MESSAGE TO ALL

[Amber]

I would just like to take the time to let everyone know how much God loves you!  I know most of you dont believe there is a God, but there really is.  He desires to be close to you.  We have all made mistakes in life, but God can wipe those away.  Im sure some of you are getting really upset right now, but even if there is just one person out there who is struggling with what they believe I am open to share how God has worked in my life.  I am not intending to start a debate, but to let you know someone loves you!

[tacoma_kyle]

In all honesty, I laid my elbow on my desk, propped my arm up, cupped my hand, laid my chin on it and rolled my eyes.

I highly doubt any -real- athiest can ever change; no matter how many book are written saying so.

There is this thing, rationality, that I just cant beat outta my head.

[Will]

I always wonder where people get the idea that atheists are all angry, hate filled people. When I hear the name of god, I don't get mad. I'm usually rather indifferent. When someone tells me god loves me, I'm glad because they are the type of person who understands the positive aspects of religion. I can't tell you how many times I've had religious people tell me that god hates me or that I'm going to hell. Amber, you're already way ahead of these people, so that's good.

On the off chance I end up in hell some day, it'll have been totally worth it because I would have lived as who I am, not forcing myself to follow something I don't believe in. Likewise, Amber, if belief in god makes you happier or helps you to strive to be a better person, it doesn't really matter if god exists or doesn't.

Considering all the hate spam we've gotten recently, this is actually a breath of fresh air.

[MommaSquid]

That's very sweet, Amber.  I'm sure you're a nice girl, but I don't need superstition in my life to feel loved.

Thanks just the same.  Take care.

[skeptigirl]

No offense, Amber, but tell me why God didn't love these kids and their families?

Warning, very graphic pictures of dead kids.

Tell my how a loving God instructed his people to kill every man, woman, child, infant, and even the animals of the Amalekites just so the Jews could steal their land? Sounds to me more like someone wrote the Bible as an excuse to justify such an act. Pretty typical human thing to do.

And how about all these Bible verses? Do click on "expand" I wouldn't want you to miss the fun.

Leviticus: God gives detailed instructions for performing ritualistic animal sacrifices. such bloody rituals must be important to God, judging from the number of times that he repeats their instructions. Indeed the entire first nine chapters of Leviticus can be summarized as follows: Get an animal, kill it, sprinkle the blood around, cut the dead animal into pieces, and burn it for a "sweet savor unto the Lord." Chapters 1 - 9

# "Flay the burnt offering; cut it into pieces." 1:6

# Burn the head, fat, and entrails for "a sweet savour unto the Lord." 1:8-9

# "Kill it and sprinkle blood round about." 1:11, 3:2, 3:8, 3:13

# "Cut it into pieces and burn it for a sweet savour unto the Lord." 1:12-13

# "Wring off its head and burn it." 1:15

# "For a sweet savour unto the Lord." 1:17

# "Part it in pieces... it is a meat offering." 2:6

# "It is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire." 2:10

# What to do with the fat, kidneys, and liver of your burnt offerings. 3:3-4, 3:9-10, 3:14-16

# "Kill the bullock before the Lord and take of the bullock's blood." 4:4

# "The priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle the blood seven times before the Lord." 4:6, 4:17

# "Pour all the blood at the bottom of the altar." 4:7

# What to do with the fat, kidneys, liver, skin, head, entrails, and dung from your burnt offerings. 4:8-11

# "The bullock shall be killed before the Lord." 4:14

# "Kill it and pour out the blood." 4:24-25

# "Slay it for a sin offering, pour out the blood, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the Lord." 4:29-31

# Slay it for a sin offering, put the blood on your finger, and pour out the blood at the bottom of the altar. 4:33-34

# Wringing off the heads of pigeons for God. 5:8-9

# Kill the sin offering before the Lord. "It is most holy." 6:25

# The holy law of trespass offering: Find an animal; kill it; sprinkle the blood around; offer God the fat, rump, kidneys, and caul; burn and eat it in the holy place, for "it is most holy." 7:1-6

# The priest must sprinkle the blood of the peace offerings. 7:14

# Be careful what you eat during these animal sacrifices. Don't eat fat or blood -- these are for God. (And he doesn't like to share!) 7:18-27

# God gives instructions for "wave offerings" and "heave offerings." He says these offerings are to be made perpetually "by a statute for ever." Have you made your heave offering today? 7:30-36

# Moses does it all for God. First he kills an animal; wipes the blood on Aaron's ears, thumbs, and big toes. Then he sprinkles blood round about and waves the guts before the Lord. Finally he burns the whole mess for "a sweet savour before the Lord." 8:14-32

# More killing, sprinkling of blood, waiving animal parts, and burning carcasses "before the Lord." 9:2-21

# Kill the calf, dip your finger in the blood, sprinkle the blood round about, burn the fat and entrails, and wave the breast for a wave offering before the Lord. 9:8-21

# Two of the sons of Aaron "offered strange fire before the Lord" and "there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord." 10:1-3

# If priests misbehave at the tabernacle by uncovering their heads, tearing their clothes, leaving with holy oil on them, or by drinking "wine or strong drink", then God will kill them and send his wrath on "all the people." 10:6-9

# After a woman gives birth, a priest must kill a lamb, pigeon, or dove as a sin offering. This is because having children is sinful and God likes it when things are killed for him. 12:6-8

# God's law for lepers: Get two birds. Kill one. Dip the live bird in the blood of the dead one. Sprinkle the blood on the leper seven times, and then let the blood-soaked bird fly off. Next find a lamb and kill it. Wipe some of its blood on the patient's right ear, thumb, and big toe. Sprinkle seven times with oil and wipe some of the oil on his right ear, thumb and big toe. Repeat. Finally kill a couple doves and offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. 14:2-32

# God "put the plague of leprosy" into the houses of the Canaanites. 14:34

# God explains the use of scapegoats. It goes like this: Get two goats. Kill one. Wipe, smear, and sprinkle the blood around seven times. Then take the other goat, give it the sins of all the people, and send it off into the wilderness. 16:6-28

# Sprinkle the blood and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the Lord. 17:6

# If you upset God, he'll cause the land to vomit you out. 18:25

# "Whosoever shall commit any of these abominations ... shall be cut off from among their people." 18:29, 19:8

# Don't eat sacrifices on the third day or God will cut you off from among your people. 19:6-8

# Kill anyone who "gives his seed" to Molech. If you refuse, God will cut you and your family off. 20:2-5

# "For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall surely be put to death." Couldn't we try spanking first? 20:9

# Both parties in adultery shall be executed. 20:10

# If a man has sex with his father's wife, kill them both. 20:11

# If a man "lies" with his daughter-in-law, then both must be killed. 20:12

# If a man has sex with another man, kill them both. 20:13

# If you "lie" with your wife and your mother-in-law (now that sounds fun!), then all three of you must be burned to death. 20:14

# If a man or woman "lie with a beast" both the person and the poor animal are to be killed. 20:15-16

# People with "familiar spirits" (witches, fortune tellers, etc.) are to be stoned to death.  20:27

# A priest's daughter who "plays the whore" is to be burned to death. 21:9

# God gives us more instructions on killing and burning animals. I guess the first nine chapters of Leviticus wasn't enough. He says we must do this because he really likes the smell -- it is "a sweet savour unto the Lord." 23:12-14, 18

# Don't do any work on the day of atonement or God will destroy you. 23:29-30

# A man curses and blasphemes while disputing with another man. Moses asks God what to do about it. God says that the whole community must stone him to death. "And the children of Israel did as the Lord and Moses commanded." 24:10-23

# Anyone who blasphemes or curses shall be stoned to death by the entire community. 24:16

# God tells the Israelites to make slaves out of their neighbors and their families. The "heathens" and "strangers" are to be their possessions forever. 25:44-46

# God tells the Israelites to "chase" their enemies and make them "fall before you by the sword." He figures five of the Israelites will be able to "chase" a hundred of their enemies, and a hundred will be able to "put ten thousand to flight." 26:7-8

# God describes the torments that he has planned for those who displease him. The usual stuff: plagues, burning fevers that will consume the eyes, etc. but he reserves the worst for the little children. He says "ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it," "I will send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children," and "ye shall eat the flesh of your sons and daughters." 26:16-39

# All "devoted" things (both man and beast) "shall surely be put to death." 27:28-29
Numbers

# God shows his hospitality with the admonition: "The stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death." 1:51, 3:10, 3:38

# Two of Aaron's sons are killed by God for "offering strange fire before the Lord." 3:4

# Don't touch or "go in to see when the holy things are covered." God kills people who touch or look at covered holy things. 4:15, 20

# God tells the people to expel from camp "every leper, every one that hath an issue, and whoever is defiled by the dead." So by God's instructions, the sick are abandoned and left to suffer and die alone. 5:1-4

# "And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it." (He had his hearing aid on.) He then burned the complainers alive. That'll teach them. 11:1

# "And wile the flesh [of the quails] was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague. "The Bible isn't too clear about what these poor folks did to upset God so much; all it says is that they had "lusted." 11:33

# Miriam and Aaron (Moses' brother and sister) criticize Moses for marrying an Ethiopian woman and thus breaking the law of God. But God makes it clear that his rules don't apply to his favorites, and he strikes Miriam with leprosy. Notice that only Miriam is punished, though both she and Aaron complained. 12:1, 9-10

# More plagues and pestilence sent by God. God repeats one of his favorite promises: "your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness." 14:12, 29, 14:32-37

# God punishes the children for the failings of their great-great grandfathers. 14:18

# God killed those that murmured against him with a plague. 14:36-37

# God gives more instructions for the ritualistic killing of animals. The smell of burning flesh is "a sweet savour unto the Lord." 15:3, 13-14, 24

# The Israelites find a man picking up sticks on the sabbath. God commands them to kill him by throwing rocks at him. 15:32-36

# Because of a dispute between Korah and Moses, God has the ground open up and swallow Korah, Dathan, and Abiram "and their wives, and their sons, and their little children." Then, just for the hell of it, God has a fire burn to death 250 "men that offered incense." 16:20-35

# After God killed Korah, his family, and 250 innocent bystanders, the people complained saying, "ye have killed the people of the Lord." So God, who doesn't take kindly to criticism, sends a plague on the people. And "they that died in the plague were 14,700." 16:41-50

# God threatens to kill those who murmur. To which the people reply, "Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish .... Shall we be consumed with dying?" 17:12-13

# Stay away from holy things and places -- like churches. God might have to kill you if you get too close.18:3, 22, 32

# God shows us how to make new friends by saying : "The stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death." 18:7

# God describes once again the procedure for ritualistic animal sacrifices. such rituals must be extremely important to God, since he makes their performance a "statute" and "covenant" forever. 18:17-19

# The purification of the unclean. These absurd rituals, cruel sacrifices, and unjust punishments are vitally important to God. They are to be "a perpetual statute" for all humankind. 19:1-22

# "And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities." This verse demonstrates the power of prayer: If you ask God, he will destroy entire cities for you. 21:3

# God sends "fiery serpents" to bite his chosen people, and many of them die. 21:6

# God delivers the Amorites into Moses' hands. (You're in God hands with Moses.) So Moses does the usual thing, killing everyone "until their was none left alive." 21:34-35

# God's people will kill like a lion and then "drink the blood of the slain." 23:24

# God, who is as strong as a unicorn, will eat up the nations, break their bones, and then pierce them through with his arrows. What a guy! 24:8

# After the people "commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab," Moses has them all killed. Then God tells Moses to hang their dead bodies up in front of him; God says that this will satisfy him. 25:1-5

# When one of the Israelite men brings home a foreign woman, "Phinehas (Aaron's grandson) sees them and throws a spear "through the man .. and the woman through her belly." This act pleases God so much that "the plague was stayed from the children of Israel." But not before 24,000 had died. 25:6-9

# For impaling the interracial couple, God rewards Phinehas and his sons with the everlasting priesthood. 25:10-13

# God tells Moses how to care for his neighbors by saying: "Vex the Midianites, and smite them." 25:16-17

# The ground swallow Korah and his companions and a fire consumes 250 men. 26:10

# "And Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before the Lord." When you go camping avoid making any unusual fires. 26:61

# In these chapters, God provides ridiculously detailed instructions for the ritualistic sacrifice of animals. The burning of their dead bodies smells great to God. Eleven times in these two chapters God says that they are to him a "sweet savour." 28 - 29

# Under God's direction, Moses' army defeats the Midianites. They kill all the adult males, but take the women and children captive. When Moses learns that they left some live, he angrily says: "Have you saved all the women alive? Kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves." So they went back and did as Moses (and presumably God) instructed, killing everyone except for the virgins. In this way they got 32,000 virgins -- Wow! (Even God gets some of the booty -- including the virgins.) 31:1-54

# God killed all the Egyptian firstborn. 33:4

# God tells Moses to exterminate the residents of Canaan and destroy all of their religious symbols and possessions. 33:50-52

# But if the Israelites don't kill them all, then God will make them pricks in their eyes and thorns in their sides. And he will do unto the Israelites as he planned to do to the inhabitants of Canaan. 33:55-56

# "The revenger of blood" must murder the murderer just as soon as he sees him. 35:19, 21

# When a murder is committed the blood pollutes the land. The only way to cleanse it is to spill more blood by killing the killer. 35:30, 33...

And that's only a small fraction of your loving God.

I think you need to read your Bible a little more carefully.

[SteveS]

If god wants to love me, shouldn't he at least ask permission first?  Haha, funny, just joking.....

Look   .....    sigh, when you say,

I know most of you dont believe there is a God, but there really is.

Okay, this just doesn't mean anything to me.  I might say, "Amber, I know you think there is a god, but there really isn't".  Did that just cause you to question your belief?  Probably not, right?  So - same thing the other way around.  If you won't accept my statement that there is no god, how can you possibly expect me to accept your statement that there is?

[Eclecticsaturn]

well put steve. i need say nothing more, except for.....................YAY god loves me. im converting first thing tommarrow morning.

[tacoma_kyle]

Haha, tomorrow morning, .

[JustInterested]

Why would Amber past that?

What does she have to gain?

[Brakefade]

If god knows everything that happened in the past, everything that's happening now, and everything that will happen in the future, he must know which "souls" are going to hell and which are going to heaven long before he "creates" them. So why did he knownly create souls that have a 0% chance of getting into heaven, and 100% chance of going to hell? That doesn't sound like a loving god to me. I guess when you know everything life can get pretty boring, and you must find some way to entertain yourself. That's probably the same reason why god, with all his power, never even bother to kill the devil.

[rlrose328]

Thank so much for your post to save me/us.  I'm not mad... I'm resigned to the fact that many people out there like you don't care that I believe what I believe and I don't believe what you do but you insist that I believe what you do yet you don't care what I believe.   (Did I just say that?)

Anyway... I know someone loves me... my husband and my son are out there, loving me all the time, so I take comfort in that.  I also take comfort in the fact that my cat loves me and he purrs really nice... I don't get that from god.

I had god in my life... and got nothing from him or it at all.  I get much more satisfaction from thinking for myself and oding the right thing regardless if I get into heaven or go to hell.  Can you say that?