Alex Moon

How is it that Hitler is seen as one of the most evil men in history(which he is) but Moses, who among others gave the command in Numbers 31 verse 17:

"Now therefore kill every male among the little ones[the Midian captives], and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves."

is highly regarded as some great man of god? Why is what he did considered good?

K

Here are a few.

1. Why does God value a person doing good because of the promise of reward / fear of punishment? Wouldn't He be getting the most holy of His creatures if He picked the atheists and agnostics who behave morally strictly for the sake of personal integrity?

2. If Christianity is correct and Trinity is really just one god, then who was minding the store when He/They were dead for three days?

3. If there is only a small percentage of the population that will make it into Heaven, and if the rest will spend eternity in Hell with Satan, shouldn't we go with the odds and worship Satan to try to get on his "good" side?

GunnerJ

Nice questions, but remember, this is a Catholic preist and a rabbi, not fundie protestants, so some of these questions won't be applicable or relevent. Especially questions about hell, and I think these two subscribe to the PC "separation from Gawd" version.

bluefugue

I don't think Deism necessarily means that you "revere" the Deistic god. It just means that you believe there is one. This might be an avenue for people who are persuaded by arguments from First Cause/Intelligent Design etc. but deny the specific tenets of the major religions.

K

Rimstalker:

Good point. I didn't keep the target audience in mind. I add this question instead.

If my conscience tells me to do something other than what my religion tells me to do, which one should I follow? If I should follow my conscience, does it mean that religion is superfluous? If I should follow the teachings of my religion, does it follow that any acts honestly committed in the name of God are acceptable?

Jobar

Oh, here's one to make 'em sweat-

We can be sure that the 9/11 terrorists had great faith in the God they were brought up to believe. How can we know what God truly wants of us, and what is distortion by evil or blind men?

WinAce

Pick and choose (and possibly reword) some of the questions from my theist-destroying quiz. The link is at my homepage. I suggest the ones from mind/body dualism and the afterlife along with human psychology as a bare minimum.

GunnerJ

Something prospective question-submiters might want to consider; the two authors are a Jew and a Catholic... seemingly making a united front, and accepting each other's religions as acceptable. Are there any scripturally or historically based questions that might challenge this "union?"

luvluv

This is kind of a silly stereotype, don't you think? There have been some pretty smart Christians over the centuries who have had some pretty heated disuptes amongst themselves. Do you think believing in God makes a person unable to think for themselves?

Could Martin Luther, for example, think for himself?

I've noticed that you guys generally associate all belief with the kind of evangelical Christianity to which you are most often exposed. You are quite justified in not believing in that presentation of Chrisitianity, but it is silly and careless to operate under the delusion that their often herd-like expression of their faith is indicative of all Christianity (or worse, of all religion).

For the record, I am quite capable of thinking for myself.

Mark_Chid

its my experience from having had some very smart friends who are Christians that belief prevents CERTAIN thoughts. Its as if a small area of the brain is walled off with 'don't touch' and therefore certain questions simply don't get rational responses. Sometimes its quite shocking to see this in action.