I just recieved a pay raise. Did god give it to me?

[TheDusty]

Originally Posted by Rocco Barbosa

Where does this sort of thinking come from?

A lack of knowledge.

Good things are a blessing; testing times are just that... a test. And disaster and bad things result in the 'answer' we've all heard: God works in mysterious ways.

I don't want any of this to come off as hostile or anti-religious, I just question why these answers are acceptable? When a doctor preforms a successful surgery on a loved one, far too often we give more credit to God, something that has no literal evidence, than we do the surgeon (which can be proven to exist). We pass credit on to a spiritual entity, without knowing if it's reasonable or not. Thank the farmers for you food; thank your hard work for the job you have; thank your family for getting through a tough time with you. Why thank God for every little think that happens?

And even better? Why act like you know? 'The lord works in mysterious ways.' What do you mean? According to science, a tsunami is often caused by earthquakes on the ocean floor, which is caused by the movement of tectonic plates. The mystery is solved. Why act like you know why bad things happen? The only think you know for sure is that 'things happen.' Good or bad is objective. Earthquakes mean the earth is geologically active, and that is generally a good thing because if it becomes inactive, earth's core will cool and we'll loose our magnetic field which protects us from harmful solar radiation.

There's nothing wrong with saying you don't know.

[ptsum]

Originally Posted by strawflower

"Thanking God for the food on your table when millions of people to hungry every single day is like thanking a serial killer because he didn't kill YOU."

strawflower, to some degree I would have to disagree with your statement. In my culture we thank the Creator and Mother Earth for the food that we have at each and every meal, we thank them for the knowledge that we were given to grow this food or to be able to hunt for the meat that we were able to supply for the meal and we do this out of respect.anything extra is always shared among those who do not have any, that is our way.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by DewDropInn

Mordant is right. It's not an opinion to a fundamentalist. It's a fact. The scary part is when they start deciding those "facts" must be the basis for how you and I and everyone else must live. Which is, obviously, something your People learned shortly after the large wooden boats started arriving from the other side of the Atlantic.

wow and how about atheists and agnostics that want to tell believers how stupid we are for believing in a fairy tale story someone made up? Most people who are religious, whether fundamentalist or not do not tell others how they should or must live. They have their beliefs that affect how they live.

[DewDropInn]

Originally Posted by nmnita

wow and how about atheists and agnostics that want to tell believers how stupid we are for believing in a fairy tale story someone made up? Most people who are religious, whether fundamentalist or not do not tell others how they should or must live. They have their beliefs that affect how they live.

They are easily ignored.

On the other hand, someone who wants to implement (or overturn) a law because of their religious beliefs..... is not.