"Why Won't God Heal Amputees?"

[Iago]

Enjoy the wait.

It probably won't happen in my lifetime. But I am sure it WILL eventually happen.
It must be very sad to believe in nothing unless it can be seen, touched, tasted, smelled or heard. You are a small person, who seems to be masquerading as a know-it-all.

[Norbeone]

But I am sure it WILL eventually happen............... ----> You are a small person, who seems to be masquerading as a know-it-all.

Yes that's right, Iago, you make a lot of sense.

[Norbeone]

All I need is something real. Not much to ask. --- let the replies flock and make a fool of me!   

[Keemun]

Making that type of faith a ridiculous thing to have.

It's no more ridiculous than attempting to prove/disprove the existence of God with limited human logic.  (But this is just my opinion.) 

[Norbeone]

It's no more ridiculous than attempting to prove/disprove the existence of God with limited human logic.  (But this is just my opinion.) 

Well, disproving God is basically impossible, so that's never my aim. And even if I was trying to disprove something, human logic is the only tool to do so. I am human after all, and so are you, ergo vis a vis AKA (in the words of David Brent) that's all we can use.

[Al Moritz]

http://bedejournal.blogspot.com/2008/09/who-are-you-calling-irrational.html

From:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122178219865054585.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#printMode

"The reality is that the New Atheist campaign, by discouraging religion, won't create a new group of intelligent, skeptical, enlightened beings. Far from it: It might actually encourage new levels of mass superstition. And that's not a conclusion to take on faith -- it's what the empirical data tell us."

[adamdavid80]

Let's not bring God into anything  - not our politics, not our approach to the sciences, not into how we judge our neighbor - but our private lives.  fair enough?  Even the Sermon on the Mount asks for this.  And, refresh my memory, who gave that?

[Keemun]

Well, disproving God is basically impossible, so that's never my aim. And even if I was trying to disprove something, human logic is the only tool to do so. I am human after all, and so are you, ergo vis a vis AKA (in the words of David Brent) that's all we can use.

I agree with you.  However, there are those who attempt to disprove the existence of God with logic, which is what my comment was directed at.  You are certainly entitled to your opinion that this type of faith is ridiculous. 

Let's not bring God into anything  - not our politics, not our approach to the sciences, not into how we judge our neighbor - but our private lives.  fair enough?  Even the Sermon on the Mount asks for this.  And, refresh my memory, who gave that?

It's Greg's fault, he started this thread. 

[adamdavid80]

It's Greg's fault, he started this thread. 

In these precarious faithless times, it is not the time to play the blame game. Now is the time to heal amputees and go to jerusalem and get things done.  I am moses and i approve this message.

[Guido]

Why does God not heal amputees? Because it would be too darn obvious. God has set up the world and what happens in it in such a way that the freedom of choice to believe in him is not violated.

For those determined to reject God, there will always be sufficient reasons to not believe in God *), for those with an open mind there will always be plenty of reasons to believe in Him. Belief in God will always be an eminently reasonable and rational position (as theists, including me, have extensively pointed out in discussions here, and atheists here have not been able to refute our arguments), but it will never be coercive -- it would stop being belief. And I think that God precisely wants it that way.

Were amputees healed, faith would be replaced by certainty, freedom of choice would be suspended.


*) the atheist's assumption of naturalism is also a belief, as has been repeatedly pointed out

This is astonishing. What about the many stories in the bible where God himself kills people/talks to people or angels come out of the sky and talk to people? Is that not the same thing?

[Iago]

All I need is something real. Not much to ask. --- let the replies flock and make a fool of me!   

Replies attempting to make a fool of you are unnecessary. You have managed to do that by yourself.

[david johnson]

why do some humans continue supporting euthanizing and aborting others?

dj

[Guido]

why do some humans continue supporting euthanizing and aborting others?

dj

Because according to their ethical system, it is the morally right thing to do. Lot's of meta ethical dscussion on this too of course.

[Al Moritz]

This is astonishing. What about the many stories in the bible where God himself kills people/talks to people or angels come out of the sky and talk to people? Is that not the same thing?

Obviously, at some point God had to reveal himself if He wanted to make clear what He wanted from humanity. That this was accompanied by extraordinary events was part of the package of divine revelation. However, these days, as we know this divine revelation, God simply wants us to accept it while, in general, leaving personal freedom to do so untouched by extraordinary signs. At least that is what I infer from all that we observe.

As Brett (Catison), who recently converted from atheism to Catholicism, put it so well here: It is not that there is no evidence for divine revelation, the question is rather if you trust the evidence.

[mahler10th]

why do some humans continue supporting euthanizing and aborting others?

dj

That will be something to do with God choosing not to make himself 'obvious' and give us choices as someone said earlier.  Nice deity...so many wonderful choices he gives us...

[Norbeone]

And I thought the discoveries of Galileo, Newton, Einstein and Darwin were impressive...

[Norbeone]

Obviously, at some point God had to reveal himself if He wanted to make clear what He wanted from humanity. That this was accompanied by extraordinary events was part of the package of divine revelation. However, these days, as we know this divine revelation, God simply wants us to accept it while, in general, leaving personal freedom to do so untouched by extraordinary signs. At least that is what I infer from all that we observe.

I don't remember reading any of that in the The Fellowship of the Ring..... a prologue I missed? or just an introduction?

[Iago]

And I thought the discoveries of Galileo, Newton, Einstein and Darwin were impressive...

They certainly were. But did their discoveries somehow convince you that there was no GOD?

[Al Moritz]

And I thought the discoveries of Galileo, Newton, Einstein and Darwin were impressive...

Yes, they show impressively that God's creation is far grander that humanity ever imagined.

[adamdavid80]

They certainly were. But did their discoveries somehow convince you that there was no GOD?

It at least makes me question the people who claim they know Him and His meaning.

The earth the center of the universe and anyone who disagrees a heretic?  Check.

The devil is the reason that these "fake" dinosaur fossils exist, and other such malleable rationales for disclaiming science and evolution?  Check.

Redheads are witches and jews have horns?  Check.

War and genocide being waged in His name?  Got it.

I love God.  I hate preachers.  Keep God in your heart, and leave him there, out of my hospitals, politics, and labs of science.