Let Your Heart Lead the Way

I have debated a long list of Christians. Some of the debates took place through e-mails, others were on Facebook and more recently they have been on Twitter. The debates can be as short as a few Twitter messages or as long as a few months of lengthy e-mails. While the beginning and middle of the debates vary the end is usually the same. They will explain to me that they understood my points, but that they know in their heart that God is real.

The idea of letting your feelings make big decisions is crazy. A scientist couldn't get his new medication pass the FDA by only saying, "I know in my heart that his medication will work great and isn't dangerous." The FDA would ask for evidence to back up this statement. A lawyer couldn't free his client by simply stating, "I know my client is not guilty because I can feel it in my heart." The judge, like the FDA in the previous example, would also require evidence. Our lives should be based on evidence not the warm and fuzzy feelings that we experience.

When the Bible was written people didn't know much about the brain which is why the Bible is filled with the idea that you think and believe things with your heart. This lack of knowledge has also lead to phrases like "I love you with all of my heart" to be part of our language. An all knowing god would have known about the brain and would not have misled his followers about the body he created. Although, there are so many things wrong with our bodies I can see why an all-powerful god wouldn't want to brag.

I know that many Christians say that everything around us proves God exists. However, through scientific discoveries we can explain how our earth came to be and shows that God isn't necessary for any of it. I know this doesn't mean that we can say with 100% certainty that there is not a god. However, there is enough evidence to feel comfortable living as if there isn't. Just as Christians live as if the all the other gods don't exist.

"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours" -- Stephen Roberts

Give Credit Where Credit Is Due!

Try and wrap your mind around this insane cycle: God creates a problem, sends someone to fix that problem, and then demands that he is praised for that problem, which he created, being solved. If your brain hasn't exploded here is another thing to think about which god should be thanked? If you are thinking that is a stupid question because your god is the only true god, you need to realize that almost every religion believes that. You can't all be right, but you can all be wrong.

Growing up when I would do well on a test I usually wouldn't share it with anyone at church, because it irritated me when they would say "praise the Lord!" Each time I heard that I had to remind myself to smile and agree with them, because I really wanted to tell them how hard I worked to do well on that test. Also, I would think about how God has so many other problems to work on that are far greater than my exam. There were even times that I prayed to ask God to help those in 3rd world countries instead of helping me with my test, because I knew that I had studied really hard and was going to be fine. I had been taught that God could do an infinite number of things at a time, but I guess I figured that if he didn't have to help me he could do the rest of the things he had to do just a little better.

When I was a Christian I always made a point of thanking people for the things that they did before I thanked God for sending them to help me. I did that because I knew how much I hated when people would pray out loud and thank God for fixing problems that I fixed or someone I knew fixed. As an atheist I wonder if there are religious people that have really low self-esteem because they hear others thanking God for things that they did leading them to think that everything they do is just God working through them and that they are incapable of doing anything on their own.

I remember hearing sermons about how if we didn't thank God he might think that we don't appreciate him and he might just stop helping us to teach us how much we really do need him. Jealousy, anger, and spitefulness are all basic human emotions. These however, are not emotions that an all powerful god should have.

When Tragedy Strikes

I have never understood how people facing a horrible tragedy, such as a death of a family member or a terrible car accident, could say "this is all part of God's plan." If God is all-powerful and all-knowing couldn't he get his plan accomplished without killing or hurting people? In kindergarten I was taught that you can't kick and scream until you get your way, instead you have to use your words. So, today I am going to use my words to explain how there isn't a deity that is controlling all the tragedies that happen to everyone.

Growing up I heard over and over that God places obstacles in our life to test us and to bring us closer to him. Think about that statement for a second, this all-knowing all-powerful deity places problems in our lives to make our relationship with him stronger. Doesn't this sound a lot like how seven year old boys treat the girls that they like? If an adult tried to strengthen his relationship with another person this way they would either be in a mental institution or prison. So, why would a God that is supposed to be so much smarter than we are act this way?

One reason why some think that God allows tragedies to happen is because of the fall of man in the garden of Eden. The fall of man doesn't make any sense though when you really look at it. Let's say today a man robbed a bank we would just arrest the man involved in the robbery and not his son, who had nothing to do with the robbery. This idea of punishing children for the sins of the father however was normal when the Bible was written, but an all-knowing God should realize that this is absurd.

The idea that a tragedy is all part of God's perfect plan is echoed through out the Christian community quite a bit. This idea is back by the idea that God is omniscient. If you take one look at the Bible, that says God wrote it through men, it is clear that God isn't omniscient at all. The Bible is riddled with contradictions (http://tinyurl.com/2u9dljw), inaccurate scientific information (http://tinyurl.com/37zk4aw), and absurdities (http://tinyurl.com/6xvpgw).

With all of this information and more I feel that everyone goes through hard times just because accidents happen, people get sick, and so forth, but with the help of our families and friends we will get through hard times.