I have full faith in God. I had a debate with my friend who is an atheist.
He asked me " why do people get diseases if there is God?"
Then i said " it may be the punishment that God gives them for the sins and ill-deeds they do"
Then he tricked me by asking " why do some newborn babies have diseases and why do some newborn babies die due to asphxia and other diseases? do these newborn babies do sins and ill deeds??"
i couldnt answer him. what should i tell him?. your views please..
2007-10-20 23:13:11 · 42 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
He won the debate because he had better arguments that didn't contradict reality.
Accept that you're belief in God has no rational basis and that you will never win an argument about it with someone who has actually considered their atheism carefully.
2007-10-20 23:23:40 · answer #1 · answered by bestonnet_00 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
A gene is not a live thing, it is a chemical compound. Now, the less careful media said that he created life, and some of the dumber people here might have repeated it. The media usually does not know it's ar$e from it's elbow when it comes to science, since they are arts graduates, if that. Dr. Venter extended ordinary genetic engineering to perhaps it's ultimate level. That's about all. However the cell into which he planted the new genetic material continued to function in an ordinary way. Tell me that was not alive. And as far as I know bacteria do not have chromosomes, since bacterial DNA is in a loop, not a strand with two ends. Or are you on to some new form of molecular biology not yet known to the rest of the researchers? So molecules of whatever size should behave unpredictably? Tell the people working on rational drug design. Tell organic and inorganic chemists. How is it I can use Woodward's rules to give a fair prediction of the maximum ultraviolet absorption of a compound from it's structure? I suspect Werner Heisenberg was referring to something rather smaller than molecules of whatever size. Do you know the difference between a molecule and an sub-atomic particle or didn't you happen to run across that while you mugged up a bit of chemistry?
2016-05-23 23:45:55 · answer #2 · answered by marybeth 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You're going to have to answer tougher criticism than this, because in all fairness, the Bible says some whacky things.
It sounds to me like you have neither a good idea of the Bible or of God himself, and until you understand both as best you can, you're doomed to lose any argument with an atheist; and rightly so, because reason always trumps uninformed dogmatism. Besides, if you're going to believe in something, and you revolve your whole understanding of the world around it, shouldn't you at least understand your beliefs? Read the Bible -- Old Testament and New. The best you can do in the interim is shut your ears and blindly profess your faith.
You may not realize it now, but your friend may have done you a favor, and he certainly pointed out a chink in your spiritual armor. You'll come away with stronger faith (because you'll actually understand that in which you have faith) and you'll be able to carry on an intelligent conversation about God. You can then at least force a stalemate, but the chances of either of you changing the other's views is slim to none. That's something that usually happens internally, though there may be an outside catalyst.
God offers many explanations and justifications for the problem you present, and you've seen a hodgepodge of them here. Is it the original sin of Adam and Eve? Is God forging us through the fire to make us strong? Is he testing our faith? Is he showing his power through the infirmed? Etc. It all depends on which explanation you choose, which passage you quote, which interpretation of the Bible you quote, and how you choose to interpret what you're reading.
2007-10-21 00:08:56 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes you have to throw the same questions back to him. Ask him what his opinion is.
In this case you may have said that God doesn't cause sickness and disease but allows it for now, but there will come a time when he will do away with those things when he makes all things new--Re 21:1-5. Whether he believes you or not is for him to decide. Or he may only want to debate so as to try to disprove your answer. On the other hand he may have asked out of sincerity. You can show him what scripture says and let it speak for itself. It is up to him where he takes it from there.
Can he deny that some people get diseases because they put themselves in a situation intentionally and unintentionally. Babies are born in this world where sickness is the norm. Sometimes they inherit sickness and some get sick and die before their time.
If he wants to know "why does God" etc, tell him you will research this from scripture and get back to him with the answers. But if he is serious, he will make the effort to look it up himself.
2007-10-20 23:51:17 · answer #4 · answered by Marina 1 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
My two main complaints about most any religious organization are;
1. Lack of communication between the "God" and the people.
Christianity and Catholicism use The Bible, and the claim is that this is the word of God, yet man wrote the bible, and science has proven it is a collection of folkloric stories taken from other cultures that was passed down through time, nothing more.
2. No real scientific proof of the existence of the "God".
No human through the history of time by utilizing any and every technology or scientific process has been able to prove that God exists. The same holds true for space aliens (UFOs'), the Loch Ness Monster, and Bigfoot.
History shows us that a man named Saint Nicholas of Myra existed and was the inspiration for Santa Claus, but no one can find real proof of the existence of a supreme being we call God. Do you ever see the Church of Santa Claus, no.
The followers of these religions don't want you to question the validity of what they are saying, they just want you to "have faith", meaning, accept it and don't ask any questions. They freeze up and get frustrated if you press the issue, and they do this because challenging them on this issue is looked down upon. Why? Because there is no proof.
They say God used to communicate with humans, but he doesn't any more. I think we deserve a reason for all of these horrible things that are happening in the world. It's not like we want to second guess this god, or question the decisions god has made, we just want answers. A supreme being such as god, with all this power and control should be held accountable and should be able to explain why these things happen.
Maybe I'm just too practical a person, and I find it easier to believe in something that I can see, hear, taste or feel.
2007-10-20 23:15:51 · answer #5 · answered by Lord of Chaos 4 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Tell your friend that you believe what you believe and if he doesn't believe the same things you do then that's fine.
As for the babies thing, I think diseases are pretty much out of God's hands. If He could stop stuff like that He would. He's not just going to create things like cancer, throw it at us and have innocent people die. He wouldn't do that. Diseases are something that just happen, like car crashes and what-not. I don't think they're a punishment at all. God wouldn't kill someone or make them suffer like that, right?
Anyway, if that's not what you believe then that's okay. I think people should just make their own decisions when it comes to religion and we should stop having heated debates about it. As long as they aren't hurting anyone with their belief system then people should just let them believe what they want and they should do the same for us.
2007-10-20 23:23:35 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
God doesn't set us aside from the rest of the world. Our bodies are just as vulnerable to disease, accident and death as any other mortal.
This is the sort of misguided reasoning that causes people to lose their faith. They think every bad thing that happens is a punishment from God. Truth is, it is nothing more than normal consequence of being human, living in mortal, temporary bodies.
The thing you can always count on is that God will be with you no matter what you endure. If you will let Him.
2007-10-20 23:47:23 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Just tell him that, even though you don't know all the answers, you are still firm in your beliefs because you have complete faith in what you believe in.
Your friend didn't 'trick' you. He simply asked you a question that is beyond your knowledge, and probably beyond anyone's knowledge.
And i know how you feel, because i've had these kind of debates with my friends before, and i remember their both sides of the 'argument' well.
Since he's your friend, i hope this kind of thing isn't affecting your friendship, because i personally know how something like religion can come in between friendships sometimes.
Oh, and i'm atheist btw. =)
2007-10-20 23:30:23 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As human being, it is but natural for him to be infewcted with diseases. It is not the desire of God thaty you will get sick of deseases but it is within the control of human beings. It does not mean that when there is God, everybody of us will no longer get sick.
All living things will bound to die and ceases to breath and could not live forever like God.Baabies who will die at their age, have no sin against God. They are still ignorant about right or wrong. Babies will probably go to Heaven with God when they will die at their young age.
Your friend do not know what he is saying. May God forgive him.
jtm
2007-10-20 23:31:40 · answer #9 · answered by Jesus M 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There is a verse in the Bible that says we see through a glass darkly and that what we know in part will be made apparent. We aren't always going to have an answer so this one is a life saver. Of course, it does tend to peeve folks off when I don't just say, oh yeah, you make sense, I guess there IS no God. Wrong! Don't give up!
Very helpful site! Wayofthemaster.com
2007-10-20 23:31:41 · answer #10 · answered by cindyunion 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Sickness is not a punishment. It is a test of faith. Tell your friend that if there is no suffering, there will be no compassion here on earth.
This is a story of St. Augustine and about the Nature of God
The scene is the seashore, where there is a small pool, a little boy with a seashell, and a sandy beach on which St. Augustine, clad in his episcopal robes, is walking, pondering with difficulty the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity (God). “Father, Son, Holy Spirit; three in one!” he muttered, shaking his head.
As he approached the little boy who was running back and forth between the sea and the pool with a seashell of water, Augustine craned his neck and asked him: “Son, what are you doing?”
“Can’t you see?” said the boy. “I’m emptying the sea into this pool!”
“Son, you can’t do that! Do you not see that your hole is small, while the ocean is so great? All the waters in the world could not fit in there!” Augustine countered.
Then the boy said, “I will sooner empty the sea into this pool than you will manage to get the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity into your head!”
Upon saying that, the boy, who was an angel according to legend, quickly disappeared, leaving Augustine alone with the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity.
2007-10-20 23:23:34 · answer #11 · answered by Enrico 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋