Christian Talking Points: a laundry list

Question from Chris:
I am just curious, if you dont believe in God, then what is the whole point of your life, and how did we all get here, we just suddenly appeared, I have never been brainwashed as to some people on this forum are saying, but your forum actually proves that there is a God just by the simple fact that an Atheist exists, the bible clearly says that there will be people who say there is no God, and will deny His Existence, One day weather you believe in God or not you will stand before God and if you believe in Him you will bow down in reverence and if you dont you will bow in fear, God loves you and wants you to love Him Back.

Answer by SmartLX:
Chris, you’ve managed to re-ask more questions we’ve already answered in a single post than anyone who’s ever written in. My answer will therefore read more like an index.

On the subject of purpose and meaning in life: see this list of pieces with the keyword “purpose”. We all decide the “point” of our own lives, whether we throw in with the demands of a religion or we strike out on our own.

On the subject of how we all came to be here, see these pieces on “origins” and these on “evolution” (over several pages). The idea that humans “suddenly appeared” is as far from the truth as you can get.

On the subject of possible brainwashing, see the pieces on “indoctrination”. There are many ways to bring people to belief, and though many (such as childhood indoctrination) are in some sense forcible, not all of them are. I wouldn’t dare to guess at your particular circumstances.

On the subject of Biblical prophecy, see my main piece on prophecies. The prediction that not everyone in the whole world would agree that there’s a God falls into the first category, High Probability of Success. Anyone could have guessed that at the time the Bible was written, or at any other time. It’s hardly a clear-cut case of divine foreknowledge.

On the subject of trying to frighten non-believers with the idea that they might be wrong (and that your specific beliefs might also be right, which is equally crucial), see the pieces which touch on “Pascal’s Wager”. You can’t scare someone with something they don’t think is there and, despite popular evangelical opinion, every atheist isn’t really a theist in denial.

Finally, I haven’t done a piece on God’s love yet, likely because it’s a theological topic which is moot until the existence of God is established. I’ll just say that if God exists and regularly sends people he loves to Hell, His love is worthless anyway.

The search field in the top right corner of the site is very useful for determining whether someone has already asked the questions you have in mind, so remember that for next time.

2 thoughts on “Christian Talking Points: a laundry list”

  1. I always love the “god exists because there are Atheists” line, seriously, how can ANYBODY (including the person stating it) take it seriously? I do NOT believe there are 42 moons in orbit around the planet Earth, does that therefore /prove/ there are 41 moons we haven’t noticed? Ridiculous!

  2. Just a thought …
    Since I was born into a Hindu family, maybe I should be following Hindu books/ scripture. Well, below is what the Rig Veda (one of the four vedas that are considered to be the central texts of Hindu philosophy) has to say about creation and god(s):

    “Who really knows, and who can swear,
    How creation came, when or where!
    Even gods/ messiahs came after creation’s day,
    Who really knows, who can truly say
    When and how did creation start?
    Did He do it? Or did He not?
    Only He, up there, knows, maybe;
    Or perhaps, not even He.”

    Since you too are referring to a book (presumably the bible) to claim the truth of what you are saying, my question to you is – how do we know which book is correct – yours or mine?
    Mine seems to say even “He” probably does not know where creation came from. Maybe “He” did not do it, maybe he does not know.
    The idea of a clueless God seems to fit creation better than one who has a clue … so if I have to bet on a book, I am betting on the Vedas.
    (Notice how betting on books draws lines and puts all reasoning out in the trash-bin. That’s the history of religion explain in a nutshell).

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