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Originally posted by kang
Jeff,
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?
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I have heard it argued that evil is the absence of good. Kind of like there is no "darkness"; it is the absence of light. Chew on that one for awhile.
Quote:
Originally posted by kang
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?
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The "slavery" of the Bible is far different than the "slavery" of today. It was often incured for a failure to pay debts, it may have been the spoils of war, etc. In any case it was law to set them free after a prescribed period of time, with all of their belongings, their entire family, etc. This is a great example of where some knowledge of the topic would prove helpful.
Quote:
Originally posted by kang
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?
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Just stirrin' it up. Also, as I alluded to in my answer to livi a few days ago, to see who could ponder the moral questions raised outside of "God". Only the first few bullets even mentioned Him. The entire ensuing discussion has been about Him. In that manner, I believe I have made a point. Mention "morals" and "God" in the same breath and the atheists will only hear "God" and completely tune out on the "morals". As a matter of fact, they will fight tooth and nail against any morals, no matter how basic and common-sense, if there is any connotation of God involved in them whatsoever. I find that rather telling.