Atheism As A REJECTION OF--Not Disbelief In--An Evil God (atheist, bible, quote)
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I have no idea what you are talking about, Mystic. I called mink out on her claim that that lots of people have had limbs restored but that she's not going to produce the proof even if it were to convince me to repent and return to Jesus. Now you and I both know that limbs have never been restored to humans via supernatural intervention. Such claims are false and mink simply cannot admit that I am right. I ask why God doesn't grow limbs onto amputees, she says he has, I ask for evidence and I never hear back. Now you tell me, in this exchange who's being decent and honest and who is not?
Well...I prayed to God that the most miserable hateful people would clearly expose themselves, so I would know who they are...and, look at that!...you and your ilk have so definitively self-revealed!
Who says God doesn't answer prayers?!!
You said you are "right", and "decent", and "honest"...but all you have been is wrong, nasty, and deceitful.
If you have no idea why it's not cool to bash and mock people's sincerely held Religious Beliefs and them for holding them...you still have a lot to learn.
I've seen the Christians bitterly defending their pagan Yahweh against all sorts of criticisms and accusations which if we weren't talking about anyone except God they'd be right in line with non-believers. But the moment you point out God's crappy behavior toward people not of their persuasion immediately they haul out giant buckets of paint and thoroughly whitewash him. I've thought about this and wondered why. The conclusion I've come to is it has a lot to do with guilt--if they don't defend him they'll feel guilty as hell for staying silent. You know--Luke 9:26 stuff: “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels ..." They're afraid they'll be judged as traitorous to God if they don't defend him. That and they take it personally--as if God is going to care what people say and think about him. Imagine--the God who was powerful enough to create trillions of galaxies has his feelings hurt like a little kid when somebody says he's a bad God. "Boo hoo, people really hurt my feelings when they think I'm not a good guy. I"m going to go into the Andromeda galaxy and pout for awhile so don't bother praying because I won't answer." Pretty absurd if you ask me.
Yep, you pinned the good ol' tail on the donkey with that post. That's exactly what happens.
You see this on a massive scale in the Islamic world, where billions of peaceful and politically moderate Muslims are silenced by a few hundred thousand fundamental fanatics who wish to go to war against the entire Western World. Thus events like 911 occur, and the only outcry one really hears from the Islamic world comes from within the United States.
I've said this before, though a long time ago, that this is precisely how religion can erode our freedoms - how even in the United States, it's possible to end up with a de facto harsh Christian theocracy - because all the moderate and liberal Christians will keep quiet for fear of being a traitor to God. Even if they have very severe doubts about allowing religion to supplant cherished freedoms, many will stay silent or even go along with it.
It's the same behavior one sees in high school. A bully starts making fun of someone - do people stand up and defend the victim? Of course not. Instead, everyone stands shoulder to shoulder with the bully, laughing at the victim and even joining in with the taunts and threats.
Thus you see the same behavior among adults on a macro scale whereby they will not only stay quiet for fear of outing themselves as not really a Christian, but they're likely to go along with any authoritarian or fascist religious movement so as not to bring down the wrath of the "bullies" on their own heads.
No, they're not MOSTLY about "I lost my car keys..."
They're often about...
...the restoration of a marriage/relationship...
...passing a difficult exam...
...financial assistance...
...housing...
...finding a job/better job...
...getting off drugs/alcohol...
...healing from mental/physical health issues...
...positive outcome of a court case...
Of course, these are the cases that we know about.
So, how many other cases have their been that haven't been published online?
*snicker*
Yep, the car keys.
Winning a sporting event.
Safe travels.
Winning the lottery.
But it really doesn't matter why prayers are made. The issue is prayer efficacy.
And the amount of prayer efficacy is roughly equal to that as if a person did absolutly nothing.
Whether punishment or boon, which one is delivered on whose head is random chance.
Kind of strange, don't you think? Does god simply roll a cosmic set of dice to see who wins the lottery? So that a millionaire wins while the much more numerous poor do not? Whereby the Hindu in room 200 is miraculously cured of cancer! But the devout Christian next door succumbs and dies. A fisherman prays for calm seas and then barely escapes a storm with his life. Next time he doesn't pray at all and the waters are like a mirror.
Perhaps one of the most disgusting uses of prayer or exonerating the miracles of God is when 300 people die in a plane crash - but this one singular person survived. It's a miracle! It was God! Funny how everyone forgets about the other 300 people who God apparently didn't give a fig about. Just let them die. They're just extras on a really big stage and very expendible. But the survivor - we got big plans for him!
I survived a horrific car accident! It was God! Really? Well, if it was God, he could have prevented you from getting into the accident in the first place. Now it sounds like showing off.
It's interesting when the Bobcats and the Wolverines each want to win that all-important small town high school football game - and both teams pray their hearts out for God to be on their side. How d'you suppose God picks the winner? Does God have a Prayer Intensity Meter or something? "Well the Bobcat prayers were just a little more heartfelt than the Wolverines. Number 32 was slacking off during the prayer - he was thinking about banging his girlfriend after the game. But the Bobcats had all their heads in the right place - worshiping and groveling to ME!"
Nah ... sorry. If that's the way the universe works, just shoot me now.
Very sad for you. Your lack of understanding makes it so. Satan raised issues against God in the Eden rebellion. They are proved false once and for all time so it can never occur again. All rebels are being rooted out. 1/3 of the angels fell to his deceiving as well. 99% on earth today are being mislead. Satan is the cause of every bad thing that ever occurred. He has you blaming God.
So ... let's look at this in a different way.
Let's say there is the CEO and owner of a corporation. He's the Big Boss - there is no one above him in the corporate hiearchy.
Once upon a time, Mr. CEO is sitting at his desk when Mr. Middle Management comes in.
"Boss, sir, Your Lordship, we have a lot more toxic waste then we had first anticipated. We could spend the extra money to dispose of it safely ... or ... we could simply dump it into the river for free. What should we do?"
"Well, Mr. Middle Management, here's what we're going to do," Mr. CEO says in a fatherly voice, "I'm giving you dominion over the company. I'm allowing YOU to make the final decision on how we dispose of the toxic waste. Do what you wish."
And so Mr. Middle Management takes the waste and dumps it into a river that feeds several towns their drinking water. Suddenly, over the next 10 years, the number of cancer cases, deformities, and genetic illnesses spikes by 3000%.
Tell me, kjw, who is ultimately responsible?
Because usually superiors are responsible for the actions of their inferiors - especially if the superior knew there was a chance that the inferior would act wrongly. Thus, Mr. CEO is just as responsible for the waste dumping as Mr. Middle Management. Because Mr. CEO could have and should have said that Mr. Middle Management is to safely dispose of the waste despite the cost.
Of course it works a little differently if the CEO had no knowledge of Mr. Middle Management's actions. Except he did.
Thus for God to simply throw up his hands and tell Satan, "You have dominion over the earth" is pretty much an implied statement saying, "Satan, do as you will to the people of earth." This makes God even more responsible than Satan - especially since God knows exactly the kind of being Satan is. To simply disappear from earth and let Satan rule over it is gross irresponsibility of criminal magnitude.
Satan is just being Satan. God knew all too well what and who Satan was and the kinds of things he woujld do. But God dismissively waved his hand at Satan and told him to do whatever he wants.
Why should I blame Satan? Or more to the point, why should I not blame both?
Not that I do, mind you, since neither one exists. But for all of those who might, just think about it.
Or ... do you think CEOs and Big Bosses should be allowed to give any order they want, no matter how immoral or ammoral or illegal and simply get away with it? No consequences? No accountability?
I mean, I get it ... he's God! He can't be held accountabe because, well, he's God! Then we get a flurry of "working in myterious ways" or "how can we know the mind of god" arguments in an attempt to create cosmic justice where there is none.
I'm only speaking for the one's who've had their prayers answered!
By the way...
I also believe that Christians aren't the only people who get their prayers answered...
Is having one's prayers answered the same as having one's wishes come true?
I suspect one is being confused with the other so as to suggest we all don't experience the same thing having nothing to do with the supernatural. Some of us have good luck or better luck than others. I'd hate to think anyone who has bad luck or doesn't have their "prayers answered" thinks the unfortunate events are a result of God looking down on them unfavorably.
Right. Of course not. When it's good fortune, it's thanks to God. When not, it's a lesson from God or some other explanation that ultimately defies reason and logic. "Whatever works" as some like to say, but sometimes I've really got to wonder how this works in the minds of some who are so good at flipping that God coin.
''Oh please!'' Lol! Good grief, is a good one, too.
Or how about, ''Not this again...' It's all God's fault.
My wish is people would finally buckle down and understand God 'Himself", instead of looking thru the window speculating.
Be still and know...for yourself...allow God in silence to reveal deep and profound insights to your little pea brain.
"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and
unsearchable things you do not know" -Jer 33:3
Take it from me - it's true...but ya gotta pick up the phone and place it to your ear!!
"Oh please!'' Lol! Good grief, is a good one, too."
Sure got that right, but I suspect for different reasons that cause me to think the same thing...
No, they're not MOSTLY about "I lost my car keys..."
They're often about...
...the restoration of a marriage/relationship... CHECK
...passing a difficult exam... CHECK
...financial assistance... CHECK
...housing... CHECK (MANY TIMES CHECK)
...finding a job/better job... CHECK (MANY TIMES CHECK)
...getting off drugs/alcohol... CHECK (SO GLAD I'M NO LONGER SMOKING).
...healing from mental/physical health issues... CHECK (FROM CLINICAL DEPRESSION)
...positive outcome of a court case... (CHECK. FOUR TIMES I'VE WON IMPORTANT SMALL CLAIMS CASES).
Of course, these are the cases that we know about.
So, how many other cases have their been that haven't been published online?
All check as personal experiences very important and consequential in my life. None of which I've experienced other than during my time as an atheist. (My adult life).
These are ALL things that can be accomplished without prayer, mink. Any atheist can restore their marriage, get financial assistance, get off drugs and get an acquittal in a courtroom, etc. Why doesn't God ever do anything extraordinary that could truly be labeled a miracle like restore the limb of an amputee or make them unparalyzed when their spinal cord is severed?
As an atheist who can and HAS done all those things without God, I'd say your observation is valid. As to the rest of your question(s), there may be explanations involving God, but none as good as the simple most obvious answer. There is no god to credit or blame for any of these things!
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