If God Asked You For a Dime, How Would You Know It Was Him?

Good point... that is why I believe THE Bible.

 

This thread, and all religious threads, are hilarious. If the people here defending Christianity so staunchly were born in Saudi Arabia, they'd be defending Islam just as staunchly; if they were born in Israel they'd be defending Judaism. If they were born in India, they'd be defending Hinduism.

Religion is like sports; it's not so much what is right or wrong, it's just another excuse to cheer the local team.

And like religion, I really don't care about professional sports, either.

 

if people knew, for sure, there was a GOD and heaven why would they "hang out" here on earth?

 

Hey, SLOW, this is good stuff, man!

 

That's why they do things like fly planes into buildings.

 

Just because you were always the last one picked for the team...

 

Well, it depends on the terms and conditions of your specific religion. Some religions have believers manuals but the instructions can be confusing/contradictory depending on your interpretation.

Christians have to wait their turn. Death by natural causes or due to an accident not of your own making. Suicide guarantees you're going to the "other" place.

Buddhists have a much tougher go of it. They are continually being reborn or reincarnated after each life until they achieve nirvana and get promoted to paradise. Glad I'm not a Buddhist.

Jews aren't sure what they're supposed to do. Most of their rules focus on life on Earth [or whatever planet(s) throughout the cosmos other Jews concurrently live]. Judaism, being as old as it is, has many different subsets. Some require the return of the messiah to initiate the process, others don't. Glad I'm not Jewish either. Who knows which subset is right? I wouldn't want to choose Door #2 when it was supposed to be Door #1. (Let's Make A Deal for those who haven't seen the new show or aren't familiar with Monty Hall).

Muslims face a trial before Allah on Judgment Day whether they're alive or dead at the time. Like Judaism, there are subsets within Islam that make it difficult to decide which door to choose.

Scientology is a total bummer. No heaven at all.

And that's just a few of many religions.

 

Life is all about making choices... what is your point. If you choose none of the above, you have made a choice.

 

Only seeing this in the sky would convince me:

 

If you want to talk about subsets, the Christians win, hands down. What if you're a Methodist and it turns out the Presbyterians were right all along (or vice-versa)? Oops!

Then there are the Catholics, Episcopals, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Mormons, Calvinists, Hobbsists, etc. etc. etc.

If you're a Christian, given those odds chances are you're playing for the losing team.

 

I am in the process of reading the through the bible. I have been troubled by the way the bible has been presented in the various Protestant churches I've attended over the past 30 years. While Protestants and specifically Baptists like to talk about how their teaching as based on the bible, I have found that in reality it is pasted on select verses of the bible thrown together, out of context, as presented as proof of what ever point they are trying to make. There has been very little in depth study of the bible as it is written.

So anyway, I recently finished the Book of Job. It is quite shocking to see how different the actual book is compared to how it has been taught. The story of Job as presented in church is: Job loved God, Satan did all kinds of bad things to Job, but Job still loved God. God rewards Job for being faithful is spite of adversity. What was never covered is WHY Satan is doing all this bad things to Job.

When you read the text you find out that God and Satan have a little bet going. God thinks Job loves him in spite of the good life Job has. Satan says Job loves good because his life is so good. So Job is simply a pawn in a cosmic bet between God and Satan.

Also troubling in the deaths of dozens of people during the bet. Sure Job gets his wealth back and a new family after the bet but Job's original family stays dead. They are a casualty of the cosmic bet.

So instead of being a great story of triumph in the face of adversity, Job is really a story about the vanity of God. God is fine with allowing great suffering to be inflicted on Job and the death of all of Job's extended family to prove a point to Satan. So in effect, is shows how little God values humans.

Here is a pretty funny summary of Job:

My read through the Old Testament clarifies why churches focus on the New Testament. God is presented to us in church as a loving father figure that only wants the best for his children. He loves everyone and wants to save the whole world. The New Testament is big on life after death and rewards or punishments based on life on this world

In the Old Testament, God is presented as a tyrant king. There is no mention of life after death and God blesses those that worship him and severely punishes those that don't. He is only concerned with his chosen people and the rest of the world needs to be enslaved or exterminated.

There is also some stuff that really turned my stomach. Especially memorable are the detailed instructions on how to "cleanse" women captured in battle before they could be raped. A man would become "unclean" if he simply raped the women without completing the cleansing process first.

 

i always thought the story about Job was about true believers vs. believers that only belive in GOD to get material things.


Job proved his belief to GOD so he got a top of the line Prius V

 

What's my point?

Okay, you asked for it. So here goes.

None of the choices including "none of the above" are the right choice.

Here's what I believe.

God loves me. He loves me more than anyone else ever has or ever will. And he knows me better than anyone else, myself included. It doesn't matter what I've done or said in the past or will do or say in the future. God loves me unconditionally.

God wants nothing from me and requires nothing from me except to live out the gift of life he gave me; however long that turns out to be; not prayer, adolation, obedience. And it doesn't matter to Him one iota how I choose to live out this life. He gave me free will. I can be as ignorant or hateful or selfish as I want to be. Or I can seek knowledge, love others, give to the poor, etc. It's all up to me.

And if there is a heaven, everyone (yes I do mean everyone: Hitler, Stalin, Reagan, etc.) who has ever lived will be there because He loves every one of his creations. Even though we weren't perfect on Earth, He will make each and every one of us perfect in heaven, just as He is perfect.

After more than half a century, I've finally realized that.

Thanks for asking.

 

Actually, no. Veracity may matter less than consistency. If human life expectancy is really getting shorter, does it matter as long as we all perceive that life expectancy is increasing?

</deep>

 

^^^^you need a "hell" in your religion otherwise there will be anarchy

 

But that was only after being forced to drive around in a Pinto all his life.

 

Actually, no.

Job had a Mercedes. Then, G-d let Satan carjack it, and smash it with heavy chains.

Job had to drive a rental Pinto with bald tires and a leaky exhaust, while his homies pointed and laughed at him, deriding his driving skills and his masculinity.

Then, Job was rewarded with a tricked-out Prius V with rims.

 

Like this picture! I can follow this religion and give my Dime every week. Slow, while you are at it, you may want to call it:
IHOP = International House Of Prii