Johnny Skeptic

Are you suggesting that amputee's petition God for new limbs?

When God sent Hurricane Katriana to New Orleans, many Christians petitioned him for help, but God injured or killed many of them anyway, not to mention innocent animals. On the other hand, many skeptics who did not petition God for help were not killed or injured. What you need to do is reasonably establish a correlation between asking God for tangible benefits, and receiving them. If the God of the Bible does not exist, all tangible benefits would be distributed indiscriminately at random according to the laws of physics without any regard for a person's needs, worldview, or requests. I am not aware of any credible evidence that God distributes tangible benefits. If he does, it is quite odd that he has chosen to mimic the ways that tangible benefits would be distributed in a naturalistic universe.

God promised to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar as a compensation for Nebuchadnezzaar's failure to defeat Tyre, but he broke his word. Why did God tell a lie?

Johnny Skeptic

Message to rhutchin: Fundies believe that God wants them to spread the Gospel message. However, there is not any credible evidence that God has ever personally told anyone about the Gospel message. This means that God only wants people to hear about the Gospel message if another human tells them about it. That does not make any sense. If God did not have anything to do with the spread of the Gospel message, that explains why the people who had the best chance to hear it lived closer to Palestine. A loving God would certainly not play favorites based upon geography, or based upon any other factors. Kosmin and Lachman wrote a book that is titled "One Nation Under God." The authors provide a lot of documented evidence that shows that in the U.S., the primary factors that influence what people believe are geography, family, race, ethnicity, gender, and age, to which I would like to add time period, meaning which century a person is born in. Those factors are obviously secular factors. Kosmin and Lachman show that a much higher percentage of women become Christians than men. This means that either God discriminates against women, or that that is to be expected since women are generally more emotional than men are, and since emotions are an important part of religous beliefs. The authors also show that when people become elderly, they are much less likely to change their minds no matter what they believe. This means that either God discriminates against elderly skeptics, or that it is genetically normal for elderly people to become set in their ways.

What we have here is that God wants people to hear the Gospel message, but only if another person tells then about it. Of course, if the God of the Bible does not exist, it is a given that the only way that a person could hear about the Gospel message would be if a another person told then about it.

James says that if a man refuses to give food to a hungry person, he is vain, and his faith is dead, and yet God refused to give food to hundreds of thousands of people who died of starvation in the Irish Potato Famine. This means that God is only concerned with people having enough food to eat if another human gives them enough food to eat. That does not make any sense either. Of course, if the God of the Bible does not exist, it is a given that the only way that a starving person would be able to get enough food to eat would be if another person gave them food.

In both cases, God is more concerned with METHODS than he is with RESULTS. That is an utterly outrageous conclusion, but fundies have no choice except to make that conclusion. The best conclusion is that if a God exists, he is not the God of the Bible.

Why do you suppose that God inspired James to write that if a man refuses to give food to a hungry person, he is vain, and his faith is dead?

As a Calvinist, you believe that God reveals himself to whoever he wants to reveal himself to. What you would have people believe is that God is more interested in revealing himself to children who grow up in the U.S. than he is in revealing himself to children who grow up in Syria. That does not make any sense.

rhutchin

I suggest that a person petition God for protection against amputation.

Nero's Boot

...wow, so, a bit of reptillian regeneration can't be done with infinitely large and infinitely diverse supernatural power?

--man, BibleGod's been REALLY misrepresenting himself! NB

rhutchin

What does this have to do with Jesus appearing to "the eleven" on Easter night? It only speaks of Christ appearing to Simon. I am not sure what you are thinking here.

Johnny Skeptic

Ok, since your argument deals with prevention, do you also suggest that Christians ask God to stop killing people with hurricanes and tsunamies, something that he has never done before on a worldwide basis? Why would God want to stop doing that sin everyone commits sins?

How do you suggest that animals try to avoid being injured and killed by God?

Johnny Skeptic

Message to rhutchin: God promised to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar as a compensation for Nebuchadnezzaar's failure to defeat Tyre, but he broke his word. Why did God tell a lie?

What evidence do you have that the Bible is inerrant, and that God inspired the Bible? At the very least, the Bible is sometimes confusing and misleading. No loving God would inspire a confusing and misleading book.

Roland

The scene here takes place immediately before Jesus appears to the eleven on Easter night.

It is obviously Luke's equivalent to John's account of the appearance to the ten in the locked room.

The Road to Emmaus
13And behold, (N)two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was [a]about seven miles from Jerusalem.
14And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place.

15While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them.

16But (O)their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.

17And He said to them, "What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?" And they stood still, looking sad.

18One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, "Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?"

19And He said to them, "What things?" And they said to Him, "The things about (P)Jesus the Nazarene, who was a (Q)prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,

20and how the chief priests and our (R)rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.

21"But we were hoping that it was He who was going to (S)redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.

22"But also some women among us amazed us. (T)When they were at the tomb early in the morning,

23and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.

24"Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see."

25And He said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that (U)the prophets have spoken!

26"(V)Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?"

27Then beginning with (W)Moses and with all the (X)prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

28And they approached the village where they were going, and (Y)He acted as though He were going farther.

29But they urged Him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over." So He went in to stay with them.

30When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and (Z)blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them.

31Then their (AA)eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.

32They said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He (AB)was explaining the Scriptures to us?"

33And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and (AC)found gathered together the eleven and (AD)those who were with them,

34saying, "(AE)The Lord has really risen and (AF)has appeared to Simon."

35They began to relate their experiences on the road and how (AG)He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

Other Appearances
36While they were telling these things, (AH)He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be to you." 37But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing (AI)a spirit.

38And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?

39"(AJ)See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; (AK)touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."

40And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.

41While they still (AL)could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, "(AM)Have you anything here to eat?"

42They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish;

43and He took it and (AN)ate it before them.

44Now He said to them, "(AO)These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the (AP)Law of Moses and the Prophets and (AQ)the Psalms must be fulfilled."

45Then He (AR)opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,

46and He said to them, "(AS)Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and (AT)rise again from the dead the third day,

47and that (AU)repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to (AV)all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

48"You are (AW)witnesses of these things.

49"And behold, (AX)I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but (AY)you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."

makerowner

It's probably got something to do with iron chariots. They're his kryptonite, you know.

Joan of Bark

It's too late for me, rhutchin. According to Jesus, anyone who blasphemies the holy spirit can NEVER have forgiveness. Well, I've blasphemied the holy spirit on many occasions, so I'm doomed to hell regardless of what I say to God now.