40 awkward Questions To Ask A Christian

http://thomasswan.hubpages.com/hub/40-Questions-to-ask-a-Christian

 

So many talk the talk but don't walk the walk.

A simple comment to my wifes christian friend had her ask if it applied to her.
"It applies to everyone." Which i believe it does.

 

Good questions.

 

Many of those are good questions, I found a few of them leading.

 

agreed.

There were a few good questions.

A lot of them brought up a compelling issue that could be a good discussion topic, but were worded in an incredibly condescending way. They aren't "awkward" because you've trapped the christian with logic power, they're awkward because you're passive aggressively insulting the christian's entire worldview with illogical questions and word games.

You don't "win" the discussion just because you ask loaded questions, and trying to trap someone with semantics is a waste of time.:frown:

 

The devout will come up with answers that they feel are logical, though they will be anything but. Ive used similar questions, and most always i end up with completely stupid answers...

You simply can't change certain people's beliefs. When one accepts a religion, ignorance sets in. Given time, that ignorance grows to the point of no return...

 

Recent experiences left me with a kind of loathing for many christians and their lack of humanity.
My friend died of a heart attack and the christian neighbors and his brother stepped in.
It was the most disrespectful affair i have ever witnessed.
Really blew my head in how fecked people are and into self interest.
It actually re-defined how low people can stoop and forces you to evaluate how you live your life. How these people live their life is rather sad and the results are rather like failures.
The thing that amazed me was their focus on his estate and his money.

For all my failings my children seem to have a strong sense of humanity and ethics , so i was proud of them for how they responded to the events.

 

So many times people mistake true Christians with people who claim to speak for Christians but really do not.

True Christians, imo, you will see out more along the other people and not necessarily see them as "Christians"...

I could go on about this topic a little but let me check out these questions first...

yep, just what I thought ...barely had to take a glance at this to realize what complete bs it is. "How can you tell the voice of God from a voice in your head?"----the voice in your head that stems from a place of love, oneness and togetherness IS the voice of God.
and asking how do you tell it from the devil? Umm, let's see here... because it has to come from a place of love?

And... "If your parents had belonged to a different religion, do you think you would belong to that religion too?"
Considering my mom is a christian and my dad an atheist... and I base my "religion" from Buddism, Taoism and Christianity... however, I just call it the religion of ONE and togetherness and I don't call it a religion.. but I believe it is MUCH closer to what Jesus actually is... that whole question is bogus...

just like would I kill an atheist if God told me to? What? God would not tell you to kill people...
Oh that brings me back to "how could I tell the difference between the voice of God the 'the devil'..."- if I heard someone tell me to kill atheists, that would be a pretty good indicator of where it's coming from... although really it would be an indicator of mental illness and I would seek help.

more...
"Why did a supposedly omnipotent god take six days to create the universe, and why did he require rest on the seventh day?"
I'd say, have you ever even thought of looking at the Bible or some things in the Bible as metaphors or would that require too much thought to think about what that could mean then?

"An all-knowing God can read your mind, so why does he require you to demonstrate your faith by worshiping him?"- An all-knowing God is one with your mind... and what is worship? To me worship is an attitude of gratitude and of love and peace and joy. When I look at something beautiful in nature and take the time to recognize it's beauty, that is an act of "worship"... and a large part of "why you have to do it" is because it is good for you, otherwise you become disconnected.


This whole thing seems like it was written for hateful, bitter atheist 12 year olds and doesn't even make any sense..

 

"Why are Churches filled with riches when Jesus asked his followers to give their wealth away?"
-Did you ever hear the story of Jesus in the temple throwing over tables? Enough said. Oh, that and churches can be corrupt.

"While in the desert, Jesus rejected the temptations of the Devil. He didn't censor or kill the Devil, so why are Christians so in favor of censoring many Earthly temptations?"- Are they? All of them? In any case, it could be because certain things have been known to cause people a lot of harm and pain... and also many christians, just like everyone else, are misguided.

"Given that the story of Noah’s Ark was copied almost word for word from the much older Sumerian Epic of Atrahasis, does this mean that our true ruler is the supreme sky god, Anu?"- LOL, aww, Noah's Ark... the ultimate METAPHOR.

"When preachers and prophets claim to be special messengers of God, they often receive special benefits from their followers. Does this ever cause you to doubt their intentions?"- I don't follow any religious figure as a special messenger to God.. honestly I'm probably not the person these questions were designed for, but I feel they are so condescending and simplistic that I'm touching some of them anyways. There's a chance one of the false prophets is the popalcy and that should say enough on what I think on that...

"If a woman was cured of cancer by means unknown to us, and everyone declared it a miracle, would the chance of scientifically replicating this cure be more or less likely?"- First of all, prayer has been KNOWN to increase your chances of beating cancer. PROVEN. Secondly, it is not shown how it works like that or why... but I will say that who in the world said that science and faith have to be totally seperate?

 

"When you declare a miracle, does this mean you understand everything that is possible in nature?"
-Nature, God, Oneness... why the separation?

The "Hell and "Promises of Religion" sections I will come back to at some point. Maybe. Because first I'd have to really go into what those things even mean to me and they don't mean the same thing for every person and much is unknown...
okay just a little for now...
"How can we know what is right when we don’t know for sure who makes it into heaven and hell?"- Because what is right is not about Heaven or Hell... doing the right thing for the purpose of doing the right thing when no one is watching because it comes from a place of love is the right thing.

^and remembering what I just said there ^^ ...
"Can a mass murderer go to heaven for accepting your religion, while a kind doctor goes to hell for not?"- if you act from the place I just described in my previous answer and clean your being ....free it of negative things... you are on the right path. As for the mass murderer and kind doctor... What are the chances a serial killer is acting from that place? It's really too stupid of a question...


"Why does religion appeal more to poor, weak, vulnerable, young, ill, depressed, and ostracized people? Could religious promises be more of a temptation to these people?"- Because much of religion (having nothing to do with God or Christianity.. a church does not make you a christian, etc), in the most general sense, does prey on people like that... but I will add this... when I was weak and vulnerable I was most turned off and bitter about "religion"... only when my self was in a state of peace did being able to look at these things from a place of love and acceptance come over me...

and as for the conversion, blah blah blah... i wouldn't try to convert anyone to anything. I try to live by what I believe and that is a testament to what I believe if that makes sense.. however, the christians that DO "try to convert you"... did you ever think that, as condescending as they may seem at times...and about how they often go about it the wrong way... did you ever stop to think they only do it because they feel they are doing the right thing and care about you? Spending time and energy hating on or judging people for doing what they think is right the way they know how is really pointless and mean to be honest. Try just telling them that "your soul is good and thanks for thinking of them" and if you don't wanna use the word soul use something else...

 

Most of your answers are fine. They pretty much point out some of the obvious flaws in the list of questions. However, I'm gonna challenge a couple of them.

You can't just use the 'P' word without a link. You have anything to back that up?

From your responses, I get the impression that you generally throw out the "don't take it literally!" response to any question involving fucked up fuckery in the old Testament. (not a bad strategy by any means)

That being said, Old Testament god commanded Israelites to kill people all the time. He commanded Abraham to kill his own son, which turned out to be a test of Abraham's faith. Jesus never said, "Holy genocides committed by your ancestors should be thought of metaphorically". Do you really think that it would be completely out of the question for god to tell a christian to kill someone?

You don't think god ever audibly talks to people?

I'm not going to challenge this because the original question makes no fucking sense, but I'm pretty sure your response is dodging the question. This whole quote is just gibberish.

 

Flip through the bible. You'll find plenty of intances where god told people to kill.

 

The problem is that most theist read the book through rose colored eyes that do not allow them to see anything except good.

The theists' bias does not allow them to think critically while reading.

 

Is that necessarily a problem? I would prefer that people apply all the positive aspects of the bible to their lives than to actually take the thing as is. (there are plenty of people who take the whole thing literally.)

edit: I guess it is a problem if your goal is to win the argument. If your goal is to have a productive discussion, I don't think it's a bad thing at all.

 

I am not referring to literal fundamentalists. Rather, I am referring to ignoring the fact that the unholy book portrays god as a heinous tyrant.

 

"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?"

A simple quote to easily get one of reasonable intelligence to question the idea of god.

 

So... what exactly is your point?

I'm pretty sure AmericanTerrorist knows that there are heinous acts in the bible. Choosing to focus on the positive aspects of the book, while finding metaphorical meaning in the negative aspects does not mean you aren't thinking critically.

Are you saying that all Christians should be like the Westboro baptist church, and direct all of their focus to the violent and hateful parts of the book?

 

41..

so, what are you doing for Ramadan? ..

 

Consider yourself Ramadamned :devil:

 

*facepalm*

Seriously, pay attention or do not bother to respond.