....you figure it out,we have, it's easy, THERE IS NO GOD(s)

[BishopNo]

@BishopNo I have to balance out what I've just posted by adding that one of the underlying causes of these critiques of religion, as manifested in the Fowler's 3rd stage (Synthetic [i.e. synthesis] Conventional, where God is a "personal reality"), could be that these critics, who are in stage 4 (Individuative/ Reflective), feel embittered with and betrayed by the belief-systems that they have come to find unsatisfactory. Of course, this is theory. I bring it up because I find it relevant.

[BishopNo]

@Largo64 I think that Fowler's theory of faith development is worth looking at here. Most people don't seem to mature in their faith development to stage 5 (Conjunctive Faith), where, as Fowler once said in an interview, "we are ready for allegiances beyond our tribal gods and tribal taboos."  I would say that the people (who seem to be the majority) criticized by those who comdemn religion as a whole are living in a conformist and adolescent stage of faith development.