So you just died and...

[Sweetdeath]

Hahaha xDD!!
"YOUR   SHITTIN ME!" Would be my response as well.

[Pharaoh Cat]

Found this little gem floating around the internet, thought it was relevant...

That would look great as a mural on the side of a building.

What we need is an "Antichurch of the Antichrist" temple of reason where our right to have murals like that would be protected by the first amendment, right down to the "shit" and "slut" references. 

Maybe an ant could be our sacred symbol?

[Too Few Lions]

[img]
Found this little gem floating around the internet, thought it was relevant...

that's absolutely brilliant Mike, and no more unlikely to be true than a deity choosing to punish those that don't believe in it.

[not your typical...]

Argh, I went to target and missed all the fun. XD

Ah, well..
You know the whole "a serial killer can repent and go to heaven " thing ALWAYS bothered me.
It's like, if god is so awesome , then why doesn't he intervine in ANY way when an innocent is being raped or murdered?

A christian answer I usually get is "god loves his children so much. He must forgive their sins and hope they are guided to him."

What?!

Really!? I've never heard that one b4. I usually hear "He gives everyone free will. What people decide to do with it is something that He refuses to control. In the end, it all works out for the greater good."

[Tristan Jay]

Argh, I went to target and missed all the fun. XD

Ah, well..
You know the whole "a serial killer can repent and go to heaven " thing ALWAYS bothered me.
It's like, if god is so awesome , then why doesn't he intervine in ANY way when an innocent is being raped or murdered?

A christian answer I usually get is "god loves his children so much. He must forgive their sins and hope they are guided to him."

What?!

Really!? I've never heard that one b4. I usually hear "He gives everyone free will. What people decide to do with it is something that He refuses to control. In the end, it all works out for the greater good."

The free will answer is the one I've often heard, too.  One of the things that causes me frustration emerge from a follow up question to the free will thing that troubles me...I keep thinking of the Pharaoh who was ready to concede, at which point the bible says, "God hardened his heart."  Looks like interference, superficially.  I went hunting around and asking for answers to that one; couldn't lock in on an answer.    I don't mean to undercut your response; I just figure that the process of question and answer, if continually worked through, is instructive to all sides of an argument.  Apologies if this is drifting off topic, too.

[not your typical...]

The free will answer is the one I've often heard, too.  One of the things that causes me frustration emerge from a follow up question to the free will thing that troubles me...I keep thinking of the Pharaoh who was ready to concede, at which point the bible says, "God hardened his heart."  Looks like interference, superficially.  I went hunting around and asking for answers to that one; couldn't lock in on an answer. 

Normally people will tell you to look in a different translation to see what it 'really means' and whatever.

[CAlden]

You find out the Christian God (Trinity) does exist after choking on a hot dog (or whatever you prefer) and died. What argument would you use to keep God's "wrath" and "anger" from descending on you?

This is an interesting thread. I have been reading through some of the responses, and it got me wondering. What exactly would God have to be like or do in order for you to believe in him and honor him? Because it seems that there are some sort of standards and/or expectations that the Christian God isn't meeting. Just curious...

[Sandra Craft]

You find out the Christian God (Trinity) does exist after choking on a hot dog (or whatever you prefer) and died. What argument would you use to keep God's "wrath" and "anger" from descending on you?

This is an interesting thread. I have been reading through some of the responses, and it got me wondering. What exactly would God have to be like or do in order for you to believe in him and honor him? Because it seems that there are some sort of standards and/or expectations that the Christian God isn't meeting. Just curious...

Not being a much bigger dick than I am would be a good start.

[CAlden]

No, really. I was hoping for a bit more contemplation and substance than that. Have you ever given it much thought?

[Asmodean]

My original response, for one, is the real deal. Why would this matter require any more contemplation..?

First, we need some nice proof of there actually being an afterlife. Provided that, we can speculate on what happens when you wake up dead. With no such proof, the speculation is utterly meaningless.

The same applies to the "nature" of gods. Without proof of and/or need for their existence, speculation is simply meaningless.

[CAlden]

My original response, for one, is the real deal. Why would this matter require any more contemplation..?

First, we need some nice proof of there actually being an afterlife. Provided that, we can speculate on what happens when you wake up dead. With no such proof, the speculation is utterly meaningless.

The same applies to the "nature" of gods. Without proof of and/or need for their existence, speculation is simply meaningless.

Well, there IS an afterlife. It's what ever IS after you die. As to what that is exactly, you might not be sure. As for not speculating without proof, I obviously don't know you personally, but I would assume that as a responsible adult you probably speculate about the unknown all the time, e.g. anything regarding future events, sporting events, the stock market, whether a person will be a good mate, etc. As important and crucial as speculation about some of those things can be, none of them would even compare to the speculation or contemplation that would be necessitated by the possibility of the Christian God. If he is real and is who the Bible says that he is, wouldn't that be absolutely the most important thing that any of us could speculate about and contemplate? Just saying...

[Sandra Craft]

No, really. I was hoping for a bit more contemplation and substance than that. Have you ever given it much thought?

Imaginary afterlife with imaginary beings?  No, not really, not even when I was trying to be religious.  It's a cute idea but a bit too cartoonish to be taken seriously, and really, the way Xtians present their god is not very endearing. 

[DeterminedJuliet]

No, really. I was hoping for a bit more contemplation and substance than that. Have you ever given it much thought?

[Sandra Craft]

No, really. I was hoping for a bit more contemplation and substance than that. Have you ever given it much thought?

We need to have a smiley made of that pic, there are so many occasions for its use in this forum.

[DeterminedJuliet]

I'm not going to lie, I've been waiting for an "appropriate" comment to use it