[kang]

Jeff,

I think you may have missed the point of that video. He’s not trying to prove that god does not exist, as that is just as impossible as proving that the FSM doesn’t exist. Instead, he is pointing out how much simpler things are when you take the stance that there is no god. You might want to watch it again with this in mind. I just watched it again myself, and yes, a couple of the questions are absurd, but most seem like valid questions to me. Also, he is addressing mainstream Christianity, which you are not a proponent of. Some of these questions do not apply to your god. Some can be answered with “that’s just a metaphor” which is a good answer to you and me, but not to those who take the bible literally.

One of the best examples of this is the age old question, why does evil exist. This takes many forms, like why do bad things happen to good people. I’ve heard numerous theological answers to the evil question, mostly along the lines of we need evil to understand what good is. I’ve also heard many answers to why bad things happen to good people. They relate to god’s plans, or he is testing you, etc. Isn’t it far simpler to just say that bad things happen to all people at the same statistical rate, and be done with it? Why do you need to create some rationalization?

Another example of this from the video is question 5, why is god such a huge proponent of slavery in the bible? I’m sure there is some complicated theological explanation of this, but isn’t it far simpler just to say that the bible was written by men, not some all-knowing, loving being? Why rationalize why a loving, caring god would advocate slavery?

What was your point in the original post in this thread? You listed some students that god did not help because they were in school. There are plenty of students outside school, in the hospital, beaten by their parents, starving in Africa, etc, that god is not helping? You know this, why did you raise this question? I should mention that this stance about god in school is a pretty mainstream Christian position. You have clearly distanced yourself from them. I thought you didn’t think that god performed miracles or muddled with our daily affairs. Another thought I had about you is why have you distanced yourself from mainstream Christians?