I want you to ask yourself this question: "Why do I believe in god?"
That's it. I don't want to tell you that there is no god or twist your arm into accepting my position on the matter, I want you to look at your own beliefs and think about it. I have some more questions to get you started, and please don't feel obliged to answer them here to me. Answer them in your own mind for yourself.
1/ How did you come to believe in god?
Think about it. How is it that you came to this belief. Compare it to some other beliefs. How do they square up? How reliable would you say your method of coming to this belief is compared to using a similar method to form beliefs about other things?
2/ Are there things in the Bible that make you feel uncomfortable?
I don't want to go and cherry pick verses that seem bad, but are there things that you feel don't sound like things consistent with something a loving being would do? Why is that?
3/ When you pray, do you get what you prayed for?
If prayer is about asking god to do things, how does it square off with god's divine plan? If you had to write down all your prayers where you asked for something in a journal and followed up whether those things were granted or not, what proportion of the prayers do you feel would be answered? Are you enterprising enough to engage in this activity?
4/ Can you tell a child dying a long painful death from a disease with no cure that god loves them and has a plan in which it is necessary for them to suffer?
5/ When you receive answers from god, how do you know that those answers are actually from god and not just your interpretations of scripture or hunches, feelings or dreams concocted by your mind to serve your own views and desires?
6/ Why are there so many different sects of christianity? Why can't god just write a letter that unequivocally answers the questions that have divided christians for centuries and have resulted in drawn out conflict?
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