So, this came across my social media news feed tonight:
I want to say something about the spirituality debate. You don't believe in God? That's okay, it is your right, but why is it so important for many of you to mock those of us that do? If we're wrong, what have we lost when we die? Nothing! How does our faith in Jesus Christ bring you any harm? You think it makes me gullible? Ignorant? I am okay with that, but how does that affect you? If you're wrong your consequence is far worse. I would rather live my life believing in God and serving Him, and find out I was right, than not believe in Him and not serve Him, and find out I was wrong. Then it's too late.
I believe in Jesus Christ. He said deny me in front of your friends and I will deny you in front of my Father.
If you're not ashamed copy & paste it! He is my father I will never deny my father in front of anyone even at the cost of my life.I believe in Jesus Christ. He said deny me in front of your friends and I will deny you in front of my Father.If you're not ashamed copy & paste it! He is my father I will never deny my father in front of anyone even at the cost of my life.
Here's how I responded:
I'll try to give some quick answers to the questions presented here:
"Why is it so important for many of you to mock those of us that do?"
As a non-believer ... I agree - this is 100% wrong ... that goes both ways, and believe me, with a large majority of the USA being believers, it happens a lot ... and actually it's worse than that, non-believers get discriminated against and excluded, ostracized, threatened and even attacked.
"If we're wrong, what have we lost when we die?"
It's not what you lose when you die ... it's what you lose while you live! Time - going to church, praying etc. Money through tithe. And piece of mind worrying about whether your most recent (or any) "sin" is "forgivable" but your deity ... for non-believers, everything is forgivable ... but what we non-believers can't shake is our responsibilities for our actions - and we wouldn't have it any other way - no scapegoats for us to heap our "sins" on so we choose to live in a way to minimize harming others because that responsibility is ours to live with until the day we die/
"How does our faith in Jesus Christ bring you any harm?"
Directly? - it doesn't. But depending on which sect you follow and how strictly you follow it, many of the believing majority try to legislate (create civil law) that affects the freedoms of non-believers and people who follow other religions ... and no, I'm not talking about being able to "sin" ... laws like trying to put compulsory prayer into schools, trying to rewrite science books to align with biblical stories that don't have evidence to support those stories. ... to name a couple obvious ones.
"You think it makes me gullible? Ignorant?"
No! Like me, I was indoctrinated from birth as were my parents and their parents before them. For over 40 years I believed without question - but as I got older and information/research became easier and more accessible and the science became better - some things didn't add up at a point and I HAD to have answers that made sense. Science provides those answers and many of those answers directly contradict what the religion(s) teach ...
"How does that affect you?"
Again, not directly - but again, if your preacher tells you something is a "sin" or someone is a "sinner", it can affect how you think of some otherwise good and decent people - like, say, a non-believer, who may be a good, honorable and trustworthy citizen and/or friend ... an again, it can influence your vote which indirectly affects those who don't believe as you do if your chosen candidate has an agenda with a religious foundation. That said, gullibility and ignorance aren't exclusive to the religious ... there are more than a few non-believers who display these traits
"If you're wrong your consequence is far worse."
Again, I believed for over 40 years. I didn't seek out an excuse to disbelieve, the evidence just didn't add up to what we see in an objective reality. Many f us non-believers were ragged kicking and screaming away from our beliefs by the overwhelming contradictory objective evidence ... an the utter lack of supporting evidence for just about anything in the bible (excluding some names and locations). And, exactly what are those "consequences"? Which religion and/or sect within that religion correctly outlines those "consequences"? And how can we objectively determine that there is a place (Hell) where these are carried out.
If I am forced to endure consequences because I used the tools/brain the hypothesized God gave me to use all my senses and follow objective testable evidence and I HONESTLY, in my head and heart could not "find" God. Then if God thinks I'm :worthy" of punishment, then so be it - and I'll happily take it - because I know ... and more importantly, this God should know ... that I did everything in my power to find him and it was HE who chose no to show himself. And if that's how he operates, he's simply not worthy of my allegiance. God "knows" what it would take to make me "believe" and to date, he has purposely chosen not to show me. He showed Paul, Moses, Abraham and many many others ... at any time he could choose to show me ... I'm happy to amend my beliefs if I'm given sufficient evidence.
Thanks
I'm curious to hear better, more refined answers, explanations and critiques - what I got right/wrong etc.
