I am sad and angry that a young man had to die

From Linda W

Tomorrow is the funeral of a young man. He died at age 21 in Iraq. He was a childhood friend of my daughter.

The funeral will be at a church, of course. His parents were very religious.

I am very saddened and yes, angry that a young man had to die.

The funeral will have the usual messages of how great and good God/Jesus are, how this young man was called home, how he now is in the loving arms of Jesus, etc.

I think to myself of how I would cope with the death of one of my children. I know that regardless of the depths of my despair, I have come too far in my rational, logical worldview to resort to the supernatural for comfort. Knowing that the deceased is not suffering and honoring the life he had here on earth would bring me peace.

I understand the comfort it brings people to believe the dead are in a better place, but with that belief comes the belief in hell. How many people suffer needlessly wondering if loved ones passed on are in hell?

The funeral will be mostly about how wonderful God is, how God helps the bereaved, how the Lord is with all of us, etc. Only in the privacy of one's home will anybody be calling out to his or her God, angrily demanding to know why and how a loving God could let such a thing happen. And this most likely will then be accompanied by guilt and then an emotional surrender to "God's will."

If you can separate yourself from the sadness of the situation, you can see the madness in the belief that such a great power is now your comfort, but that power did nothing to save your loved one, nor did anything to stop the suffering of millions of other loved ones.

And it made no difference whether they were believers or not.

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Why do you come so strongly against people believing in God?

A letter from Jonah S

I don't know exactly who or what is God or Godess but do believe that there could be a high being or creator. Maybe as many you say there might not be, but my question to you people is this: Why do you come so strongly against people believing in God?

Why attack people who believe different than you?

Science is just as factual as many religions. I mean both evolution and Islam are based on man's ideas and experiences are they not?

You people have every right to make fun of those who do believe in a creator but don't you think it's kinda silly?

Science has been wrong a lot over the years just as religions have been too, but there could be some truth found even though there were mistakes too.

Science vs. God

From THE ACE

This is not a testimony, but something I wanted to bring to bring to everyone's attention. My parents recently e-mailed this Christian propaganda; I've read it through several times, and it still confuses the heck out of me. Would some of you comment on this so I can give them some logical answers to whatever this is trying to say?

Science vs. God

'Let me explain the problem science has with Jesus Christ.' The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.

'You're a Christian, aren't you, son?'

'Yes sir,' the student says.

'So you believe in God?'

'Absolutely.'

'Is God good?'

'Sure! God's good.'

'Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?'

'Yes.'

'Are you good or evil?'

'The Bible says I'm evil.'

The professor grins knowingly. 'Aha! The Bible!' He considers for a
moment.

'Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?'

'Yes sir, I would.'

'So you're good...!'

'I wouldn't say that.'

'But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if
you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't.'

The student does not answer, so the professor continues. 'He
doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?'

The student remains silent.

'No, you can't, can you?' the professor says. He takes a sip of
water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.

'Let's start again, young fella Is God good?'

'Er.yes,' the student says.

'Is Satan good?'

The student doesn't hesitate on this one. 'No.'

'Then where does Satan come from?'

The student : 'From...God...'

'That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there
evil in this world?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything,
correct?'

'Yes.'

'So who created evil?' The professor continued, 'If God created
everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to
the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.'

Without allowing the student to answer, the professor continues:
'Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible
things, do they exist in this world?'

The student: 'Yes.'

'So who created them?'

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his
question. 'Who created them? There is still no answer. Suddenly the
lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is
mesmerized.

'Tell me,' he continues onto another student. 'Do you believe in
Jesus Christ, son?'

The student's voice is confident: 'Yes, professor, I do.'

The old man stops pacing. 'Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?'

'No sir. I've never seen Him'

'Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?'

'No, sir, I have not.'

'Have you ever actually felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or
smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?'

'No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't.'

'Yet you still believe in him?'

'Yes.'

'According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable
protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?'

'Nothing,' the student replies. 'I only have my faith.'

'Yes, faith,' the professor repeats. 'And that is the problem
science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.'

The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a
question of his own. 'Professor, is there such thing as heat?'

'Yes,' the professor replies. 'There's heat.'

'And is there such a thing as cold?'

'Yes, son, there's cold too.'

'No sir, there isn't.'

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested.
The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain.

'You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat,
mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we
don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat.
You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of
heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.'

Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.

'What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as
darkness?'

'Yes,' the professor replies without hesitation. 'What is night
if it isn't darkness?'

'You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the
absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright
light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have
nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be
able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?'

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him.
This will be a good semester. 'So what point are you making, young man?'

'Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is
flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.'

The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time.
'Flawed? Can you explain how?'

'You are working on the premise of duality,' the student
explains. 'You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good
God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.'

'Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they
evolved from a monkey?'

'If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young
man, yes, of course I do'

'Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?'

The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he
realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.

'Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work
and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?'

The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the
commotion has subsided.

'To continue the point you were making earlier to the other
student, let me give you an example of what I mean.'

The student looks around the room. 'Is there anyone in the class
who has ever seen the professor's brain?' The class breaks out into
laughter.

'Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain,
felt the professor's brain, touched or smelled the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir. So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?'

Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the
student, his face unreadable.

Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. 'I
guess you'll have to take them on faith.'

'Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists
with life,' the student continues. 'Now, sir, is there such a thing as
evil?'

Now uncertain, the professor responds, 'Of course, there is. We
see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man.
It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world.
These manifestations are nothing else but evil.'

To this the student replied, 'Evil does not exist sir, or at
least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God.
It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God.

God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when
man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold
that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.'

The professor sat down.

Pass this on if you have faith and love Jesus.

I'm on this journey and need some words of wisdom

from Lori

I'm currently trying to find out what is the truth in this world and am having a hard time dealing with the splitting of myself.

On one hand I know what I have been taught, but on the other hand I have so many questions that are unanswered, such as why would God tell us "Thou shalt not kill" and "Thou shalt love thine neighbor as thy self", but then command people in I Samuel 16 to kill of a nation that was Israel's neighbors (children, women, cattle, everything)?

Part wants to say, "Well, they weren't following the will of God." but the other wants to say "Well, can I go and kill people today because they are not following the will of God"? I don't know.

I'm on this journey and need some words of wisdom. Can someone help me without the brutal comments? Can't handle that right now.

Thanks

Take my advice: be sincere in your search

A letter from Charles M

Hello, I was impressed by the webmasters testimonial and all the work he did over the years for the Bible. I understand that there is a lot wrong with the churches in America and elsewhere. There are to many stumbling blocks put there by people in churches. Also lots of churches dont accept what the Bible says and dont understand it. I dont see the point of investigating the Bible if you dont check out the basics of what it says. For instance if evolution is true then the Bible is not. Simple. If this question is not satisfactorily settled it does not matter how well you know the Bible or how much someone wants to be a christian the whole thing is just going to self destruct at some point in the future. So check out the claims of evolution - do they really stand up ? are they really 'scientific' ? or is the seemingly implausible idea of creation more logical ? These are the issues that individuals must work out to their satisfaction.

Also, what about Noahs flood ? Is there any evidence ? Why dont you Google it and see ? If its true and if there is lots of evidence for relatively recent catastrophe - and there should be if it is true then what issued does this raise ? Could all this God loves everyone stuff be wrong after all if he really did kill all those millions of people in a flood he didnt love them very much did He? Not much of a 'wonderful plan for their lives eh ?' maybe most of the preachers are lieing and maybe their congregations like it that way.

Maybe the real God of the Bible isnt to be messed with maybe the problem today is there is no fear of God and that swhy so many on this site have given up because of the appaling example set by many christians and their ignorance concerning what should be the foundational truths of what they claim to believe in. Welll friends I do hope you will take my advice and see if there are any hard facts in the areas of Geology, archaeology, biochemistry etc to back up what the Bible says. I found that there is an abundance and as one would expect from a reasonable God He has not left Himself without testimony, far from it. We dont need blind faith to accept the creator, He says use reason not your heart. If you dont at least have a look to see then you will not after all be sincere will you ?

Jesus yes, church no

From Dakota L

I'll be honest. I haven't given up on Jesus, but church makes me wince. I've been very hurt by religion. I've made my own mistakes as well.

I've grown up in church my entire life. I found this site after "Googling" Masters commission, as I was a first year student. I feel it created a lot of insecurities in people; I know it did for me.

The no dating policy was more like "no looking in the opposite sex's general direction." I was even "confronted" for doing so in a large group of people. I had hardly had any communication with the opposite sex and was shy for the most part. Then I'm suppose to be made to feel like I am doing such an ungracious deed? I swear, it screwed me up psychologically. Even to this day, although I am happily married, I have trouble with the opposite sex. I feel very uncomfortable after being conditioned in Masters Commission. That is one thing I think was unhealthy.

I was also prayed for and as the woman was praying she was screaming for the spirit of lesbianism and all these horrible sexual things to come out of me. It was mortifying. One of the most humiliating experiences. (There are many more.)

I realize too that many Christians grow up in a mold. I don't feel that I have, although growing up a Christian. One woman at my job asked me how I was, and I said "happy." She then told me, "It's not all about being happy." I suppose I did take more personal offense because I had dealt with a lot of years not being happy, and finally I was, and then I get told "It's not all about being happy." That was a plain weird comment. Although knowing what she meant... still! Like I was naive for saying I was happy. Not so much. Not after being molested and humiliated over and over and over again in life.

I have read how many other people have been hurt by church, I know! My initial experiences of following God were not church related, so I don't completely identify church in my own heart and head with the Jesus I've found I can trust. I do find peace when I focus on God, but church gives me anxiety. And although I think part of that is how I have been wounded, I don't think it looks the way God intended.

Handling death

A question from Dominick

How do we handle it when someone we know and care about dies?

The reason I ask this question is because a good friend of mine died today. I guess it would have been easier if she had died from some kind of illness, but she died in a house fire at 6:45 a.m. this morning.

I saw her on Friday and we spoke a bit on Sunday and I was planning on going to see her at work on that day, just to mess with her a bit :) I am not telling you about my friend’s death to make you feel sorry for me or anything like that, it is just that I have to go to her funeral , when I find out what day it is, and i don't think I can handle that very well.

I have never had anyone this close to me before dying, plus the fact when I last saw her, she was smiling and laughing and now she is gone.

I am sure some of you asking why I am posting about my friend's death on an ex-Christian site. It is because I am a lifelong atheist and I wanted to know how other atheists handle it when someone close to them dies. I am also wondering if I am the only one that gets pissed off when Christians say things like. “Your friend is in a better place now,” “God only take the good ones young,” or “God as a special place in heaven for her.” When I go to her funeral, I have to listen a pastor, priest or whatever it is talk about what kind of person she was and how God was calling her home – a person that has never met my friend and knows nothing about her at all…

How am I going to be able to sit there and take that in when I know that bullshit is coming out of this person’s mouth, knowing full well that I will never see her smile again, never hold her in my arms again, and wonder why this good god these Christians keep on talking about would take my friend away in such a painful way.

Question about Christians and evolution

A letter from Linda W

I am an ex-Christian; my brother is a fundamentalist Christian.

We were discussing evolution again...

He believes that animals evolved, but humans did not -- they were created. So, he believes in evolution, just not for people.

I had never heard this viewpoint before and I thought I had heard them all.

Is the new way for fundamentalist Christians to accept the fact of evolution, but just not for people?

Has anyone else ever heard this explanation?

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