"SnakeLord" is not your real name.
And knowing this to be the case, I wonder why it seemingly causes so much distress for you. You can gain the title of 'lord' quite easily these days, (you can buy lordships over the internet), but you seem to regard the title as something intentional against your god, which it can't be, because I don't believe in him/her/it.
One of the things I don't like is when people in addition to yourself, write off the men in the bible as just "superstitious simpleton's" in your words
Although those are not my words, they are reasonably sufficient. I would be interested to know though, how would you regard the writers of other religious texts, the writers of the Enuma Elish for example?
as though you know more than them. You don't, I don't, and nobody else does.
This is simply wrong. We
do know more than them. While we should look back and be proud of those that came before us for overcoming all the extra struggles they had in life, they didn't know all that much when it came to life and the world. In general we do respect them. Look at all the history man has gathered and keeps: the declaration of independance, the magna carta, the novels of Mark Twain. All these people came before us, and the one clear constant is that as time progresses, people know more.
The problem arises when someone is drawn into fanaticism, and regards every word of some old writing as an undeniable truth, which is naive and extremely dangerous.
Faith is a matter of the heart, not academic knowledge.
The 'heart' is irrelevant here, and your sentence would be more accurate written as such: faith is a matter of
lack of knowledge.
Hell is an offensive subject to start with.
Seemingly only to you, because from what I can gather, the majority here don't believe in it.
I believe it exists and I don't want anyone to go there.
Perhaps you should talk to the boss about it then. Perhaps your prayers at night should be about not sending the overwhelming majority of humanity to hell. I know that when you sit down and think about it, you wouldn't want to do that. You would shudder at the thought of sharing your heaven with the unbelievers and bad doers of the world. When it really comes down to it, you
do want people to go there. Your entire sentence is false, and not one that truly lies in your.. "heart".
Perhaps that is the ultimate test of humanity. Do you care enough about your fellow humans, regardless to their ills, to pray god to save them, or will you sit by and happily watch them burn?
Perhaps your god is just sitting there waiting for you to care enough about humanity that you will pray to him to save them, just like Abraham did when he spoke to god about Sodom.
Will you try?
My feeble attempt to present it in pictures is the best way I know of when words don't work.
What your pictures show is that you are almost positively gleaming at the concept of the majority of your kind suffering for all eternity. It seems to stir alive something deep and dark within your mind that wants us to burn.
I am not perfect, I am not better than you, only I am forgiven of my sins which are indeed many.
Religions very own get out of jail free card. Steal a car, kill a man and they can't touch you for it.
It is such an overwhelmingly cowardly notion it brings a shudder to my spine. When I do something wrong I deal with it personally, and resolve it to the best of my human ability. That is how a man gets through it. Men do not rely on scapegoats.
As I said before faith is a matter of the heart, not intellect.
Well you are right in saying that intellect plays absolutely no part in it. These are all clues and signs to the problems with it, and yet you say it as if it's a good thing. That is truly worrying.
I quote the bible on this subject:
Romans 1
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23
And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
And I will quote Jefferson.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty to throw off such government and to provide new guards for their future security.
Spamming biblical quotes at me is as useless as me spamming this to you. While it's an interesting look into the words people wrote a long time ago, it serves no other purpose than that. Especially when it concerns a being that I don't actually believe in. You might aswell quote from the Chronicles of Narnia.
The evidence of a God you are looking for stands right in front of you
The evidence of a leprechaun you are looking for stands right in front of you.
We can both play that game.
Knowledge of God comes from the heart, not from man's limited intellect.
So in other words: It is that limited intellect that makes one find faith. I agree with you completely.
