We want REASONS for God!!!!!

a reply to: Joecanada11

He seems to believe it was a teddy bear that did the mauling

a reply to: mOjOm

Exactly. To me it is interesting to hear the why. I don't ever seek to mock the believers of religion. Sometimes I may wisecrack, but if you ever tell me you feel disrespected, I'll never say it again. I don't believe in belittlement.

a reply to: Joecanada11

I just looked it up, anywhere from a scratch to more. 42 boys, 2 bears. There's no way the bears killed them. More like chased them off with scratches and swipes as they ran. Unless you believe the 42 boys/youths stood there and let the bears kill them? Is that what you think? Imho they ran with a swipe or two for their horrible behavior and hopefully they learned a lesson from it.

STM

a reply to: seentoomuch

Personally I don't believe it happened because I don't believe anyone can use a magical being to control animals. I think its a story with a message. Used to produce fear.

originally posted by: Joecanada11
a reply to: seentoomuch

More justification for absolutely horrible behavior. That is not just deserts. If someone gives you the finger do you have the right to slash them with a machete? Because that is basically what you are saying. Ridiculous. No matter how profoundly ridiculous the bible is you will justify the horrible things done in "gods" name. Oh and why did he stop smiting those who don't believe in him anymore ? Because he isn't real. It's pretty simple.

Elisha was a prophet, he was a hated man.
Just like you hate God now, he represented God to people who hated God

The 42 Youth probably had intentions to harm or kill Elisha, pack mentality, Elisha was probably terrified
He was in a foreign land where harm would have definitely come to him.
After a couple of bears dispelled, harmed possibly killed a group of youths his safety was assured

Please learn to study
Please read, just dont follow

www.chabad.org...

As Elisha was on his way to Beth-El, he suddenly noticed some men acting like foolish children. When they saw him they began to mock at him, and shouting: "Baldy! Baldy!"

Elisha cursed them. As he had the spirit of prophecy over him, his curses were fulfilled.

It was Elisha's curse, not Gods

originally posted by: Joecanada11
a reply to: seentoomuch

Personally I don't believe it happened because I don't believe anyone can use a magical being to control animals. I think its a story with a message. Used to produce fear.

I guess you think only fear keeps you from attacking your elders? There is a place in you that let's you know what's right and what's wrong. Just admit it, many people lack this. Are you defending them?

This "soul" in sync with God reaches your mind and guides you through thick and thin. At times it saves you such as a mother who can lift a car off a child, or prescience not to drive a certain way to work and a major horrible event happens where you would've been.

People need God, to get in sync with God and when they do life is incredible.

But you'll never believe this until you live it heart and soul,

STM

originally posted by: Vector99

Exactly. To me it is interesting to hear the why. I don't ever seek to mock the believers of religion. Sometimes I may wisecrack, but if you ever tell me you feel disrespected, I'll never say it again. I don't believe in belittlement.

Well, I'm not religious. Not at all. But I do find them interesting and some of them quite liberating and enlightening to ones own personal growth.

Some more than others even though usually you can find the same message in them all being told differently. Some are also surrounded by much more BS than others to suit a certain agenda.

I most certainly have a problem with the idea of Anthropomorphic God Beings, out there somewhere, watching and plotting and doing things. That seems very silly and very much something of a human creation.

I'm not sure how you got the idea that I was Religious. Sorry to disappoint you. But I'd still be happy to discuss Religious ideas if you'd like.

What difference does it make, humans trying to define a god is presumptuous and impossible .
A being that created all aspects of the muliutiverses does not need to be bothered by the noisy creations trying to understand it.
Not that it exists as a god. But if it did, I suspect it took one look at the moronic childish -Lord of the Flies-Like things written in the Old Testament and abandoned this outpost in disgust.

The only way to know God is through a personal relationship. All the other tools only have value for their ability to move you toward making that decision. It's not a coincidence that the fall is represented as an expansion in the human ability to 'know' marked by an inward looking narcissism and ego. It is the part of our ego that says 'I'm naked!' that disconnects us from the relationship we should have.

a reply to: zazzafrazz

Maybe that's the reason for Gods absence. He took a look at what he had created and banished himself into oblivion out of shame.

Maybe he was the laughing stock of all the other Gods. He's like the guy who threw together his class project last minute and it not only doesn't work or make sense but actually misfires and everyone has to be evacuated from the room for their own protection.

a reply to: p3ac3

How do you define that Personal Relationship exactly???

What kinds of experiences and interactions do you both have together???

What differences are there between the two of you relating to each other and just you thinking about stuff to yourself???

a reply to: mOjOm

I'm an atheist, granted I can mildly entertain the concept of an absent god rather than an omnipresent one that ignores you .

a reply to: zazzafrazz

Yeah, I'm an atheist too. Doesn't mean I've lost my ability to think creatively about new things or things that may or may not really exist.

It's fun and easy. You can do it too. Here, think of a wagon train made of flames being pulled by pink leather winged dragons and towing a coven of fat old sarcastic witches who drink too much brandy and yell dirty sexual advances to all the young men as they pass by.

See how easy that was?

a reply to: mOjOm

think of a wagon train made of flames being pulled by pink leather winged dragons and towing a coven of fat old sarcastic witches who drink too much brandy and yell dirty sexual advances to all the young men as they pass by.

Did you film my hens night?

a reply to: Raggedyman

Thank you for clearing that up. All it says is that they called him baldy! And he cursed them under who's power? Nobody has the power to control animals. It doesn't happen. It's fable. Myth. Legend.

By the way I do not hate God. I can't hate something that does not exist. I don't like the fact that people use a book of stories to guide their lives. The bible and religion have kept us in the dark. It has stifled scientific progress in the dark age. It still has people believing in absolute nonsense.

Do you actually believe that someone spent 3 days in the belly of a whale? That kind of the thinking is dangerous.

originally posted by: zazzafrazz
Did you film my hens night?

No clue what you're talking about.

a reply to: mOjOm

I wrestle with that and try to always be mindful not to give personal thoughts/emotions some kind of divine warrant. Quite honestly, it would be hard for me to lay it all out systematically without resorting to loaded and incorrect terms like 'intrusive thoughts,' etc. But maybe an accurate word is 'struggle.' I don't think there is a cut and dry 'THIS is what God wants. THIS is what God is saying.' But it's the struggle itself and the element of surrender that gives one reason to believe that this is something going on that is more interpersonal and even more meaningful than self-reflection.

I find many of the apologetic arguments/evidences listed by the OP to be down right fascinating but never found immersing myself in them to be all that edifying. In fact, I've found that concentrating on them too much can be somewhat harmful to the type of relationship I'm attempting to describe.

a reply to: mOjOm

Hahahhaa, it's a British term for a bachelorette party before her wedding. But wait, she's atheist right? Why a wedding?

STM

a reply to: seentoomuch

errr civil weddings count you know.

a reply to: zazzafrazz

Yes, you're right. Congrats!

STM