What I don’t understand about Christianity

StarSong said:
It's very hard to reconcile the concept of an interested, micro-managing, all-powerful, all-loving God with the horrors of the holocaust.
Micro-managing, you ask? Why would I say that? Here's why: How many times have we seen news clips of families clinging to their children, proclaiming, "God saved my child from that school shooter!" and preachers loudly praising God after XYZ disasters. ("40 homes destroyed in the tornado, only 12 dead, thank God it wasn't worse...") Let me get this straight: He "saves" some in those shootings/natural disasters (while allowing dozens of others to die), but declines a little early tweaking when Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin, and others began their murdering rampages? What about arranging a crib death or aggressive case of the flu, automobile accident, or malfunctioning weapons? Better yet, setting up some situations that would turn those hearts from these horrific actions.
How about arranging a big hoedown on the other side of town so people would fortuitously be where the tornado isn't going to hit?
God seems surprisingly laissez-faire about the fates of this planet and its inhabitants, especially given His (supposed) deep early involvement.
Just sayin'.

p.s. Nobody would be happier than me to have Him show up and set things on a better path.
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Excellent points, I've often wondered that why an entity, powerful enough to create all we see and know, would be offended by us eating meat on Friday. I'm often perplexed by the thought process of the one who escapes a natural or man made disaster and then proudly proclaims that "God was watching over for me" never mind the others that perished, he was watching over ME!
 
StarSong said:
It's very hard to reconcile the concept of an interested, micro-managing, all-powerful, all-loving God with the horrors of the holocaust.

Micro-managing, you ask? Why would I say that? Here's why: How many times have we seen news clips of families clinging to their children, proclaiming, "God saved my child from that school shooter!" and preachers loudly praising God after XYZ disasters. ("40 homes destroyed in the tornado, only 12 dead, thank God it wasn't worse...")

Let me get this straight: He "saves" some in those shootings/natural disasters (while allowing dozens of others to die), but declines a little early tweaking when Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin, and others began their murdering rampages? What about arranging a crib death or aggressive case of the flu, automobile accident, or malfunctioning weapons? Better yet, setting up some situations that would turn those hearts from these horrific actions.

How about arranging a big hoedown on the other side of town so people would fortuitously be where the tornado isn't going to hit?

God seems surprisingly laissez-faire about the fates of this planet and its inhabitants, especially given His (supposed) deep early involvement.

Just sayin'.

p.s. Nobody would be happier than me to have Him show up and set things on a better path.
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I've been haunted by some of the same questions. Maybe not quite the same, but similar. In fact, I posted something about that last Tuesday in the thread "Should God answer your prayers?" -> "How they are answered is up to him. I often wonder why some Christians die from a tornado, when praying for safety during the storm, but there is a verse that says "The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all." [Ecclesiastes 2:14 KJV] Believers aren't insulated from the misfortunes of life. If that were the case, all would go well only for those of faith."
 
StarSong said:
It's very hard to reconcile the concept of an interested, micro-managing, all-powerful, all-loving God with the horrors of the holocaust.
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Don't forget all-evil Satan and man's Sin. But I don't have all the answers for why God allows some unfair sad things to happen to good people. But prophecy tells us the holocaust victims will live for eternity and return back on a new earth that is perfect and beautiful where there is no evil. Just peace and harmony for eternity. The Bible does list over 50 scripture verses that tell why bad things happen to good people.
 
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I've often wondered, with all the omnipotence ascribed to God, why the devil remains an issue. Why doesn't God just smite him? Could this be likened to the eternal paradox: "what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?"
 
I listen to "Jesus music" a good part of every day. I also like the way Jesus showed us how to die in a painful way crucified on a Cross. He never complained or blamed anyone. I follow Jesus because His Way is the example we should all follow in life and in death. I believe he was all HUMAN and that no such thing as "God" exists.
 
Rich said:
Much of science as we know it today is based on verifiable evidence.
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If we were to put our knowledge on a scale, there is more we do not know than of that we do know.

I enjoy the conversation, but we are a bit like a truck stuck in the mud. Tires are spinning, mud is being flung all over the place, but we're not getting any where.
 
Mitch86 said:
He never complained or blamed anyone.
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Not according to the bible.

The scripture phrase "Why have you forsaken me?" (or "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?") appears in both Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 as Jesus's cry on the cross. It is also the opening line of Psalm 22.
 
Maybe DNA in every living thing proves the whole things just an experiment.
Most likely every galaxi has a living planet in it with the same experiments going on.
Life, a free choice to choose. Watch how a Flower begging life root and shoot
will fight to get to sunlight, thru ground cover. Pretty smart, just a thought.
The point is Life is a struggle and hasn't a chance with too much radiation, most likely!

All living things have the intelligence to struggle for survival.
A huge Hickory tree will bend past 40 degrees up a hill to get sunlight.
All Life knows how to survive, experiments of following generations upon many more,
just gets tougher on survival, not easier, well are my thoughts.

You pray and find a quiet place and refigure stuff out. Thas it.
There ain't no beautiful guy out there kissing your arss.

Maybe its just in your DNA, the primal tinny little hissing ball of energy, a Fuzzyball. Lol ... :ROFLMAO: ...

Once you die, that unique DNA will start to decay. It may take tens of thousands of years, but eventually it will be gone. Your DNA won’t last forever. Of course this is only true for your complete set of DNA. Pieces of it will be floating in the gene pool long after you're gone.
 
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Gardenlover said:
If we were to put our knowledge on a scale, there is more we do not know than of that we do know.

I enjoy the conversation, but we are a bit like a truck stuck in the mud. Tires are spinning, mud is being flung all over the place, but we're not getting any where.
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I think the various posts do help, in the sense that people get to express opinions that they don't normally get to. I say opinions because IMO absolute fact isn't possible for this topic.
 
Knight said:
Not according to the bible.

The scripture phrase "Why have you forsaken me?" (or "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?") appears in both Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 as Jesus's cry on the cross. It is also the opening line of Psalm 22.
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This was fully explained earlier in my Post#41 where PapaTiger also brought up "Why have you forsaken me?" and Mitch is correct.
I responded with an explanation that explains that Jesus was not complaining nor blaming anyone. And then Who_So_Ever added some further explanation with mine. Check it out #41
 
Lara said:
No. It's been taken out of context. Centuries earlier, in Psalm 22 King David wrote "Why hast you forsaken me". Then, while Jesus was on the cross He remembered King David's words from Psalm 22 and used it for a different purpose Like when a preacher today says, “Remember the words of Psalm 22.” As Jesus took on Himself the sins of all humankind, He acknowledged feeling abandoned by the Father, yet, like David, He still trusted in God. He knew that He was fulfilling God’s purpose by laying down His life: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus believed that God would not forsake Him in that endeavor.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” With these words, Jesus also beckoned His followers to make the connection and recognize Psalm 22’s prophetic implications. David had seen down through history to vividly portray the Messiah’s crucifixion (see verses 7, 14–18). Thus, in calling attention to the psalm, Jesus showed once again that He Himself was the fulfillment of Old Testament Scripture.

Click on highlighted blue for further information for clarity if you want.
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I read your post #41 & the reference to Psalm22

Beyond Suffering: Hope and Restoration
What sets Psalm 22 apart from other lament psalms is its trajectory toward hope. Understanding this transition can offer powerful encouragement for those navigating their paths through grief. It posits the idea that suffering is not the end; instead, it is often the beginning of a new chapter filled with hope and restoration.

Assumption of fact that suffering isn't the end because he knew that he was fulfilling God’s purpose IMO failed miserably.

As I've posted what one believes or doesn't believe, doesn't matter because there is no way to prove one way or the other what happens after death. For me it's interesting to question.

At least you try to provide insight.

Questions
Do you think the horrible death of being nailed to a cross death made a difference?

Has hope & restoration been achieved?
 
Lara said:
To challenge us, test our patience, use our wisdom and knowledge, enjoy our accomplishments, use our discernment, use work ethics, fortitude to strengthen our will and courage, to practice self-control, etc. Our Creator didn't want to create a bunch of robots to do everything for us. He gave us a brain for a reason and wants us to exercise it.
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That's why we're creating our own robots and AI today. 🤣😂🤣🤣
 
I have personally watched plant life roots, struggle, near 3/4" diameter pass 5 inches in near surface ground but under cover to reach an open space! It Pops up into the sun and blasts out with amazing 5' tall flowering mid july plants. My beliefs, incredible desire to live.
 
Of course it was rape and Pillage. What you think we are all about, Kiss arssing?

MSN

Sure it went both ways. My club stronger than your spear at close range. Thas a no brainer.
Men and boys, well 14 year old boys, haha, Wild ladies looking for love?

No reference of a beautiful guy leading them to righteousness then either. DNA! Survival of the fittest. thas a fact!
There are tons of examples of the mighty intending to steal the good stuff from the weak. Thas a fact Jack,
 
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Do you mind! ..... comes into focus here, ... (The Three Stooges.)


MSN

Dogs understand words and gestures.
Humans many 10's of 1000's of years in the past, the same. Language is about understanding. Not some smart-ass phrase.
Humans went to hell when they started keeping legers and half ass papyrus words written on them. Haha
 
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Mr. Ed said:
Right away they tell you, you are flawed, dirty and sinful. The remedy is Jesus Christ, to be like him. Rather than recognizing a persons individual assets you must tailor your life after Jesus. First of all not even identical twins are exactly a like so how is it that Christian’s should subscribe to be like Jesus?

Perhaps to be like Jesus is to have the faith of Jesus and not the actual person? Faith is a mystery to me. I cannot force myself to believe in things so hypothetically impossible no matter how much I try, when logically speaking the context is so emphatically impossible such as the rapture of believers meeting Jesus in the sky, or the concepts of sin, heaven and hell as incentives to surrender yourself to Jesus.

Maybe people need religion including Christianity because they are told from day one that they are incapable of caring for themselves, that you must rely on powers greater than your own in order to survive. So it is with religion and Christianity, instead of teaching humans how to be self-sufficient, religion capitalizes on human weakness by persuading people into believing they are insufficient without god. How convenient that religion has the answers to all of mankind’s problems, even those created by religion if you have the faith to sustain the power religion has over you.

I recall when I first questioned the validity of religion, when in actuality I questioned my parents motive for forcing me to be like them, scared to live their life outside the jurisdiction of church and religion. It has taken me a lifetime to sort through the BS of religion and becoming my own person. This is why I am adamant in teaching people to question everything because what you believe is who you are, perhaps if given a choice you might realize that you have been fooled like many others including myself.
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I think you already gave the answer. You didn't quit with your traumatic experience as a child yet.
Get over it and live your life.

I was baptized and raised as a Roman Catholic. My parents went to the service with me but they never forced me.

By reading much about Ecclesiastical history and later Ecclesiastical law I became more questioning the system, left church 40 years ago to become an agnostic and later an atheist.

But I never wanted to persuade people of my attitude towards religion. The whole topic is not of interest anymore for me since I left the church.
 
George1959 said:
I think you already gave the answer. You didn't quit with your traumatic experience as a child yet.
Get over it and live your life.

I was baptized and raised as a Roman Catholic. My parents went to the service with me but they never forced me.

By reading much about Ecclesiastical history and later Ecclesiastical law I became more questioning the system, left church 40 years ago to become an agnostic and later an atheist.

But I never wanted to persuade people of my attitude towards religion. The whole topic is not of interest anymore for me since I left the church.
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It can begin by questioning and discarding the most outlandish religious claims first, but still trying to make room for a less mysterious god. But the more one tries to approach the issue through logic, the more make believe it becomes. It's easy to get trapped in that state of trying to understand. Not just trying to understand God, but trying to understand why others are so caught up in it, especially if one needs to have a secret need for a higher being in their lives.

In my journey, I was surprised at how many of my friends were atheists, but never bothered mentioning it because it was of no interest to them. When I finally came out of the religious closet, I expected people to be as amazed about my new enlightenment as I was, but most of them just looked at me like, "Why would you believe any of that in the first place?" I was neither congratulated on having found my way, or welcomed into reality. But I do understand being trapped in that transition phase between fantasy and the reality that awaits us.

I very much enjoyed your post.
 

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