I mean , some girl actually told some guy that he should have DIED in a flood since he wanted to understand why GOd lets deadly floods happen in the first place. Am i wrong, or is that INSANE?!?!? I just want to understand fow people can use GOD as and excuse to be so cruel.  And if you one of those MEAN people, i want you to answer, maybe theres a part of the bible that i missed that tells me to hate everybody that's not exactly like me.
211560
People have always used 'God' as a reason to be cruel.  It's just a way of making others small so you can feel big.  You have to make someone else so wrong in order to feel that you actually exist, or at least so you don't feel totally insignificant.  I don't know if you can give an answer to why.  It just is that way, people are hurt and angry and who knows what experiences they have had with so called 'religion'.  Why take it personally?  It's not about you.
549416
Amazing...how hypocritial some people could be. They can easily believe in something that took place 2000 years ago, which was first recorded only 300 years after the event. And now, in modern times, if one of us (was a virgin and married...) used the excuse to tell our husbands that we are pregnant and God impregnated us...he'd laugh hysterically, before shooting us!
322734
Not only that but God told Joshua to go into a certain city, I believe it was Jericho and kill everyone, and not to leave anyone alive. Sounds more like Bin Laden than a loving God. The Old Testament God has been painted to look rather savage and bloodthirsty. I consider the fact that the Bible was written not by God but by humans with agendas and ambitions.
185243
Great question...these people who blame aren't rational Christians and their understanding of the relationship between God and man is far below what yours is...why?  Maybe they haven't read the Bible as many "Christians" haven't.  Maybe they are hateful...Jesus himself said that we need to question things those who claim to come in his name tell us...that there are "antiChrists" all over the place and I'm sure he wasn't talking about 666, Damion and a big horned red devil, he was talking about people who use his name to convince people to do what he never told us to do...he also said a lot of people will be surprised at their Judgement because they think they are doing what God wants but they are just doing their own thing...
501860
Yes. Flooding the world to destroy the evils of humanity would infringe on free will. There is no true free will in Christianity. It is only a term they throw around to convince themselves that their choice is based on something other than fear of an unlikely punishment.\n\nEven if Noah and his family were good people, while every other person in the world was evil, if god gave humans free will, then they had the freedom to choose evil. If you give someone a choice, you need to be prepared for the possibility that they will not choose what you wanted them to. If you give someone a choice, knowing that they will not choose the "right" answer and having a punishment in store for them in just that case, then you have set them up and are denying them free will. It is the spiritual equivalent of entrapment.
321838
Because God has a cruel sense of humor and likes watching us strave, suffer, and die in torture. Makes life seem meaningless more by the day doesn't it? Though their theory seems to be. We make our lives what it is... (even though I don't see how we choose for other people to kill us, abuse us, or anything.)  Which I suppose means anything that comes your way... you can either Accept it and be hurt... or Deal with it, do something about, and Hope you come out above everything.
569000
I think people not believing in God because "why would a God bring hurt,sickness,suffering on his people" is such a cop out. It is annoying. As far as the story about Egypt and everything, God was showing his power and his seriousness to the Pharaoh, it had to be done. God wouldn't do something like that for his "pleasure" but for his plan, and his plan is right.
561115
I agree, people worship Jesus and Pastors/Ministers/Bishops/Popes/. Per God's word in the "original" Bible false Idols are Blasphemous. That has never sat well with me. As the "original" Bible stated "God is within you". Making everyone God. Meaning you have the power. I am not religious, religion is such a crock! I have studied many religions and all seem to have been basically enacted to stop humans from animalistic behavior by scaring them. All religion was created for was to keep order, stating that if you acted un-Godly you would end up in an Eternal Hell. The only problem with this is that nature still exists. In nature animals kill, rape, are homosexual, and live un-Godly. Yet most say all of God's creaturs end up in Heaven. HUH? Just live by the Golden Rule (do unto others as you would have them do unto you). Not for God's sake, but it really does make life easier. If you yell at someone they will yell back, if you reason with someone they will reason with you.
173549
I'm sure if God's up there somewhere, He's none to happy about the prospect of tidying up somebody else's mess! I think the believers had better get their act together and help Him out a bit, otherwise they might be in for a telling off...\n\n\n\n...and you know how angry God can get.
293045
I thought that way once.\n\nThen I thought God was a learning God.  Remember when he did things like flooding the world his teachings stated "eye for an eye".\n\nI finally realized Once God gave us free will; he gave up his power to do anything in our world.  All he can do is speak to us.  He can't make anything happen.\n\nRemember man made the Bible.  As for my belief on the great flood, he warned people.  Only Noah listened.  As for a lot of other things God supposedly did; magic does exsist.  You can say it's of God, but really it's inside us all.  Remember even some bad people in the Bible did some magic: example: in the story of Moses 2 of the Pharohs men created snakes, not just Moses.  Moses was just stronger then them.
82516
It is amazing to me, the people with the smarty answers -that continue to say there is no God and make fun, ARE the ones He shed His blood for. Can you imagine that kind of love?  Even the Bible says it is easy to be kind to someone who is kind to you. Pray for your enemies, be kind to them. Christ was the perfect example for us. \n\nTo answer your question about God not being able to watch His Son being beaten. I believe I have heard that the Father looked away when all the sins of mankind were put on His Perfect Son. That was probably the worst.
159131
I used to say that the anti-abortion protestors and activists  should go to the junior high and high school kids and talk to them about birth control and not having sex or whatever, because if they're harrassing girls and woman going into these clinics and making such a fuss about how wrong abortions are and making them feel like they are the worst person in the world (even though I guarantee the girls themselves are their biggest critics and already feeling like the worst person ever)they're a little late to save anyone, don't ya think? The bible is based upon different perspectives and interpretations, why else would there be so many different religions based on one book?! I am not a horrible person because I refused to have a baby at 15, and I know I am not going to hell for it or being punished in every way because everything happens for a reason, and from my interpretations of God and everything, this blueprint of my life and lessons was made long before I was even born. I believe that fetus' have a soul, but I believe that they were not meant to be born yet, and this was in their plan too, even if it was in the form of an abortion. I think God's a little more modern than people think, and times change for everyone. This isn't the same world as it was when the bible came about, let alone the stories that it's formed from. I think God is a lot more understanding and forgiving than people give him credit for.
122032
yes I do. I think alot of people beat people over the head with the bible. I do not think thats what God intended the bible for that use. He gave us free will for a reason.
214437
I agree with you.  When you REALLY look at the horrors of tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, epidemics, etc... I don't see how to reconcile it with a "loving" god. As for evolution, 300 years ago, people atributed lightning, earthquakes, infection, miscarriages, adn other stuff to god's will.  Now we know there are physical processes going on that can basically explain these things.  So why hold out for creation of life? We'll probably have even better answers in 50 years and then what?  Wel... god must be still be in the big bang! yeah that's it!  Silly.\n\nAnd why did humans only live on average into their 30's for the past 2,000 years? Now we live to mid-70's (in US).  Because of god?  Or science?  God was pretty important for westerners, the chuch ran just about everything.  But health didn't improve until medicine did.\n\n100 years ago, literally 50% of children died within 1 year.  This is god's perfect creation?  Humans are god's perfect design?  That's funny.
296041
Amen to you! \n\nYou're on the right track! We can't blame God for natural disasters (God also created something called Free Will, that allows us to choose where we live, and if one chooses to live in a flood-prone area, well, take what comes) but we can blame ourselves for creating the disastrous society we live in today...there's no limit to what we are able to do, we have no limits on our appetites (for food and many other things). There's nobody looking over our shoulder as a moral guidance/conscience or whatever you want to call it. God used to provide this, because I remember being aware that "God will see me take that piece of candy from the store, therefore I won't do that because I don't want to be in trouble with Him." Nowadays, kids carjack and murder people just to get the rims off their car. Or for a pair of fancy shoes. Or for jackets. For Heaven's Sake, People! Is there nothing we can do to stem the tide of destruction? Taking God out of our daily lives only serves to strengthen those who are in the 14% who believe in nothing, and give people who are lawless a reason to behave so. We can only be vigilant if we are given a way to enforce it (and the law isn't able to do it all--this vigilance must start in the home, where there are PARENTS for their CHILDREN, where people pray for peace in the world, where children are taught right from wrong and not which video games they have to have). This has nothing to do with what we all call our God (Jehovah, Yahweh, Allah, Great Spirit) or the creed we follow. Most people are good and decent but are deceived by the merit, or lack thereof, of material goods. For the 86% of us who believe in SOMETHING, this is a call to action! When we meet our Maker, whenever that will be, He/She will be the ultimate judge of our action or non-action.
135810
i know this isn't really answering your question but i was kinda surprised to see what you said about "God looking like an unforgiving bully". I don't get that - He says do anything you want with this amazing garden I've given you, except one thing. If you do it, I'm going to punish you. So they do that one thing, and surprise surprise, they get punished. THEN He says, ok, so now you all do loads of stuff that goes against what i have said you should do, but I'll offer forgiveness through Jesus. That seems both pretty consistent and forgiving to me. \nSorry that doesn't answer your question, and I'm not ranting at you, just interested that you think that. I've never looked at it in that way. Hope other's answers are more on the point.\n\n\nAnd shadowalfalfa -sorry to disagree with you again, but Moses is thought to have written the first 5 books of the Bible.\n\nAn addition to my answer after your addition to your question - there is a prophecy in Daniel 7 that is entirely consistent with the acts of Alexander the Great many many many years later. There is historical evidence that Jesus existed and did many of the things the Bible says He did. So at least those things happened. Coincidence??? I don't think so.
657979
LOL!\n\nwhy are there even people on this world who don't understand this point ur making.\n\ni mean, sometimes sarcasm is deeply hidden, but if they even don't see your point in this, then maybe God should start flooding the earth again :)