PHXwet

What do you guys think would happen, on a global scale, if Christian extremists flew planes into the Burj Khalifa? I'm no hate monger and I'm against violence, but admit it, it would be pretty cool to see such a gigantic building fall.

As an atheist, I have a hard time understanding the concept of the soul. I know what it is, as how when you die your soul is supposed to live on, but I don't quite understand how it works for people who believe in souls. My mother said that she could feel her soul sometimes, like when my grandma died she felt "pain in her soul". Do all religious people have this concept of an actual soul in your body/mind, or is it more of a metaphor for your life?

Lately, I've been seeing things very strangely. I don't actually believe these thoughts but it's kind of funny to think about. I may have lost my empathy for people but I find it harder and harder to look at someone and imagine physically/mentally being them or walking in their shoes. A few days ago I thought that maybe other people only exist when I interact with them, and do not exist without my presence. As in the universe literally revolves around me and my perspective. It's a very self-absorbed thought but still.

This is to any religious person that wants to ask a question to provoke debates. There is no set of values/qualities that ties all atheists together as in religious groups. I feel that many questions here think of all atheists as "Anti-God Scientists", when there are atheists that are very spiritual like Buddhists. I guess this isn't really a question.......So what's your favorite color?

I understand that crucifixion is a terribly painful way to die, but I'm tired of all these Christians calling me ungrateful and saying that he died for my sins and he suffered for me. He was executed, end of story. Anybody know the story of Spartacus? Thousands of people died from this method back then, but it was Jesus that died for ME. Anyone else feel this way?

That ban atheists, agnostics, and homosexuals from the organization. Personally, I think that this is disgusting and they might as well ban minorities and the poor while they're at it.

Okay, I'm an atheist and every time something bad or even tragic happens to me or my family, friends and strangers always start saying that God will help me and that my uncle is in heaven now and so on. I know they mean well and I'm thankful but sometimes it makes me really uncomfortable, and it's not any secret that I don't believe in God. Anybody else feel the same way?

Honestly, the old bible is outdated and Christians don't even believe have the stuff of their own "Word of God" or pretend to claim some of it as literal or metaphor. You should just update your belief system and factor in science. You can say that is blasphemy or what not because the bible is holy and is the word of god, but personally, I believe that if your religion wants to last another 200 years you will have to make some serious changes. Modern religions are very fragile because they are based off of old scripture, ignorant of the future. For instance, we know that the world is not 6,000 years old. For us to get along religions must change their teachings to become more tolerant.

Personally, I believe that he probably did exist, of course just as a man though. What do you think? And Christians there really isn't a need to answer this because your opinion is obvious lol

And the only thing that floats when it is more dense (when it becomes ice). Which is why God had to create it.

Source(s):

Catholic

Here's the photographic evidence!!!!

http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2008/09/icebergREX_45...

Dear people of all religious/nonreligious world beliefs. I ask of you to not use the terms "know" and "true" for all these obviously unprovable statements. Not to mention it is incredibly arrogant and rude to say "I know my religion is the one true religion and all others are false", and "I know that God doesn't exist". You can strongly believe all you want, but you cannot know. Does this really annoy anyone or is it just me?

It is known that none of the Bible authors were well educated and it is believed that they were quite stupid, hence the contradictions and such. But here's the thing, why would God inspire the dumbest people sitting in a desert to write these myths when he could easily go to the educated Romans or Chinese? And did God really hate women or was it just the fact that the bible was written purely by men who wanted to force their ideals into the new religion.

If you are a true Christian then you believe that the bible is God's word right? Then why do you believe that God is perfect, omniscient and almighty? If God is the one that said those things about himself, couldn't he be lying? That would also mean that there is no reason to think that Satan is evil because the bible is only God's point of view, and in his arrogance and boasting he would never admit that Satan had a point. If you say that you know God is good because it says so in the bible, what makes it true? What if God is just an asshole and Jesus isn't real? That would make the lack of proof and evidence in any miracles and of Heaven and Hell. If theses writers were true in their beliefs, it is likely, that they were convinced by someone that that person was God. Just have people have been convinced of divinity, time and time again. We see the same thing with Moses, Muhammad, and almost any ancient monarch.

There is a popular story about Christianity completely copying the Egyptian myth of Horus, the son of Osiris. But here's another thought? What if the son of God was born in every civilization, during different times, to give everyone a chance at being saved but only Christianity prevailed as the true believers and all the other cultures failed to recognize him. I'm atheist by the way, but I still think it would be an interesting theory for Christians.

When a fellow Christian claims that God/Jesus came to them and spoke to them in person, telling them to do something. Do you believe that it actually happened, or are you skeptical of it? If you are skeptical than you can understand one's atheism.

I keep telling him to "come at me bro", and fight me but he is too much of a pussy to even show up. Alright before you think I'm trolling I actually have a point here though. How come God doesn't come down for visits anymore like he did in the bible? in the bible, people challenged God and such, and god would get pissed and do some terrible stuff like kill almost everyone on the planet. Why doesn't he just strike every atheist down now? It would be much easier than throwing them in hell, which translated properly shows it isn't really in the afterlife.

I don't understand how ANY women can be Christian, Muslim, or Jewish. The bible/Koran, completely HATES women and finds every opportunity to dehumanize them, and promote radical patriarchy. Just look how women are treated in many countries in the middle east today. Christian women are lucky that western culture came to its senses years ago. I can flip to any page in the bible and find this.

1. In the Bible's book of Deuteronomy it says that if a man marries a woman and then decides that he hates her, he can claim she wasn't a virgin when they married. At that point her father must prove she was a virgin. (How is not explained.) If he can't, then the girl is to be stoned to death at her father's doorstep.

2. If you see a pretty woman among your captives and would like her for a wife, then bring her home and "go in unto her." Later, if you decide you don't like her, you can simply "let her go." (Deuteronomy)

3. If a betrothed virgin is raped in the city and doesn't cry out loud enough, then "the men of the city shall stone her to death." (Deuteronomy)

4. In the book of Esther the king apparently decrees a sex contest among young virgin women to see who can best please him. (There is debate on how.) He eventually chooses Esther. However, since women are viewed as inherently dirty, Esther must be "purified" for twelve months before she can be made queen. (Esther)

5. Paul points out in New Testament Romans that "the natural use" of women is to provide men with sex. (Romans)

Just found this: But what is this "hell" where souls can be destroyed? In Matthew 10:28, the Greek word translated as "hell" is gehenna, derived from the Hebrew expression ge hinnom—a reference to the valley of Hinnom to the south of Jerusalem. Anciently, the valley of Hinnom was used as a place to dump Jerusalem's trash. Fires burned continuously and fed on the city's garbage, which included the dead bodies of condemned criminals. As a result, "Gehenna" became a symbol of judgment associated with fire. This same word was also used in Matthew 5:22, when Jesus said: "But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire"—Gehenna fire.

Yes, unrepentant sinners will be cast into a lake of fire. Gehenna fire is a reference to this final fate of the wicked.

Does this mean, then, that hell is a valley to the south of Jerusalem? Yes, in one sense the valley of Hinnom is "hell" as described in the Bible. But in another sense the word "hell" can be misleading, because there are actually three Greek words, and one Hebrew word, which your English-language Bible translates as "hell." Gehenna is just one of the four. Many Bible students become confused by the different references to "hell" and their different meanings. There are four words for "hell" in your Bible, with three different meanings. To properly understand the Bible's teaching about hell, you must first ask, "Which hell are we talking about?"

The Hebrew word that your King James Version often translates as "hell" is sheol—which simply means "grave" or "pit." It does not denote a place of ever-burning fire. This word occurs 65 times in the Old Testament, and is translated 31 times as "grave," another 31 times as "hell" and three times as "pit." The New International Version of the Bible always translates sheol as "grave"—never as "hell." The word sheol simply means a "pit" or a "grave."

So, if we ask, "Who is burning in sheol (the pit, or the grave)?" the answer is: No one!

In addition to gehenna, which we discussed above, two other Greek words are translated as "hell" in your Bible. The Greek word hades, like the Hebrew sheol, simply means "grave" or "pit." It does not mean a place of ever-burning fire. If you have a copy of the New King James Version, or the New International Version, you will see that the translators often leave the word hades untranslated.

The fourth word translated as "hell" in your Bible is based on the Greek word tartarus. This word denotes a condition of restraint, and it applies not to human beings, but rather to fallen angels. Notice: "God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment" (2 Peter 2:4).

As one scholarly source explains: "The verb tartaroo, translated 'cast down to hell' in 2 Pet. 2:4, signifies to consign to Tartarus, which is neither Sheol nor hades nor hell, but the place where those angels whose special sin is referred to in that passage are confined 'to be reserved unto judgment'; the region is described as 'pits of darkness.'" (An Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, W.E. Vine, p. 300).

If you are a true Christian, or devout muslim or what have you, why are so many religious people deeply offended by the words of an atheist or a secular decision in the school system? Because the bible/Koran/anything has absolutely no proof at all, expect criticism and if you are a believer you shouldn't be affected. Religion should not have priority when it comes to criticism. People hold it in a special place where you're "not allowed" to say anything bad about it, yet at the same time it is okay to publicly bash atheism and it won't get media attention.

A lot of Christians and Muslims say that atheists have no purpose in life, should burn, and have a meaningless existence. Well technically, isn't the whole meaning of life for Christians is to be a slave? Honestly, God created you for the sole purpose of praising him and obeying him, and the only reason we even have free will is because we got it from Satan! I would rather have no meaning other than to reproduce than to be an eternal slave.