People Share What Plot Holes In Religions They Don’t Get And Here Are 30 Of The Most Interesting Insights
Religions are very, very complex. And in order to truly understand them, one has to really devote oneself to learning everything in and around them. But no matter how hard they try, some people just can't wrap their heads around some of the teachings.
So, in order to spark a discussion that would make sense of it all, Redditor u/sebastian-yrigoyen asked people to share, as they put it, the 'plot holes' they have noticed while practicing their religion. From Jesus' teenage years to the lack of dinosaurs, here's the sacred stories that are bugging everyone the most.
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Bring on the downvotes bc I know I'm going to get them.
No bible is the word of God written by man. They are the words of MEN written by MEN.
FFS there are over 1,000 denominations of Christianity alone, each knowing their version is the right one and all others are blasphemy.
Not to mention every bible from each religion is packed with contradictions...
All these 'plot holes' or people's search for answers in general highlight the fundamental differences between science and religion. The National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine) shared this statement on the topic:
"Science and religion are based on different aspects of human experience. In science, explanations must be based on evidence drawn from examining the natural world. Scientifically based observations or experiments that conflict with an explanation eventually must lead to modification or even abandonment of that explanation. Religious faith, in contrast, does not depend only on empirical evidence, is not necessarily modified in the face of conflicting evidence, and typically involves supernatural forces or entities."
"In the beginning there was Adam and Eve" Ok, I'm following that. 2 people on the planet.
They had 2 sons named Cain and Able. Yep, still with it. 4 people on the planet.
Cain killed Able. Ok, thats down to 3 people on the planet.
Cain took a wife. Wait, wut?
The National Academy of Medicine argues that because they are not a part of nature, supernatural entities cannot be investigated by science. In this sense, they say, science and religion are separate and address aspects of human understanding in different ways. Attempts to pit science and religion against each other create controversy where none needs to exist.
Virgin Mary had a child. Glances suspiciously at churches/catholic schools stating abstinence is 100% effective in avoiding a pregnancy.
If Adam and Eve were the first two people on Earth and are responsible for the birth of all people ever, than the entire human race is the product of incest.
Although, to be fair, that does explain quite a lot.
I would say about 3/4 of hardcore Christians think being LGBT is wrong and against their god, but then also say that "God created everyone exactly how he wants them to be" like ?????
I could live my entire life, adhering completely to the Christian moral compass, save millions of lives, treat every person with the utmost respect and dignity, refuse all toxic thoughts and actions, and yet (according to most Christian dogma) I would still burn in hell for eternity if I didn’t believe the Christian God exists.
That sentiment alone tells me that morality, and the course of our lives in general, is irrelevant in the end. All that matters is that the Christian God gets recognition. That God, to me, sounds more narcissistic than benevolent and loving. And therefore, is not a God I wish to worship.
There’s also issues such as, if God is truly omnipotent and omniscient then he could have purged the world of all suffering and pain. But he hasn’t because... he loves us? Because somehow the gift of free will, and therefore the gift of imperfection is more important than letting your children suffer and experience pain? Some children are born into poverty, beaten, starved, and killed before 10 years of age, without ever seeing kindness. What’s the lesson there God? Why must you treat the creations you love with such disdain solely to “make a point.”
I could go on. There’s so many issues I have with that belief system and narrative.
As for that second point, the omnipotence and omniscience doesn't necessarily imply interaction or action. If God made the universe in the most perfect way, then why would he change it later? In other words, potency doesn't equal actuality. The argument of free will wouldn't make sense if God would always fix everything that happens. Perhaps God knew of all the suffering before he created everything, but he may have done it despite the suffering, meaning that suffering can be overcome with something greater. But I completely agree with you. Any suffering of a child is hard to excuse in a moral sense. Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov explores this theme extensively.
God is perfect and cannot sin. There exists “the wrath of God.” Wrath is one of the seven deadly sins.
God teaches us that it is a sin to be envious, and to be prideful, and that we must have compassion and understanding for others. And yet he will literally condemn someone to an eternity in hell for not worshiping him, even if said person has literally never heard of him.
I was just talking about how pathetic Yahweh is for this a couple days ago
I don't believe in any kind of God but I've always found it funny how in the bible, God made the sun on the fourth day. How could there have been any days before that?
I don't know if this is considered as a plot hole:
Judas Iskariot was essential to Jesus' plan. If he didn't sold Jesus out then the prophecy will not come true.
Why then is he considered a villain? He should be at the top! He got the job done!
Judas is an angel in heaven, so, not really a villain. Obviously I don’t believe in angels, but I’ve seen Jesus Christ Superstar enough to know that.
Plot hole: there are hundreds of other religions that also claim to be the only true one
This isn’t my religion, but I always found it hypocritical that the gods punished Oedipus for sleeping with his mother without realizing it, despite the fact that Zeus married his own sister while being fully aware that they were siblings.
Zeus could do whatever he wants.... who - besides Kratos - would disagree?
Late to the party, but in Islam there's the belief that God knows everything you will do before you're even born. Meaning that we don't control our own actions. At the same time, to get into Heaven, you need to-- of your own accord-- pray 5 times daily, read the Quran, etc. So my thing is this: If God knows what everyone is gonna do beforehand, and He knows people aren't gonna do what it takes to get into Heaven (cause he is omniscient); doesn't this then mean that God has already decided who goes to Heaven and who gets Hell? Cause there's no possible way in any Abrahamic religion (cause they all operate under the "do this to get into paradise" thing and all have God knowing everything before it happens) that we'd be able to try to get into Heaven. And this is just the tip of the iceberg on questions
Hold please. Your question will be answered by our next available specialist... Your call is very important to Islam and Muhammed values your feedback, please indicate to your imam if you want this call recorded.
I want to know why so many Christians say that murder is wrong but ignore all the killing that God did in the Bible. Like, how do they justify drowning everyone except Noah and his family?
gods so forgiving... but he wouldn't give a whole world (except Noah and co) a second chance??? 🤷♀️
If man is not perfect, but man wrote the Bible how am I supposed to trust what I’m reading from the Bible. How do I know they didn’t mess anything up?
We can read Egyptian hieroglyphics. They kept extensive records. No mention of using Jewish slaves to build the pyramids, them revolting, a royal named Moses or a Red Sea parting.
Jewish slaves were kept and used but A sea splitting and ten plagues, really?
Not really a plot hole in the Christianity , but a plot hole in the interpretation of it.
Christianity was originally highly Jewish based and they didn’t like Romans, a few centuries later it was Roman/ European based and they heavily discriminated Jewish people. Wut
Christianity was never in alignment with Jewish beliefs. However, yes, it did branch from it, from the old testament, but then, even Islam takes a few pages from that book. And the only reason the Romans decided to adopt Christianity was for political reasons. Which then coincidently got Christianity to spread across Europe in later years.
I'm a lapsed catholic. Idolatry is one of the biggest "plot holes." If you worship the virgin Mary or any other saint you are as a matter of fact doing blasphemy. Don't come with the argument of them being a "middle man." Speak to god directly. The worship of saints is pretty much polytheism with yahweh (christian god) being Zeus's equivalent.
Why would satan punish humans for rebelling against god, something that he himself once did. I've always thought of it as hypocritical, and that satan would reward the human for exercising their free will and living a life free of religious constraints.
Lucifer means the bearer of light (light=knowledge). I don't understand either...
It's not my religion but
"I love everyone no matter what" followed by "You better love me back or I'm gonna hate you forever and torture you for eternity" followed by "I don't love those people neither should you, what you should do is make their lives a living hell".
An omnipotent being is used to explain the origin of everything in this universe, but there's no explanation for the origin of said omnipotent being.
If Satan punishes those who sin, wouldn't he be considered a good guy?
Alternatively, if Satan is a bad guy, why would he punish other sinners?
I don’t think he punishes them, he just lives with them, away from god, and probably has some kind of dominion over them. God doesn’t even seem to claim that Lucifer is gonna hurt non believers. That’s just part of Christian folklore but I’m pretty sure it’s not in the Bible.
What happened to Jesus in his teen years tho?
The concept of eternal peace and joy in heaven sounds very psychologically degrading long term. It sounds like living like a pet dog.
It was to keep the peasants in their place. Simple choices you see. Work hard go to heaven. Etc etc
Why do Christians think the characters in the bible are white or very caucasian looking?
They are “very Caucasian” considering Caucasian doesn’t mean white, and pretty much everyone in the Bible is from Middle East / North Africa near where the Caucasus range is, and every middle eastern and North African person can be classified as Caucasian based on skill shape, and not fitting into the other TWO classifications that go along with Caucasian (mongoloid and negroid). Caucasian is an outdated term, but that isn’t an invitation for white people to co-opt it like they do every single fucking thing else and act like it only applies to them. MENAs are technically Caucasian if you’re gonna use that archaic term. What you mean to say is that the characters in the Bible aren’t white Europeans, which is true, they certainly fucking are not.
Former catholic.. still waiting for somebody to explain Jesus's DNA situation is.. is he haploid? Where does his Y chromosome come from? So many questions.
I am a Christian and a thing that has really puzzled me is that if Adam and Eve ever gave birth to a child wouldn't it be a sin even if marriage wasn't a thing back then? Like despite marriage not being a thing back then it would still technically be a sin in the future. Or did God make marriage a thing in the future and just brush it off since Marriage wasn't a thing back then? I am confusion.
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If god is so loving and loves all his children even sinners then why did he recommend stoning in the early testaments, why are children and innocent people dying of diseases and allow human suffering, why would god give boys foreskin but then decide that they should be circumcised as a “contract” between them and god, why did god create fucking mosquitos, fleas, ticks and wasps (besides possible population control), how is it even possible for noah to have taken 2 of every animal. It is a logistically impossible and extremely inconceivable. Why would god punish everyone else for what 2 people did thousands of years ago. That is like punishing a whole classroom for the rest of the school year for the behaviour of one student. If god created satan and is all mighty then why hasn’t he destroyed satan. If humans were created to be perfect but have free will, how can we make bad decisions? that is not perfect, a perfect person wouldn’t make bad choices. I have soooooooo many more that I can ask but I would literally be here forever.
Oh great! Comments are being patrolled by cyber nannies now.
Yeah, I just saw a comment hidden with 34 upvotes... :P
Standard answer to discrepancies in the Bible: "you don't have to take that literally, it's more like metaphor". :-( Then why is it so specific all the time?
The biggest problem is a term called "lost in translation". For example, an easy experiment to do is to take a King James translation (which is the most accurate English translation or should be), and any other more modern English translation and compare the texts. You will find one says one thing and the other says something else when taken into context.
I feel like religion has also influenced a lot of gender discrimination
You’re right. Even the less harmful religions tend to discriminate against women.
That isn't a feeling, that is a fact.
If God is perfect, and he has a plan for all, then what is the point of praying? You shouldn't be able to change a perfect things mind?
That's question is what started my journey to non belief.
Sleepy Panda Good response!
If you have children, sometimes there are things that you would be willing to do or provide for them if they ask.
Wait, God can see and feel all, if I'm being slowly lowered into a vat of Acid, and its up to my knee... I'm probably crying in pain by now (plus I'm sure the moments leading up to the whole tied up and dropped in acid thing).... You mean to say that God is like "naaaaaaaa, O wait, he said save me". *Snaps fingers* Acid is gone?
Blarrg, Yupitsme123 brings up a good point. What's the point of praying to an all-knowing being with a divine plan? If god is everywhere, why does he need prayer, can't he see his "children" are being harmed and tortured? Does he need you to pray for help just for his ego?! Say my name, bitch, or I will continue to let the torture happen. If you really think that god is a perfect being with a perfect divine plan, then it is super egotistical to think that he should change his plan for you.
Blarrg what
I never understood Jehovah's Witnesses. Like, it must be awfully depressing. They believe that 144,000 people can get into Heaven. So either it's already full, or you're competing for a spot with every JW who ever lived and ever WILL live.
They have the belief that after armageddon and judgement day comes the righteous will live life peacefully, eternally on earth as we were originally created to be. The ones that are chosen to go to heaven are there to help Jesus rule over the earth as Jesus would be the king but under advisement of God. Kind of like a government system. Apparently the 144,000 people have already been chosen so there is no competition to get to heaven. The idea that we will live happily on earth for all eternity with all their loved ones, no suffering etc brings them the peace they need.
There's one constant about all religions. Even going back to when people were worshipping rocks, trees, the sun, whatever. There's always some person the tree, rock, sun, etc talks to personally and people are supposed to obey him. And provide for him. And give him things that he didn't earn. Can't understand God needing a middle- man.
Christians claim god is eternal (he always existed). They claim god is a perfect being. Claim he is all-knowing (knows everything). Claim he has a divine plan (knows the past, present and future). They claim he is inerrant and infallible (can never be wrong). If god is eternal that means that he existed for an infinite amount of time in the past. If he is a perfect being then he would have been perfectly content and perfectly full of self love for an infinite amount of time. From there, why create anything?! From there he creates angels. At least one angel betrays him. How could he not see that coming from an infinity time away? He is all-knowing and had a divine plan. Then he creates Adam and Eve and they betray him. He gets mad at them. How could he not see that coming? He lets mankind become evil so he decides to kill everything on earth except for Noah's crew with a torturous flood. He says that all evil will be erased with this flood, but there's still evil. A buffoonish god with a comedy of errors.
God allegelly killed over 2.8 million people, without countinting the estimated from Noah´s flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, etc. Satan apparently killed 10 people. God loves us all. Satan bad. Whaaat? Thank God I´m an atheist.
You say that you are an atheist and yet you say ,,thank god”?
That's the joke portion of what gonzalo said.
All of this supports my decision to be an atheist but still don't how to tell my very religious family
Be an Atheist. It's your choice, you don't have to tell your family if it's not that big an issue. If it's trivial things like praying before eating, just go with it, see it as a family tradition. If it's more, like being forced to go to church, things like that, then yes, maybe it becomes a problem then.
I am actually religious, but this still bothers me: So, Jesus was born at midnight on the 25th of December. BC means Before Christ. So, either there were six days at the start of AD, or the final year in BC was short??? IDEK.
One of the commandments is something like 'thou shalt have no other god before me'. This implies other gods and that this one is suuuuper petty.
... so essentially it is pointless, unproven, unprovable, immoral, morally corrupting ... preaches obedience, bans curiosity, and what people make out of it today is beyond not only reason, but that for sure. Let's just move on. Beyond and above.
You don't understand, holy scriptures are only meant to be taking litteraly when it supports your personal belief, in any other case it is to be taken as a metaphor.
"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people" - Karl Marx
If God was real there would only be one religion.
Howard Moody yes
There would only be one correct religion. People would still be free to invent others if they like.
Raised in a strict Catholic home and went to mass every Sunday. One particular Sunday I actually paid attention during the Eucharist. I asked my mother when we got home if it is just symbolic when the priest turns the bread into Christ's body and the wine into his blood. When she said, "No, we believe it is the actual body and blood of Christ", I ran to the bathroom and threw up. I came out and screamed, "We are cannibals!" Thus, began the rapid decline of my blind faith...
Dawn Murphy Good response!
The god of the bible has the same traits as the men that created him. He's petty, jealous, wrathful, vengeful, prideful, boastful, hypocritical, homophobic, tribalistic, misogynistic, needs constant worship, etc. He's a blood thirsty warmonger. He was pleased when King David brought him hundreds of bloody foreskins. He was with his chosen people in a battle, but they still lost because the enemies had iron chariots!
Best thing to me? Every one of these are legitimate questions with coherent answers yet none of these people ever seem to actually want the answer. They simply need to feel smarter than believers, usually (but not always) to cover up a questionable lifestyle. While I'm no believer, these DO have legit answers.
I understand that there are many parts of faith that everyone can't make sense out of. People especially blame the Catholic Church for many of these things. I recommend a book that clears up Catholicism a bit. It's called "A Young Catholic's Apology for the Faith" read it or not. I respect you and your choices. I can't make you read it. Everyone has their own religion that is each right for them. While I am Catholic, others feel its best to be something else. You be you. I just feel that this book would help you understand what Catholicism is really about.
Why doesn’t god just speak for himself? A ton of child rape and cover up happens in the Catholic Church. Do you donate to the church? If so, you are knowingly funding child rape and cover up.
Yes I understand that as well. It's horrifying and scary. But not all of our cleregy is like that.
Hey, let's do this article but with Islam and its followers. Oh wait....we must respect their faith and not dare question it lest we be deemed bigots. I have read Christians mocked and ridiculed for their faith. But I notice if you did this article with any other religion it would be considered bigoted. Why are Christians the punching bag of the religious world. Seems one sided to me.
People are pointing out errors in Christianity because it is the dominant religion. Many young children are forced into being Christians and told that they will be punished if they don’t. Being a Christian by choice is fine with me, but forcing it upon others and having churches that take people’s money so they can ‘get into Heaven’ is not.
Star Good response!
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Dominant religion? Islam is the most dominant. So are many young Islamic children forced to be Muslims and told they would be punished. They kill those who dont convert. Etc.......Checkmate
no honey you can insert one because there is already a pothole. Also, Muslims don't have bible camps where they are literally brainwashed. Not like people say about Muslims but watch a documentary and learn.
I was interested in this because it said plot holes in "religions". I assumed it would be about various religions but mostly just Christianity. Kinda disappointed.
So... Bored Panda jumping on the Christian bashing train? Why do so many atheists care if there are religious people out there? What does it matter to you? I have the right to believe what I want, the same as you. You want to have a logical discussion about religion, fine, but stop treating us like we're idiots or something. A lot of people have beliefs about a lot of things. Why can't we all just get along? Not everything needs to be so antagonistic.
I'd venture that atheists only care as far as the religious keep making it an issue by trying to make laws based on their faith. They try to inject their faith into public schools. No atheist anywhere would care one whit about someones personal religion, if they kept it their personal religion.
Jasper, this a free forum of expression. You can choose to view it or not. Do you want to inhibit peoples' freedom of speech? Do you have good reason for your beliefs? What age were you indoctrinated and threatened with hell? Is your god really a good god? How do you know for certain that your god is not a demon?
49 questions about Christianity, one about Islam (but includeds Christianity) and two from dead religions. This seems balanced.
Why would it be balanced? It’s taken from reddit which is an American based website. The most common religion in America is Christianity. My family is Muslim (I’m atheist) and I definitely know more about Christianity than Islam because I grew up in bible thumping America. Don’t spread your religion so effectively if you don’t want it to be widely discussed. Or learn Arabic and go on Arabic sites if you want to see questions about Islam.
Because if you write shit about islam or mohamed, some zealots might kill you?
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Plus liberals hate Christianity while they LOVE Islam even though it is ten times worse on everything that Christianity does that they hate (legalism, gender roles, god of punishment, earning points for heaven, hypocrisy) . See Margaret Atwood. Near as I can figure with the liberal mind is that they don't rely on facts and logic; rather, they are ones of the victim/oppressor mentality. No matter how evil a person is, if he falls into the victim category, you're pure and innocent. (see George Floyd). Islamic countries have terribly poor and uneducated classes... plus they usually hate the west. This places them in the victim category thus being innocent and pure. No evidence necessary. Behold, the most powerful religion of modern day...liberalism.
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The rancor in the post and comments really detract from the merit of the arguments. It would be interesting to hear from an atheist why they don't believe in God rather than the usual bilious snide attacks.
Ian, christianity is making the positive claim (that god exists, etc.), so christianity tends to have the burden of proof. Why do you believe? Do you have a particularly good reason? Have you ever seen an angel, demon, soul, ghost, talking donkey, god, christ, etc? When there is good evidence, then atheists might have good reason to believe.
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Let's bash and make fun of Islam and it's followers like this article....oh wait....that would be bigoted. Yet I find its ok when it comes to Christianity. Odd.
Who said that? No one said that. You are just projecting. Besides one of the posts was specifically about Islam so take your concern trolling and go somewhere else.
Someone seems mad I called them out. Aww.
If god is so loving and loves all his children even sinners then why did he recommend stoning in the early testaments, why are children and innocent people dying of diseases and allow human suffering, why would god give boys foreskin but then decide that they should be circumcised as a “contract” between them and god, why did god create fucking mosquitos, fleas, ticks and wasps (besides possible population control), how is it even possible for noah to have taken 2 of every animal. It is a logistically impossible and extremely inconceivable. Why would god punish everyone else for what 2 people did thousands of years ago. That is like punishing a whole classroom for the rest of the school year for the behaviour of one student. If god created satan and is all mighty then why hasn’t he destroyed satan. If humans were created to be perfect but have free will, how can we make bad decisions? that is not perfect, a perfect person wouldn’t make bad choices. I have soooooooo many more that I can ask but I would literally be here forever.
Oh great! Comments are being patrolled by cyber nannies now.
Yeah, I just saw a comment hidden with 34 upvotes... :P
Standard answer to discrepancies in the Bible: "you don't have to take that literally, it's more like metaphor". :-( Then why is it so specific all the time?
The biggest problem is a term called "lost in translation". For example, an easy experiment to do is to take a King James translation (which is the most accurate English translation or should be), and any other more modern English translation and compare the texts. You will find one says one thing and the other says something else when taken into context.
I feel like religion has also influenced a lot of gender discrimination
You’re right. Even the less harmful religions tend to discriminate against women.
That isn't a feeling, that is a fact.
If God is perfect, and he has a plan for all, then what is the point of praying? You shouldn't be able to change a perfect things mind?
That's question is what started my journey to non belief.
Sleepy Panda Good response!
If you have children, sometimes there are things that you would be willing to do or provide for them if they ask.
Wait, God can see and feel all, if I'm being slowly lowered into a vat of Acid, and its up to my knee... I'm probably crying in pain by now (plus I'm sure the moments leading up to the whole tied up and dropped in acid thing).... You mean to say that God is like "naaaaaaaa, O wait, he said save me". *Snaps fingers* Acid is gone?
Blarrg, Yupitsme123 brings up a good point. What's the point of praying to an all-knowing being with a divine plan? If god is everywhere, why does he need prayer, can't he see his "children" are being harmed and tortured? Does he need you to pray for help just for his ego?! Say my name, bitch, or I will continue to let the torture happen. If you really think that god is a perfect being with a perfect divine plan, then it is super egotistical to think that he should change his plan for you.
Blarrg what
I never understood Jehovah's Witnesses. Like, it must be awfully depressing. They believe that 144,000 people can get into Heaven. So either it's already full, or you're competing for a spot with every JW who ever lived and ever WILL live.
They have the belief that after armageddon and judgement day comes the righteous will live life peacefully, eternally on earth as we were originally created to be. The ones that are chosen to go to heaven are there to help Jesus rule over the earth as Jesus would be the king but under advisement of God. Kind of like a government system. Apparently the 144,000 people have already been chosen so there is no competition to get to heaven. The idea that we will live happily on earth for all eternity with all their loved ones, no suffering etc brings them the peace they need.
There's one constant about all religions. Even going back to when people were worshipping rocks, trees, the sun, whatever. There's always some person the tree, rock, sun, etc talks to personally and people are supposed to obey him. And provide for him. And give him things that he didn't earn. Can't understand God needing a middle- man.
Christians claim god is eternal (he always existed). They claim god is a perfect being. Claim he is all-knowing (knows everything). Claim he has a divine plan (knows the past, present and future). They claim he is inerrant and infallible (can never be wrong). If god is eternal that means that he existed for an infinite amount of time in the past. If he is a perfect being then he would have been perfectly content and perfectly full of self love for an infinite amount of time. From there, why create anything?! From there he creates angels. At least one angel betrays him. How could he not see that coming from an infinity time away? He is all-knowing and had a divine plan. Then he creates Adam and Eve and they betray him. He gets mad at them. How could he not see that coming? He lets mankind become evil so he decides to kill everything on earth except for Noah's crew with a torturous flood. He says that all evil will be erased with this flood, but there's still evil. A buffoonish god with a comedy of errors.
God allegelly killed over 2.8 million people, without countinting the estimated from Noah´s flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, etc. Satan apparently killed 10 people. God loves us all. Satan bad. Whaaat? Thank God I´m an atheist.
You say that you are an atheist and yet you say ,,thank god”?
That's the joke portion of what gonzalo said.
All of this supports my decision to be an atheist but still don't how to tell my very religious family
Be an Atheist. It's your choice, you don't have to tell your family if it's not that big an issue. If it's trivial things like praying before eating, just go with it, see it as a family tradition. If it's more, like being forced to go to church, things like that, then yes, maybe it becomes a problem then.
I am actually religious, but this still bothers me: So, Jesus was born at midnight on the 25th of December. BC means Before Christ. So, either there were six days at the start of AD, or the final year in BC was short??? IDEK.
One of the commandments is something like 'thou shalt have no other god before me'. This implies other gods and that this one is suuuuper petty.
... so essentially it is pointless, unproven, unprovable, immoral, morally corrupting ... preaches obedience, bans curiosity, and what people make out of it today is beyond not only reason, but that for sure. Let's just move on. Beyond and above.
You don't understand, holy scriptures are only meant to be taking litteraly when it supports your personal belief, in any other case it is to be taken as a metaphor.
"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people" - Karl Marx
If God was real there would only be one religion.
Howard Moody yes
There would only be one correct religion. People would still be free to invent others if they like.
Raised in a strict Catholic home and went to mass every Sunday. One particular Sunday I actually paid attention during the Eucharist. I asked my mother when we got home if it is just symbolic when the priest turns the bread into Christ's body and the wine into his blood. When she said, "No, we believe it is the actual body and blood of Christ", I ran to the bathroom and threw up. I came out and screamed, "We are cannibals!" Thus, began the rapid decline of my blind faith...
Dawn Murphy Good response!
The god of the bible has the same traits as the men that created him. He's petty, jealous, wrathful, vengeful, prideful, boastful, hypocritical, homophobic, tribalistic, misogynistic, needs constant worship, etc. He's a blood thirsty warmonger. He was pleased when King David brought him hundreds of bloody foreskins. He was with his chosen people in a battle, but they still lost because the enemies had iron chariots!
Best thing to me? Every one of these are legitimate questions with coherent answers yet none of these people ever seem to actually want the answer. They simply need to feel smarter than believers, usually (but not always) to cover up a questionable lifestyle. While I'm no believer, these DO have legit answers.
I understand that there are many parts of faith that everyone can't make sense out of. People especially blame the Catholic Church for many of these things. I recommend a book that clears up Catholicism a bit. It's called "A Young Catholic's Apology for the Faith" read it or not. I respect you and your choices. I can't make you read it. Everyone has their own religion that is each right for them. While I am Catholic, others feel its best to be something else. You be you. I just feel that this book would help you understand what Catholicism is really about.
Why doesn’t god just speak for himself? A ton of child rape and cover up happens in the Catholic Church. Do you donate to the church? If so, you are knowingly funding child rape and cover up.
Yes I understand that as well. It's horrifying and scary. But not all of our cleregy is like that.
Hey, let's do this article but with Islam and its followers. Oh wait....we must respect their faith and not dare question it lest we be deemed bigots. I have read Christians mocked and ridiculed for their faith. But I notice if you did this article with any other religion it would be considered bigoted. Why are Christians the punching bag of the religious world. Seems one sided to me.
People are pointing out errors in Christianity because it is the dominant religion. Many young children are forced into being Christians and told that they will be punished if they don’t. Being a Christian by choice is fine with me, but forcing it upon others and having churches that take people’s money so they can ‘get into Heaven’ is not.
Star Good response!
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Dominant religion? Islam is the most dominant. So are many young Islamic children forced to be Muslims and told they would be punished. They kill those who dont convert. Etc.......Checkmate
no honey you can insert one because there is already a pothole. Also, Muslims don't have bible camps where they are literally brainwashed. Not like people say about Muslims but watch a documentary and learn.
I was interested in this because it said plot holes in "religions". I assumed it would be about various religions but mostly just Christianity. Kinda disappointed.
So... Bored Panda jumping on the Christian bashing train? Why do so many atheists care if there are religious people out there? What does it matter to you? I have the right to believe what I want, the same as you. You want to have a logical discussion about religion, fine, but stop treating us like we're idiots or something. A lot of people have beliefs about a lot of things. Why can't we all just get along? Not everything needs to be so antagonistic.
I'd venture that atheists only care as far as the religious keep making it an issue by trying to make laws based on their faith. They try to inject their faith into public schools. No atheist anywhere would care one whit about someones personal religion, if they kept it their personal religion.
Jasper, this a free forum of expression. You can choose to view it or not. Do you want to inhibit peoples' freedom of speech? Do you have good reason for your beliefs? What age were you indoctrinated and threatened with hell? Is your god really a good god? How do you know for certain that your god is not a demon?
49 questions about Christianity, one about Islam (but includeds Christianity) and two from dead religions. This seems balanced.
Why would it be balanced? It’s taken from reddit which is an American based website. The most common religion in America is Christianity. My family is Muslim (I’m atheist) and I definitely know more about Christianity than Islam because I grew up in bible thumping America. Don’t spread your religion so effectively if you don’t want it to be widely discussed. Or learn Arabic and go on Arabic sites if you want to see questions about Islam.
Because if you write shit about islam or mohamed, some zealots might kill you?
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Plus liberals hate Christianity while they LOVE Islam even though it is ten times worse on everything that Christianity does that they hate (legalism, gender roles, god of punishment, earning points for heaven, hypocrisy) . See Margaret Atwood. Near as I can figure with the liberal mind is that they don't rely on facts and logic; rather, they are ones of the victim/oppressor mentality. No matter how evil a person is, if he falls into the victim category, you're pure and innocent. (see George Floyd). Islamic countries have terribly poor and uneducated classes... plus they usually hate the west. This places them in the victim category thus being innocent and pure. No evidence necessary. Behold, the most powerful religion of modern day...liberalism.
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The rancor in the post and comments really detract from the merit of the arguments. It would be interesting to hear from an atheist why they don't believe in God rather than the usual bilious snide attacks.
Ian, christianity is making the positive claim (that god exists, etc.), so christianity tends to have the burden of proof. Why do you believe? Do you have a particularly good reason? Have you ever seen an angel, demon, soul, ghost, talking donkey, god, christ, etc? When there is good evidence, then atheists might have good reason to believe.
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Let's bash and make fun of Islam and it's followers like this article....oh wait....that would be bigoted. Yet I find its ok when it comes to Christianity. Odd.
Who said that? No one said that. You are just projecting. Besides one of the posts was specifically about Islam so take your concern trolling and go somewhere else.
Someone seems mad I called them out. Aww.