God's Morality And Human Morality

Matt Dillahunty makes a perfect analogy that shows humans have a higher morality than the supposed Abrahamic Gods.

Consider if you were in a room where a child was being raped would you attempt to stop it?

Do you think God is everywhere?

If you were not in that room isn't God watching the horrific event and doing nothing?

If God is watching and allows it then our morality is better than His.

God's Breath Required For Frost

The Bible shows God is intimately involved in this world even down to rolling dice. The more we study nature the more that is found to be untrue. The lightening rod is exhibit A. Ancients thought God direct caused and controlled lightening. But when old Ben Franklin invented the rod we found we can control/channel this force, which if there was a personality behind it and a powerful one at that we could never do such a thing.

Adam Clarke ( 1762-1832) was an Irish theologian who wrote a full commentary on the Bible. I clip here what he said on Job 37.

Verse 10

By the breath of God frost is given -

The freezing of water, though it is generally allowed to be the effect of cold, and has been carefully examined by the most eminent philosophers, is still involved in much mystery; and is a very proper subject to be produced among the great things which God doeth, and which we cannot comprehend, Job 37:5. Water, when frozen, becomes solid, and increases considerably in bulk. The expansive power in freezing is so great, that, if water be confined in a gun-barrel, it will split the solid metal throughout its whole length. Bombshells have been filled with water, and plugged tight, and exposed to cold air, when they have been rent, though the shell has been nearly two inches thick! Attempts have been made to account for this; but they have not, as yet, been generally successful. The breath of God freezes the waters; and that breath thaws them. It is the work of Omnipotence, and there, for the present, we must leave it.

Now we can also control God breath using refrigerators.

Is Santa Or God Real?

War On Christmas

How Do We Know Stuff

Prove There Is No God

Were you there?

Salvation Explained Simply

What Is Truth

No, The Bible Made Me An Atheist

Recently a knock came at my door. It was a pastor from a local church who was 105 if he was a day. He was bent over and time had not been kind to his face and hands. He handed me a tract and told me how I had a lovely house. As a former minister I recognized that pattern. Compliment first. So, he eventually got to "Are you a member of a faith based church?", thus excluding them apostate Catholic and Prevyterians who don't believe in the real god as he does. I told him straight up "I'm an atheist.". I could see his demeanor change immediately like he had some dust to shake off his feet and very soon.

Before I could say anything else he said "Oh, you believe in evolution".  Hmmm.. "Well, the evidence seems pretty strong."  He retorted "We got to have gotten here somehow", as if that completely destroyed the theory of evolution. He was done with me and turned to go down the steps. I was concerned he might stumble so I helped him down the steps and the he went on his way.  I suspect he later prayed for my soul. 

Later as I pondered this I felt he was dismissive and sized me up that I fell from grace because of evolution. I started to consider going and visited him at the church and clear up what I felt was a misconception about me. Evolution had absolutely nothing to do with my de-conversion. It never hit my radar until years later. 

Why had I become an atheist?

Growing up I had been guilted into believing Fundamental Christianity, Seventh-day Adventism in particular. I don't believe anyone comes to Jesus any other way. Why would you? You are first told you are this horrible sinner and being young, especially entering puberty, this can be preyed on.  Even younger you are so dependent and learning the rules you can be easily convinced you are the problem. Then when you accept this and are told now God loves you, like Santa Claus, you will get many gifts. Then you feel elation. Who came to Jesus any other way? It is strictly feelings. We are not entirely rational and most of our decisions are emotionally driven. Christianity takes advantage of that. 

Life went on. I went to college, became a minister. Of course the only thing I had was Scripture. I thought the more I read it and the more I followed it the better person I would be. But I found myself reading text that made no sense or did not coincide with reality. Why did all those magical things happen then, but not now? I would sub-consciously bypass these things because I had been told more would be revealed, but within me there was a build up how many of these just won't be resolved. A perfect god, a perfect book. Why was it so much looking like humans wrote it without a whole lot of internal consistency. I start reading all the apologetic material and again found it unsatisfying. However, when I was questioned I would regurgitate the arguments pretending I believed them when I did not. Fake til you make it. I believe Lord, help my disbelief. The problem was I could not let it go. I felt it was very important to resolve this cognitive dissonance. On top of just getting why SDAs were right I had to get why the thousands of other denominations and religions were wrong. It was a house of cards, soon to fall. It would have been best if I had not studied. The foundation of guilt loaded on me and the desire to deeply understand Scripture and apologetics was the major first step to my de-conversion. 

I wish I had of thought faster when the pastor came to my door. This is what I would have told him among many other things. My expectation would be he would have pulled out the pat answers and since he was 105 any honest thought would have been crushed. It was very painful for me to come out of the crushing guilt, but I am now very comfortable in my own skin.  Be yourself!

Does God Speak To Man

Jesus Loves The Little Children

Action speak louder than words.

Christianity - You Cannot Escape Easily

You cannot escape until you realize you are a prisoner. Christianity taught me I was a prisoner in sin. They shamed me and feigned love. They took advantage of my naivete. It took most of my life to understand I had become a prisoner. But the key was simply there around my neck once I woke up. Once I realized the problem the solution was inevitable while painful.

Some of us have had bad religion soaked childhoods, but most of us had long ones. None of us can help the things life has done to us, and once they are done they make us do other things until at last everything comes between us and what we would like to be and we have lost our original self. A paraphrase from Eugene O'Neill. You are not lost forever, you can free yourself from these things. Have patience, care for yourself, giving yourself a break.

When I was child I spoke as a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put away childish ways. I no longer believe in shame from the book of or believers in myths. I had been shamed to believe I would be this immoral child of hell if I gave up Christianity and became an atheist. My big surprise was my morals did not change and in fact I was now more honest, which if there is a good god he would honor that the most. Put my experience in their prophecy fail category.

Christian Disproves Evolution

Freedom OF Religion

Can Religion Cause Murder

Moral Indignation

Moral Indignation is jealousy with a halo - H.G. Wells

We all have met those kind of people. Religion, fundamental Christianity in particular, attracts those who are insecure and need a stick to punish others ("you are going to hell") and need a skirt to hide behind ("It is not me saying it, it is God").

As Dylan wrote

You got a lotta nerve

To say you are my friend

When I was down

You just stood there grinning

You got a lotta nerve

To say you got a helping hand to lend

You just want to be on

The side that’s winning

...

I wish that for just one time

You could stand inside my shoes

And just for that one moment

I could be you

Yes, I wish that for just one time

You could stand inside my shoes

You’d know what a drag it is

To see you

Song: Positively 4th Street

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts - Bertran Russell.

How Embarrassing Is Religious TV?

The Terrifying Truth About Bananas - Not By Kirk Cameron This Time

Tower Of Babel - Scientific Ilteracy Or Was God Truly Afraid Of Men?

Can't we just agree the Bible gets a failing grade in science? This really would be a story of self correcting errors if God had just let it go. Why didn't God stop men from landing on the moon or sending the Voyager satellites past our Solar System? How is it different today than thousands of years ago? Oh yeah, science.