Magus55

The Black Plague was focused to Europe. It wasn't pandemic. And over the course of the disease, AIDS will kill and infect exponentially more people than the Bubonic plague.

You're right, cancer and aids may be cured. But guess what, new diseases will just pop up and continue to kill off the population. Science will NEVER eradicate disease. Its a never ending cycle.

You can't solve the worlds problems because new ones will always continue to pop up. Sure, we are more technologically advanced now. But while techonology has improved things, its also opened the door to cause more destruction. 50 years ago, you couldn't kill a few million people instantly using a bomb. Biochemical and nuclear weapons weren't a threat. As weapon technology gets better, guns will become more destructive and lethal. How much longer until science creates a rail gun type weapon? And of course, all this money is being spent on science and technology, yet millions and millions of people continue to die of starvation or are homeless, because new weapons, or fancy buildings are more important than saving lives. We have the resources to substantially reduce world hunger, but its more important for us to spend a trillion dollars sending a ship to Mars to crash on its surface and kill the crew. Expecting the world to ever really get better is wishful thinking. As long as humans are in control, it will be a violent, screwed up, and painful place to live.

Rhea

the religionists keep it from getting to the people who need it. And so,
Conservative religionists won't let medical care and FAMILY PLANNING reach the people who need it most, and they instead support
which to these conservatives
After all,
According to the conservative Christians.
Religionist
who place all of their efforts in a fantasy after life

Amen.

Silent Acorns

You obviously don't know what you are talking about. The Black Plague was all over Asia and Africa as well. It may have been worst in Europe, but it's hard to say because we don't have good information about its effects in other parts of the world. It is the only time in known history that the world's population has decreased over a period of over 50 years, from over about 450 million in the early 1300s to about 380 million by 1400. And that's only one plague, there was another one in the 500s. AIDs has a LONG way to go before it can match these numbers, let alone cause worldwide population to drop by 20%.
You're probably correct on this, but you're fooling yourself if you think that there haven't been worldwide improvements in disease control - even in third world countries.
There is a very big difference between erradicating all problems of every kind, and making the world a better place. I realize that you believe that your Big Sky Friend has all the answers that we will never have, but it is NOT wishful thinking to believe that the world can become a better place through human effort because history demonstrates clearly that we can (and do) do it. Don't confuse the fact that we have a lot of hard work left to do with the idea that improvement is impossible.

People with attitudes like yours are one of the biggest hurdles to the improvement of the human condition. "Forget the world, focus on the Sky Man". That's great, so long as your Buddy actually exists.

Queen of Swords

Originally posted by Magus55
But guess what, new diseases will just pop up and continue to kill off the population.

Please bear in mind that the topic of this thread is hell and god's character (or lack thereof), not how tewible the world is.

But I do have one reply to make regarding your post :

50 years ago, you couldn't kill a few million people instantly using a bomb.

You needed a genocidal god. Then you could kill everyone.

Rhea

What DO they teach the kids these days in school?


Magus, can you please tell us when the nuclear bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

Come on now, tell the whole class. And for extra credit, use modern math to tell us whether that was more than 50 years ago, please.


Anyone? Magus?

exi

When attitudes like this are held by large numbers of people, it's no surprise that the world contains so much unpleasantness.

Ellis14

But if you're honest with yourself you can do it. Many people on these forums including myself were indoctrinated from a a young age or even birth into our belief systems, and rejecting them and possibly alienating family and that emotional security was one of the hardest things we've done. But if you are honest with yourself and examine the evidence, you'll climb over those barriers in no time!

Ellis14

I would echo Q of S's words and call for Magus55 to demonstrate how he knows this? Since the bible says nothing directly a place called Hell anyway, let alone how it is opened or closed, where does Magus55 get this little chestnut of information from?

Or is it something he heard or made up that made sense, so he accepted it?

Magus, have you read the warning at the end of Revelation what the punishment is for those who take away from or add their own words to the Bible??

braces_for_impact

The biblical parable of Lazarus seems to suggest hell is not locked from the inside. If in fact it were, couldn't you unlock the door and walk out?

Oh that's right, you're non corporeal, so your hands would pass through the door knob. So how do you feel the pain of the flames again?

Oh never mind...

Hell, what a silly concept.

Pensee

I know (I've been there), but I'll tell you what helped me.

When raising the issue and finally admitting how horrificly evil the concept of hell is, I couldn't get around the fact that a *loving* god would never create such a place. Any god that would create a hell as is described in the Bible (and as you and I were taught to believe in) would be evil. (That's when I quit believing in hell--not god.) Therefore, if there is such a place, then that god who created it is evil and may just end up throwing everybody in hell regardless of beliefs, faith, actions, etc. How can you trust that this god would protect a select few? He may just be fucking with everybody for the hell of it. So we may all be screwed and going there anyway.

I'm going to make an analogy here between mankind and all Jewish people. Hitler saw Jewish people as inherently evil. That's why he tried to kill them all off. God sees every human being as inherently evil. If you were Jewish, would you trust Hitler to save only you and your family from death and torture? I wouldn't. And that's why I wouldn't trust a god who created a hell to save "just the Christians" from hell fire. After all, we're all inherently evil to God just as all Jews are inherently evil to Hitler.