Zone1 Can you find the Flaw in Atheist Speaker Christopher Hitchens' Logic Here.

[Meriweather]

Where morals originate from is not clear. The belief they come from God cant explain why different religions have very different morals. The Jewish belief is God and that is explained in the allegory of Genesis the moral teaching of man and the trial for man's freedom. Incorrectly believed by Christians as original sin and the fall of man. So did monotheism and the decalogue come from Jews or was it given top Jews by God?

A better explanation is modern psychology. Moral values are created by social interaction with the family during critical periods of development. These values would reflect the need to survive in a social context that has evolved.
See Erikson developmental stages

Who are you to say what is correctly--or incorrectly believed? Especially when you do not even correctly understand the belief?!

Out of curiosity: Do you believe God is allegory?

 

[Hafar1014]

Who are you to say what is correctly--or incorrectly believed? Especially when you do not even correctly understand the belief?!

Out of curiosity: Do you believe God is allegory?

Who are you to say what is correctly--or incorrectly believed? Especially when you do not even correctly understand the belief?!

Out of curiosity: Do you believe God is allegory?

I have the same power that you have the ability to think. Who do I have to be? I am that I am. Genesis is an allegory, Adam and Eve, the tree the fruit of which contains knowledge of good and evil and the serpent are metaphors.
God is a belief. Then we have different characters of God. Jesus a man with a name and personality literally an idol created for the less "sophisticated", the Jewish abstract God that has no name, the animists who see God in every animal rock and tree, Hindus Braham, Shintoism which is animism, who is to say who is right. They all are. Personally I think animism is beautiful. I see God if he dies exist as an abstract force that made love the most powerful force in creation. Love crosses time distance and even death, creates bonds that never end, and has no limit. You can love with no limit but anger does have limits.

 

[ding]

I always wondered why God didn't send Jesus to China and the Americas too. Didn't they deserve enlightenment? Why to only one people in one place at one time?

Christianity transcended geographical boundaries, growing from a small movement into the world's largest religion with over 2.2 billion adherents. Christianity has universal appeal, focusing on salvation for all regardless of ethnicity.

It's funny but people attack Christianity usually based upon OT references. Care to criticize what Jesus taught?

 

[ding]

The belief they come from God cant explain why different religions have very different morals.

All religions share similar moral teachings focusing on love, compassion, honesty, and charity.

 

[ding]

Moral values are created by social interaction with the family during critical periods of development.

Morals are effectively standards and standards exist for logical reasons. God is logic among other "things."

 

[Meriweather]

I have the same power that you have the ability to think. Who do I have to be? I am that I am. Genesis is an allegory, Adam and Eve, the tree the fruit of which contains knowledge of good and evil and the serpent are metaphors.
God is a belief. Then we have different characters of God. Jesus a man with a name and personality literally an idol created for the less "sophisticated", the Jewish abstract God that has no name, the animists who see God in every animal rock and tree, Hindus Braham, Shintoism which is animism, who is to say who is right. They all are. Personally I think animism is beautiful. I see God if he dies exist as an abstract force that made love the most powerful force in creation. Love crosses time distance and even death, creates bonds that never end, and has no limit. You can love with no limit but anger does have limits.

Be yourself. Everyone else is taken. I find your posts interesting. Mostly, you seem secure in your beliefs. However, my own observation (over time) is that anyone who finds the need to bash (or incorrectly state) another faith or religious practice has some insecurity in his/her own faith and belief.

 

[Hafar1014]

Morals are effectively standards and standards exist for logical reasons. God is logic among other "things."

Everything exists for emotional reasons not logic. The human mind is driven by emotion logic is tool often used mistakenly. The limbic system controls your mind and what you believe. Thats emotion and memory,

 

[Seymour Flops]

Very good answers from all who have contributed!

My answer - one of many valid ones - is that if what he says is true about God giving his divine word to illiterate primitives instead of the rulers of the great cities is to look at what those "illiterate primitives have accomplished since they got that divine word. The Jews, awaiting their Messiah, and the Christians, believing that the Messiah has come, have become the premier civilizations in the world, against which all other civilizations are judged.

If a person never raised in any religious decided to just pick one from all the world's religions and he or she wanted to pick based on successes in worldly endeavors, he or she would pick Christianity in a New York minute.

 

[ding]

God is a belief.

God is the source of existence. You believing God is a belief is you not believing God exists.

 

[Hafar1014]

God is the source of existence. You believing God is a belief is you not believing God exists.

Thats belief my mother and father created me and I never knew them

 

[Hafar1014]

Very good answers from all who have contributed!

My answer - one of many valid ones - is that if what he says is true about God giving his divine word to illiterate primitives instead of the rulers of the great cities is to look at what those "illiterate primitives have accomplished since they got that divine word. The Jews, awaiting their Messiah, and the Christians, believing that the Messiah has come, have become the premier civilizations in the world, against which all other civilizations are judged.

If a person never raised in any religious decided to just pick one from all the world's religions and he or she wanted to pick based on successes in worldly endeavors, he or she would pick Christianity in a New York minute.

Not me it makes no sense believes in Hell and uses threats to compel obedience

 

[ding]

Everything exists for emotional reasons not logic. The human mind is driven by emotion logic is tool often used mistakenly. The limbic system controls your mind and what you believe. Thats emotion and memory,

I can't say ity anymore clearly than I already have... Morals are effectively standards and standards exist for logical reasons. God is logic among other "things."

Everything does not exist for emotional reasons. Reality exists. You are free to believe and do anything you want but you are not free to avoid the consequences. That's reality.

 

[ding]

Not me it makes no sense believes in Hell and uses threats to compel obedience

Same old tired argument you always make.

 

[ding]

Thats belief my mother and father created me and I never knew them

So what? You mother and father didn't create existence. Everything which exists is a product of God's creative act.

 

[Hafar1014]

So what? You mother and father didn't create existence. Everything which exists is a product of God's creative act.

So who created God

 

[Hafar1014]

Same old tired argument you always make.

Which you have no answer to because the logic is perfect

 

[alang1216]

Christianity transcended geographical boundaries, growing from a small movement into the world's largest religion with over 2.2 billion adherents. Christianity has universal appeal, focusing on salvation for all regardless of ethnicity.

All true but that salvation arrived 1,500 years late to the Americas. Did all those ancient indigenous peoples miss out on salvation because they never heard of Jesus?

It's funny but people attack Christianity usually based upon OT references. Care to criticize what Jesus taught?

What Jesus taught or what is attributed to him? At least some of the former was just plain wrong and I don't trust the later.

 

[alang1216]

Mao was the Chinses messiah after he slaughtered 80 million people

Very weak deflection. Try to step it up.

 

[Seymour Flops]

So who created God

who or what created the universe?

Where did the matter for the Big Bang come from?

 

[ding]

All true but that salvation arrived 1,500 years late to the Americas. Did all those ancient indigenous peoples miss out on salvation because they never heard of Jesus?


What Jesus taught or what is attributed to him? At least some of the former was just plain wrong and I don't trust the later.

You are asking the wrong guy because you won't like my answer. I don't interpret the NT like an evangelical. So, no. I don't believe anyone's "salvation" is in jeopardy. I don't even worry about my "salvation" because I believe the message is about living in the here and now, not about a future reward. Take care of the journey and the rest will take care of itself whatever that might be.

I don't know how you can separate what Jesus taught and what was attributed to him. You have no guide. I do. It's called the Holy Spirit and I am led by the Holy Spirit. Feel free to enumerate all the things you believe are wrong; either attributed to Jesus or otherwise. Although for the life of me I don't see how you can distinguish between the two. My point still stands though. Your only arguments against God come from your misunderstanding of the OT, not the NT.