What would be your response to this sentence:?

Question

"Christians only say that they believe in God because they don't want to be held accountable to other humans for their actions."

flyersbiblepreacher: don't lie now. No atheist has ever, ever said that in the history of mankind. People like you shove that sentence into our mouths. I tried to turn around your very sentence to see how the shoe felt on the other foot, and not only are you oblivious to that but you go ahead and parrot the same slanderous nonsense yet again.

I am amazed...

brahden: you too. Thank you for proving my point.

NOTE: okay, okay... (1) this sentence doesn't come 'from' anybody, (2) I don't believe it myself either.

The sentence is just a 'turnaround' of the offensive sentence that flyersbiblepreacher claims about atheists. If you're offended or upset by this sentence, think how a moral atheist should feel about flyersbiblepreacher's sentence.

Answer 1

I think it means that religion can be (and often is) used to justify actions that are harmful, such as wars, persecutions, intolerance, injustice, etc., or ignoring it when others take such actions against their fellow humans. "It's God's will" is a classic lame excuse for doing nothing.

It could also mean that some Christians use their belief as a way to avoid responsibility. Instead of using their own rational thought and their own conscience (both of which God gave them), they prefer to follow an outward authority, a big daddy thumping a book, who tells them what to think and makes them feel comfy in their self-righteousness. I don't believe they all do this, but this is a classic cynical quote too often true.

PS - I don't follow Jesus because I fear hell (like a child who is good only because she fears a spanking) or because of "what he has done for me" (also self-centered) or because of a book that's been turned into an idol. I follow Jesus because my conscience, the voice of God in my heart, tells me that what he says is true and right.

Answer 2

Well I would say I guess that could be possible but the only problem with that is no matter what people want to think they are accountable to other humans. If you do something wrong to another person God will hold you accountable but so will either the person or someone who knows that person or the law. Thats how it works. Some may think they get away but they dont. What goes around comes around, whether or not you believe in God. I have lived it.

Answer 3

As long as ANYONE not just Christians don't break any of the "laws of the land" why should we be held accountable to other humans for our actions, stupid or not?
I believe in God because I choose to do so. No one forced me and when I went through my rebellious teen years, I still wasn't forced to go to church. I do what I want, like all free people.

If I get a ticket for speeding or go to jail for a crime, I will be held accountable for my actions, but only because I chose to break the law.

I was once asked why I believe in God if there turns out NOT to be God and my answer is simply this...

IF I believe in God and do what The Bible says and there is no God, what does it hurt. Instead of NOT believing in God and doing what The Bible says and being wrong.

Answer 4

I don't agree with that sentence on a number of levels. One, its judgmental and it's not my place to say what another should or should not believe. Secondly, because of the belief I hold of why we have religion it does not fit. My belief is religion is a sociological construct developed to keep societies cohesive in a time when governments like we have today did not exist. Basically in a crude form it was a source of government. These beliefs in religion have been passed down countless generations and most people know that things that are taught as such or you are exposed to as such become a repeating pattern in the next generation.

Answer 5

Who are these other humans and why would I feel obligated to them in any way? If I didn't believe in God, I wouldn't feel the need to follow any concept of good or evil. Without God, those are just human ideas that, given time, I wouldn't agree with. I'd only be out for myself and I wouldn't care who I hurt or what the consequences were. When I died, I'd believe that I was done and over, so why be good?

God explains life. He makes it make sense.

Answer 6

A story:

My mother worked very hard to raise me as a single parent. She bought a large house (duplex) and paid it off early. She did what she could to give me a proper education and helped me through college.

Three years ago she sold her house for a substantial amount of money and retired. Her last renters became good friends and helped her out, but always somehow expected something in return. They would pick up a prescription for my mother, using her credit card, and drop it off to her. Then they would "invite" my mom to lunch, only to have my mother pay for the entire bill.

$1 in gas + 15 minutes to refill prescription = $50 lunch tab? Hmm, suspicious.

Lately, they've been asking my mother for money. They claim to be flat broke, because they give all of their money to their own kids. Their kids are fat, lazy and can't handle money. The renters are also horrible eaters and can't handle money. They are also extremely religious.

Somehow, God isn't answering their prayers. So instead of fixing their own problems, they try to take what my mother worked her entire life for while wearing the guise of friendship.

Though I wouldn't pigeonhole Christians into your statement, I believe it to be true. What's the motivation to be the best you can be if you constantly belive that no matter how bad you mess up that someone will magically solve your problems for you?

Sounds like a video game where you can kill and die all you like as long as you remember to "save" often!

Answer 7

The quote is too much merely 'surface thinking'. In part it is true but the reasons that people believe in God are very complex and cannot be summed up in one sentence.

Fear plays a big part. Tradition another big part. The 'us against them' mentality. An egocentric personality believes in God, especially a God that created man in His image. Many like the 'fact' that they can always be 'right' because they can pull the 'god said it so it's so' gun on everyone who argues.

These are but a few reasons people believe in God.

Answer 8

I'd call it ridiculous. Most of the atheists I've talked with say that they don't believe in God only because they don't want to be accountable to some higher being. Christians are more accountable, because they see consequences of every action, not just the big ones.

Answer 9

I would say this is only partially true. The Christian god is not a scapegoat or means to disavow personal responsibility; even though there are those who may use this concept in that manner. I would say that Christians believe in god because they seek to be more accountable in every aspect of their life.

Answer 10

No, you should not tarnish all Christians in one sweeping statement like that. It should rather be:

"Unscrupulous Religious Leaders and Institutions attribute their acts and decisions to God's Will because they don't want to be held accountable to the Believers for their actions".

Forget the wolves in sheep's clothing. If the wolves were to dress up like the shepherd, he can (mis)lead the unknowing sheep any way he wants.