Dear God.....

[KLSuddeth]

Dear God,
Please bless the children of earth, mine and all others, the precious angels in our midst. Send all darkness away from them.
Thank you, God. Amen.


- Marianne Williamson,
"Illuminated Prayers"

This was in my email this morning.
appropriate.

 

[musicman]

Lovely.

 

[Gop guy]

That was quite nice, there's so much evil on this planet right now, we need that.

 

[crossbody]

Yes we need more prayer for the children. People keep targeting the kids with harmful and extremely sinful things. Pray, pray, and pray some more.

 

[sealybobo]

Dear God,
Please bless the children of earth, mine and all others, the precious angels in our midst. Send all darkness away from them.
Thank you, God. Amen.


- Marianne Williamson,
"Illuminated Prayers"

This was in my email this morning.
appropriate.

Don't waste your time. Today, someone in the world is going to be kidnapped, tortured, raped and murdered. They are going to suffer unthinkable pain. Prayers don't help. If God answers some prayers but lets other people suffer, wow how mean. And don't write it off as the lord works in mysterious ways. Think. If he saved 1 but 199 died, something wrong here.

 

[Meriweather]

Don't waste your time. Today, someone in the world is going to be kidnapped, tortured, raped and murdered. They are going to suffer unthinkable pain. Prayers don't help. If God answers some prayers but lets other people suffer, wow how mean. And don't write it off as the lord works in mysterious ways. Think. If he saved 1 but 199 died, something wrong here.

If you saw that happening to someone in front of you, would your attitude be, "I'm not wasting my time helping this one person because it is likely the same is happening to 199 other people and they will die. So why should I be moved to help this one?"

Why wait around for someone else (in this case, God) to resolve what is the work of mankind? Get busy. It is our work. And I can imagine God praying that one of us will do something for at least one person.

 

[sealybobo]

If you saw that happening to someone in front of you, would your attitude be, "I'm not wasting my time helping this one person because it is likely the same is happening to 199 other people and they will die. So why should I be moved to help this one?"

Why wait around for someone else (in this case, God) to resolve what is the work of mankind? Get busy. It is our work. And I can imagine God praying that one of us will do something for at least one person.

God sits and watches 199 burn and saves 1?

 

[frigidweirdo]

Dear God,
Please bless the children of earth, mine and all others, the precious angels in our midst. Send all darkness away from them.
Thank you, God. Amen.


- Marianne Williamson,
"Illuminated Prayers"

This was in my email this morning.
appropriate.

But this is God...

"So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth!"

An angry and violent thing that doesn't give one damn about humans.

 

[Meriweather]

God sits and watches 199 burn and saves 1?

How, exactly, does he save one?

 

[BreezeWood]

Dear God,
Please bless the children of earth, mine and all others, the precious angels in our midst. Send all darkness away from them.
Thank you, God. Amen.


- Marianne Williamson,
"Illuminated Prayers"

This was in my email this morning.
appropriate.

a guest - they must be seeking redemption for previous violations ...

does that include those not human because seems no one gives a sht for garden earth, the other inhabitants -

so long as there are enough mcdonalds to feed their children, that's all that matters.

- funny the other day, the christian mused maybe they'll not have any children - to then grin, oh, to late for that they've all graduated. funny how innocent they are.

 

[TheParser]

Don't waste your time. Today, someone in the world is going to be kidnapped, tortured, raped and murdered. They are going to suffer unthinkable pain. Prayers don't help. If God answers some prayers but lets other people suffer, wow how mean. And don't write it off as the lord works in mysterious ways. Think. If he saved 1 but 199 died, something wrong here.

Like many (most?) other human beings, it is difficult to believe that God exists since I have never had a shred of evidence that He does.

I sure hope that I am wrong.

 

[luiza]

Like many (most?) other human beings, it is difficult to believe that God exists since I have never had a shred of evidence that He does.

I sure hope that I am wrong.

Did you notice this was started in 2004 .
Naturally nobody who is sane would disgree with the sentiment, however sugary and sentimentally it is phrased .
But almost twenty years later does anybody believe that the general position has improved one jot?
Exactly . Almost certainly worse

Nice one God . Where are you ? What are you doing that is more important?
Useless Guy --- male obviously .

 

[sealybobo]

Like many (most?) other human beings, it is difficult to believe that God exists since I have never had a shred of evidence that He does.

I sure hope that I am wrong.

Me too. I often say I'd be much more open to the possibility a god exists if half the population didn't tell me a story I can't believe, which makes me believe it's man made up. And for sinister reasons. To control us and for money. It's a business. Some think a scam or con.

I wonder how many people who become priests/preachers/reverends/clergy do it because they believe it's a racket they can exploit. Certainly those guys who go around the country conning people with fake healings can't truly believe in god or else they wouldn't do what they do.

Did George Bush really believe in God? If so, how did he justify doing what he did in Iraq?

 

[sealybobo]

How, exactly, does he save one?

If a plane goes down and everyone but 1 person dies, don't give him credit for the miracle that one person survived. I saw the science behind the woman who survived a bomb and going down on a 747. She was trapped between the back of the plane and food cart, and the landing was the best possible landing for her. And even still she broke most of her bones and barely survived.

The better miracle for the lord to do do is tighten the bolt that came loose so the plane doesn't come down. Make the birds that the engine is going to suck in move out of the way so no one dies tomorrow. Could you do that kind of miracle lord? Not let the plane go down to save 1. That's bullshit lord.

 

[Meriweather]

If a plane goes down and everyone but 1 person dies, don't give him credit for the miracle that one person survived. I saw the science behind the woman who survived a bomb and going down on a 747. She was trapped between the back of the plane and food cart, and the landing was the best possible landing for her. And even still she broke most of her bones and barely survived.

The better miracle for the lord to do do is tighten the bolt that came loose so the plane doesn't come down. Make the birds that the engine is going to suck in move out of the way so no one dies tomorrow. Could you do that kind of miracle lord? Not let the plane go down to save 1. That's bullshit lord.

'Miracle' is used in a number of ways. One, is that a supernatural event occurred. Two, a highly improbable or extraordinary (not 'supernatural') event occurred. And so forth.

In your example, the survival of the one woman seems to fit the second category of the improbability of survival did occur. In your later example of...

The better miracle for the lord to do do is tighten the bolt that came loose so the plane doesn't come down.

...how would we know how many--if any--bolts have been tightened supernaturally? God has this habit of not letting his left hand know what his right hand is doing. If some bolts have been tightened supernaturally, how many lives have been saved? No way of knowing.

Personally, my own belief is that, in general, God lets the physical realm operate by its own rules, as his main focus is the spiritual realm--its life and its health.

 

[TheParser]

Me too. I often say I'd be much more open to the possibility a god exists if half the population didn't tell me a story I can't believe, which makes me believe it's man made up. And for sinister reasons. To control us and for money. It's a business. Some think a scam or con.

I wonder how many people who become priests/preachers/reverends/clergy do it because they believe it's a racket they can exploit. Certainly those guys who go around the country conning people with fake healings can't truly believe in god or else they wouldn't do what they do.

Did George Bush really believe in God? If so, how did he justify doing what he did in Iraq?

And what about those mediums that claim that they can communicate with our deceased loved ones?

I hope that some of them actually can.

 

[sealybobo]

'Miracle' is used in a number of ways. One, is that a supernatural event occurred. Two, a highly improbable or extraordinary (not 'supernatural') event occurred. And so forth.

In your example, the survival of the one woman seems to fit the second category of the improbability of survival did occur. In your later example of...

...how would we know how many--if any--bolts have been tightened supernaturally? God has this habit of not letting his left hand know what his right hand is doing. If some bolts have been tightened supernaturally, how many lives have been saved? No way of knowing.

Personally, my own belief is that, in general, God lets the physical realm operate by its own rules, as his main focus is the spiritual realm--its life and its health.

I didn't know god was a showoff or could miss a few bolts. Tighten all the bolts lord. No need for recognition. It's like giving to charity and bragging to everyone you did it. You're not supposed to do that I thought, according to the bible. So just tighten all bolts secretly.

If there is a god, yea, he doesn't interfere. My hunch is he's not actually able to. He not really a god. He lives and dies too. Why does our creator have to be a god?

The universe is real and natural. We don't know everything but we can explain how it all happened. Be just don't know what caused it or what came before. As humans, we don't like not knowing. So we fill in the gaps. God did it.

So you must not be a christian. Just a theist. So you have the benefit of getting to cherry pick. Your god doesn't perform any miracles. Because he can't or won't.

 

[Meriweather]

I didn't know god was a showoff or could miss a few bolts. Tighten all the bolts lord. No need for recognition. It's like giving to charity and bragging to everyone you did it. You're not supposed to do that I thought, according to the bible. So just tighten all bolts secretly.

Interesting thought. If God tightens all the bolts, then mankind doesn't need to bother with bolts or learn about them. Perhaps God can do all our homework and house and yard maintenance as well so we don't have to learn such nit-picky things? What, exactly, are you thinking we don't need to learn or need to do for ourselves?

If there is a god, yea, he doesn't interfere. My hunch is he's not actually able to. He not really a god. He lives and dies too. Why does our creator have to be a god?

The universe is real and natural. We don't know everything but we can explain how it all happened. Be just don't know what caused it or what came before. As humans, we don't like not knowing. So we fill in the gaps. God did it.

So you must not be a christian. Just a theist. So you have the benefit of getting to cherry pick. Your god doesn't perform any miracles. Because he can't or won't.

Those are quite some conclusions, especially about me. Are you aware that most theists believe God just set things in motion and went on his way? I believe, in fact, I know that God is very interested in the small things of our lives. (Is that an example of cherry-picking?)

That assumption that God dies? Isn't that based on the reasoning that what is physical dies, but why conclude since what is physical dies, then the same must be true for what is spirit? What prevents the spirit from being eternal?

You say God doesn't perform any miracles, so I am guessing you have never seen his miracles in your own life? I have. The difference between us may be that because there have been miracles, I don't feel I am entitled to one whenever I feel one is needed. I am not of the mind that we are an entitled people or should live in a world of entitlements.

You seem to agree there is much about the physical world we don't understand. You are fine with that, but demand we should know the mind of God? Is that an irony or a paradox, or an irony wrapped in a paradox?

 

[sealybobo]

Interesting thought. If God tightens all the bolts, then mankind doesn't need to bother with bolts or learn about them. Perhaps God can do all our homework and house and yard maintenance as well so we don't have to learn such nit-picky things? What, exactly, are you thinking we don't need to learn or need to do for ourselves?


Those are quite some conclusions, especially about me. Are you aware that most theists believe God just set things in motion and went on his way? I believe, in fact, I know that God is very interested in the small things of our lives. (Is that an example of cherry-picking?)

That assumption that God dies? Isn't that based on the reasoning that what is physical dies, but why conclude since what is physical dies, then the same must be true for what is spirit? What prevents the spirit from being eternal?

You say God doesn't perform any miracles, so I am guessing you have never seen his miracles in your own life? I have. The difference between us may be that because there have been miracles, I don't feel I am entitled to one whenever I feel one is needed. I am not of the mind that we are an entitled people or should live in a world of entitlements.

You seem to agree there is much about the physical world we don't understand. You are fine with that, but demand we should know the mind of God? Is that an irony or a paradox, or an irony wrapped in a paradox?

This spirit you say created everything and cares about me. Now you're saying it's bigger than that.

What miracle happened in your life? I may have experienced similar things and not thought them to be miracles.

If you admit we don't know, that's a step in the right direction.

 

[Meriweather]

This spirit you say created everything and cares about me. Now you're saying it's bigger than that.

What miracle happened in your life? I may have experienced similar things and not thought them to be miracles.

If you admit we don't know, that's a step in the right direction.

I can guarantee you have not experienced them. I can also guarantee that you would dismiss mine as some kind of brain burp. Anything but God.

I was in church, praying before Mass. Suddenly God interrupted my prayers, saying I should tell something to a woman I did not know who was seated on the other side of church something. Being the pious, praying, church-going woman I was, I immediately retorted, "Tell her yourself. If you can tell me, you can tell her."

Now...you finish the story to your satisfaction. You know...one that does not involve God or one of his miracles.