If you don't take God's Word literally, why not just throw your BIBLE in the trash and come out of the closet as an atheist, or one of these New Age, Wiccan, Pagan, Unitarian, Buddhist do-your-own-thing Heretics?
217923
I DONT KNOW SO HERE IS A QUOTE THAT WILL SOOTHE YOUR BUSY, OVER-INDULGED MIND:  (george carlin)\n\n\n...rather than becoming just another mindless, religious robot, blindly believing that everything is in the hands of some spooky, incompetent father figure who doesn't give a shit, I decided to look around for something else to worship. Something I could really count on. And immediately, I thought of the sun. \nSun worship is fairly simple. There's no mystery, no miracles, no pageantry, no one asks for money, there are no songs to learn, and we don't have a special building where we all gather once a week to compare clothing. And the best thing about the sun... it never tells me I'm unworthy. It doesn't tell me I'm a bad person who needs to be saved. Hasn't said an unkind word. Treats me fine.\n\nSo I worship the sun.
79734
Because most Christians are hypocrites. There's also a part in there that says women are "unclean" during their period and lists directions to sleep in your own bed without your husband and to go sacrifice an animal at the end to cleanse yourself. One of the many reasons I'm no longer a Christian...  When I asked people in my church "what gives?" with this verse and all the woman-bashing in the bible, they say "oh, we dont do that anymore", yet they still use this book as a form of worship. They still go around preaching about the "good book". Ironically, these are the first people to go around calling other people hypocrites. It's a messed up world. What can I say?
20041
You know, YOU take the Bible more literally than we ""Bible-thumpers"" do! You here, not us, seem to be claiming that every single verse in the Bible MUST be taken literally, and we believe that, yes, there really are verses that are meant only to be taken as allegory. Did Gd actually ""walk"" in the Garden of Eden? YOU seem to say that this, too, must be taken literally, and not us!\n\nSo, it is possible, FOR US, to ""Believe in"" the Bible without taking Every Single verse literally, although you seem to say this verse must be taken literally for us to believe in it....
196164
God probably wouldn't care as long as you are following the law that he or she put forth in the Scriptures. It's just that over the years Christians have manipulated the meanings of these Scriptures to endorse their bullshit and the way they treat people.
208361
First, tabbymomma is not making a statement or asking a question about whether or not god exists, or the veracity of atheism versus agnosticism versus Christianity.  What she is asking, is why do people call other people idiots when they are trying to convince them that their view is right?\n\nI agree with her.\n\nIt seems the "debate" in here consists of believers and non-believers calling each other idiots.  This is not a debate.  Neither is telling a non-believer he/she is going to hell, or telling a believer they are in the thrall of ignorant superstition.  Debate involves respecting your opponent, and his or her ideas, while you are pointing out what you believe are the fallacies.  In the very least, it involves a little civility.\n\n___________________________________________________________\n\nOh, and an agnostic is not a "pansy" atheist.  Agnostics hold that, ultimately, the existence or non-existence of divinity can not be proven one way or the other (and, the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence), so this is a question which is ultimately unanswerable and unknowable.  This is different from atheists, who believe there is no god at all.
114136
by the sounds of your q you are really involved with the bible, which is great, not knocking it at all. . .  but if this is your way of getting someone who is not into the bible and god to think about it, you need to put it into words that someone that doesnt know a lot about god would understand!
302280
actually, God does whatever he pleases, so I think you can. \n\nIn fact, the Bible is plagued by "disturbing" episodes regarding people who ask for things that arent very honest. So I dont see a problem. God is god, he will do what he wants. And if you are religious, you will believe God has a higher plan, and "bending" the rules for you is part of that.
575567
im kinda curious why you keep on saying "you" instead of "they". you are pretty quick to point the finger here when really, your doing the same thing you accuse these other people for doing.  what makes all of your labeling and judgement on these people ok, but their labeling and judgement not ok?  now dont get me wrong, i think it gets pretty annoying when some christians feels they are higher and mightier than everyone else and in turn, they are so eager to cast the first stone and call out everything they feel is wrong.  i am a christian and always find myself quite a bit embarrassed when other christians, or self-presumed christians embarrass the faith, like in the example you gave.\n\nthis is just on a side note, but im thinking you have had a fair share of encounters with believers about religious topics.  and im guessing they all turned from peaceful conversation into heated debate which only adds fuel to your fire on not getting along with christians and  you viewing them in a negative way.  (this may  not be true, dont worry, in a way im not even directing this towards you,  i just have a few atheist friends with this problem so i thought id share this idea in hopes that it might open someones eyes who reads  this)  so think of yourself here.  and look  back on a specific argument you had.  i can  almost garuntee that you were so  quick not to accept whatever the believer had to say, just because of the  pride  in which you hold in being an atheist.  this allows for negativity to come into play and inevitable frustration on both ends causing for harsh words and you not accepting christians even more than before.\n\nthe christian idea is to spread the word  of God and show people how great the lord's love is and how it can change your life and especially your death.  christians do not aim at upsetting people and making them feel bad by pointing out everything that they do wrong.  christians know the love of god and want to show that to everyone, so they try to show you what you are doing wrong in the eyes of god and they  are wanting to help you turn from that.  you may even be the nicest person ever; youre caring, considerate, and just an overall good person.  the mistake that people make who are like this is that they believe they will enter the gates of heaven just for their deeds.  it clearly  states in the bible that salvation and the ticket to heaven is through jesus christ, and jesus christ only.  it even says no man's deeds will give  him  permission into heaven.\n\ni  realize i  got a bit off  topic here and i apologize,  i guess i just got a little caried away.\n\nanyway, i just ask that you dont label all christians just because there are one or two quacks that youve run into.  things like the example you brought up is really just embarrassing and ridiculous.
248087
For a self-descrivbed atheist, you seem to have a lot of questions about God and religion...even so far as to use the expression, 'honest to god'.  \n\nI wonder, if you do not believe in god, of what difference can it make to your life if others do?   Just think what you can do with the time you spend questioning how others live their lives.  \n\nIf you learn to be gracious, and realize that god-based comments from others are not meant with any evil intent (except the occasional directions to a certain perceived, very hot location), everyone will be happier, especially you.\n\nGood luck.
574576
I believe in God just not the bible, how dare anyone claim to know what God thinks, I have more respect for God, there are hundreds of archaeological finds proving that the bible that exists was put into place by church hierarchy that had ulterior motives for including and not including what THEY wanted in the bible, only someone who had ALL the original texts and could read them in the original language that they were written in would have a good understanding of what the ancient religious leaders had in mind, and who's to say they were God inspired, insane asylums are full of people who hear God
331660
"...can it be backed up with scripture?"\n\nCertainly not; it's not Scriptural.  It's a pseudo-religious phrasing of an old conservative attitude.
163649
They have been brainwashed with the masses to belive that their beliefs are the only way. its sad really. i have some EX inlaws that will scream verses at you till their blue in the face trying to get you to agree with them. I like what a friend once told me_organized religion is for those who are afraid of going to hell and spirituality is for those who have already been there. I have no problem with any religion really. we all have our own beliefs and i will respect your religion for what it means to you and i expect you to respect my beliefs for what they are to me.If you want to go spread the word then please go spread it over there. I am not ignorant i already know what the word is and don't need another lesson and i will not debate religion with anybody cause that would take a life time.
443927
I think they are here to ask questions that will probably shake up someone weak in their faith, they want to break down, and poke holes into what we believe. They call it opening our eyes to what's Logical, I simply view it as fulfilling the prophecy in God's word. I don't know about you but they increase my faith every time they try and provoke doubt, condemn our faith, put us on trial for our beliefs, crack jokes about our faith, and most of all spread the message of disbelief in God. What I truly can not understand is if they really do not believe why do they even bother, I have said it once and I will say it again I DO NOT believe in Smurfs so there for I do not seek out people who do in order to try and change their minds. But to each his own live and let live, preach on Atheist preach on.....
554695
I am not an atheist, but I know some people who are. It seems to me that they reject the definition of God that has been given by the standard, traditional religions.  Perhaps a person will decide to proclaim herself to be an atheist because she feels that the modern English term "God" has been so corrupted by the ideas of closed-minded church people that the concept no longer contains any value. And I would just about have to agree with that. If I mention the idea of God as a universal life-force or as the interpersonal spirit of goodness and compassion to one of my atheist friends, they might agree with that, but still the name "God" has a disagreeable connotation to them.\nReligious language is full of metaphor. Some of the most simple, basic terms of religion are such large, sweeping, all-encompassing concepts that it takes many pages of erudition to even explain what we mean when we say the name "God".\nWhen you say "God", you are implying a whole big set of ideas. Atheists are often people who simply cannot agree with some of the ideas that they have heard being attached to that name.
353180
I answer atheist questions because I have been called thisso many times, simply because I am not Christian.\n\nI don't know everything, but I know I place my thinking further than limiting it to a bible. Which by the way, is fictional. Which is also written in part by mentally ill people who were considered saints by men-not by God.\n\nMy mind is open and can be changed, my mind is not closed to all things other than the bible. I do believe in God, but am considered atheist since I am not christian. This is where they are wrong.
283980
Tell it like it is!! I agree with you! I have ran into some really rotten "christian" people in my life time and a lot of them do not follow the Bible or any teachings until it suits them.
619915
well I can neither prove the existence of god or disprove because hes intangible therefore I'm undecided  I guess that makes me a humanist. but some people are freakin crazy or just mean if you don't agree with them or there bible says it a sin to be gay or women should be subjugated or jews are going to hell lame crap like that make me sick so I really don't want to have anything to do with them