Sorry to bother you again, I really do appreciate all your responses, they are very helpful!
I have some more questions, well a lot of questions actually (I’ve been spending too long hovering online), which I hope you can answer…
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- Could some please explain this Ezekial verse? Why would God order the slaughter of these children and women? I don’t understand.
“And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and woman: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.” (Ezekiel 9:5-6).
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2. How do I respond to this:
*Today the societies with the most atheists are the societies with the highest standards of living and the lowest levels of social problems such as teen pregnancy, crime rates, divorce rates etc. The scandinavian countries where most people are not religious have the most healthy societies. Japan is another good example. Have you ever been to Japan? The Japanese are extremely polite and considerate, but there are very few Christians and most of them are not religious at all. Those are examples of secular societies. Compare those with the theocracies: E.g. Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, USA
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Of all the famous people in history, Joseph Stalin and Kim Jong Il are the most like Yahweh: absolute dictators who claim that they have their subjects’ best interests at heart, demand that people love them and who kill or torture anyone who doesn’t obey them. Don’t you see the resemblence? *
How do I respond too this??
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- Was Atheism at the core of Stalinism? And is there any proof of this?
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- Was Pagan Rome better than life in the dark ages when Christianity ruled? Is it true that it was only when the power of religion and the divine power of kings started to wane that society truly advanced ??
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- Why did the Crusades happen, why did Christians kill others for not believing as they did.
Is this not inconsistent, and hypocritical?
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- Have Buddhists throughout history (there are exceptions) displayed much better morality than Christians?
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- If atheists say they are so moral, then why were 250 million plus killed in the 20th century?
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- Does religion justify violence?
“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.
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- What do I respond too this?
*I don’t believe in absolute morality. The reality of it is that all human morality is relative. Our moral tendencies are defined by our biology and they are shaped and guided by the prevailing culture. The reason people today don’t stone their children to death for disobedience, as commanded in the Bible, is that society has advanced beyond that. We choose not to follow the Bible because it conflicts with our modern moral sensibilities. Morality is always changing - as you yourself have observed. What was considered moral in Old Testament times was not considered moral in Jesus’ time and what was moral in Jesus time is not the same as what is considered moral today. Slavery was perfectly OK according to the Bible, for example. *
Simplified: Is morality defined by our biology and shaped and guided by the prevailing culture?
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- “When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property.” (Exodus 21:20-21 NAB)
??
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- Did God command that Moses stone a man to death for collecting firewood on a Sunday?
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- Is it true that Conservative Jews now officially don’t believe many of the stories in the Old Testament? Is this because the historical evidence contradicts what the Bible says?
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- While the Bible was written by men, how do we know that it is the inspired word of God?
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14. I asked him what evolutionary benefit could come from believing in things that ‘are not true’ ? Meaning, religion. He believes religion is not true. Here is his response:
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There is a very simple explanation of that. People have a tendency to attribute agency to things. People have a tendency to see things that are are not there rather than not see things that are. Our brains are wired like that. Why is that so? The answer is that if you think you see an animal in the forest when there is no animal there - it’s not a big problem, but if you don’t see a tiger hiding in the grass - it’s lethal. Our brains had to react quickly to threats, so they are optimized to attribute agency to things and to err on the side of seeing things that aren’t there rather than not seeing things that are there. It’s a shortcut in our logic.
One benefit of such a belief is that it keeps people under control. It helps keep society together. It can also prevent crime. God is the ultimate surveillance system. It works even without a surveillance system! *
What do I respond to this?
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- Is it extremely arrogant to think that the universe was created for us?
There are billions and billions of stars in the universe. Most of them seem to be uninhabited. Persons are pretty rare in the universe
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- Are their any independent confirmations of any supernatural event described in the Bible?
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Sorry I am asking so many questions! I appreciate your time in responding, thank you!
God declared our majestic universe as “good”, but he declared us as “very good”. As majestic as our universe is, it cannot choose to love God as we can, and God does not love it as he loves us. That’s the difference.