How Many gods Are There In The Bible?

god-gets-cancelledIf you read the old testament, you will soon come to realize that god was jealous because he hated his competition. This is interesting because he went to so much trouble to be the "one god" for Abraham and his "chosen" people.

Thousands of years later, though, billions of people believe it as gospel truth that there is one god and that it's always been that way.

As a side note, I also find it irritating and interesting that christians cherry pick so much of what they believe, and conveniently write off the rest of the bible, their one and only book. For example, exodus contains the 10 commandments. So they choose to follow those. And genesis contains the infamous beginnings of the universe and creation of man nonsense. They love that stuff too. But all the ridiculous and petty rules from leviticus are dismissed. Funny how that works.
But I digress.

There are 13 instances in the entire bible that say that there is only one god. Some of those are a bit weak, though. Like Deuteronomy 32:39 - See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me.

When you have to go to the trouble to say you're the only god and you're alone, that just screams of really trying very hard to convince someone. A lot of the other quotes are in the same kind of vein.

Now, you might be wondering why I'd care if there were lots of gods or just one. I don't believe in any of them. But it matters to me in the sense that millions of people have been killed and tortured, wars have been waged, atrocities committed, and on and on, all in the name of the "one true god". To me, this is just another instance that shows the errancy of the bible, flawed because angry men in ancient, barbaric, superstitious times wrote them. There certainly is nothing divine or holy there.

In the old testament, there are 34 instances of gods in the plural sense. In the new testament, there are 2. Most of them are about how the people must follow the one god and ignore the rest. But, this begs the question, if god himself is telling you to ignore all the other gods, isn't that pretty much admitting that the other gods are there? No wonder he's jealous! He's totally insecure!

That makes sense, too. Because god didn't hold up his end of the bargain lots of times for the jews. He constantly went back on his word in the old testament. I have no idea why the jews didn't just get rid of him, considering how much he sucked, and still does. He certainly doesn't help them out. Oh wait, that's because he doesn't exist. Ok, never mind.

If you go back in time to ancient times, you'll find that people would worship just about anything if they superstitiously felt it helped them. The sun shone down upon me, let's worship it. That mountain seems strong and provided food for my goats, let's sacrifice a goat to it to say thanks. That cloud gave me rain, let's worship the clouds.

Then along came Abraham who decided to make a contract with one particular mountain god. That god was a complete jerk, making poor Abe almost kill his son as a test. But Abe thought he was going to be a good asset so he made a deal with him.

Now we're stuck with zillions of people believing this ancient desert god who is jealous, petty, angry, and childish is the one main god that has survived since that time. Thanks, but no thanks.

But with a bit of science and common sense, smart people can see that a mountain is just a mountain, that the sun is just a star, and that no evidence exists for any god. Not one shred.

To see all the god vs. gods quotes on one convenient page with links, go to my fav bible, The Skeptics Annotated bible.

By the way, sorry for the delay in posting. I had to reinstall windows on my computer as I was getting the blue screen of death. Never a fun process.

72 comments:

  1. The Biblical evidence for “one god” gets even muddier if one looks at the original Hebrew. For instance, one of the words translated as “God” in English versions is Elohim, which is plural. And look at Deuteronomy 32:8-9. The chief diety, El Elyon, (translated as “the Most High”) divides up the tribes of people and gives each tribe to a different one of his offspring. Yahweh (translated as “the LORD”) inherits the tribe headed by Jacob. In modern translations, El Elyon and Yahweh just become different names for God, and apparently God is inheriting a portion of his own people from himself.

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  2. Hi Eric, thanks very much. You're right, I wasn't even thinking about translations and the original texts. It sure does make it even more confusing.

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  3. It seems that much of the Old Testament histories is a story of the Israelites creating idols and worshiping other gods and Yahweh getting angry. After all, what was the first thing that they did after Yahweh freed them from Egypt and led them safely to Mt. Sinai? They worshiped a golden calf.

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  4. You're right, James. They weren't very faithful followers. Maybe because Yahweh was such an unbearable god to deal with, constantly not following through on promises and killing even the most devoted followers? Or maybe because yahweh is just another failed attempt at anthropomorphizing inanimate objects to try to understand a confusing, chaotic barbaric world? Yeah, I think it's the second one. :P

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  5. And don't forget, there are actually two sets of "ten commandments" in Exodus. The first set, in Exodus 20, Mo broke in anger when he came down from meeting with god, only to see his people cavorting with a golden calf. The second set, in Exodus 34, were supposed to be like the first, but aren't. And then if you are talking translations, well hells bells, the Protestant, Catholic and Jewish versions conflict.

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  6. Yes, you're right, Steve.
    But if you watched the educational movie, History of the World Part 1, you would have mentioned that there were 15 commandments on 3 tabs at one point, but Moses was clumsy. :P lol!

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  7. Man, this one confuses me too :P
    And this is without even getting into the whole "three Gods in one" (Father, Son & Holy Spirit).
    Personally? In my opinion, all of those other gods? They're there. Just, not my cup of tea, you know? I stick by the two different commandments that pop up in the Bible of "You shall worship no god other than me".

    Anyone ever read Small Gods by Terry Pratchett? Well, i suppose it could work brilliantly just as it happens there :P
    Or, then again, i could just admit i know nothing of the sort and continue living blindly following a jealous God, his loving Son and some random Spirit that popped up in between somewhere :/ Confusing :P

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  8. Interesting idea, Joe. I guess if it gives you comfort and makes you happy and you don't mind all the contradictions... :P

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  9. I don't think that discounting the ceremonial laws from Leviticus is arbitrary; that's down to the difference between old covenant and new.

    How to reconcile the OT's apparent henotheism with today's monotheism is tricky though. This looks to me like pretty good evidence the Bible was written by men in a specific cultural context rather than dictated word-for-word by a god who transcends time and place.

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  10. Well, you can't disregard the old testament because Jesus was a proponent of it. He said you should follow the old laws. According to his words, he was a good jew.
    Yup, it's just a collection of stories written by men.
    Thanks for commenting, Errancy. :)

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  11. The Bible is errant, and it provides a way to compensate for that fact.

    The Bible twice declares that it is errant. The first declaration is Matthew 13:33 which reads, "Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." The second declaration is Luke 13:21 which reads, "It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened."

    The Bible thrice mentions a way to compensate for the errancy. The first mention was at Deuteronomy 19:15 which reads, "One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established." The second was at Matthew 18:16 which reads, "But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established." The third mention was at 2 Corinthians 13:1 which reads, "This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." Their commonality, which is the way to remove the leaven, reads, "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established."

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  12. Well thanks for that. I think you seem to really be reaching for straws here. I don't agree that your two parables about leaven and your three mentions of 2 or 3 witnesses can be extrapolated so easily. It seems that's quite a stretch to make it say what you want it to say.

    It's simply a poorly written jumble of stories and letters cobbled together into one book, full of hate, murder and extremely tedious laws. Your carefully chosen quotes do not help in any way for a typical person to get much good or clear ideas about much of anything.

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  13. It's true that my comments do not help a typical person in any way. The reason for that situation is that my comments are not intended for typical people.

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  14. None of that made any sense whatsoever. I suppose that it was intended not for typical people but for the insanely stupid.

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  15. Your comments don't help anybody, and are not intended for anybody because they are complete nonsense and utter trash. In fact, I barely see how they are related to anything.

    Your saying the Bible is "straying from the right course" or wrong? I agree, but your quotes don't say this. And your quotes don't solve this either.

    Saying 3 can condemn a man, but not 1, no matter the truth of either situation... doesn't solve errancy. A majority does not mean truth. Never has, never will.

    There are tons of other quotes that would argue otherwise anyways. I don't see how you bloody think your even writing about this article, really, it just seems like you wrote a post for something else and accidentally submitted it to this one.

    You are in drastic need of clarification, actual clarification, not a silly BS remark.

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  16. If it seems silly to you, then leave it alone because it is obviously not intended for you. If is seems to be BS to you, ditto. It it seems to be for the insanely stupid, ditto. If the shoe doesn't fit you why complain about it? Just leave it alone, OK?

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  17. That would seem to be better advice to you - at least until you can put together a coherent argument. The verses you cited don't seem to have anything to do with the problems raised by errancy.

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  18. Here's the problem, it's not a shoe. It's a brick. It doesn't fit anybody, because quite frankly, it's not a shoe.

    Get it? Clarify. You made a BS comment, and you think saying it's not for everyone works? NO.

    If you couldn't actual make a comment that was relevant to the discussion, why the hell did you post it? If you can't make a "shoe" that will fit for the discussion, don't make one. Just leave, get it?

    I will tear apart your BS comment. It's what I do. And don't sit here and think that you get some invincibility just because you think only certain people will understand it and I'm not one of them. I'm telling you, NOBODY is one of them. You did not make a clear comment.

    And nobody is buying your BS... I mean shoe.

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  19. If you think that is what you should do, fine. I'm not complaining about you, singular or plural, except for one person who seems to me to be feigning incomprehension. The rest of you seem to me to be genuinely baffled; but one of you seems to me to understand all too well, and is just pretending to not understand, like some sort of a reverse troll. Doesn't go from forum to forum; just sits and waits for a victum to come along. That person has another think coming. I'm not here to have my wings and feet pulled off. Forget that.

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  20. Yawn. Still waiting for something substantive.

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  21. Let's tally it up here...

    Neece thinks your post is completely irrelevant.
    James thinks your post is complete and udder nonsense.
    I'm saying both, and I even told you why at that.

    Who's feigning incomprehension? Your post is completely irrelevant to the topic. Your passages do not actually back up what you were saying. We are telling you this, but still, you stand there clueless, completely ignoring us.

    But you know what, I went more into it... You website (tied with your current posts, your original post doesn't have it in your name--that's not a place to put your source, by the way) has 135 passages into which you think the bible is correct on since it's present more than once. So basically, what you are saying, is that you are ignoring everything Neece says, because it's not among your essential passages.

    Which is of course, BS. I already told you, majority does not make things true. Another problem is, that you can't even get what those 135 passages mean straight, as evident as your post. A flaw of your whole reasoning first, is that your passages aren't actually multiple witnesses. None of the writers actually witnessed them, furthermore, they could have just copied ideas from one another. Along this thought, they don't even actually say the same thing, and you completely butcher them to cram them together, even from completely inane spots.

    But of course, this is all guessing, BECAUSE YOU WON'T BLOODY COME OUT AND SAY WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO SAY. Are you retarded? Would you like to give us more? Just STFU if you won't give some bloody clarification on what the hell you're even saying.

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  22. As you wish. No sooner said than done. Aloha.

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  23. Looking back at your posts, it seems you did not add it in for those ones.

    Which makes it extremely amazing, how I found your bloody site. I must of had another window open where you posted somewhere else and did it.

    You'll find everything I said, still holds.

    And for clarification, you still haven't clarified anything.

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  24. James, don't ignore how he used the word thrice and quoted the "good book". Of course it's way beyond simpletons such as ourselves.

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  25. I agree. That shoe is quite the brick. My BS meter went off the scales. Now I need to take it to get it recalibrated!

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  26. Yeah, well, don't get too concerned about the links, they get removed for trolls.
    But for clarification I like clarified butter. :P

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  27. No, GMNightmare, I won't clarify anything for anybody on this forum until and unless somebody tells me which riddle is to be solved first, and why. Then I will clarify to that person and that person only. You somehow got ahold of the link to the site, so you can work you way through it, if you really want to. I did.

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  28. I just noticed that the guy left the same BS comments word for word on Conversational Atheist: http://conversationalatheist.com/comments/comments-for-bible-messiah-replaces-animal-sacrifice/

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  29. You ever see "A Beautiful Mind" George? Yes? You're him. Well, your a bastardized version that I'd like to call "An Ugly Mind".

    You're not talking about riddles. It's not a riddle. It's a BS code. There is nothing there, making delusions is not some grand thing. Here, I solved your "riddle".

    "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established."
    From the behind of only one witness, George, shall nothing relevant be uttered.

    You see how completely used your own game against you George? It works to your rules. Yes, that's right, because what your doing is twisting words. You're playing a game of translation George. And everybody with a brain knows that you lose meaning through translation. Well, except you.

    Get it?
    The Bible has been translated, original meaning has slightly been distorted.
    Your further twisting the words, by playing your stupid little game that doesn't actually work.
    It's simply BS through and through. There are many answers to the game, and you pick the one you want.

    Let's give you a "riddle":
    There is a king of all nutcases here.
    Everybody here is sane but George.

    Can you solve my "riddle" George? Let's review, you don't actually know what a riddle is. Next, your made up "riddle" game does not work... because you made it up.

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  30. Thanks for telling us he's the troll that I suspected him to be, James.
    "And I will hug him and kiss him and rub his fur backwards. And I will call him george." LOL

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  31. Wow, you're like a biblical scholar now, GMN. I bow down before your great mad word skillz.

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  32. Try working your way through some critical thinking classes. That might help you.

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  33. The reference which you have refered to regarding leaven - means to rise - the kingdom of Heaven will rise without a doubt. Just like leaven causes the bread to rise, so shall heaven rise.

    The second parable in which you mention has to do with proven. When 1 is a witness there is question of doubt, but when 2 or more come forth it is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt - there is no running from the truth when you have more than 1 witness.

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  34. There is only 1 GOD.
    Regarding the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - they are all one in the same as you are Your Father's daughter/son, your Mother's daughter/son, and you are even your own person.

    Would you like to go through life with only the recognition of being so and so's daughter or son and never being called by your own name. Just like God is the Father, Jesus is the Son, and the Holy Spirit is the one that binds.
    Father God has many names - in the Bible, He also refers to Himself as I AM - I AM whatever you need me to be - all that is good.
    Jehovah Jireh - means He's my provider - amongst countless other names to reference a specific need.
    Just as you have nicknames bestowed upon you for specific reasons.
    Also regarding the promises of God - there is no mention of a time frame - we just have to have faith and pray that it will be soon - it's done on His time not ours, or else we would become content and never cry out to HIM.

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  35. Jesus said within the lifetime of the disciples who were his followers.

    Disciples are followers of Christ.

    The promises were back then as they are still today.

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  36. You don't get it... He made that promise to the disciples he was talking to right then. Its actually pretty clear. And his disciples believed it, and continued to believe and preach it after he died. Then Paul picked up the theme, and believed and preached the same. Once that entire group had died, it really is rather amazing the cult lived on. But somehow it survived, long enough for Constantine the first to pick it up and adopt it as a national religion.

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  37. Exactly - that's what faith is all about - it's about believing.

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  38. So you admit that faith is believing even though there is a lack of evidence? And even though there is contradictory evidence?

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  39. How can you say that there is a lack of evidence? Don't you believe that the sun will rise and set tomorrow just as it did today!
    Don't you believe that you will be alive tomorrow just as you are today!
    Doesn't the wind blow and you feel it on your skin yet it has no color, shape, or form, but you can see it blowing through the trees and such.
    Have you have had an encounter with death and lived?
    I have!

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  40. Well, the sun doesn't rise and set technically.

    And none of those are actual evidence of anything supernatural; all can be explained naturally with science. You perceive them as supernatural or proof thereof; but that is your perception, not reality.

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  41. Well, you're looking for evidence to things of the supernatural on a large level. Tell me, why do some live through a catastrophe and others die? They all were there - what is it then, luck! You can't explain that with scientific reasoning.

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  42. This is great. Really beautiful. God gave man free will so it is within our right to question Him and ask Him to prove Himself. I don't like when people do things in the name of God and think within themselves that it was a good and just action when it says we are not to judge. People like that are self righteous.

    You say the idea of God doesn't bother - what about the idea of the devil?
    Surely in all things, there is good and evil or else we would not have balance. What compels someone to behave adversely?

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  43. All of this has been very interesting and we are all entitled to our opinions no matter how different or indifferent.
    No one should tell you how or what to believe with or without evidence - it should be a matter of your own choosing.
    For a long time, I did not want to choose a religion because of the things that people did in the name of God (hypocrites), but I finally did - I am a Christian. Christ lives in me and I strive to live a Christ like life. I have encountered the dark side of the church (so to speak), but that still does not stop me from believing and knowing what I believe to be true in my heart & living in faith. I still wrestle with the temptation of kicking someones rear for doing something stupid but what do you want from me - I'm human. I'm entitled to make mistakes - learn from my mistakes and do it all over again. I don't try to be something I'm not - I'm just me.
    I still have a lot to learn, but that goes without saying.

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  44. Sonja, there is no kingdom of heaven. Where is this mythical place? That's right, nowhere. It's made up to control people.

    You can have 500 witnesses and every one of them will remember the event differently, based on their own perceptions. Eyewitness accounts are notoriously unreliable.

    The bible was written long ago by goat herders who had no idea about science. They were ignorant and superstitious. You have a choice. You can embrace empirical knowledge. You can learn and grow.

    Consider that next time you spew forth such nonsense. Turn away from cultivated ignorance. Embrace reason and facts.

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  45. There is NO god. And how do you know, if you're right, that YOUR god is the RIGHT one? OMFG! You could be worshiping the wrong one!

    Also, jesus was clear that his disciples would be alive when he returned. He was talking to his followers at the time. Stop reaching and distorting what was said just so you can cling to your myth.

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  46. Faith, by definition, is believing something in the absence of evidence. It's basically crazy. There is no thinking involved. It is wishful and hopeful and completely void of rationality and reason. It's unhealthy, ignorant, desperate and superstitious.

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  47. Here's the thing, Sonja. There is ZERO evidence of any god on any level, whether large or small, whether universal or microscopic. Science asks questions and finds answers. Religion stagnated hundreds or thousands of years ago and refuses to advance or allow questions to be asked, never mind answered. It's circular, a snake eating its own tail.

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  48. Johnny, I agree 100% with this whole reply. I just want to reiterate, there is no balance of good and evil, right and wrong, etc. That's a myth to make people feel better.

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  49. Well, Sonja, yes, we all have a right to believe whatever we like, whether it's based on reality or not. If you find comfort in believing that christ lives in you, and if you strive to be good and take the best lessons from the bible, that's all fine and good. If you can accept that others will not embrace your religion, that's also good.

    Most atheists don't have a problem with christians who live as you say you do. Where we get bent out of shape is when the religious try to force their brainwashing into public schools and government. We believe in the separation of church and state. We believe in the freedom of religion, and the freedom FROM religion.

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  50. We believe in the freedom of religion, and the freedom FROM religion.

    I totally agree with you here. I am a Christian and I do have a problem with people who try to force their types of beliefs on others, whether they are Christians, Atheist, or others.
    I do not have a problem with people or the different perspectives that others have. I am always interested to see how other people think and believe. I do not get offend by things of this nature, but I can not control where, when, why, and how people choose (church or otherwise) to flex upon others. I have had individuals from the church trying to force their ideas and ways of thinking on me because that is what's in their heart - not mine. Act like this don't act like that. It's like when I was growing up - a ladies' not supposed to spit, belch, or fight. What are we supposed to do swallow our spit, blow up, or be a doormat for everyones fist or feet?

    My religious beliefs would not stop me from helping out any individual regardless of their beliefs, race, religion, sexuality, etc. - I would be their for all as the opportunity presents itself to serve.

    We should not be afraid to speak about religion because of past, present, and future situations because you miss the opportunity to grow and mature.

    The balance of good and bad has alot to do with our culture - it's not a fairy tale. If it's how people behave then that's how they are. You're either good or bad depending on your actions. Actions have consequences just the same. Shouldn't one be punished for their bad behavior or praised for their good behavior or should everything be null and void.

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  51. I embrace reasons and facts.

    If you can only see as far as your eyes can see you are missing a great deal. So people of your mind set do not have wishes and hopes and dreams because you have no guarantee that it will come true or not because there's nothing to support is as such. That's sad! God offers hope - hope for things that are unseen. Just like when people put money into a wishing well and make a wish - where or who is that wish being directed to - some cosmic force with no name.

    What is a wish?
    A wish is something that you hope for. A wish, a thought, hope, or a prayer - it's all the same. You can not think, wish, hope, or pray for anything without action.

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  52. God created the heavens and the earth, the bible teaches this. God's words - written by many individuals as witnesses for testimony to His existence and what He has created.

    Our words say alot about our character, integrity, and the type of person that we are because it is written and spoken frequently to prove to others what we are capable of doing and what our intentions are. You demonstrate this when you apply for a job, look for a mate, or even daily conversation.
    Our words are binding (written or spoken)- they can offer up life or death - praise or condemnation.

    Man did not create the earth and all things in it. Man however has the capabilities to reproduce, duplicate, decipher, and alter. Man has the capabilities to restore life but not to create it - birth is a reproduction of what was already made.

    Medicines come from what God had already created. Scientist utilize what is on the earth to create more effective, efficient, and convenient ways for us to live.

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  53. That unseen you talk about is the supernatural. Its not natural, and there is no evidence of it.

    Hopes and dreams have nothing to do with wishing and praying. Hoping and dreaming are planning for the future. Wishing and praying are ways to wait for those plans to come about without any action on your part. For plans to actually come about, action must be taken. "Two hands working can do more than a thousand clasped in prayer." "Prayer: doing nothing and feeling like you are helping."

    I find it annoying and humorous that you think "That's sad!" Because from my perspective I find it sad that you are delusioned by a bronze-age cult that believes in an invisible sky daddy.

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  54. There are no absolutes that's right. I don't believe that all things can be considered black and white.

    I would gladly lie to protect my Jewish neighbor from the Nazi's and suffer the consequences as well.
    I would also annihilate anyone who tries to harm my family or anyone else'sfamily. This wouldn't make me a bad person or anyone else for that matter. What someone else intends on doing is absolutely wrong no matter what the reason because they offer death. The person who's going to be the protector - offers life and if the perpetraitors death should occur God does display mercy.
    You would be giving up your life to protect another and be willing to suffer the consequences for it.

    This is why Jesus was sent. To give up his life for us that we would not have to live a life of condemnation but to live a life of freedom. Maybe not as a whole nation or even the whole world, but as individuals. You - you yourself, as an individual do not have to live a life of fear or oppression because you can and are able to believe in something that is bigger than your self.

    When Jesus was crucified - he said forgive them Father, for they know not what they do. The people condemned him to death because of a lack of understanding and Jesus basically said to God that they do not understand what they are doing so please don't punish them.

    It's like if a child does something wrong (depending upon what it is) - would you just punish them or would you try to find out why they did it and then punish them accordingly.
    Some people punish unjustly without the knowledge of what happened and why. There are at least 2 sides to a story.

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  55. god doesn't offer any hope. Where do you get that? Getting to go to heaven is hope? IE, living forever is hope? Hardly.

    We don't have wishes and hopes and dreams? You're just being ignorant now. We don't have completely incompetent hopes of like sprouting wings and flying away. No, you see, we know what's reasonable and actually work towards our goals, because we're responsible and don't just leave it up to some imaginary supreme being to do everything for us. Big difference, they aren't comparable.

    What is a wish? Something you hope for, but if you really wanted wished for it you wouldn't just sit around doing nothing about it. You would do everything in your ability to grant it.

    Pray without action? Daft, that is what praying is. It is specifically asking a supreme being to do something for you. It is without action.

    To end it, sure, we have hopes and dreams of say becoming a millionaire from a lottery. Do we sit there and state that will happen and it's the supreme truth of everything? No. Your saying your hopes and dreams are law and the truth, well, sorry to burst your bubble, but it's nothing more than hopes and dreams.

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  56. Oh no! You've had an encounter with death and lived?

    Then no you didn't you bloody liar. You didn't die if you lived, got it? My answer anyways, yes, I've come close to dying as it where, you'll find nearly everybody has. It doesn't change anything.

    What does that have to do with anything anyways?

    Also, no, I don't believe the sun will rise and set, I expect it to. Going by how it has down so for my whole life... if only your god was that dependable.

    People like you think belief is everything... well, no, it isn't.

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  57. Prayer does not always go without action.
    When I pray, I pray for the strength to make the right decisions when it is regarding the live(s) that are before me.
    Also, when undergoing an operation, whether myself, a loved, or somebody else, I pray that myself or the others comes out of it alive.
    When I go to court, I pray the individual who is the judge has eyes to see the truth before him and the ability to decipher from words of truth or deception.
    When we travel, I pray that we get there in one piece and that we return just the same.
    When I go out in my daily life, I pray that I do not encounter any adverserity and that I'm able to hold my tongue.
    When driving, I pray that the person to the left, right, in front of, or behind me is paying attention to what's going on around them so as not to cause an accident.
    Sometimes the only thing that we have in our control is a prayer. A prayer is something - something asked for - man can not fulfill a prayer but with God - He can guide that persons hands and create a miracle.

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  58. Actually, you can use scientific reasoning. Why? Because they weren't in the same place or situation. For example, a highly fit athlete is better equipped to survive things than some lazy person. One's standing under a light-pole that falls down on a person and kills them during the catastrophe and another didn't happen to be.

    Now look at what your arguing... Your arguing that people were picked. That god decided to save a few, and kill the rest. How absolutely revolting and ugly. For that matter, you should learn that for survivors it doesn't matter their religion, atheists live and stay atheists their whole lives for that matter. Some Christians live and change to atheist because of it. So god saved the atheist, or god saved a Christian to become atheist... doesn't make sense does it? And before you start with BS, those were only two examples. Sure, they are atheists who turn religious after, and most religious who survive those praise god for it(do they praise him for not saving others?)... I'm saying your explanation is completely whacked.

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  59. No such thing as good or evil in absolute. It's perspective. You consider things good, and then you consider their opposites bad.

    The Bible certainly likes to say killing all nonbelievers is good. I don't see why you don't either if you such a good little follower. They just follow the Bible, the Bible says it was good, and they followed it, so they did good no?

    Oh, he never proved himself.

    For that matter, god would have to be evil as well as good. It's also quoted as such in the Bible. You like to ignore that though, god can only be good you say, how absolutely unfounded.

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  60. Personal story time? I already wrote mine:
    http://www.heavingdeadcats.com/testimonial/gmnightmare/

    I don't believe because the whole concept of god is completely whack. For that matter, Christianity is based upon egotism.

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  61. Who said they were god's words? Why didn't god write them himself if he wanted it done? Why do you think those people were so pure and didn't lie? Why the hell did he create them in the first place then? Why didn't he create them earlier? Why did it take so long for him to create them?

    Words don't actually say too much about character. Actions do. Words can be lies, they can easily deceive, they can be used to trick... and so forth. Words fall away to actions.

    Binding? So if I said your going to hell... What do you mean by binding? Did you think that just sounded good?

    Yeah, man didn't create it, and neither did your invisible superman do it either. Man did create the concept of this invisible superman to boot, because hey, we are capable of creating concepts. Also, you should catch up with lab tests, we can create matter from energy and we can create life. Basic life mind you, but that's where it started it our books. You can do it too, just look up the studies and you can follow along with them and create your own life! Note, you probably couldn't create matter, because, you would like need some very expensive equipment there...

    In truth, the flying spaghetti monster created the heavens and the earth. He told me this personally, and I wrote it down here. He has said that what I have written is in fact the truth, his words, written by me, also by others all around. It's a testimony to the flying spaghetti monsters existence and what he has created.

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  62. Don't go throwing the "superman" term around so lightly. You're verging on blasphemy there.

    ;)

    :P

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  63. Perhaps you should try asking God to prove Himself to you. Would you be receptive to that idea?
    I'm not trying to disrespect any of you and I want you to know that. I'm trying to gain understanding - that's all.
    It wasn't so long long ago that I struggled with this also - I just didn't pursue the idea of things as well as you all have seem to.
    I read "What is Atheism to you" - I gained alot of insight into the whole idea. I'm not trying to offend anyone. I still have a lot of questions myself.
    The whole idea of being labeled or declaring yourself this or that people automatically think you are this way or that.
    And with that in mind, I will apologize if anything that I have said has offended any of you, but I will not apologize for who I am and what I believe.

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  64. I'd recommend Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris.

    Few atheists I've met have not spent an extensive amount of time in self examination. Plus lots of reading and research. Most atheists I know are better read in the bible and on religion, than any Christian I know.

    I don't want that to sound condescending, but want to point out two things. Most Christians often close themselves off from learning about things that oppose their views and do not know the bible as well as they think. And most atheists have not come to their position lightly or suddenly.

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  65. I most definitely see that. It was purely by accident that I discovered this website, but I'm not sorry that I did. You all have opened my eyes and have but a few thoughts in my head. It probably won't change my beliefs or anything like that, but I will always keep you in my mind.

    The first time I went to church was with my grandmother in N.C., I actually felt like I belonged there, I was 6 then.

    The thing I have learned about Christians (other church goers) is that they want you to think, believe, and do as they do or your not a part of their norm.

    When I was young, I went to church with my grandmother and instead of being embraced by them - I was shunned. In my adult life when I went to church with a friend, everyone surrounded me and I felt like I was the meal of the day. Everyone wanted to know what I thought, what I believed, how I believed, and how they can mold me.

    I'm my own person and I have my own mind. My friend and I had words - well it was mostly her judging and condemning me because I did not continue to go with her to church. If God is love - what is she talking about.

    I looked this up also - it kinda caught me by surprise - I almost feel like I have been living in a cave so to speak. You know it was just a few years, when I was unable to go out of the house and we didn't have a computer. I was removed from the rest of the world.
    “With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil. But for good people to do evil — that takes religion.” ~ Steven Weinberg

    My father said to me recently that the biggest whore is the preachers daughter.

    Well thanks for the insights and the tips. I will continue on my journey.

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  66. Thanks for stopping by. Do so again if you feel so inclined. And good luck on your journey.

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  67. You need to read my story if your going to ask something like that:
    http://www.heavingdeadcats.com/testimonial/gmnightmare/

    For the most part, there isn't an atheist out there that hasn't tried asking. Most atheists used to be religious.

    Furthermore, which god do I pray to? Your god? What about the others? And what would the answer come in? It's pretty nutty what people take as "answers". Would that answer change if asked again or in some other way?

    Have you asked the other gods? What did they say?

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  68. BLASPHEMER! The Flying Spaghetti Monster told ME that you were a dirty son of a meatball. The Invisible Pink Unicorn dictated her story to me. SHE created the Universe and everyone in it. This I know to be true and correct. I am her scribe and prophet. I go forth and preach the gospel, may her holy hooves stamp out those who disagree!

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  69. Exactly, Johnny. I've found that to be an accurate portrayal of things.

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  70. Uhmmm time out, wasn't god supposedly went down to the underworld and kill Hades at some point? I'm not trolling, I honestly remember reading that part somewhere in the bible, I just don't remember where it was!

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  71. You're mixing your myths, there Jay-Mo. I don't remember Hades ever mentioned in the bible.

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