to not understand why Christians think Jesus died for our sins?

[switcheroooo]

If Jesus died for everyone's sins, does that mean people are not accountable for their actions? You can kill people, steal and lie but have a protected status because Jesus died for your sins.

How does this work? Why are people not responsible for their own sins? Where is the justice?

Not sure about the easiest to pass comment...at GCSE for the past two years, the grade boundary for a 9 has been 90%! Compared to Geography, which was 75%.

I am not saying it is arrogant about enjoying a happy and healthy life. You are so fixated on enjoying your 'perfect' life.

Like I said you are narrow and closed minded to the possibility of things that cannot always be explained. You think because you can't touch and experience it, then it must be imaginary.

But you already know that as you keep side stepping these points.

Found this verse:

There was a man who boasted about tomorrow in the Bible. Jesus tells us a parable about him, “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’” (Luke 12:16-20).

Careful Parker, God will be striking you down at daring to enjoy life ….

I’m with you. Life is to be enjoyed otherwise what’s the point? Shit comes along from time to time and we deal with it as and when. Enjoy every day as much as you can because you never know when it’s going to end - could be at 40, could be at 90. I couldn’t live my life constantly worrying about have I sinned, will god be displeased with me, will I be on the road to Hell in the afterlife because I told a few white lies. Must be exhausting.

That’s interesting! Has that changed? DD was told by an actual teacher it’s one of the easiest subjects at A Level, I guess compared to content heavy subjects like English or History. She said as long as you can waffle in an exam you’ll be fine! 😆

I have always felt ‘we aren’t meant to understand god’ is a very handy get out card. I used to get told that when I was younger and asking questions, to me it just the equivalent of a parent saying ‘Because I said so’ when asking why something was the way it was. It’s a catch all lazy way of getting out of explaining things that don’t make sense.

I appreciate your honest answer.

I cannot imagine respecting and worshipping a god if I believed them to be omnipotent and also believed they stepped in to answer some prayers but not those of desperate children begging for help from
god.

To worship a god capable of stepping in (assuming someone believes he is omnipotent and does answer some prayers) who refuses to do so in such circumstances, is to worship a cruel god.

My DD got a 9 at GCSE for RE and DS is on track to as well.
The reason isn't because its easy but because they love it and the teacher is great. He is a Christian but there are plenty in DS class (like us)who have no religion or who are of other faiths. The Teacher is very good at teaching without presenting any beliefs as facts, despite that fact that he believes himself.
DS loves the debating and the Ethics side of the lessons, in fact he is doing Religion and Ethics for A Level next year and will probably do PPE at Uni after that.
I also find Christianity really interesting, I am not a believer but more from a History and Sociology perspective

@switcheroooo Jesus says the only way to the Father, ie God is through Him. Therefore to a Christian, belief in God is not enough.

@parker231 firstly I seriously doubt you've never made a bad decision. We all have. Secondly, you may think you're quite happy but how do you know God's plan for your life isn't so much better? Why don't you pray and ask Him? Prayer is just a conversation with God. If you don't believe He exists then no harm can come of it, can it? Maybe you'll hear something back. Finally, Christians don't only care about this life. We know that pleasure in this life can be short lived but the joy of being with God in heaven is forever.

I completely agree with this, I’ve had friends die suddenly and tragically very young, and this is why I think you need to enjoy life to the fullest while you can. Because one day you will just be dust and ashes. But for me, that’s it. God doesn’t come into it at all. Death…then nothing.

I think that’s where I am
after having had it explained I still can’t square the circle of god supposedly being all
powerful yet having these rules about sun and forgiveness and sacrifice.

a god who allows suffering, who demands to be worshiped and obeyed, who punishes, who refuses to make himself visible or give messages clearly, well that’s no god I want anything to do with

Completely agree with you! Theologians have been debating the Problem of Evil for centuries, and still are! David Hume famously said that God being omnipotent and omnibenevolent cannot exist alongside Evil.

There are plenty of explanations, but we will never truly know if they are correct.

A lot of philosophy and theology is purely theoretical, which for a lot of atheists who like physical proof, is just too much, which I totally understand.

There are around 3,000 claimed gods and deities. How do you know that 'yours' is the 'right' god...? Isn't it more likely that none of them are right, but all are different societies telling of stories to make up for a lack of understanding at the time?

Intuition on the other hand is a 'feeling', which is inevitably based on past experiences, stories, interpretations and prejudices. Some of that is bound to be intriniscally linked to DNA, and is an extension of evolution and survival of the fittest. Now, I know that Darwin is a thorn in the side of creationists. But one can't credibly ignore the evidence.

And then theres the small matter of civilisation millenia before the stories of Adam and Eve and the bible existed. We can all agree, because there is irrefutable eveidence, that cultures in China, Eygypt and South America to name a few have existed for 5,000 years or so and predate Christianity...how do you square that circle?

Take the ancient Eygyptians. They had around a dozen gods to help them make sense of things, from the sun (Ra) to storms (Seth) to the sky (Horus) and so on. As human knowldege expanded the importance of the gods faded...and so it is with all gods over time.

Both GCSE and A Level RS are incredibly content heavy. Then students have to analyse and compare/contrast different views. Waffling is actually the best way to write a lot that gets you no credit!

I don’t think those answers are really good enough for anyone with a bit of critical thinking, it’s not that atheists don’t listen, it’s that the answers don’t make any sense

They don't make sense, you're right. Faith is about believing in things without proof or evidence. I'm not saying its right or wrong, but its how most faiths and religions work.

Ah faith. Every time something is questioned because it doesn’t make sense, or there’s no evidence, we’re told we have to have faith. That’s the point isn’t it, god designed things in such a way that it’s not provable or makes sense, you just have to blindly follow.

exactly how people would make up a religion if they needed to control people.

You're welcome to that belief. I think its healthy to question religion, especially your own if you have one.

But immediately thinking people who have faith are somehow 'controlled' is rather demeaning.

Your answer to the Problem of Evil is essentially ¯\(ツ)/¯

I'm not surprised that many other people see that as a very weak position.

It's not my answer, its the accepted answer that is hotly debated by theologians and philosophers. I can't give a definitive answer, as there isn't one!

Can imaginary beings die?

If I was to start praying - how would my life be better? Praying to an imaginary god?

Could you explain what this God’s Plan for you’ means. I’ve seen it a lot over the years but it’s never really elaborated on.

I can see how organised religion existed only to control. They made these convoluted rules and structures, not some omnipotent god, and they were/are designed to ensure people did as they were told.

I could possibly get on board, or at least respect and understand, belief in some being, something spiritual. But organised religion with its rules, and it’s cruel god, was just a form of control that has persisted

I agree - no one can explain how life is better with a god in your life. A god which comes across as negative and cruel.