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I can tell you with absolute certainty that the times that I grew closer to God were in the midst of trial and hardship. When a loved one died, or I faced uncertainty. You may not see it that way, but it's arrogant to suggest that others might react differently.
How is it arrogant to state you cannot see or understand something?
I think it is more arrogant to state that someone deserved to be murdered because they might of grown up to be bad or to say that it is good for a young child to have their patent die.
Neither of us knows what happens to a person when they die but we should know that unexpected death is not always a comfortable or happy time for the survivors.
It doesn't make sense to you because you're only looking at ONE possibility. For example, how in the world do you know that what this pastor did was "pleasing" to God? Do you know that pastor's heart? Or, how do you know that by calling the pastor 'home', God didn't do him a favor? You seem to keep limiting God to what's in your own imagination. Talk about a 'narrow' definition!
Well, I've got a few of my own, Mink:
Maybe the pastor blasphemed God
Maybe the pastor slept with a church member
Maybe the pastor bragged he's baptized more people than the guy in the next town
Maybe the pastor loved pizza more than he loved Jesus
Maybe the pastor was embezzling church funds
Maybe the pastor was supposed to paint the tabernacle and he forgot
Maybe the pastor gave some offertory money to a homeless atheist
Maybe the pastor told a church member she was pretty when she's really ugly
Maybe the pastor picked up an old Playboy and glanced at the pinup
Maybe the pastor kept two bundles of mail order socks when he only paid for one
Maybe the pastor bragged he's baptized more people than the guy in the next town
Maybe the pastor loved pizza more than he loved Jesus
Maybe the pastor was embezzling church funds
Maybe the pastor was supposed to paint the tabernacle and he forgot
Maybe the pastor gave some offertory money to a homeless atheist
Maybe the pastor told a church member she was pretty when she's really ugly
Maybe the pastor picked up an old Playboy and glanced at the pinup
Maybe the pastor kept two bundles of mail order socks when he only paid for one
Maybe the pastor cheated on his income tax
Can you think of any more, Mink?
Maybe the pastor stupidly placed an electric microphone too close to the baptismal pool.
Why would we suppose the pastor's god had anything to do with this?
I know of no species of Christianity that teaches god is an insurance policy against stupidity just because people are engaged in conduct that should be pleasing to him.
Probably 98% of the passengers, including atheists, are praying in the final 20 seconds before a plane crashes, but 99.9% of the time it still crashes.
How is it arrogant to state you cannot see or understand something?
Did I say that?
Quote:
I think it is more arrogant to state that someone deserved to be murdered because they might of grown up to be bad or to say that it is good for a young child to have their patent die.
Again, not sure I said otherwise.
Quote:
Neither of us knows what happens to a person when they die but we should know that unexpected death is not always a comfortable or happy time for the survivors.
Nope. It isn't. I completely agree. And the time when I've grew the most in my faith was when I experienced the loss of a close family member.
I know of no species of Christianity that teaches god is an insurance policy against stupidity just because people are engaged in conduct that should be pleasing to him.
Oh, I can show you lots of "species" of Christianity that teach this very thing. How about this. Read the bold:
Our in and outs are protected by God. He promised to watch all over us and He will always protect us. God promised to watch over our comings and our goings now and forevermore. This literally applies to the time that we will go out for work or for school or for anything. Our God is our main protector, He is our shield and He is our safe fortress.
As we battle our problems day by day, we have to know that we are protected by God. He swore to protect us and will not put us to harm. Our God is our Father who protects His children. We are God’s children as we receive Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We have been adopted to the holy family of God and through that, we now have complete protection from God who never fails to do His promises.
God is constantly protecting us from a thousand potential harms of which we are not aware. If he withdrew his protection, we would succumb to untold numbers of germs, demons, and accidents. Never does a moment pass that God has not protected you from harm.
There are hundreds of Christian websitesfilled with lies about God constantly protecting his children. It's all propaganda--no truth to it at all as the example of the pastor plainly demonstrates to anybody with even a limited capacity to reason
Oh, I can show you lots of "species" of Christianity that teach this very thing. How about this. Read the bold:
Our in and outs are protected by God. He promised to watch all over us and He will always protect us. God promised to watch over our comings and our goings now and forevermore. This literally applies to the time that we will go out for work or for school or for anything. Our God is our main protector, He is our shield and He is our safe fortress.
As we battle our problems day by day, we have to know that we are protected by God. He swore to protect us and will not put us to harm. Our God is our Father who protects His children. We are God’s children as we receive Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We have been adopted to the holy family of God and through that, we now have complete protection from God who never fails to do His promises.
God is constantly protecting us from a thousand potential harms of which we are not aware. If he withdrew his protection, we would succumb to untold numbers of germs, demons, and accidents. Never does a moment pass that God has not protected you from harm.
There are hundreds of Christian websitesfilled with lies about God constantly protecting his children. It's all propaganda--no truth to it at all as the example of the pastor plainly demonstrates to anybody with even a limited capacity to reason
These are talking about god's providence.
No species of Christianity teaches that if you throw a live microphone into a pool you aren't going to get jolted.
If you didn't get jolted, that would defy the laws of physics and qualify as at least a mini-miracle.
The biblical teaching is that god is not to be put to the test by you doing stupid things to see if he'll suspend the laws of the universe for you.
Maybe the pastor bragged he's baptized more people than the guy in the next town
Maybe the pastor loved pizza more than he loved Jesus
Maybe the pastor was embezzling church funds
Maybe the pastor was supposed to paint the tabernacle and he forgot
Maybe the pastor gave some offertory money to a homeless atheist
Maybe the pastor told a church member she was pretty when she's really ugly
Maybe the pastor picked up an old Playboy and glanced at the pinup
Maybe the pastor kept two bundles of mail order socks when he only paid for one
Maybe the pastor cheated on his income tax
Can you think of any more, Mink?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zonked
Maybe the pastor stupidly placed an electric microphone too close to the baptismal pool.
Why would we suppose the pastor's god had anything to do with this?
I know of no species of Christianity that teaches god is an insurance policy against stupidity just because people are engaged in conduct that should be pleasing to him.
Probably 98% of the passengers, including atheists, are praying in the final 20 seconds before a plane crashes, but 99.9% of the time it still crashes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zonked
These are talking about god's providence.
No species of Christianity teaches that if you throw a live microphone into a pool you aren't going to get jolted.
If you didn't get jolted, that would defy the laws of physics and qualify as at least a mini-miracle.
The biblical teaching is that god is not to be put to the test by you doing stupid things to see if he'll suspend the laws of the universe for you.
As you can see by the list above...it is just meant to insult & mock. That's the whole premise of the thread, really. Few would assess it any way other than that.
Who writes things like that if they seek serious discussion?
But, most of the Theists have much better to offer than that level...you'll see.
As you can see by the list above...it is just meant to insult & mock. That's the whole premise of the thread, really. Few would assess it any way other than that.
Who writes things like that if they seek serious discussion?
But, most of the Theists have much better to offer than that level...you'll see.
What on earth are you talking about?
The two posts of mine you quoted weren't intended to be insulting or mocking, and I don't believe they can reasonably be read that way.
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