What are the most common and/or the strongest arguments you have encountered against belief in God and belief that He created the universe and life? (Questions that you have had, heard, or been asked.) And how did you answer those questions or did you find an answer?
What kind of God would condemn to hell a person who never asked to be created (i.e., to exist) in the first place? (Answer is a little longer than the question, of course)
If there were really an all-good, all-powerful God, wouldn't the world be better than it is now? (The response isn't difficult to come up with, but accepting it is, even for me sometimes.)
yeah, i've really been thinkin about it a lot. and i really feel the need for a fresh start. this whole boy thing has really..well...i can't think of a very good adjective. demolished me. thats pretty close.
Ok I knew she was going to send you some but that was fast!! No not yeat I'm going to get some for it though. I justed learned how to ue the computer thing at Wal-Mart the other day!
The problem of evil is probably the hardest hitting attack on God. Its easy to see the use of evil happening to people in certain situations, but the kind of no-ending evil falling upon those who have already been refined or are quite innocent is seems excessive for God who "is love." It is difficult to answer the question in a way that is emotionally satisfying. Even if one starts, and quite appropriately, with the fact that hardships often have a refining value, there are still many cases where people just plain get killed and there seems to be no refinement happening. Or people who are already quite decent get abused and become so mentally deranged that they became emotionally dysfunctional, etc. Thats tough. But I think we can only find the justification and reconciliation of such atrocities in the future. The question is whether or not we have evidence to believe that there is a loving God and that he will bring reconciliation in the future in a way he hasn't in the past. I think we do.
Additionally, if one feels that God doesn't care and doesn't intervene, its a small step to say he doesn't exist at all. After all, practically we would feel this is true. A God who doesn't care might as well not even be there. I think believing that God is love is the most important belief of all to hold and defend. And the reason is because all hope for the future is tied to that belief. Aside from the problem of evil, just the fact that we live in a world that seems so mechanical and yet randomized in its ongoings (unplanned frustrations caused by everyday mundane chain reactions?) could easily lead to believing that God doesn't care, promoting a sort of apathy that is practically synonymous with "God isn't there." An uncaring God seems like one we can forget or simply ignore into non-existence. I think the only medicine for this is to introspect and consider the things that do evidence God's love or interecession in history and our own lives. Even if these bedrock moments of love seem like mere islands on a sea of utter abandonement, the evidence cannot be insignificance. Rather, it calls us to faith and justifies us in looking to the future for the culmination of God's love.
One of the strongest arguments I'm aware of centers on the shear vastness of the universe and the notion that surely we cannon be the only intelligent life within it. This stems from there being roughly 200 billion stars in the milky way, which is just one of about 200 billion galaxies that have been observed by humans (mostly with the hubble, but many have been discovered with earth-based instruments).
Just tell me to shut up if this is more than you cared to know. So with that many stars in the universe, some people find it hard to believe that we're the only intelligent life. Many of those same people also know enough about the concept of Christ dying once for all that they can't harmonize the gospel with the notion of there being multiple planetary civilizations in existence.
This gets pretty deep in a hurry, but there are several Christian astronomers and astrophysicists who have written volumes showing how the Earth and it's solar system are truly rare in the universe. It's called the anthropic principal, the notion that Earth and it's inhabitants are the result of such a finely tuned system that it could only have been designed by a higher intelligence.
If you consider everything that was necessary for life to survive on Earth, which by the way is a very long list of finely tuned factors, you end up having to acknowledge that perhaps 0.01% of all solar systems in the universe might be suitable for life to survive. But even that completely ignores the fact that no biologist anywhere at any time has been able to come up with a scenario in which life springs into being simply because the proper amino acids and protiens were present.
You can come crunch through our leaves with our dog. You're in Nashville, right? We're in Columbia...just an hour drive. It'd be good to see you again :)
I'm tired of McCain's socialist anti-free market responses to the economic crisis (among many other things I don't like about him). I think I'll vote for the Constitution Party candidate, Chuck Baldwin.
I knew you'd have impeccable reasoning :) I understand what your saying, and with all of that in mind, I'd say go for it. Not that I could have stopped you anyway ;)
Sounsd productive and great! I went to a state fair, a singing, and a soccer game. I then bought and watched "Iron Man" and made homemade pizza. Good times :)
awwww:) I need to call you still-life's been crazy lately. as usual, i guess! yeah, I thought about making that donation, but i haven't made up my mind yet. i'm glad you're doing it!
So glad you asked. Soluable fiber keeps you regular and insoluable fiber goes into solution in the bloodstream and grabs hold of the sticky cholesterol and takes it out of your body. Apples, oates, and corn have both.
How have you been doing lately? Anything new? Btw, we really had so much fun with you all on the General Jackson--I'm so glad you all could come. I don't care what mom says--I say we canoe next time!
