And for the sake of argument, let's say it is a liberal Christian God that you found out really existed. Let's say he made himself fully known to you. Would you be discouraged or encouraged, disappointed or pleasantly surprised?
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Favorite Answer
Well I would be slightly glad, but then I would be disappointed if I could not ask this god a few questions.
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This all depends on how you define "god".
A loving, just, merciful God? Sure--pleasantly surprised.
OR, the capricious and monstrous being in the Bible who killed every man woman and child in a flood, who turned poor Lot's wife into a pillar of salt merely for looking back, the God who killed the innocent children of Egypt, who burns people in everlasting torment just for doubting his existence? Then I would be terrified, and so should every other thinking being.
Neither of these versions of God conform with the observable evidence though--so either would definitely be quite surprising. But I'm not holding my breath. I'm quite confident neither of these beings exist, and furthermore, the vast majority of Christians live their lives as if neither being exists.
Disappointed is not something that would occur to me. Why in the world should I be disappointed? The universe is the way it is, and I'm always willing to accept that. I believe based on evidence--wherever that evidence leads.
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Honestly I wouldn't be surprised to find out that a god exists. I would be completely shocked if it was one of the gods people believe in, and that the religion surrounding it was actually what it wants.
Nous
They have the education and intellect to know the truth that there is no such thing!
The first person to produce a single tiny little piece of verifiable evidence for any god will become world famous and mega rich!
Academia states that in the absence of any sort of evidence of the existence of something it must be deemed not to exist until verifiable evidence is found - thus god is held not to exist pending some sort of verifiable evidence.
The bible is what is called "Faction” A fictional story set in a factual time and place. Thus the time, place and real historical characters are all correct but the fictional characters and stories are not!
There is not one single mention of Jesus in the entire Roman record - that is right - not one! At the same time as he was supposed to have been around there were a number of Jews claiming to be the messiah - all of whom are well recorded!
There is not a single contemporary record from any source and even the bible mentions of him like all other references were not written until many years after his supposed death!
He was supposed to have been a huge problem to the Romans and produced wonderful miracles but still not one contemporary record?
Even the bible mentions of him like all other references were not written until many years after his supposed death!
Pilate is recorded in the Roman record as a somewhat lack luster man but no mention of a Jesus, a trial or crucifixion that would surely have been used to make him look brighter!
At best he was an amalgam of those others but almost certainly never existed!
Not one word of it is contemporary with the period and was not written until several hundred years after the period the story is set in!! How did the apostles write their books more than a hundred years after they would have been dead?
Christianity is an invention of the Italians and that is why it came from the Holy ROMAN Catholic church!
Please realize that those claims for the Old historians are worthless since they were not even born until long after everyone in the stories would have been so long dead!
Josephus AD 37 – AD 100
Tacitus AD 56 – AD 120
Suetonius - 69 – 130 AD
Pliny the Younger, 61 AD – 112 AD
Justin Martyr (Saint Justin) AD103–165 AD
Lucian - AD 120 -180 AD but he was hostile to Christianity and openly mocked it.
Pamphilius AD 240-309 AD
Eusebius AD 263 – 339 AD
Photius AD 877 – 886 AD
Thallus - But there are no actual record of him except a fragment of writing which mentions the sack of Troy [109 BC] Showing that he was clearly not alive in biblical times.
Some even try to use Seneca. 4 BCE – 65 CE but as a Stoic Philosopher he opposed religion yet made not a single mention of a Jesus or Christianity!
Even funnier is trying to claim Celsus AD ? – 177 AD Who said that Jesus was a Jew who’se mother was a poor Jewish girl whose husband, who was a carpenter, drove her away because of her adultery with a Roman soldier named Panthera. She gave birth to an illegitimate child named Jesus. In Egypt, Jesus became learned in sorcery and upon his return presented himself as a god.
Archer
I am an Atheists because I "know" that none of the thousands upon thousands of gods mankind has created and worshipped in their vain attempt to come to terms with, identify with and explain that which they felt was significant in life but could not understand. On must understand that as mankind became more aware and able almost all have already been resigned to myth, lore and legend or simply forgotten. Facts are not hard to understand nor can they be ignored.