Hey, let's answer these!!

[Your Neighbor]

1. Why doesn’t God heal amputees?

Are amputees any more deserving than the blind, deaf, or cancer-stricken? mentally-retarded? ones with near-sightedness? acne? bad breath? dandruff?

 

[Your Neighbor]

• 4. Why does the Bible contain so much anti-scientific nonsense?

God is the original Scientist. What are you talking about?
See http://www.expelledthemovie.com/home.php

 

[Your Neighbor]

• 5. Why is God such a huge proponent of slavery in the Bible?

God is the One who had the original Emancipation Proclamation.

John 8:36
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Romans 6:18
You have been set free from sin ...

Galatians 4:7
So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

 

[TrustAndObey]

Slavery in the Bible always seemed symbolic (although literal) about needing a Savior. Rich vs poor, good vs evil, free vs bond....it's a recurring theme throughout scripture.

God obviously didn't think slavery was a GOOD thing. He rescued His people from the land of Egypt.

He protects us through, not from.

 

[TrustAndObey]

Are amputees any more deserving than the blind, deaf, or cancer-stricken? mentally-retarded? ones with near-sightedness? acne? bad breath? dandruff?

I think this guy was trying to make a point that if God heals people, why doesn't He heal them in a very visible way to let us know there really IS a God.

I personally feel that needing a miracle to believe doesn't take faith. An evil generation seeks for a sign.

It's like Abraham in the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. He told the Rich Man that his brothers had Moses and the prophets and didn't need a dead person talking to them in order to believe. That if the prophets couldn't make his brothers believe, nothing could.

6. Why do bad things happen to good people?

That's the easiest one of the question (IMHO)

 

[honorthesabbath]

EGW: "The new birth is a rare experience in this age of the world. This is the reason why there are so many perplexities in the churches. Many, so many, who assume the name of Christ are unsanctified and unholy. They have been baptized, but they were buried alive. Self did not die, and therefore they did not rise to newness of life in Christ" (MS 148, 1897). S.D.A. Bible Commentary Vol. 6 (1956), page 1075, paragraph 7 & Manuscript Releases Volume Twelve [Nos. 921-999] (1990), page 51, paragraph 1

Amen to that YN--and it kind of answers number 3--the bible says ALL have sinned, there are NO 'innocent' people.

 

[k450ofu3k-gh-5ipe]

Brother, answer every one of them in your own heart and mind through study and prayer, and move on. There are some things that we won't know until heaven, and it's okay to say that's OKAY!

Childlike faith is not childish faith.

If everything in this world were perfect, who would even NEED faith?

We choose what to put our faith into...and I promise you that you are NOT wasting your faith by believing in our living God!

This guy doesn't have faith in anything, but God will prove him wrong some day and imagine what a wonderful testimony that will be!

Yup, this is what I do. I'll try to answer some of the questions.

1. Why doesn’t God heal amputees?

Honestly, even if God did heal an amputee, would that make all the doubters any less doubtful? No, the doubters would still make excuses for how the amputee was healed before their eyes. I guess the question I'd ask would be, "why do you need God to heal an amputee to believe?" And the answer to that question would be why God doesn't heal amputees.

2. Why are there so many starving people in our world?

Human selfishness and greed. I don't think this is a question we should ask to God; I think that it is rather a question that we need to ask about ourselves.

3. Why does God demand the death of so many innocent people in the Bible?

This is a loaded question that assumes that those people are innocent in the first place. It's a situation of an ant questioning an all powerful being--there's nothing wrong with questioning, but in the end, the all powerful being is still all powerful and does right.

4. Why does the Bible contain so much anti-scientific nonsense?

The Bible is not a science book. It wasn't written to read like a science book, either. If it was written to read like a science book, it would be incredibly boring and no one would read it. A person reading the Bible expecting to read a science book is going to be sorely disappointed.

5. Why is God such a huge proponent of slavery in the Bible?

He's not. The author of these questions dropped the ball on this one.

6. Why do bad things happen to good people?

Sin entering the world. As humans, God has given us a free will, so what we choose to do with that free will can and will affect ourselves and those around us. People tend to over exaggerate the bad and under exaggerate the good, so I think this is just a case of people being extra whiny. Also, if bad didn't exist, would one even know what good is? There must exist the opposite of things like love and good for us to know what love and good are.

7. Why didn’t any of Jesus’ miracles in the Bible leave behind any evidence?

First off, CSI wasn't on the scene of Jesus' life, and secondly, isn't the whole Christian religion and the remarkable display of loyalty displayed by Jesus' disciples after his death (how they went from hiding in their house with the doors unlocked to running around telling everybody how Jesus had risen) evidence enough of his miracles? If people are expecting a CSI like precision of evidence for Jesus miracles then they're delusional.

8. How do we explain the fact that Jesus has never appeared to you?

I think this was answered well by a previous poster.

9. Why would Jesus want you to eat His body and drink His blood?

Let me spell it out for you, Youtube man, m-e-t-a-p-h-o-r-i-c-a-l. If you take everything in your life as literally as you take the last supper, then you're in for a painful life when someone tells you to break a leg. You dropped the ball on this question, too. (your response: "Dropped the ball? That doesn't even make sense. Why would you say I dropped the ball when there is clearly no ball involved?" my response: /sigh)

10. Why do Christians get divorced at the same rate as non-Christians?

Sin, selfishness, society. Christians are just as much sinners as their non-Christian counter parts. We as a society don't take marriage as seriously as we should. We choose to not lay down our life for our spouses like we're called to do.

 

[TrustAndObey]

Very good dsrohe! Not only were your answers insightful, some of them made me giggle (LOL @ CSI).

You love a powerful and almighty God...AMEN!!!

 

[sentipente]

The given answers entirely miss the point. The fact is that the questions are not a challenge to God but to the false claims made by those who claim to speak on behalf of God.

 

[k450ofu3k-gh-5ipe]

The given answers entirely miss the point. The fact is that the questions are not a challenge to God but to the false claims made by those who claim to speak on behalf of God.

Could you explain a bit more please? How are the questions not a challenge to God and how are they a challenge to the false claims made by those who claim to speak on behalf of God? In my experience, those questions (or questions very similar to those) are used to challenge the existence of God.

 

[sentipente]

These questions would never have been raised had it not been for the exclusive claims Christians have made. If you claim that those who don't share your opinion of God are worthy of death you should be prepared for them to challenge your claims.

 

[k450ofu3k-gh-5ipe]

These questions would never have been raises had it not been for the exclusive claims Christians have made. If you claim that those who don't share your opinion of God are worthy of death you should be prepared for them to challenge your claims.

No one has claimed this.

Also, I have to respectfully disagree with your first sentence because the questions in question don't have anything to do with Christianity being exclusive or not. The questions, to me, are very basic, standard questions which challenge the rationale of an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, all-loving being's (God) existence. Most of these questions could be asked to any person who believes in an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, all-loving being who is God. The questions include many on Christianity specifically because they're meant for a Christian audience.

 

[sentipente]

What do you think hell is all about?

 

[TrustAndObey]

This is a non-debate area now, unless you're planning on joining the Adventist church (stick around, and you will! )

 

[sentipente]

We are having a discussion.

 

[k450ofu3k-gh-5ipe]

What do you think hell is all about?

Hell is solely God's responsibility for no one knows what is in the heart of man except God alone. Reading back on all the previous posts, no one in this thread has made any claim that they know how God will judge the world. So how is mentioning hell even relevant in this thread?

I still stand by my original statement: "The questions, to me, are very basic, standard questions which challenge the rationale of an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, all-loving being's (God) existence." And I still disagree with your original statement: "The questions are not a challenge to God but to the false claims made by those who claim to speak on behalf of God."

Furthermore, not one of the questions in the video allude to the concept of hell, so I believe that fact further reinforces my position that your claim of "The questions are not a challenge to God but to the false claims [additional dialogue between you and I clarified that the false claims you are referring to are the claims about hell] made by those who claim to speak on behalf of God" is false.

If the person who posted the video had a problem with the exclusivity of the standard Christian's view of heaven, then why isn't there a single question out of those ten that challenges this concept of heaven and hell? The answer is that he is not trying to discredit the standard, Christian's belief of hell and heaven, he is trying to discredit the belief in the existence of an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and all-loving God.

 

[sentipente]

The questions did not arise out of nowhere. They are attached to a context. They are a direct response to claims Christians have made. We ignore that fact at our peril.

 

[k450ofu3k-gh-5ipe]

If he wanted to discredit beliefs about heaven and hell, then he could have included this question.

1. Given that Christians believe in an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, all-loving God and given that Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me", how is it that Christians can believe that those who have never heard the name of Jesus and that those who haven't had a chance to make Jesus their savior would go to hell (the question of: what happens to the aborting babies? or what happens to mentally retarded people? or what happens to remote people groups who have never heard of Jesus? or even what happened to all the people during Jesus life who lived no where near him and weren't able to hear his message of salvation?). Doesn't this contradict the idea of an omnipotent, all-loving God?

 

[k450ofu3k-gh-5ipe]

The questions did not arise out of nowhere. They are attached to a context. They are a direct response to claims Christians have made. We ignore that fact at our peril.

Sorry, I just don't buy it. He could have easily included some very simple, common questions about the concepts of heaven and hell if his motivation was to discredit Christian beliefs about the exclusivity of heaven and not the belief of an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, all-loving God.

 

[TrustAndObey]

Dsrohe, I agree with you about what the guy is trying to get at.

I think you did a great job of answering the questions for yourself. Other answers may vary, but the important thing is that YOU have peace about the questions/answers.

There will be people throughout your life that tell you that you are crazy to believe in God (and it's just going to get worse). There will also be people that tell you that you don't belong to the right church as well.

Your relationship with our Lord is a relationship that nobody else can interfere with. Keep your head up and praise the living God.

He protects His people.