I think this will come across as rude and insulting to some people, but please try to read and comment nicely?

Question

http://www.godisimaginary.com

Just go to that page, it is inflammatory, I know. Deliberately so. And it has probably been mentioned on this site so often.

I think it is just as pointless to engage in quoting scripture against a body of belief, as it is to support it, but it is still puzzling to me how christians seem to be so happy to place such great faith in "scripture", that is so old and questionable.

Could you please comment on the site generally, and whether, if you are christian, you have any concerns about the way people seem to place so much faith in words that are equally likely to be written by men, rather than gods.

Further, if you have studied the history of the Catholic church, could you advise of what you think about the way they so often used manipulation and force to maintain power, through the inquisitions for example.

Also, if you do have great faith in the scripture as the word of god, what do you think about the behaviour of your church leaders over time?

I believe that there may be a god, but in the absence of certainty, I have to have faith in people. Sometimes it can be difficult being sceptical about such things, because it can be insulting when believers claim to hold the key to morality, truth about the world etc. Can come across a bit arrogant sometimes!

Hope everyone's family is healthy and happy!

Noticed the thumbs down. What do you want in the religion and spirituality section?

Answer 1

Love the site, I doubt people will go through all of that, but I like it.
I'm an atheist. Have been for a while. I've attended three different denomination churches in my 35 years of life. I've been baptized Mormon in 1989 and left all churches in 1994. I opened my heart to God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, etc. I wanted it to be real. As I progressed "up the ladder" in all churches, I saw peoples beliefs faltering and their greed increasing. I prayed, I sought council, I even tried to open my soul to whatever wanted it, but nothing....
I've trained myself in the History of the Bible, beginnings of Christianity, religious belief in general, and have a Masters in Psychology. I can see how some people believe, or rather, "want" to believe, but when it gets down to people being persecuted, killed, and judged due to religion, I have to call "STOP!" The US needs to get real (other modern countries throughout Europe hold minorities as being religious, most are not) and start working toward approaching issues in a rational way. If you are religious, read "Misquoting Jesus", "The End of Faith" and "Letter to a Christian Nation" and tell me what you think then. If you still believe, then you have some definite issues that need to be dealt with professionally.

Answer 2

I don't need to go to some web page. You speak of the Church and the Catholics but never do you say anything about the people that are true Christians. That's with a big "C for Christ".

Put you faith in God not a church or a religion. Read the Bible. Enjoy the Bible. Believe the Bible and be satisfied. Be full and fat on the Word of God.

You like most people need God telling you what; where; and when to do and be. Accept His Son, Jesus Christ and live for death is just around the corner.><>

Answer 3

I am a Baptist who has a ton of faith in the scripture; not only do I believe it, I trust it. I don't question whether or not it is true, I just believe. I really don't have any concerns about the way Christians place so much faith in Scripture.

God is pleased when the people of today believe in him because we didn't have to witness the miracles Jesus did back in his day. The tool and guide for us instead of seeing the miracles is the Bible.

I don't know too much about the history of the Catholic Church.

As for the site... I wasn't happy. Especially when I read the "50 Simple Proofs". I get sad when I read stuff like that because I just wish that they would know... but it's their choice and I respect it. God bless, and Merry Christmas!

Answer 4

Faith is believing without proof. If everything in the Bible was proved, then it would be fact, not faith.

The Bible was written by men, it was not like God wrote it all down and dropped it out of the heavens but, He did speak to the men who wrote the Bible. It may not have been physically written by God but it is His Word. You may ask, "If He spoke to them why doesn't he speak to us?" He does. Not like your friends do, but if you truly have faith and believe and have a relationship with Him, you know without a doubt when He is speaking to you.

As far as the behavior of church leaders over time, well, one could go on forever. If you are talking about those that have done horrible things, I don't know why they did it or why others will do other horrible things in the future, but, I can say that they were and will be humans. Humans are sinful by nature and even church leaders are not perfect. They are supposed to represent God and while there are those that do things that make the church and the faith look bad, there are many many more who are wonderful representations of how we should try to live our lives. You just don't hear about them.

Answer 5

Christians are able to put such faith in scripture because to us it is Truth. The bible says that people without the spirit of God can't understand the things that come from God. They are foolishness to him. In otherwords, if you don't have Gods spirit living in you, it's impossible to understand the spiritual aspect of the bible, it will apear foolish when it is read. Once you are born again and have God spirit living in you, your spiritual eyes are opened and the bible makes sence. That's why so many non christians read the bible and think it's nonsence. You recieve the spirit first, by faith and then God shows himself to you.

To answer the question about church leaders. It's important to remember that we live in a corrupt and fallen world. Church leaders are no different than any other christian out there. Therefore christian leaders, like every other christian, are sinners and capable of making mistakes. Christians are not perfect, nor never claim to be. In fact we are more aware of how ugly and sinful our hearts are. That's why we are so aware of how much we need a savior to cleans us.

Answer 6

So as far as the "quotes" from the Bible, the Bible is meant to be taken as a whole, not piece meal, it is a tool. If you had a dictionary and you took a page and read it, you would not then be able to say, I understand English, all word meanings and sounds come from this one page.
For the Bible, you will find if you read much of it, that Jesus was quite a philosopher, and his parables are often meant to reflect the time then, however they still have practical applications to today.
As far as prayer, I have personally experienced positive outcome in what I feel was helped by prayer, If you don't believe me, fine, I could care less, I know that it happened and that is all I am concerned with.
For the Catholic Church and Church leaders, they are human, humans are not perfect, so of course they sometimes make mistakes. Some of them are terrible people, some are not. We are given the ability to choose what we feel is right and what we feel is wrong, "free will".

Answer 7

I'm not catholic, but am a Christian- Baptist to be exact.
Catholisicm has been a mercenery religion from the start- look at the early popes...one was a Borgia..and we all know about them. Don't have a high opinion of Catholisicm...but that's not to say that there are not Christian Catholics.
I am repeatedly disgusted by the behaviour of church leaders, religion over and world over.
True, all words in the Bible have been written by men...but inspired/dictated by God.
And I generally don't quote Scripture, because actions speak louder than the words of any tongue.
Hope this helps...

Answer 8

First, The site is really something else. No thanks.

Second, We don`t place faith in scriptures old or new. Our faith is in God... He answers our needs. Scriptures were very definitely written by man. We do NOT place faith in scriptures.

I think the Catholic Church is and has been wrong since the beginning. Catholics are way to busy making rules and laws that have nothing to do with God. God is NOT Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, or penecostal. He doesn`t care what church you go to. Religion is not about GOD. It is organized man made rules to belong and be allowed to attend that particular church. God don`t care if you eat meat on friday, Wear make up or pants or shorts or pierce your ears. He doesn`t care what you do with or how you adorn your earth suit.. He cares about your soul... Your inner being..

I think the church leaders are live, breathing, bleeding, mistake making people (gasp) . They poop just like everyone else. They get mad, cry, make mistakes, cuss sometimes and basically, they are animal human. Contrary to popular belief, being a Christian does not make us perfect (another Gasp). We are just like everyone else. Oh my, there goes the neighborhood. Only Jesus was perfect..

The only difference is we are blessed to be loved by God and to love him. He is our Dad and just like any other Dad, he wants us to be happy. He wants the best for us. He loves us unconditionally. No matter what we do, he is right there with open arms and a loving heart. Just like our Human Dad.

Folks have complicated God, with religion. Religion is not GOD.

Answer 9

I could go to your website and probably address most of the issues without much difficulty, but really, it would be like asking me to go to a website about a woman with whom I have been happily married for 35 years and known better than any human being, and reading things that I know by experience are foolish nonsense and indefensible upon careful examination. I know the truth of the Scriptures because I have proven them by experience in my life and know them to be entirely reliable. I have great peace. I am continually aware of the presence of the Living God in my life.I know He who has promised me eternal life is well able to fulfill His promise.
You may rather want to consider again what you have. I think if you are honest you will have to admit all you really have is words, and an opinion.

Answer 10

i am a catholic and will be deeply sorry for what happened on our churche's history...

i still find the scriptures convincing.... and the qoutes that often qouted to prove that the bible is wrong really amuses me... people seem to think that by doing this, a christian would then deny its belief, but no... i myself find this amusing when someone show me it is contradicting... lifting senteces from all over the book and then connects it to from a passage and say here it is contradictory... i find myself really amused by these kinds of people...

with the site, sorry, but it is full of falacious arguments... one could easily find the flaws that it is presenting.. hoe funny the proofs presented and the analogy it is given...
example: it seems to say there that science has proven that God is imaginary, but then, i myself have not found or heard a study conducted by science that has concluded hat God is not real. Evolution does not emply that God is not real, it just attempts to explain hwo animals adopt to changes and change in order to survive, and i believe in evolution. but it does not say that there is no God contrary to what some people say....

with our church leaders, yes i am not happy with some of them but not all... i still can see that majority of them is still true to their vocation, and only a few is ruining it with their personal intention...

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i have found a book on the bookstore yesterday, here are some that i could recommend...(i find these both insulting and funny)
Guide for Dummies(Christianity)
Book for Idiots(Mary the Mother of Jesus her life and role in Christianity)