Life is a Gift-Why am I so Thankful?

[Jag]

No worries neopagan - god will just take those angels jb said were on the Starving Children Oversight Committee and move them to the Grieving Parents Oversight Committee.

God's best attribute is that he is reliably conservative with his divine resources.

[neopagan]

No worries neopagan - god will just take those angels jb said were on the Starving Children Oversight Committee and move them to the Grieving Parents Oversight Committee.

God's best attribute is that he is reliably conservative with his divine resources.

Awesome!  We could use a whole bunch of angels... Maybe they could root out the dead bodies, so the workers don't get squashed in the rubble looking for them for the next week and the parents don't have to sit around wondering where their kids are for so long?

[Jag]

Now you're just being silly. God doesn't do anything, he just watches. Same with angels - they're going to provide spiritual comfort, not practical assistance - but they're there all right, you just can't see or sense them in anyway, nor can you see any tangible outcome of their presence.

Spiritual comfort - isn't that what you would want after god killed your kid with a tornado for the sin of attending school? Why be so greedy and expect more?

[neopagan]

jag -

maybe the fluttering of angels' wings will help dissipate the leaking natural gas?

[Anfauglir]

Spiritual comfort - isn't that what you would want after god killed your kid with a tornado for the sin of attending school? Why be so greedy and expect more?

I know - what are they complaining about?  Their kids are in heaven with god and Jesus - they are in the best place it is possible to be.  What's to be sad about?  If anything, that tornado was a god-sent blessing on their families.

What I don't get are the ones who thank god for saving them.  All that means is god hates them so much he is trying to keep them OUT of heaven for as long as possible, withholding paradise from them.  What's to be thankful for there?

[screwtape]

What I don't get are the ones who thank god for saving them. 

They are not true xians.  They are of the flesh.

[neopagan]

Let's say I jump on a huge bulldozer, set it on cruise control and send it plowing into a daycare. 

If I jump off and run in to save a kid or two, why would I get NO credit for saving them????

So unfair...

[junebug72]

You think we're mean, and closed-minded, insulting and unkind to you and others like you - so what's the appeal?

She's a Christian. They like being kicked and stuff. It's an endorphin thing.

So  you admit you atheist kick people around. Way to go.

I am not a Christian.

[junebug72]

I do not consume more resources than I need.

Yes you do. Oh yes you do. I know this simply by observing that you are on this forum for starters.

You need a computer in this modern world.  I only have 1.

[Azdgari]

Loading pages[1] consumes electricity[2], in addition to that of having the computer on at all.  Being on this site is not something we "need to do in this modern world".  It is a luxury.  We are being greedy.

1.	That, and any other internet activity
2.	not just on your end, but on the site server's end

[junebug72]

I think it's because it's so easy to turn from God with anger when times are hard, understandably so.

Except that's not what usually happens - the opposite is actually the case much more often. The greater the stress, the more likely the believer is to "rely on God". You're making things up again - what you think is not to be confused with actual facts.

And despite all the discussion you've participated in here, you're still making the typical theist assumption of mistaking our lack of belief in the deity you believe in, for anger at the same deity. Ridiculous, dear Junebug, utterly ridiculous. Have you ever been mad at a unicorn, or a leprechaun? None of us are mad at your god either, because we don't think he exists. Or any others, along with their mythical cohorts for that matter; we don't believe in Allah, Thor, Loki, Aphrodite, Medusa, or the Minotaur. No Persephone, no Hades, no Zeus, no Athena. The list of gods we disbelieve in is a long one, and all-inclusive. Yours is at the top of the list.

I said I think at the beginning. I never said fact. I know better.

I wouldn't want you to discriminate. :)lol

I tell you what if I can't do it you can't. At least I had the decency to say I think.  Since you stated a fact how about a couple of links to support your claim; People hold to faith rather than turn away with anger.  Support it please I can't just accept it because you say so.  I'll go see what I can find about what "I Think."

You're angry alright.  So if your not angry at God who are you mad at.

I have known several people that have lost faith thru trials.  I hear about it all the time. I myself am one of them.  So I am a good source of examples of how both affect recovery.

I've heard several atheist post here that they used to be believers. I would bet money that the process of losing faith began with  personal tragedy. Just saying.

So does this line - I'll go see what I can find about what "I Think." - mean you're going to bother to do some research for yourself this time? I didn't post any support because you haven't followed up on anything I've given you so far. You can dig up this answer for yourself; prove that you can do it.

And again, your subjective experience (you have not lost your faith, as your god-is-so-awesome posts consistently indicate) for objective reality. If 85% of the country claims to be christian, how could you possibly be right? You don't even need to research it, just apply a dose of common sense and think about it for a minute.

You're still employing sloppy thinking junebug. Try holding off on being offended and consider what I'm trying to get through to you. I'm not insulting you, I'm pointing out what is consistently getting in the way of your efforts to communicate. I'm reluctant to discuss much with you, not because we don't agree about one single stupid topic - I'm reluctant to discuss much with you since you take offense at everything, misunderstand what is being posted by other people, and use vague terms that seem to have definitions that are unique to you and you fail to clarify what you mean by them when asked. I can certainly provide examples if you need to see a few of your old posts to be reminded.

You don't think things through - it's like you stop just one thought too soon and don't follow through to the obvious conclusion - God is taking care of you but ignoring starving children. This is not difficult to understand, yet somehow, you do.

Jag I think things thru very deeply.  Well at least most of the time.  I try very hard to be "impeccable" with my words.  I am not going to change so you'll like me.  I want to make friends but not if I have to be someone I'm not.

 Yal have a stereotype of believers.  You want to get me you have to let that go.  I have checked your links. Like the one about the politician who was using belief to prevent global warming.  I said it was Greed, remember.  I get so tired of  these false accusations and attacks on my character.  I have given sources.  I don't know what it is your talking about.

I have tried to explain freewill.  Do you think God should just feed the kids or should God eliminate the cause.  Mankind is responsible for those kids.  God has never promised us anything.  God has never defined God.  Nobody has a clue.  I'm a positive thinker.  This I can not help.  I'm a lover, can't help that either.  I am who I am.

No I'm here to exchange thoughts and ideas.  Can't a person have those here?

[junebug72]

Loading pages[1] consumes electricity[2], in addition to that of having the computer on at all.  Being on this site is not something we "need to do in this modern world".  It is a luxury.  We are being greedy.

1.	That, and any other internet activity
2.	not just on your end, but on the site server's end

Yale praise greed and say we are stuck.  Why keep showing me pictures of man's failures?

The weird part is your here too.  Double standards perhaps?  Anyway my humble life is not harming African children.

[HAL]

I do not consume more resources than I need.

Yes you do. Oh yes you do. I know this simply by observing that you are on this forum for starters.

You need a computer in this modern world.  I only have 1.

I see.

You need a computer. You need a computer that consumes electricity while you post replies and read posts on WWGHA and cause the server to process your requests to add information to the database for this forum. You really need to do that. It's not a waste of resources - you really have to do this at a minimum to survive. To hell with the starving children in Africa - you, Junebug, need to do this and it's OK because it's not consuming more resources than you need.

You can now put down the crack pipe.

[Azdgari]

Junebug, I am not the one saying that I'm only doing things I need to do.  You're doing that.  You were wrong - you're taking luxuries, just like the rest of us.  You are greedy, just like everyone else.

Difference is, you don't seem to want to be honest about it.

[HAL]

Oh Junebug - I do hope you are aware of this:

Many of our consumer devices these days are never really "off", they are using power waiting for a remote control signal. So I'm pretty sure you are using more resources than you really need, unless you unplug every device you have that responds to a remote control. 

[The Gawd]

god sat by watching the killer tornado tear through where I am in Oklahoma yesterday.  His tornado hit two schools - nice work god, now get to work helping the dead kids spiritually - their parents, well... not so much.

In my job as a claim adjuster I received several of these claims today. Peoples lives ravaged. I gave up my weekend with my daughter to work saturday through monday to be available. Its just the right thing to do. Its a pretty small sacrifice considering what people are going through, and I can guarantee you my 10 year old would agree.

Meanwhile yahweh sits on his thumb.

[natlegend]

^^^ Dude, those kids might have grown up learning about

*GASP*

sex education![1]

1.	no disrespect intended on what was, and continues to, be an awful tragedy

[Anfauglir]

Do you think God should just feed the kids or should God eliminate the cause. 

He should feed the kids.  End of.  He has the ability, he has the resources. 

God has never promised us anything. 

Then he has given nobody any reason to follow him.  With no promises, he does what he does on a whim.  Finding some car keys here, sending a tornado there, watching a kid being abused somewhere else.

God has never defined God.  Nobody has a clue. 

Then all your "oh, I've explained free will" lines are a crock.  You admit you DON'T have a clue, just made some stuff up because it makes you feel happy and helps you sleep at night.  Well, good luck to you.  But don't turn round and pronounce on why this is god's fault, and that is man's fault, when you make pronouncements like the one above.

If we have no clue abaout god, then I can assert that "god is a malicious prankster.  Bored one day, he created man specifically so that he could toy with him - like a kid with an ant farm.  Sometimes he does some good stuff, sometimes he does some bad stuff, but mainly he just likes seeing what we do."  Since "nobody has a clue", that is equally as valid a theory as yours - explains a whole hell of a lot more than yours does as well.

[junebug72]

My heart goes out to the families hit by that terrible tornado. 

Yes I am trying to figure out why God would let this happen.  The earth isn't perfect is it?

After all I've said about not getting angry I'm mad. (that was for you neo.)

[Nam]

Biblegod's a whiney bastard baby. The Bible tells me so.

-Nam

[junebug72]

Don't think I haven't noticed you put this thread in the basement. I can't even find The Community Zone.

It's alright I am feeling thankful for my life this morning but I feel guilty for it so I'm glad it's here.

[Nam]

If you look at the links above the topic it says it's in the Community Zone. The "Dead Zone" would be the "basement".

Stop reflecting.

-Nam

[screwtape]

Don't think I haven't noticed you put this thread in the basement. I can't even find The Community Zone.

I moved it to Testimonials because it was not on the topic of General Religion.  It was your personal emoting, thus, a testimonial.  It is a matter of categorization, not a punishment. 

[Anfauglir]

My heart goes out to the families hit by that terrible tornado. 

Yes I am trying to figure out why God would let this happen. 

And I'm sure you will keep thinking until you arrive at a solution - however tortuous - that does not shake any of your previously unevidenced conjectures about that "god", rather than the more Occam-worthy (but less comforting) alternatives possibilities.

I wonder how many people in Oklahoma tonight will be singing:

They say I have nothing
But they are so wrong
In my heart I'm rejoicing
how I wish they could see
Thank you Lord,(God) for your blessings on me

There's a roof up above me, I've a good place to sleep.....

[Jag]

So does this line - I'll go see what I can find about what "I Think." - mean you're going to bother to do some research for yourself this time? I didn't post any support because you haven't followed up on anything I've given you so far. You can dig up this answer for yourself; prove that you can do it.

And again, your subjective experience (you have not lost your faith, as your god-is-so-awesome posts consistently indicate) for objective reality. If 85% of the country claims to be christian, how could you possibly be right? You don't even need to research it, just apply a dose of common sense and think about it for a minute.

You're still employing sloppy thinking junebug. Try holding off on being offended and consider what I'm trying to get through to you. I'm not insulting you, I'm pointing out what is consistently getting in the way of your efforts to communicate. I'm reluctant to discuss much with you, not because we don't agree about one single stupid topic - I'm reluctant to discuss much with you since you take offense at everything, misunderstand what is being posted by other people, and use vague terms that seem to have definitions that are unique to you and you fail to clarify what you mean by them when asked. I can certainly provide examples if you need to see a few of your old posts to be reminded.

You don't think things through - it's like you stop just one thought too soon and don't follow through to the obvious conclusion - God is taking care of you but ignoring starving children. This is not difficult to understand, yet somehow, you do.

Jag I think things thru very deeply.  Well at least most of the time.  I try very hard to be "impeccable" with my words.  I am not going to change so you'll like me.  I want to make friends but not if I have to be someone I'm not.

 Yal have a stereotype of believers.  You want to get me you have to let that go.  I have checked your links. Like the one about the politician who was using belief to prevent global warming.  I said it was Greed, remember.  I get so tired of  these false accusations and attacks on my character.  I have given sources.  I don't know what it is your talking about.

I have tried to explain freewill.  Do you think God should just feed the kids or should God eliminate the cause.  Mankind is responsible for those kids.  God has never promised us anything.  God has never defined God.  Nobody has a clue.  I'm a positive thinker.  This I can not help.  I'm a lover, can't help that either.  I am who I am.

No I'm here to exchange thoughts and ideas.  Can't a person have those here?

If this is your response to the post you appear to be responding to, you just proved my point. Believe it or not jb, I'm trying to help you have a better experience here. You are welcome to think I'm being mean to you, but I assure you, this is not me being mean - you'll know the difference if you ever see it.

Try again, paying particular attention to the words I bolded. And be very very clear - when I refer to the obvious conclusion, I'm not referring to god beliefs in particular, I'm referring to obvious conclusions in general - you miss most of them (and I think it's because you stop one thought too soon, as I stated) regardless of the topic.

Your reaction to the relocating of your post is another example. Did it occur to you to take a look at the other threads that are posted in this area before jumping to the wrong conclusion, again? YOU are the source of much more of your problems here than you seem to realize.

[natlegend]

Junebug said:

I'm sorry your childhood sucked.  Mine did too.  I've turned my negative into a positive and so can you.  what I believe God will do is turn them a$$holes into one of those shit eating bugs.

That shit eating bug is my very own father. And yet the fifth of the ten commandments says that I shouls...

"Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee."

So, love ya dad, even though you completely fucked up my life and now I have to take handfuls of medications and go to weekly meetings just to function in society.[1]

1.	Oh and by the way, I am not a fucked up drug addicted homeless bum who blames everything on someone else, I have taken responsibility for my life, I own a house and have a good job