Is the possibility of a God not a scary thought...?

Sandor Clegane

After listening to some prominent atheists and doing some research the idea that there maybe a god is just as scary as the thought of simply nothing.

An all powerful god decides to create the world and humans and then fills the world with such pain and misery and then expects us to worship him constantly, why? It then tries to fill us with fear of his wrath if we disobey in anyway.

What kind of a god is it to do that? a very scary one in my honest opinion, I mean if I created life the last thing I would want to do is bestow untold misery on it and then demand it grovels to me, that's insane.

How do people reconcile the fact they are worshiping a god that does and behaves this way? We condemn dictators and evil despots for doing this kind of thing but God gets a free pass, why? is it not just as wrong? are people only believing and following out of fear?

Also how many religions and gods are there in the world? we only believe in what we believe because of geography...they can't all be true, if we were born in a different era or a different part of the world our beliefs would be totally different, yet Catholics and Christians don't bat an eye in not believing in any other religion or God..

Iv'e been struggling with this lately, id always considered myself a lapsed catholic, I don't attend church but I believed there maybe something, but now the thought of something is just as scary, if not scarier than simply ceasing to exist.

I Am The Law

Most people, it seems to me, are scared of the prospect of there being no God.

one world order

When man rebelled and trusted Satan over God then mankind has been cursed ever since. We need to put our trust in the Bible as Jesus reconciled us with God again. We see this spiritual war playing out right up today, those controlling the world worship the Devil and are trying to get as many people away from Christ. So many people think it's all a big joke and don't realise how far they will fall until it's too late.

Sandor Clegane

one world order wrote: »

When man rebelled and trusted Satan over God then mankind has been cursed ever since. We need to put our trust in the Bible as Jesus reconciled us with God again. We see this spiritual war playing out right up today, those controlling the world worship the Devil and are trying to get as many people away from Christ. So many people think it's all a big joke and don't realise how far they will fall until it's too late.

Do you not realize how utterly insane that sounds? I don't ever remember rebelling and trusting Satan, are you saying some people did at some point and now we're all being punished, that is utterly sadistic.

Timberrrrrrrr

Honest answer

Yes it is because if ther me is a god he's normally someone/thing that I would like to be associated with.

Bubbaclaus

If God exists, then he is a sadist that does not deserve our worship anyway.

You'll see posts that follow in this thread blaming things like childhood cancer and horrible diseases on the fact Adam and Eve ate an apple and damned mankind or some nonsense to that effect. Very vengeful God altogether.

Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom..

eviltwin

The thought that there is a god and heaven and hell scares me because I know where I will be going (if what I was told growing up is true)

I don’t believe in god. I think death is the end and there is nothing and that comforts me.

one world order

Sandor Clegane wrote: »

Do you not realize how utterly insane that sounds? I don't ever remember rebelling and trusting Satan, are you saying some people did at some point and now we're all being punished, that is utterly sadistic.

Are you putting your trust in the world instead of God? This world is controlled by the Devil and it's why so many people have been deceived. Everyone was born with the knowledge there is a creator, he gave us a conscience and the ability to worship God. Many chose to suppress God and instead follow the world, being lead away for eternity when their time of grace is up. Jesus came for the broken and to restore our relationship back with God, however too many fail to reach out and continue to be separated from God.

wench

one world order wrote: »

Are you putting your trust in the world instead of God? This world is controlled by the Devil and it's why so many people have been deceived.

So is the devil more powerful than god then?

Why else would he leave the devil in a position to do such eternal harm to us?

smacl

Sandor Clegane wrote: »

Do you not realize how utterly insane that sounds? I don't ever remember rebelling and trusting Satan, are you saying some people did at some point and now we're all being punished, that is utterly sadistic.

Mod warning: This is not a forum that permits random attacks on the Christian faith. Please read and understand the charter before posting here again.

one world order

wench wrote: »

So is the devil more powerful than god then?

Why else would he leave the devil in a position to do such eternal harm to us?

God is more powerful. We have free will to choose, we are either with Jesus or with the Devil. There are 100 million Bible's sold every year, nobody should be without excuse when their time comes. The devil tempts and it is up to us to choose, just like one third of the angels chose the devil before they were all cast out of heaven forever. There is too much evidence for Jesus Christ to deny him, even today people cast out demons in his name and he gives a new heart to the lost and those living in ungodly ways that repent and accept him as their saviour.

Timberrrrrrrr

one world order wrote: »

God is more powerful. We have free will to choose, we are either with Jesus or with the Devil. There are 100 million Bible's sold every year, nobody should be without excuse when their time comes. The devil tempts and it is up to us to choose, just like one third of the angels chose the devil before they were all cast out of heaven forever. There is too much evidence for Jesus Christ to deny him, even today people cast out demons in his name and he gives a new heart to the lost and those living in ungodly ways that repent and accept him as their saviour.

And yet not a single person can show me any.

(This is the part where you tell me I wont see it because I don't have faith i suppose?)

one world order

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

And yet not a single person can show me any.

(This is the part where you tell me I wont see it because I don't have faith i suppose?)

Your looking for physical evidence which will not be given to you. You already know God is real, even atheists know, and you heard of the gospel and what Jesus Christ did for the world. It's up to you after that if you want to truly believe it.

Timberrrrrrrr

one world order wrote: »

Your looking for physical evidence which will not be given to you. You already know God is real, even atheists know, and you heard of the gospel and what Jesus Christ did for the world. It's up to you after that if you want to truly believe it.

No...I dont. The same as I know unicorns are not real. Saying that if someone can ever show me evidence of unicorns then I will start believing. The same goes for all gods.

Sandor Clegane

smacl wrote: »

Mod warning: This is not a forum that permits random attacks on the Christian faith. Please read and understand the charter before posting here again.

I merely attacked a post in which someone claimed humans have been forever cursed because they rebelled against god, do you not see how sadistic that sounds?

Humanity forever punished because of what others from a previous time have supposedly done...for instance why should I be cursed? as I said I don't ever remember rebelling against God and proclaiming my love for Satan.

You have to ask what kind of a god would do that or set these types of rules and punishments, it's akin to the three generations of punishment rule in North Korea, totally immoral.

mrcheez

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

I know unicorns are not real

How do you know they are not real?

dok_golf

I Am The Law wrote: »

Most people, it seems to me, are scared of the prospect of there being no God.

Err no.

Timberrrrrrrr

mrcheez wrote: »

How do you know they are not real?

Because I have never seen one, I will continue to believe they are not real unless I am shown evidence otherwise.

mrcheez

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

Because I have never seen one, I will continue to believe they are not real unless I am shown evidence otherwise.

Have you seen an atom?

Evidence of unicorns is there if you look for it.

bobbyy gee

if god likes you he will give you lots of money
big house good looking girlfriend
if not your poor get cancer etc

smacl

smacl wrote: »

Mod warning: This is not a forum that permits random attacks on the Christian faith. Please read and understand the charter before posting here again.

Christians do not believe that the world is run by devil worshippers and therefore Sandor Clegane's reply was in no way an attack on Christian faith. Heck, out of context you would think that Sandor Clegane was a Christian responding to a post by a satanist.

I think you may have wielded your mod hammer incorrectly there my friend.

Timberrrrrrrr

mrcheez wrote: »

Have you seen an atom?

Evidence of unicorns is there if you look for it.

Yes, lots of people have seen atoms, there is proof of atoms there are pictures of atoms.

Please show me evidence for unicorns.

mrcheez

mrcheez wrote: »

Have you seen an atom?

Yes.

wench

one world order wrote: »

God is more powerful. We have free will to choose, we are either with Jesus or with the Devil. There are 100 million Bible's sold every year, nobody should be without excuse when their time comes. The devil tempts and it is up to us to choose, just like one third of the angels chose the devil before they were all cast out of heaven forever. There is too much evidence for Jesus Christ to deny him, even today people cast out demons in his name and he gives a new heart to the lost and those living in ungodly ways that repent and accept him as their saviour.

So god publishes one book, and then steps back to leave the devil in charge?
Is that not somewhat stacking the deck against humanity?

We are all supposed to be his children, is this not a cruel way to behave, particularly when the consequences are eternal?

one world order

Sandor Clegane wrote: »

I merely attacked a post in which someone claimed humans have been forever cursed because they rebelled against god, do you not see how sadistic that sounds?

Humanity forever punished because of what others from a previous time have supposedly done...for instance why should I be cursed? as I said I don't ever remember rebelling against God and proclaiming my love for Satan.

You have to ask what kind of a god would do that or set these types of rules and punishments, it's akin to the three generations of punishment rule in North Korea, totally immoral.

Sin entered this world because mankind rebelled against God and believed the lies of the devil. It is an ongoing battle to this day. You can choose to follow this broken and corrupted world that's being controlled by the devil or you can choose to trust the bible and accept what Jesus did for you.

one world order

wench wrote: »

So god publishes one book, and then steps back to leave the devil in charge?
Is that not somewhat stacking the deck against humanity?

We are all supposed to be his children, is this not a cruel way to behave, particularly when the consequences are eternal?

It's more than just a book. God plainly wrote his words to us through the holy spirit and it is up to us to seek out God. Yes the deck is stacked against humanity, the bible says the path to hell is wide and not everyone will accept the truth. Finding yourself in hell after being deceived by the world is cruel but there really should be no excuse. Jesus spoke more about hell than heaven and everyone that has heard of the gospel should know what awaits.

one world order

one world order wrote: »

Sin entered this world because mankind rebelled against God and believed the lies of the devil. It is an ongoing battle to this day. You can choose to follow this broken and corrupted world that's being controlled by the devil or you can choose to trust the bible and accept what Jesus did for you.

Just to save people some time, some quick research told me that this user believes in chemtrails, that climate change is an "agenda", that that the God particle has something to do with God, that COVID was invented in a lab, that Trump has handled COVID better than Europe and, eh, whatever this nonsense is.

Who knows what else I could find after another five minutes. Probably not worth talking any sense to this user and better to focus on OP's questions instead.

mrcheez

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

Yes, lots of people have seen atoms, there is proof of atoms there are pictures of atoms.

Please show me evidence for unicorns.

Yes but have YOU seen an atom with your naked eye?

Just as there is pictorial evidence of atoms there is similar for unicorns.

https://www.vpr.org/sites/vpr/files/201910/unicorn-istock-MadKruben.png

There is too much evidence to deny their existence, even atheists know this.

John Hutton

The "problem of evil" is a major one, but one which has been addressed, in one way or another, by almost all the major theologians and Doctors of the Church should you care to look it up OP. It is not a new problem. But it's certainly one of the big questions OP so its normal to have it and you wouldn't be much of a thinker if you didn't question this.

I can't really remember who I read from what and where but after reading about it I no longer found the problem of evil much of a "problem" at all or a barrier to belief in God.

Here are a general points in no particular order that "stuck with me" to think about:

First, evil is best understood as a privation of good.

Can "evil" and indeed "good" be properly understood, or exist, in the absence of a God? Why should Good exist?

Our life on Earth is just a very small, but important, part of our existence. You can't "judge" God solely on the basis of what happens here.

God blessed us with free will, if He forced us to "do good" it wouldn't be free will would it? (But He did give us a load of pointers, rules, help and of course the Sacraments etc. to enable and help us to do good).

If God knows all, it is perfectly logical and conceivable that "evil" is allowed to occur for ultimate good reasons that we don't, and cannot, understand. Logically, with our limited understanding of the world, and the shortness of our conception of existence on Earth, why should we expect to be able to fully discern and understand the acts of an all knowing being like God?

God wants good for us - to be joined with him in Heaven -to the extent that he sent His son to suffer and die for us. Suffering can be redemptive.

In my experience, none of the answers to the "problem of evil" positively point towards the existence of God, but merely demonstrate that the existence of evil has no bearing on Gods existence. The "problem of evil" is not one which, when engaged with, can rationally lead one to either believe or disbelieve in God. It is a more useful discussion when trying to ascertain the nature of God, rather than His existence.

I do not find the existence of God to be scary, personally.

It is my experience that people find in "nothingness" a nihilistic comfort (well, before they are on their deathbeds anyway).

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Depends on which God you mean: the vengeful judgemental one or the kind benevolent one?

mrcheez

mrcheez wrote: »

https://www.vpr.org/sites/vpr/files/201910/unicorn-istock-MadKruben.png

There is too much evidence to deny their existence, even atheists know this.

"If unicorns aren't real, how do we know what they look like?"

:pac:

Timberrrrrrrr

one world order wrote: »

It's more than just a book. God plainly wrote his words to us through the holy spirit and it is up to us to seek out God. Yes the deck is stacked against humanity, the bible says the path to hell is wide and not everyone will accept the truth. Finding yourself in hell after being deceived by the world is cruel but there really should be no excuse. Jesus spoke more about hell than heaven and everyone that has heard of the gospel should know what awaits.

God says a lot of things in the bible

"their little ones will be dashed to the ground, their pregnant women ripped open."

Then there's the whole thing about different cloths and seafood. Or are you one of those who chooses what parts of your gods words to believe.

John Hutton

I wrote a response to the OP before reading the rest of the thread. That was a mistake, can't see much worthwhile discussion taking place.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

one world order wrote: »

It's more than just a book. God plainly wrote his words to us through the holy spirit and it is up to us to seek out God. Yes the deck is stacked against humanity, the bible says the path to hell is wide and not everyone will accept the truth. Finding yourself in hell after being deceived by the world is cruel but there really should be no excuse. Jesus spoke more about hell than heaven and everyone that has heard of the gospel should know what awaits.

I disagree. The Bible is anythign but "plainly written".

Personally, I consider this to be a good thing. It was written with the intent that different people will have different interpretations and we are to debate and discuss said interpretations. I don't think the intention was ever to kill over it, obviously, but that was man's decision, not God's.

bcklschaps

one world order wrote: »

God is more powerful. We have free will to choose, we are either with Jesus or with the Devil. There are 100 million Bible's sold every year, nobody should be without excuse when their time comes. The devil tempts and it is up to us to choose, just like one third of the angels chose the devil before they were all cast out of heaven forever. There is too much evidence for Jesus Christ to deny him, even today people cast out demons in his name and he gives a new heart to the lost and those living in ungodly ways that repent and accept him as their saviour.

Some interesting documentaries on YouTube about the origins of the bible.

In summary, the bible is pretty far from being some divine text. It was clobbered together by Christian scholars in the 5th century AD.

And the editorial process ....as you can imagine.... was heavily influenced by the ideas and thinking of the time.

Bubbaclaus

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Just to save people some time, some quick research told me that this user believes in chemtrails, that climate change is an "agenda", that that the God particle has something to do with God, that COVID was invented in a lab, that Trump has handled COVID better than Europe and, eh, whatever this nonsense is.

Who knows what else I could find after another five minutes. Probably not worth talking any sense to this user and better to focus on OP's questions instead.

Wow, that is a whole pile of crazy right there.

smacl

Sandor Clegane wrote: »

I merely attacked a post in which someone claimed humans have been forever cursed because they rebelled against god, do you not see how sadistic that sounds?

Humanity forever punished because of what others from a previous time have supposedly done...for instance why should I be cursed? as I said I don't ever remember rebelling against God and proclaiming my love for Satan.

You have to ask what kind of a god would do that or set these types of rules and punishments, it's akin to the three generations of punishment rule in North Korea, totally immoral.

Mod: Fair enough and apologies, I jumped the gun here and got it wrong. Card will be reversed. Mea Culpa.

All: I've created a new sticky here for forum feedback. Any comments on moderation and what should and should not be acceptable in this forum must be posted there and not in-thread. Thanks for your attention.

screamer

I think more scary is the reality that there is no sky man there who has your back. Certainly Christian “god” gets a free card due to free will or some such bull. When you see people going through awful suffering or awful situations, you quickly come to realise that there is no God. The strength and ability to get through awful things that happens to us are within ourselves, or not. Belief in some sort of God may give comfort to some people, that they can foist their worries upwards. Personally, I’ve always had to get through and solve my own problems. The possibility of a God is not scary, life is far more scary and real.

one world order

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Just to save people some time, some quick research told me that this user believes in chemtrails, that climate change is an "agenda", that that the God particle has something to do with God, that COVID was invented in a lab, that Trump has handled COVID better than Europe and, eh, whatever this nonsense is.

Who knows what else I could find after another five minutes. Probably not worth talking any sense to this user and better to focus on OP's questions instead.

This goes alot deeper than you think. You were born into this world, most likely went through a structured education system based on note taking with no exposure to how the world is run, exposed to a mass produced media every day that's controlled by a few, watched countless films and programs that mocked God's existence and listened to countless songs that has distorted the truth.

Your so deep in this world that the possibility you have been programmed since birth to turn from God is a whole pile of crazy to you.

Do I believe climate change has an agenda to take wealth from the bottom to the top, yes. Do I believe those controlling the world are trying to make us sick, yes. Do I believe HCQ is effective against Covid and the mass produced media discredited it, yes. Is this world controlled by a few that worship Lucifer, most definitely. To you this is nonsense, but again this goes much deeper than you think.

Morgans

If there was a god, and I don't think there is, it would be scarier, as the job of work to organise a resistance to the cause of injustice in the world, just got infinitely more difficult.

Why a God who could solve the world's injustices but chooses not to is an old argument as to why he doesn't exist, not nearly as great as is supporters believe and not worthy or worship.

one world order

mrcheez wrote: »

Yes but have YOU seen an atom with your naked eye?

Just as there is pictorial evidence of atoms there is similar for unicorns.

https://www.vpr.org/sites/vpr/files/201910/unicorn-istock-MadKruben.png

There is too much evidence to deny their existence, even atheists know this.

It's interesting we have the mockers in this thread trying their best to make a joke of all that we have been warned about. Christianity is the one religion that causes the most hostility among fervent atheists. Currently in America we see churchs been burned down by the Black Lives Matter movement that are following the Devil, Bible's burned in the street, worshippers attacked by mobs as they go to church to pray.

All around the world Christians are being persecuted, and we are starting to see glimpses of it in a big western Christian nation now. Jesus always said he would return. In those last days there will have been a falling away from the church, people proud of their sin, wars and rumers of wars, earthquakes and the world in turmoil. These are called birth pains. We are in that final season now. It's up to you to follow the mockers that are trusting the world or to trust the bible which is God's word. One leads to hell and the other to salvation.

Wanderer2010

one world order wrote: »

Sin entered this world because mankind rebelled against God and believed the lies of the devil. It is an ongoing battle to this day. You can choose to follow this broken and corrupted world that's being controlled by the devil or you can choose to trust the bible and accept what Jesus did for you.

What about people who were raised with no religious beliefs or people who are Buddhists? Are those people, through no fault of their own, condemned to eternal hell because they dont accept or even recognise Jesus Christ? Thats a bit warped.

smacl

Mod: Just a quick reminder to all to show a little courtesy and respect for the beliefs of others here. I consider comparison of belief in God to belief in unicorns, referring to God as a skyman, etc... to be in direct breach of the forum charter as shown below.

Likewise, I consider sweeping generalizations about all atheists believing in God disrespectful of the stated beliefs of others and bordering on trolling.

Have the discussion, which can include questions critical of beliefs, but please make an effort to be kind and thoughtful of other posters while you do so. Any questions or comments on this to the feedback thread please.

Posts that fail to add anything to the discussion while in breach of the charter will be deleted and infracted. Thanks for your attention.

Fanny Cradock wrote: »

1. The purpose of this forum is to discuss Christian belief in general, and specific elements of it, between Christians and non-Christians alike. This forum has the additional purpose of being a point on Boards.ie where Christians may ask other Christians questions about their shared faith. In this regard, Christians should not have to defend their faith from overt or subtle attack.

smacl

bcklschaps wrote: »

Some interesting documentaries on YouTube about the origins of the bible.

In summary, the bible is pretty far from being some divine text. It was clobbered together by Christian scholars in the 5th century AD.

And the editorial process ....as you can imagine.... was heavily influenced by the ideas and thinking of the time.

Bart Ehrman's Lost Christianities makes for some good reading on this topic for those looking for a bit more depth.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

What about people who were raised with no religious beliefs or people who are Buddhists? Are those people, through no fault of their own, condemned to eternal hell because they dont accept or even recognise Jesus Christ? Thats a bit warped.

I'd argue it's the concept of Jesus rather than the man itself he refers to.

Bubbaclaus

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

What about people who were raised with no religious beliefs or people who are Buddhists? Are those people, through no fault of their own, condemned to eternal hell because they dont accept or even recognise Jesus Christ? Thats a bit warped.

If the God depicted in Christian beliefs was the leader of a country on Earth, it would be a brutal dictatorship where minorities were sent to internment camps.

listermint

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

If the God depicted in Christian beliefs was the leader of a country on Earth, it would be a brutal dictatorship where minorities were sent to internment camps.

And the inner worship circle are given jobs and lifestyles to match.

Venezuela perhaps ?

one world order

one world order wrote: »

This goes alot deeper than you think. You were born into this world, most likely went through a structured education system based on note taking with no exposure to how the world is run, exposed to a mass produced media every day that's controlled by a few, watched countless films and programs that mocked God's existence and listened to countless songs that has distorted the truth.

I'm gonna guess that this is exactly why you are Christian. You were born into a Christian society, raised by a Christian family, baptised and indoctrinated into Christianity before you even knew what the word religion meant, and have since suffered from a bad case of confirmation bias and have not tried to consider that what you learned growing up might be wrong. You certainly didn't take a more sensible approach of sitting down for a week or two when you were 18, having a read of the Bible, the Koran, the Tipitaka etc. and deciding which one makes the most sense to you. The only reason you personally believe what you believe is because it's the religion you know the most about, no other reason.

one world order wrote: »

Do I believe climate change has an agenda to take wealth from the bottom to the top, yes. Do I believe those controlling the world are trying to make us sick, yes. Do I believe HCQ is effective against Covid and the mass produced media discredited it, yes. Is this world controlled by a few that worship Lucifer, most definitely. To you this is nonsense, but again this goes much deeper than you think.

Please seek help.

one world order

one world order wrote: »

It's interesting we have the mockers in this thread trying their best to make a joke of all that we have been warned about. Christianity is the one religion that causes the most hostility among fervent atheists. Currently in America we see churchs been burned down by the Black Lives Matter movement that are following the Devil, Bible's burned in the street, worshippers attacked by mobs as they go to church to pray.

The overwhelming majority of Christians support the Black Lives Matter movement.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

one world order wrote: »

It's interesting we have the mockers in this thread trying their best to make a joke of all that we have been warned about. Christianity is the one religion that causes the most hostility among fervent atheists. Currently in America we see churchs been burned down by the Black Lives Matter movement that are following the Devil, Bible's burned in the street, worshippers attacked by mobs as they go to church to pray.

All around the world Christians are being persecuted, and we are starting to see glimpses of it in a big western Christian nation now. Jesus always said he would return. In those last days there will have been a falling away from the church, people proud of their sin, wars and rumers of wars, earthquakes and the world in turmoil. These are called birth pains. We are in that final season now. It's up to you to follow the mockers that are trusting the world or to trust the bible which is God's word. One leads to hell and the other to salvation.

Can you link to these churches that have been burnt down by BLM?

Because bearing false witness is not only a sin, it's breaking a very specific commandment.