Harsh Reality; Your God is Sick in the Head
Offline When I was a christian, there was one question I could absolutely find no logical answer to. How can your God be so cruel? I know it's an old question, but no christian can come up with a reasonable answer.
When I first left christianity, I dove back into drugs and alchohol. I'm not throwing a pity party here, but life had thrown me some pretty brutal shit to deal with. Before I pretended that my god helped rid me of the hatred and bitterness in my heart, but it was a lie.
After realizing that I had been poisoned with religion, and feeling betrayed and humiliated, my anger grew to a level I never imagined. I held no regard for human life and became a functioning misanthrope. I got to the point where I believed harsh and direct action should be taken by any man with courage to rid the world of injustice and to bring what I believed to be mercy to those who could not find it themselves. For example, I thought any child born with extreme deformities and no hope of having a normal, fulfilling life, should be put to death at birth, regardless of what the parents wished or believed.
I eventually calmed down and embraced the little shred of the peaceful nature I had left. I now know that it is not up to me or anyone else to make these decisions because there is not a definite line between good or bad, and right and wrong.
However, I wouldn't be honest if I didn't admit that when I see a child born with such grotesque deformities, such as "the girl without a face" Juliana Whetmore, that I don't think that no one deserves to go thru life like that, and should we be able to make the decision to spare someone like her from a assured life of humiliation and disparity. And you know the parents can't help but to wish deep down that maybe it would have been a merciful act to spare her of the horrors to come. Of course, you see clips of a child like that playing around and seemingly happy, but that will be short-lived. You won't see the clips of the child in school being cruelly tormented.
If you believe in the all-knowing God, how do you justify his actions?
If you are an atheist, can you admit you have had the same kind of thoughts? If you truly haven't, do you think I am just a bad person?
"...but truth is a point of view, and so it is changeable. And to rule by fettering the mind through fear of punishment in another world is just as base as to use force." -Hypatia
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Life is about questioning everything at all times and evolving our thoughts constantly to not remain in a mental gridlock towards ideas, science, the universe, Earth, people, etc. Some people are stronger than others when it comes to this and some would rather bury their heads in the sand than be involved with a world that they know is too real for them to deal with so, they keep their distance with rhetoric, falsehoods and a comfort zone that is consistent with their level of ignorance. The ones that cast aside their denial, like yourself, were not at all happy with the "water wings" that religion put on you to keep you from drowning; you NEEDED to drown, NEEDED to fall. When you finally hit the bottom, you realized there was nothing to be afraid of and that you were tricked just like many of us on here were at an early age. Some didn't like hitting the ocean floor and choose to put those floatation devices back on because they'd rather be naive and sheepish than experience all that life has to offer.
What you're talking about is sort of an issue with hanging onto fragments of what we used to believe when we chose a god, but I'm just assuming so, correct me if I'm off base. Suffering is never a good thing to witness (depending on if they had it coming or not). It doesn't make you a bad person to want to put them out of their misery; it just means you are empathetic and are expressing compassion. I've had the same types of thoughts as you on this. You obviously don't wish harm, or a life of on-going pain, on anyone and that's a very good trait to have; a majority of people never learned how to display these types of emotions or they choose to cover it up. The fact that you're questioning this is healthy as most people just shrug their shoulders and not bother to think about anything they believe in, follow or just demonize things because it seems normal.
(Remove double post please)
BUMP....I'm only bumping this cuz someone was distracting others when i posted it and was hoping for a christian or theist response as well. Of course more atheist replies are welcome. Sage put "denial" and "water wings" very well. thanks
"...but truth is a point of view, and so it is changeable. And to rule by fettering the mind through fear of punishment in another world is just as base as to use force." -Hypatia
well, if any Christian were to reply I can almost guarantee that there excuse will be that these "evil" things aren't the fault of God. They are the result of man's disobedience to God and that all these tragedies are simply the result of "fee will". Funny how the curse is applied indiscriminately and that even those that the Bible considers as innocent ( infants ) are still machine gunned down by God's so called "justice".
Hey Tony,
First of all, I can tell that you have a kind of resentment and bitterness when you write. My heart goes out to you tony, I'm sorry that you're having hardship right now in your life.
But your thinking about murdereing babies due to their informities is an emotional reaction to your bitterness and anger. I'm not saying this to attack you but to point out the reality. Emotional reactions like this are dangerous and has caused many brutal dictators such as Mao to murder millions. But I'm sorry.
The 2nd thing I have to address before answering your question is the notion that you were once a Chrisitan. No you weren't. I know you feel like you were. But according to the Bible which you claim you once believed says you were never a Chrisitan in I John 2:19.
And third, if there is no God, there is no such thing as cruelity or evil. As you said in your original post:
So tony, since you now claim to be an atheist, then you cannot draw the line that what happen to Julia Whetmore was cruel. As an atheist, you do not have the resources to recognize evil. Thus you are stealing Chrisitan ethics for your ethics to then challenge Chrisitan ethics which is circular reasoning. What happen to Julia could have been good according to atheism since the line cannot really be drawn.
Christianity can say that this girl is not an animal. an atheist cannot. The elephant man was treated like an animal. He said in pain that I am not an animal, I am human. Atheism cannot give this kind of good news to anybody.
According to buddhism, this girl deserves this and to help her like the navy did would be a kind of "sin.?
But Chrisitanity says that cruelity and evil happen BECAUSE of original sin. Since Adam sinned, the entire human race is now under the curse of sin. And as a result, evil things happen.
I don't know why God allowed Julia to have so much deformity. Perhaps He did it to harden your heart Tony.
In heaven, we won't have any disease or deformities but will be perfect. In hell, deformaties a billion times worse then Julia will befall you.
But God creates evil as a demonstration of His justice. but also due to the world and the flesh, we are bound by sin. And the only way to be free is to be bound by Christ.
Julia is that way because of SIN. This is not cruelity on God's part but the reality of choice done by man (Romans 3:4).
You will be in my prayers Tony.
Respectfully,
Jean Chauvin (Jude 3).
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theinfinitereferencepoint.blogspot.com
A Rational Christian of Intelligence (rare)with a valid and sound justification for my epistemology and a logical refutation for those with logical fallacies and false worldviews upon their normative of thinking in retrospect to objective normative(s). This is only understood via the imago dei in which we all are.
Respectfully,
Jean Chauvin (Jude 3).
Is. 45:7 has your God creating evil. Nothing about him creating good, though.
Since atheists don't follow your god's edicts does that mean that atheists are the creators of good?
"I do this real moron thing, and it's called thinking. And apparently I'm not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions."
— George Carlin
Hey JCG,
You've been gone for a while. Where have you been? Welcome back.
actually in IS 45:7 is says in that exact verse that He creates light and darkness. So obviously this is a metaphor for good and evil. lol. I see you are either lazy or illiterate in your reading. lol.
But welcome back jcg. I always did enjoy your heckling.
Respectfully,
Jean Chauvin (Jude 3).
A Rational Christian of Intelligence (rare)with a valid and sound justification for my epistemology and a logical refutation for those with logical fallacies and false worldviews upon their normative of thinking in retrospect to objective normative(s). This is only understood via the imago dei in which we all are.
Respectfully,
Jean Chauvin (Jude 3).
You only read half the verse. Are you always this selective?
The full verse - I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Try again Jeannine. Like I said - refuting you is like breathing (no thought and little effort).
"I do this real moron thing, and it's called thinking. And apparently I'm not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions."
— George Carlin
Well Unfortunately you are left with Jean. I guess you could purposely discuss it in larger terms. These steps people expect to doing as common place with 'Genetic screening', in about fifteen years time. Not that it cannot be done now but ethical issues will slow its' adoption. Now not to be indelicate, in ancient Greece and Rome often left children with birth-defects to 'die of exposure'. One and many other African tribes believe not to do so would bring misfortune on the whole of the tribal community. If this sounds like a cold detached statement, it very much is. I know from the human heart to the protestations of the disabled community these would be utterly criminal acts. For Most World Religions, it would be the same.
I don't like putting it in terms of "Your god is sick in the head". Yea, just like Lex Luthor is sick in the head. I like putting it this way.
The concept of a god is a broken concept as a claim. None of us buy this claim. But as a character like you were reviewing a book or a movie character, then yes. It would represent the worst stalker or serial killer movie bad guy. This character has absolute power over you and the only reprieve you have is kiss his ass, no matter how repulsed you are to the idea of absolute power. Your autonomy is not yours and your body is his property. You are at best a lab rat, and you have no consent to leave, much like an abused spouse cant leave. They stay, they get hurt less but still don't have the option of leaving. If they do leave this character stalks them and then drags them back or beats the shit out of you forever.
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