• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

God wants there to be Atheists

idea

Question Everything
... as opposed to the 19th Century altered version of the story. ;)

It's not the dark ages anymore -

Dark ages: combined church-state scares people into registering their new children to be taxed by telling everyone they will go to hell if they are not brought to the church for baptism.... people are illiterate, isolated, uneducated, superstitious...

Currently: most people are educated, literate, connected to information from around the world - no more isolation... we all have more confidence in ourselves, religious beliefs are largely personal - pray for ourselves, read scriptures for ourselves - no longer relying on priests etc.
 
Last edited:

idea

Question Everything
How many people have a conscience?

That little small voice? It's real. Everyone has heard it. That's God's voice - He has made Himself known to everyone....

How many people listen to their conscience, that's quite another story...

Now this is a scary idea. What you're basically saying is that, without God speaking in our ear secretly, none of us would stay our hand at the door to doing evil deeds. Which means, my friend, that you are simply a sociopath without God.

no - although it is more than coincidence that we all have basically the same understanding of right and wrong -
see Illustrations of the Tao » John C. Wright's Journal

I'll tell you one thing... I am not a sociopath - and I know that "little voice" is my own.

the voice can warn and help beyond what your 5 senses are able to do... it is not our own.

You should learn to take more pride in your own abilities. Think about it... if you had a son or daughter, and they were good at something, would you begrudge them a healthy feeling of pride in what they could do? Should God call all pride in yourself "sin?" Is that fair, or right? How ridiculous is this phrase: "I am allowed to feel pride in you - but you are never allowed to be proud of yourself - because everything you are is because of me." I dare you to say that to your own child.

I never said anything about pride?

“Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man... It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition is gone, pride is gone.”
As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you. - Lewis

to me, pride involves tearing others down...
 

Ekleipsis

Member
Well, if the Bible's claims are going to be consistent, then " Every tongue will confess " ( being a term of absolute - every ) would certainly insinuate there will be no atheists left ( at some point )

But,...is there a benefit to a world without skepticism and doubt ?
 

Midget01

Member
Maybe...or maybe God just isn't there at all.

It probably would have been better if God had never sent any angels or messengers or tried to communicate with His creation at all. Especially if He was planning on pulling the silent routine most of the time. If He had kept silent and never told anyone of His existence, then everyone would be an atheist. There really wouldn't be any need to even identify as "atheist."

It's also possible that God wants us to be agnostic, since unless someone can claim that God has spoken to them personally, no one has any more knowledge than anyone else. If you don't truly know something, then be honest about it and say "I don't know." It's the people who have "faith" and claim to know something when they really don't - they're lying, and if there is a God, He will likely call them on that.
 

Midget01

Member
We don't earn heaven. I don't know where your theology is but God is like a Parent He created us and gave us this wonderful planet to love and take care of. He also gave us free will. If God micromanages us then free will is a joke. we have choices and our life is reflected in t he way we make our choices. He doesn't reward us with worldly goods, nor does he stop others from doing bad things to people. Hence the answer to why do bad things happen to good people. We live our lives out the best we can and when we get to heaven we meet the God whom we have entrusted our self to all these years. A many people on this sight are all screwed up and are trying to find Him but looking at science and Atheists aren't going to do it. Reading and denying his existence won't work either. Praying and seeking HIs help will but only if you are sincere because He is not a Father that can be tricked for he knows your thoughts before you speak them. When you choose worldly pleasures over him; you are pushing Him away from you just like an earthly father who feels rejected when you do things that hurt him. A father punishes us from time to time but God is silent but forgiving and is just waiting for you to reconcile with him. some people on this sight say God doesn't talk to people anymore that is not true. The 3 children of Fatima know about him and heard his mother talk to her. St. Mother Theresa, St. Faustina, St. Catherine , St. Charles, St. John of the Cross, etc. have heard him talk to them. There are many people who believe and have either heard Him directly of have been given signs. If you don't believe that doesn't make it NOT true. I have believed all my life. I am not a young chick. I have had experiences that show me He is for real. God is not Dead nor is Jesus. Jesus was born to a earthly woman and his body died on the cross for your sins and for all the sins to be committed over time of His Universe; but the Divine Jesus is very much alive and in the End Time you will discover this. You may or may not go to heaven which for many is present before you eyes at Mass every time it is celebrated. Because that is when heaven and earth are joined together but many don't recognize it.Yet we all present in church have been given the freedom to believe and understand it. Heaven and Hell are more of a state then an actual place. God is everywhere but when you die if you don't believe because you don't understand He is merciful and will judge you by your Heart. Yet if you reject Him even though you know Him to be the true God then you will be force to stay away from Him and roam the vast space without His love. That would be the worst thing a person can experience for infinity. The ultimate agony anyone can experience is to know there is a God and you have rejected Him and you have been cast away for not wanting to be with Him in eternity.
We have a lot of things in this world that can distract us but to deny the love of GOD the father would be the worst sin our souls can bear. People for centuries have come to know God in many different ways; and yet, there are many who continuously reject Him. That is because we all have free will. God does not want to force His love on any of us. He wants us to freely come to Him. He loves us unconditionally. You can say what you want to about Him and He will not strike you down. But should you try to turn any of His children no matter how old we are you will be punished in the end. We all know that God created Lucifer sometimes referred to as the Morning Star as an Angel. But because Lucifer felt he was a God; He was cast out of heaven and left to wander the earth until the end of time. Perhaps God wanted Lucifer to realize God created him and gave him a lot of power and free will also but he couldn't let Lucifer live with all the other Angels if he was trying to play God. There is only one God. One Creator, One Lord of all, One ruler of the Universe In a family which is created in God's image there is only one father and one mother. No matter whether they be good or bad they are the parents who conceived them. We don't have to like them but we do need to respect them and Lucifer was not showing respect for the One God who created him. Some think that when the end time comes that God will win and the devil will be forced to face God and be given one more chance to enter heaven or be cast out for eternity. Yet , because God is merciful; and we are not doing the judging; One can not prove God to a Non believer anymore than a person in love can prove they are in love through words. Actions show the stupid things people do in love but to describe it and say everyone does this is not true and hard for those who have never experienced it to understand . Yet all of us know about it and want it and often do stupid things to prove the recipient that we love them. There are some things that can only experienced and lived and taken by faith. Doubting Thomas had to touch Jesus for proof. God holds Jesus back and lets us do what we need to/ We either accept Him or we don't. He wants us to find our true self. That is all He asks of us. In doing so He trusts and knows what He has instilled in each of us and that is what we seek when we try to discover whether there is a God or not. We are drawn back to His love and some of us make it but some us let the world stop us and prevent this wonderful connection from happening. A man in Tobit ask that he be able to return to earth and tell his brothers so that they may obtain heaven and God refused because He does not want people to be something other than themselves to come to Him. He wants it to be their choice. So either you try or you don't. None of us can tell you what to do but you know inside the difference between right and wrong and if you listen to God pulling you to Him; you will know when you are on the right path. Good Luck Peace. Midget01
 

lostwanderingsoul

Well-Known Member
Free will means that you can choose to obey God or not. Those who choose not to obey face punishment. By obeying you earn a place in paradise. By not obeying you earn punishment. That is how you earn a place in God's kingdom.
 
Top