You Asked For It
I'm always in favor of talking and learning about people's beliefs and philosophies. It's a great way to learn about one and other, and hopefully understand each other a little better. I've asked these questions before, and I've received some interesting answers. So here are a series of questions. Fill free to answer.
1) Do you believe that an atheist like me deserves to burn in Hell? How do you feel about the concept of Hell? Do you believe that a person can only go to Heaven if they do good deeds or have to accept Christ as their savior? If you believe that a person that is not a Christian or doesn’t accept Jesus Christ as their lord and savior automatically goes to Hell to pay for their sins, then do you believe that Anne Frank is burning in Hell right now? What about Gandhi? Do you believe that Jeffery Dahmer, America’s most notorious serial killer, is in Heaven now after he converted to Christianity during his prison sentence?
2) How do you feel about homosexuality and same sex marriage? If you're against them both, without referencing the Bible, what’s your reason? If you're supportive of both, do other Christians you know feel the same? If not, why do you still hang out with them? Have any friends or family members who are gay/lesbian? And how many of them consider you a friend?
3) How old would you say the Earth is? If you say it's 6000 years, what’s your solid evidence that suggests that (again, without referencing the Bible)? What about evolution? Do you believe/support that too? If you disagree, what's your evidence against it (again, without referencing the Bible)? If agree, why do you feel some Christians won't accept scientific evidence? If they can accept that a Creator made the whole universe, can’t they make room for accepting the fact that both Earth and the universe are billions of years old?
4) According to the Bible, God has committed numerous acts of violence against humanity, from the Great Flood to the 10 Plagues of Egypt. So why is God still considered the "good guy"? Is God still the "good guy" if he watches children get beaten, get raped, or slowly die of cancer, and does nothing about it? What about the Devil? He technically punishes bad people for their sins. Why is he labeled the bad guy?
5) How do you feel knowing that there are Christian extremists out there right now that promote violence, bigotry, ignorance, and intolerance? How do you feel about televangelists who scam and rob money from their followers? How do you feel about Church groups that try to cover up sexual abuse? How did you feel when right-wing Christian extremists stormed the Capital Building on January 6th? If all these actions that these people who identify themselves as "Christians" make you upset, why do you still hold onto your faith?
Thank you for your time.