I want to know why.. so many seemingly educated people believe in the christian god.. well any god for that matter but in this instance the christian god. Lets see .. you are following the word of god right? as written in the bible yes?.. The ten comandments? the history of mankind.. creation as a pose to evolution. humm.. , you know what I wonder. is how in yoru right minds you can follow a god that would have girls stoned to death for not being virgins when they marry.. ? was that deuteronomey?... well thats pretty sucky for all those second time arounders of you go now.. out side let the neighbours stone you to death.. As for those of you who dared go to work on sunday.. join the women.. run along now... time to get stoned.. oh yes.. would all those present who swing both ways or happen to be gay like to also attend the mass stoning?. more.. disobediant teenagers.. go join in.. go arm yourselves with swords and take out your brothers you sons the neighbours.. well.. this is all in the mighty book you follow.. your gods word?... Plenty more mass killing and godly cleansing going on.. you know when I was reading up last night I began to liken god to hitler. or was it hitler to god?.. the cleaning out of all the undesirables.. so tell me.. how can you believe in a god that says for people to do these thing.. how can you actually justify this? you go to your church you pray.. you do all these things in the name of yoru god.. the bible setting yoru role model for life.. your little book of how to love ..or not.... as it were..
How have you made a decision as to what in the bible is right and which is not?. why are you not out stoneing the drs for working sundays? the nurses the bus drivers.. the farmers who feed their cattle?. what stops you.. if this god is all powerful and his word is law.? how can YOU a mere human choose what is right and what is wrong witthin the bible?.

Im curious as to how you justify your beliefs in this god. or how, when you do believe you dare critise it? it's obvious from the old testement your god can be a cruel and wicked god.. ! yet you chose to believe in it? it states all the wickedness all the the loathing for those who dare be different. but you CHOOSE to believe?.

( just for those who don't understand sarcasm please don't go stoneing people for real even if god tells you.. drone says no..!)

I am sure that those of us that do believe is because of fear. I know I was raised on hell and damnation. You know how those southern baptist preachers are. I think alot of the stories in the bible didnt happen but are symbolism. Stories to get a point across. I dont really know if there is a god , aliens or what not, but I choose to believe on the bases of what if it is all true. And that I wont know till my death.And when I die and I find it isnt true, then I know I led a good decent life. So actually either way I win. My reward will be to know I led my life with dignity and I tried not to hurt any one. And also, I find great relief to think there is someone out there guiding me . God gave man the right to choose. Its up to us what we do with our lives.God didnt let these horrible things happen. Humans made the decisions on how they live there lives. Everyone has the choice to believe or not to believe, Its a personal choice. I dont put anyones choice on how they live down. There are a few exceptions to that . There is pure evil in this world and I personally feel better knowing or feeling that someone greater then all is watching . I have seen what prayer can do . Its a very strong weapon against evil .And a strong weapon to help live your life as a good person. And yes, I know many who dont believe that are wonderful people. So, I guess it all comes down to what you put your faith in, A very personal choice for each of us. Sorry I rambled .

I understand what you're saying. However, I think you missed something important. I'm not a Christian. More of a generic monotheist. However, I've studied Christianity.

What you describe is, I believe, the Old Testament God, and the laws given to Moses as outlined in Deuteronomy and Leviticus. I agree that many of those laws are pretty far from what I'd call civilized behavior.

However, Christians follow Jesus Christ, whose main goal was to prove that the old laws could no longer be logically applied to the modern world. Thus, while God told Moses to stone adulterers, Jesus told those who would stone the adulteress: "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." After which he himself told her simply, "Go and sin no more." Thus showing that the law could and should be tempered by mercy.

While the laws given to Moses expressly forbid work on the Sabbath, Jesus told his followers that law should be tempered by common sense. When questioned by Jewish elders about why he allowed his followers to work on the sabbath, he answered (and I'm paraphrasing, here. I hope you'll understand): "If your donkey fell in a ditch on the Sabbath, would you leave it there until the next day? Of course not! That's all I'm saying."

So while Old Testament law is very harsh, often unforgiving, and often very much over-the-top, Jesus's interpretation of the law was such that one should not follow the letter of the law, but rather the spirit of the law, and the law, even that law of God to Moses, must be tempered by mercy, compassion and wisdom.

That's why some people can be Christian.

To be honest,all religion is based on speculation and conjecture(faith not fact)
No one on the planet knows wether god is a he, a she or an it.
As many organised religions usualy cause trouble arguing between themselves about who is more holy than who;isnt it of far more importance just to be kind and treat people the same?.
Also some organised relgions promote bigotry and prejudice for people they ave ever even met and some members are encouraged to foster delusions of grandeur.
Beleiving you are superior to others because of a non provable beleif system seems a little reminiscent of a deluded mindset to me.
Cheers Karl

Oh cricket you sound like you had no chioice . what a sad thing tho to be brought up with fear in your heart, yeah i agree to a certain point it is a choice. for some children tho it is not. the children are indoctrinated fro such a young age they are surrounded by adults and peers who believe. they stand no real chance.. in the bible belt it would appear that education and even television is geared toward the word of god.. this being the case there is almost i would think brainwashing en masse..
Christians follow the teachings of jesus christ yes..? so they get to ignore the evil in the old testement..do they then get to pick through the rest of this so called gods word and choose what else to believe? wht not ignore the whole creationism thing.. that was in the old testement?.. why then do christians actually use the old testement.. okay going down that line the Jews.. why are they not out stoning all the non virgins why are they not putting to death those that work on sundays? I mean they dont use the new testemnet do they?. so its all a little bit pick and choosy.. reminds me of a child picking all the peas from the pie and eating the rest.
as for the gender of some god.. for me it is unimportant i do not have the faith you have. I can place a gender on that which i do not think exists.. other than the odd moment when my upbringing slips through and the tales of a he god slip thorough from my school days.
for me I thinki find it all too easy for christians to find excuses to believe in pne part and nto another .. to mix and match to suit their own personal lifestyles.. to twist and turn the words. to fit as it were. the jewish are the same.. as I think are all who use the bible as their book of gods word.. so.. if you can pick and choose like the boy with the pie .. what actually is gods word?

and from the new testenment we have a few titbits for you I just found.. ( not so hot on me bible.. not really something I have as bedtime reading. )

Matthew 18 v 7-9 whats that all about? cutting of limbs that have sinned? huh? surely it is you that's sinned and you hand is part of you.. is it not a greater sin to have your children die of starvation than to steal a loaf of bread.. as for gouging out your eyes? what sin may and eye do for heavens sake.. ? admire something pleasing? oohh look at those legs...pecks.. depending.. ( being sexist for the sake of it there sorry )
I mean this is the advice of Jesus? how thick is that? he wants people to maim themselves.. to mutilate thier bodies kinda sick dont you think.. hey btw has anyone done that.. you know.. lobbed of a limb coz their religion recommends it for sinful behavior.. tut tut. naughty people....


Ok you women out there .. I take it you vote?.. presumably some of you work.. have independent means.. live alone make your own decisions... what have you.. but please no talking in church.. the house of god requires women to remain silent , you must goask your husbands , fathers at home.. okay?.. well thats 1 corinthians v 14 for you.. ohboy.. !
then go check out 1 Tim v 2... no teaching..? okay you sure you aren't picking and choosing which parts you want to work with here.. what you want to believe?.. this man was sexist.. a domineering male.. was he really speaking on gods behalf? if so what does this make god?..

You know, Christianity was a kind of revolution, partly brought about because the 'old religion' no longer seemed to fit what modern people needed.

A lot of people now seem to feel pretty much the same way about Christianity: that it no longer seems to fit modern times, that modern compassion no longer seems to fit the whole "pluck out your eye if it offends you" stuff.

So maybe it's time for a new religion.

HEY! Let's start a cult!

would this cult include eating large quantities of chocolate gataux?.. mmm no I don't want to be in a cult. I think someone tried once to start a cult on here. deep in the bowels of the forum youll find it . But no, still waiting on answers to the questions I asked.. I want to know how it is that people if they truely believe in God and this word of his in the bible.. how do they get to cherry pick ? how can you if .. something is the word of God pick what is and what isn't applicable?. how do you choose.. and.. if you really believe it to be the word of god. how can you class yoruselves as compassionate human beings if the stoning of gay men.. the killing of babies, the silencing of women in the house of god, the whole slavery thing.. how is it that you can believe in a god that says these things are okay..? and it stretches over both the new and the old testement...

Life is and always be a matter of oppinion. Personally, the question of his existence or the people who believe in him doesn't keep me up at night.