Why Are People So Critical About Christian Beliefs

[Katganistan]

1) Parents don't 'choose' to set a stove in the house. Most houses come with them, and the stove is generally an essential part of the kitchen.
2) A lovely tree full of yummy fruit would seem to be temptation enough, even without the magical knowledge-granting properties of the fruit on that particular tree. Much closer to the allure of tasty candy than the allure of touching a burny surface.
3) The outcome of touching a stove is exclusively painful. The outcome of eating candy is a mixture of pleasure and possible pain (cavities, tummy ache, juvenile diabetes, etc), which is far more comparable to eating from the tree of knowledge.

It's worse than that,Bottle.

1) With either stove or candy, the likely outcome is just minor problems.
This was a one-time irreversible effect we are talking about .. more like a bottle of sodium hydroxide cubes looking like sugar on the kitchen table.

2) What does god do when Adam and Eve are told to leave? Stations guard angels with burning swords next to the tree of life. Why didn't he think of stationing some near this tree, unless he was deliberately calculating to trick Adam and Eve

Why do some young children drown in the family pool? Clearly their parents put it there to trick them into near-death or death.

[The Alma Mater]

It's worse than that,Bottle.

1) With either stove or candy, the likely outcome is just minor problems.
This was a one-time irreversible effect we are talking about .. more like a bottle of sodium hydroxide cubes looking like sugar on the kitchen table.

2) What does god do when Adam and Eve are told to leave? Stations guard angels with burning swords next to the tree of life. Why didn't he think of stationing some near this tree, unless he was deliberately calculating to trick Adam and Eve

Why do some young children drown in the family pool? Clearly their parents put it there to trick them into near-death or death.

Whose fault is the death of such an innocent young child if the pool is not protected in any way against it exploring the garden ? Must we blame the child ?

[Frankastain]

Adam's offspring can be considered to be all three of the Abrahamic religions. I reckon he's done quite well so far...

ABRAHAM's offspring.
The Jews, if you wish.
Now, given that the jews are few, and it's only now they have their own state and aren't victims of pogroms like through most history, god was clearly lying.
Oh well... maybe he just didn't specify "when" he'll do it.
What honesty.
.

um .....
1.
Abraham is the father of all Arabs ad Jews and a few other tribes that i cant recall of the top of my head i.e pretty much the entire middle east
Israel/Jacob is the father off the Israelites he is his grandchild if you like i am sure someone will show you the family tree (it is somewhere near the end of Genesis)
2
Muslims Jews and Christians believe in sons off the covenant
ie any one that in any of these the religion's is a son of Abraham

take your pick of which one you want to try they both work rather well if you count living and dead the passage indicates that you will as easily be able to count the sand on the beach or the stars in the sky happy counting

[Hesther]

It seems to me that people are just extremely critical of Christian beliefs. Its not just people disagree and move on they have to comment and mock it and I just want to know why.

Don't worry about it. If all they want is an argument, just leave them alone and let them seek it somewhere else.

I am a Christian, and I refuse to be ashamed of that fact. If somebody asks me a legitimate question about my faith or myself, I'll do my best to answer, but if you want a fight, go elsewhere.

[Katganistan]

Why do some young children drown in the family pool? Clearly their parents put it there to trick them into near-death or death.

Whose fault is the death of such an innocent young child if the pool is not protected in any way against it exploring the garden ? Must we blame the child ?

*Shrug* Just pointing out that cruelty and fuckheadedness are not necessary for someone getting hurt because they forgot/ignored the rules.

[Central Slavia]

It's worse than that,Bottle.

1) With either stove or candy, the likely outcome is just minor problems.
This was a one-time irreversible effect we are talking about .. more like a bottle of sodium hydroxide cubes looking like sugar on the kitchen table.

2) What does god do when Adam and Eve are told to leave? Stations guard angels with burning swords next to the tree of life. Why didn't he think of stationing some near this tree, unless he was deliberately calculating to trick Adam and Eve

Why do some young children drown in the family pool? Clearly their parents put it there to trick them into near-death or death.

Because unlike God, their parents can make a mistake ( not securing it enough, not noticing kid's gone until late )
Furthermore, unlike god, they don't have unlimited resources.
I mean, he could just have created some creature to protect the tree and tear whoever comes close a new one, or at least threaten to.

[The Alma Mater]

It seems to me that people are just extremely critical of Christian beliefs. Its not just people disagree and move on they have to comment and mock it and I just want to know why.

Don't worry about it. If all they want is an argument, just leave them alone and let them seek it somewhere else.

I am a Christian, and I refuse to be ashamed of that fact. If somebody asks me a legitimate question about my faith or myself, I'll do my best to answer, but if you want a fight, go elsewhere.

Legitimate Question as Ordered:

Why are you certain that God truly loves you ?

[The Alma Mater]

Whose fault is the death of such an innocent young child if the pool is not protected in any way against it exploring the garden ? Must we blame the child ?

*Shrug* Just pointing out that cruelty and fuckheadedness are not necessary for someone getting hurt because they forgot/ignored the rules.

Not even if you created that someone, made them naturally curious and deliberately omitted a sense of right and wrong in their design ?

[Central Slavia]

ABRAHAM's offspring.
The Jews, if you wish.
Now, given that the jews are few, and it's only now they have their own state and aren't victims of pogroms like through most history, god was clearly lying.
Oh well... maybe he just didn't specify "when" he'll do it.
What honesty.
.

um .....
1.
Abraham is the father of all Arabs ad Jews and a few other tribes that i cant recall of the top of my head i.e pretty much the entire middle east
Israel/Jacob is the father off the Israelites he is his grandchild if you like i am sure someone will show you the family tree (it is somewhere near the end of Genesis)
2
Muslims Jews and Christians believe in sons off the covenant
ie any one that in any of these the religion's is a son of Abraham

take your pick of which one you want to try they both work rather well if you count living and dead the passage indicates that you will as easily be able to count the sand on the beach or the stars in the sky happy counting

1) OK, how does the middle east comprise even a significant proportion of the world's population, much less the incredible numbers god has SWORE to bring forth?

2) Oh wow... i love this. It's like doctor saying to an impotent patient:
I swear you'll have lots of kids. I just define your kid as what's born when the neigbour fucks your wife.
Most christians are Romanic, Slavic, Anglo-Saxon people.. nothing Jewish or Arab there.

[The Alma Mater]

1) OK, how does the middle east comprise even a significant proportion of the world's population, much less the incredible numbers god has SWORE to bring forth?

About 50% of the worlds population currently self-identifies as Christian, Muslim or Jew.
That is quite an impressive number.

[Hesther]

Legitimate Question as Ordered:

Why are you certain that God truly loves you ?

Eloquence Warning: The person writing this is not a trained debater, a lawyer, a public speaker, or an experienced politician.

In simple terms, because He's made it plain enough through His past actions and words.

It's actually fairly easy to see that He does, if you read the Bible, or even just look at the world around you.

[Central Slavia]

Whose fault is the death of such an innocent young child if the pool is not protected in any way against it exploring the garden ? Must we blame the child ?

*Shrug* Just pointing out that cruelty and fuckheadedness are not necessary for someone getting hurt because they forgot/ignored the rules.

It still might be.
If you are taking care of something or someone of lesser intellect, you should think FOR it.
Furthermore.. has God trained them in any way?
I don't remember them ever finding that disobeying him brings bad consequences, on something of non-permanent harm

[Johz]

Adam's offspring can be considered to be all three of the Abrahamic religions. I reckon he's done quite well so far...

ABRAHAM's offspring.
The Jews, if you wish.
Now, given that the jews are few, and it's only now they have their own state and aren't victims of pogroms like through most history, god was clearly lying.
Oh well... maybe he just didn't specify "when" he'll do it.
What honesty.

Abraham's sons include Ishmael, father of Islam. (Gen 16) Equally, Abraham's decendents also include Christians. Quite apart from the idea of the Messiah, who will, according to the Jews, defeat the forces of oppression.

Yes, but so was free will. We chose to become imperfect. A god who prizes free will over perfection, even to the point of destroying his bond with the one part of his creation to whom he has offered a sacred relationship, also says a lot about my God.

... wait... so eg. the defects in chemical balance in expecting mothers' body which i have heard is what causes homosexuality are, somehow, the product of free will?
Same goes for genetic-error disease, while we are at the topic of reproduction.
Never mind... when did who choose to become imperfect?

Adam and Eve chose to be imperfect. We merely have to live with the product of the Fall, which includes relationships. I'm not even going to bother responding to your hypothetical what-ifs about what makes a gay person gay. I don't know, you don't know, medical science can only guess, so let's just assume it's not something we can discriminate against.

It asks it's believers to believe in a God that is beyond human understanding. This does not contradict science, because science is human understanding. So what if a humble creation myth was wrong, the entire set of pre-Abrahamic stories are prevalent in cultures across the Middle East, suggesting that they are unlikely to have special relevence to the Christian God...

Not only a creation myth.. the ressurection itself, as well as thousands of miracles.... never mind.
The key problem with religion is that it asks to believe without evidence.

That ignores the point of a miracle, which is that it's impossible. And numerous Christiand refute many miracles.

No-one has a dash in it. I don't really care if no-one cares, because I care. Tough luck if you don't give a shit, just don't produce stupid comments like the one to which I replied originally...

I don't give a damn about your opinion on atheists - i was addressing an entirely different class of nonsense.

Which was?

[Katganistan]

*Shrug* Just pointing out that cruelty and fuckheadedness are not necessary for someone getting hurt because they forgot/ignored the rules.

Not even if you created that someone, made them naturally curious and deliberately omitted a sense of right and wrong in their design ?

Congratulations. You've just described parents and children. Children need to be taught right from wrong, and sometimes, parents don't manage to do that before a calamity ensues. Hence the "toddler drowning" analogy. Or the kid running into the street after a ball analogy... or the hot stove analogy.

[Central Slavia]

1) OK, how does the middle east comprise even a significant proportion of the world's population, much less the incredible numbers god has SWORE to bring forth?

About 50% of the worlds population currently self-identifies as Christian, Muslim or Jew.
That is quite an impressive number.

See later on.Most Christians or Muslims don't count, unless you interpret offspring in a bizarre manner.

[Central Slavia]

Not even if you created that someone, made them naturally curious and deliberately omitted a sense of right and wrong in their design ?

Congratulations. You've just described parents and children. Children need to be taught right from wrong, and sometimes, parents don't manage to do that before a calamity ensues. Hence the "toddler drowning" analogy. Or the kid running into the street after a ball analogy... or the hot stove analogy.

But parents can't change that... they can only work around it.
It's the difference between trying to do your best to drive the Yugo you have in your garage, and designing a crappy car.

[Wydel]

I am Atheist, Preaching and Debating are two different things. Christians however tend to be poor losers when debates happen. They will never admit that there are other possibilities and often claim that their religion is officially true without question because they have faith........

True because of faith?

That seems like a contradiction to me

I thought fact was something that can be proven and faith was a belief that has no factual backing.

I personally find that religion limits the abilities and critical thinking of human beings by not allowing them to accept other ideals, and that anything different is automatically evil and needs to be killed off. They are also bred and instilled with a sense that they are the higher form of human on this earth and they are so self conceited into believing that their goal is to attack the beliefs they do not agree with of others and convert them to their ideals, either by force (war, inquisition) or modern day harassment such as Jehovah's witness' coming to your door even after telling them you are not interested. I am all in favor of people following their religions, even Christians, but I am absolutely against people forcing ideal's down other people's throats especially when they are too stubborn themselves to open up to other ideals. The only group that really exhibits this behavior at least in the Western World on such a large scale are Christians.

[Johz]

um .....
1.
Abraham is the father of all Arabs ad Jews and a few other tribes that i cant recall of the top of my head i.e pretty much the entire middle east
Israel/Jacob is the father off the Israelites he is his grandchild if you like i am sure someone will show you the family tree (it is somewhere near the end of Genesis)
2
Muslims Jews and Christians believe in sons off the covenant
ie any one that in any of these the religion's is a son of Abraham

take your pick of which one you want to try they both work rather well if you count living and dead the passage indicates that you will as easily be able to count the sand on the beach or the stars in the sky happy counting

1) OK, how does the middle east comprise even a significant proportion of the world's population, much less the incredible numbers god has SWORE to bring forth?

2) Oh wow... i love this. It's like doctor saying to an impotent patient:
I swear you'll have lots of kids. I just define your kid as what's born when the neigbour fucks your wife.
Most christians are Romanic, Slavic, Anglo-Saxon people.. nothing Jewish or Arab there.

2) That completely ignores the culture at the time, which was 'if your wife doesn't give you children, get another one. Or get some children from someone else. Then make them marry lots of people.' Family wasn't linear, it was whoever would turn up to your annual knees-up. Your kids, their kids, their wives'/husbands' other kids, their wives'/husbands' parents, etc.

[Ramalet]

People are critical of Christian Belief's because this is what a lot of people see Christian preachers as...

[Norstal]

Not even if you created that someone, made them naturally curious and deliberately omitted a sense of right and wrong in their design ?

Congratulations. You've just described parents and children. Children need to be taught right from wrong, and sometimes, parents don't manage to do that before a calamity ensues. Hence the "toddler drowning" analogy. Or the kid running into the street after a ball analogy... or the hot stove analogy.

Kat...parents aren't gods (who are omniscient and all-powerful).

Hell, I'd like it if my parents were gods, but they're not.

[Central Slavia]

ABRAHAM's offspring.
The Jews, if you wish.
Now, given that the jews are few, and it's only now they have their own state and aren't victims of pogroms like through most history, god was clearly lying.
Oh well... maybe he just didn't specify "when" he'll do it.
What honesty.

Abraham's sons include Ishmael, father of Islam. (Gen 16) Equally, Abraham's decendents also include Christians. Quite apart from the idea of the Messiah, who will, according to the Jews, defeat the forces of oppression.

Abraham's descendants DOESN'T include christians, unless they have jewish/arabic ancestors.
Which most of the roman empire didn't.

... wait... so eg. the defects in chemical balance in expecting mothers' body which i have heard is what causes homosexuality are, somehow, the product of free will?
Same goes for genetic-error disease, while we are at the topic of reproduction.
Never mind... when did who choose to become imperfect?

Adam and Eve chose to be imperfect. We merely have to live with the product of the Fall, which includes relationships. I'm not even going to bother responding to your hypothetical what-ifs about what makes a gay person gay. I don't know, you don't know, medical science can only guess, so let's just assume it's not something we can discriminate against.

No.
Firstly, the hypotetical what-ifs or how you call them are asking how the fuck is that a byproduct of free will?
I could have equally asked for tuberculosis.
Secondly... Adam and Eve didn't choose to be imperfect. If anything, they choose to understand good and evil... gaining a capability is the *opposite* of imperfection. What about him punishing Eve with childbirth, as Bottle has pointed out? How was that a consequence?

Not only a creation myth.. the ressurection itself, as well as thousands of miracles.... never mind.
The key problem with religion is that it asks to believe without evidence.

That ignores the point of a miracle, which is that it's impossible. And numerous Christiand refute many miracles.

But without well-documented evidence, believing in something you know to be impossible is stupid.

I don't give a damn about your opinion on atheists - i was addressing an entirely different class of nonsense.

Which was?

[/quote]
Anything since claiming god didn't lie.

[The Alma Mater]

Not even if you created that someone, made them naturally curious and deliberately omitted a sense of right and wrong in their design ?

Congratulations. You've just described parents and children. Children need to be taught right from wrong, and sometimes, parents don't manage to do that before a calamity ensues. Hence the "toddler drowning" analogy. Or the kid running into the street after a ball analogy... or the hot stove analogy.

Until we are able to order a child with exact specifications from a testtube, the comparison breaks down. You, as a parent, can not deliberately set out to design a flawed child. Yet.

God could.

Perhaps a better analogy:
Suppose you deliberately blindfold a child and let it walk the street. Then suddenly you rip the blindfold off and tell the child he deserves punishment for ignoring a red light.

Are you being reasonable ?

[Central Slavia]

1) OK, how does the middle east comprise even a significant proportion of the world's population, much less the incredible numbers god has SWORE to bring forth?

2) Oh wow... i love this. It's like doctor saying to an impotent patient:
I swear you'll have lots of kids. I just define your kid as what's born when the neigbour fucks your wife.
Most christians are Romanic, Slavic, Anglo-Saxon people.. nothing Jewish or Arab there.

2) That completely ignores the culture at the time, which was 'if your wife doesn't give you children, get another one. Or get some children from someone else. Then make them marry lots of people.' Family wasn't linear, it was whoever would turn up to your annual knees-up. Your kids, their kids, their wives'/husbands' other kids, their wives'/husbands' parents, etc.

Nope... sorry.
It's, like at any time in history, the product of YOU fucking someone else - i.e. people which can trace their heritage to you yourself. The 10 commandments suggest that jews disliked being cuckolds as much as any other society.





N

[Frankastain]

It's worse than that,Bottle.

1) With either stove or candy, the likely outcome is just minor problems.
This was a one-time irreversible effect we are talking about .. more like a bottle of sodium hydroxide cubes looking like sugar on the kitchen table.

2) What does god do when Adam and Eve are told to leave? Stations guard angels with burning swords next to the tree of life. Why didn't he think of stationing some near this tree, unless he was deliberately calculating to trick Adam and Eve

No arguments here. I honestly don't understand how anybody worships the Christian God after reading the first chapter of his book...he just sounds like a run-of-the-mill lousy parent who beats his kids for his own mistakes. I don't worship anything THAT human.

1. fails as they are adults not children if i put a bright red liquid on a table and said know it looks smells and tastes like creaming soda but it will kill you if you drink it you will surely die one would expect an adult to understand that particularly if I had a authority over such things and was undisputedly more wise than all others present, and to this point been extremely generous and kind to every one . My reason for doing might not be apparent but most perhaps not all adults would take that warning seriously few would drink it particulate if i said oh and on the subject of soft drinks the room back there is full to the brim with creaming soda and other drinks of every flavour and they are good for you to boot. That is a much closer analogy

2. in order to criticize a all powerful Deity one would need experiences at being one in the same way that now i am older and have experienced being the adult in child/adult relationships i now understand adult actions where not always as stupid as I used to think it was d find my self doing similar things , also i believe that their are 66 books in the bible i find that after reading the first of twenty chapters of a book i often d'not even know all the main players let alone which side their on (says something about my taste in books i guess)

[Norstal]

1. fails as they are adults not children if i put a bright red liquid on a table and said know it looks smells and tastes like creaming soda but it will kill you if you drink it you will surely die one would expect an adult to understand that particularly if I had a authority over such things and was undisputedly more wise than all others present, and to this point been extremely generous and kind to every one . My reason for doing might not be apparent but most perhaps not all adults would take that warning seriously few would drink it particulate if i said oh and on the subject of soft drinks the room back there is full to the brim with creaming soda and other drinks of every flavour and they are good for you to boot. That is a much closer analogy

That makes no sense at all.

2. in order to criticize a all powerful Deity one would need experiences at being one in the same way that now i am older and have experienced being the adult in child/adult relationships i now understand adult actions where not always as stupid as I used to think it was d find my self doing similar things , also i believe that their are 66 books in the bible i find that after reading the first of twenty chapters of a book i often d'not even know all the main players let alone which side their on (says something about my taste in books i guess)

You don't need to be a five-star chef to know that McDondalds is unhealthy for you. Why should we treat your god like this? If I were you, I'd give more respect to my god by not comparing him to any types of human. I would treat him as god.