Challenging All Christians! Are you game? I got another top 10 for you cuz I know you've been waiting

I'm in a much better mood now. I got picked up right away working in the district office. I do a bunch of clerical stuff with this russian lady. I'm there until further notice. OTher than that, I've been hanging around Ray a lot. He has really been into trying to answer my religious questions. Sometimes he does really well, while other times not so much. I mean, on labor day, we spent just about the whole day toghether. We played pool, table hockey and the game "time crisis". Afterward, drank some Jamba juice and went to his friend's apartment for awhile. *zzz...boring* Did some shopping and then came home. He answered questions from around 9PM to 2AM. I probaly would've continued had it not been so late. Some of it towards the end was him trying to understand me and Michelle's social life. *or lack thereof*

At the end, he says he's more like me than I think. He says he has some of the same doubts I do but he likes how it *the bible* guides him on how to be as a person. *among other things* While I dunno if he really has the same doubts as me, its nice to talk to someone about it. *he doesn't express much of his doubts if they're there* He's very smart and has defeated *atleast temporarily* some of my arguments. Like, why is the bible more better than any other holy texts. Granted, my knowledge of other holy texts is fairly limited. Obviously, some can be thrown out cuz we know for sure that some can't be true. *i.e., the millions of hindu gods* Or some of them can't be followed in that the person who wrote it lived immorally. *or was otherwise delusional while writing* (i.e. Joesph Smith of the mormons) Ray argued that Muhammad had 13 wives and thus, that is immoral. I dunno...

He agrees with me about the negative influence of the repulican party on christians. *and vice versa?* He also agreed that some people can give more credit to God than actually took place. *i.e. people gave too much credit to him for 'blessings in their life'* Though I challenged him as to why prayer is even necessary at all. I mean, if he just prayed for something to happen in my life and I did nothing to make it happen, will it happen. If I pray he gets a job and he doesn't go out and send resumes, I don't think it'll fall into his lap. He says faith through works. Nope, not buying it. I think prayer is a nice sentiment. It can't hurt. But does God get involved? I don't think so. I mean, I know that many people have prayed for things that never happened. Even when the prayer was for something nobel and necessary. Like, making a medical problem go away.

So, most of my top 10 questions still remain intact. I also want to add to it, so that I can give it to Ray. He wants to look at it with some of his "bible scholor" buddies. I say, BRING IT! Here is the old list. http://www.deardiary.net/show/diaries/13147/1152057600

New questions.

1. What happens to a schizophrenic murderer in terms of judgement? I mean, he didn't know what he was doing. What happens if he's not a murderer? What if he's just mentally ill. Obviously, we can't have none of that in heaven, or it wouldn't be heaven. Its not fair to toss him in hell. So does he just go to heaven basically empty of what made him HIM? Then why does God allow people who are mentally ill to be born if they can't possibly exsist as they are?

2. Let's pretend I'm a terrorist. *not that I ever would be, so back off secret service* Let's say I blow myself up and kill others. However, while doing so, I was fowllowing my religious convictions. Does that allow me to go to heaven cuz I followed what I thought was true. How would I be found guilty if that is all I was raised around?

3. What do you have to say to the fact that others have been saying the end is near for the last 2000 years? Is it really near? How near? ARe things really getting worse? If you think so, how is it worse than the black plague and the genocide of the native americans? Please don't cite the brutality of crimes now. Otherwise, I'll have to cite how brutal so-called christians used to torture non-believers. Anyone ever see that device where they slowly pull out your intestines in public?!

4. Are miracles happening now? If so, and I know you think so, then cite some for me. And by miracle, I mean, can't be explained by modern science and is documented.

5. DO you believe that evil spirits are responsible for mental illness? The bible thinks so. Show me how it is spirits and not chemical imbalances and illogical thoughts that show signs of being culturally specific.

6. How do you prove the authority of the bible? *without using the bible* Weren't they just believers, much like yourself? If it is indeed God's word, then why is it only 1/6 of people today have access to it. Why is it that God simply doesn't allow us to either choose good or evil, but instead let us decide between half-truths and half-lies?

7. This is 7th day adventist specific. Explain how Ellen G. White has any sort of authority to guide church doctrine. Don't tell me the "she didn't make a candle flicker when she slept" deal. You weren't there. The bible doesn't mention more prophets. Though it does mention false prophets. Does this not conflict with the idea that the bible is the only authority? How come she didn't forsee "the great dissappointment"? She didn't speak out at the time about the irrational belief. Furthermore, what about her assertions that prophecy had been fulfilled in the 18th century. *the lisbon earthquake, dark day and the falling of the starts* She said it was the most terrible earthquake ever recorded. Again, history provides the China, Shansi in 1556 with 15 times the causalties. The 1960 Chile earthquake was 7 times stronger. There have been other days where smoke has made the sky dark. The sun itself is suppose to be darker, not just the sky. Though I'm sure you could wiggle out that one.

7A. Why didn't the signs produce the effect described in the Bible?

Revelation 6:15-16 describes the people who witness the signs as being panic-stricken. These people, including kings and leaders of nations, are described as running to the mountains, hiding in dens, and asking for the mountains to fall on them. There is no evidence that the signs of 1755, 1780, and 1833 produced this effect.

7B.Why were the signs localized when the Bible seems to indicate a global scale?

While the signs described in the Bible appear to be global events, the three signs pointed out by Ellen White were on a seemingly smaller, localized scale. The Lisbon earthquake was limited to the Iberian peninsula and Northern Africa. The dark day was seen primarily in the north-eastern United States. The Leonid meteor shower was perhaps the most widespread event, yet even it was seen only in the Western Hemisphere.

It appears that the same people who witnessed the earthquake, would also witness the darkness and the stars falling. Where's the immenment return of Christ?

8. If the true goal of following God is to spread the word, why aren't you a missionary? If you are, then congrats. DO you plan to stop and have a family? Is that not following God's will?

9. If a bum asks me for money and I have it and tell him he that I don't have it, am I sinning? What if I know for a fact he's lieing, does giving to him make me more favorable to God or does God think that reinforcing them for anti-social behavior continues to put them in the hole?

10. Let's say I go to church and pray for all the wrong reasons and never really get on track to really following God. What happens to my soul? Is it fair that lost souls get the same punishment as Hitler?

At the end, I know no one really has all the answers and supposely, I'm suppose to find the answers for myself. *I've tried* My conclusion is that the answer is that there is nothing. Though knowing that does lil for me. Thus, I want to be in bad faith like you guys. But damnit, you got to really bring the logic to get me onboard. If not, its ok. YOU'RE BUSY. I know. That'll work great with God. I was gonna convert him, but you know, in a span of 168 hours in a week, I just couldn't find a hour. People find time for what is important he'd say. What is important in your life?

many of things in the bible did not exist as they do today, therefore it is impossible to compare societies. The bible is not a rule by rule thing it is general ideas that should be tried to adhere to. Yes a lot of it does not even make sense but like any other book written with good intentions there is a lot of good in it and good advise to be followed or used as guidelines. You must form your own ideas from it and stop thinking of it as a form to follow letter by letter necessarily. I'm not even sure that is possible. For example no one that I remember married Adam and Eve but nothing was mentioned about them living in sin...and Cain and Able weren't called bastards and then the PEOPLE saw the mark of Cain ..now where did these PEOPLE come from to see the mark if Adam and eve were the first????? HUMMMMM??? You and I both know mental illness is chemical. Why does God let people be born with it?? why does he let them be born with any aliment?? Perhaps it is a test to see how you deal with it??? NO one really knows. Why not deal more with the fact that it does exist and this things are making progress??? God won't hand you Utopia. He didn't even do that for his own son. The bible doesn't say life is going to be a fairy tale it just tries to give ways to deal with the shit as it comes down. YOu have been given free will, you make your life, not a book of any kind, do what you believe in your heart is right and honest and you won't go far wrong.

Comments (2)