Atheists & Agnostics

Binkie The Clown

(7,911 posts) Sat Jan 20, 2018, 11:28 PM Jan 2018

Conversation with a Christian

There was an ad for St. Jude's Children's Hospital on TV and I said "If I could wave a magic wand and cure all children of cancer I would do it in a instant."

Christian friend: "Me too."

Me: "I guess that makes both of us morally superior to god."

Christian friend, splutter, gasp, um, ah, "We can't know god's higher purpose."

Me: "So god gives children cancer to serve some higher purpose?"

Christian friend: "We can't understand god's plan."

Me: "So you believe the end justifies the means?"

Christian friend: "Only for god because only god understands his plan."

Me: "So for us the end does not always justify the means?"

Christian friend: "That's right."

Me: "So you and I are morally superior to god, right?"

Click. Dial tone.

14 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Conversation with a Christian (Original Post) Binkie The Clown Jan 2018 OP

I had a conversation once TlalocW Jan 2018 #1

Always amazed me there's no thou shalt not regarding child abuse Freelancer Jan 2018 #5

.... A HERETIC I AM Jan 2018 #14

I can't wrap my mind around the idea of a supposedly... 3catwoman3 Jan 2018 #2

God is a Darwinist thbobby Jan 2018 #3

Curing the child would be blasphemy, then... against the plan. Right? Freelancer Jan 2018 #4

The literal meaning is irrelevant Cary Jan 2018 #6

My grandfather was a fundamentalist, a Rabbi. mountain grammy Jan 2018 #7

Similar happened to my Catholic great grandmother Freelancer Jan 2018 #8

I guess my sister is luckier than I realized. Binkie The Clown Jan 2018 #9

My grandfather relented mountain grammy Jan 2018 #10

Things have gotten better in a hundred years, thankfully Freelancer Jan 2018 #11

Here's a real conversation I had right before I checked out of religion for good: Act_of_Reparation Jan 2018 #12

I'm surprised you even got that far. trotsky Jan 2018 #13

TlalocW

(15,624 posts)

1. I had a conversation once

Reply to Binkie The Clown (Original post)

Sat Jan 20, 2018, 11:39 PM

Jan 2018

Someone was trying to convince me the Bible was the most moral book ever written.

Me: Whatever. I could write a more moral book.
You: You could not.
Me: Sure I can. Take the entire Bible as is, right? Now change Exodus 21 from condoning slavery to, "DON'T OWN ANOTHER HUMAN BEING... EVER!" Done.

Person didn't like that.

TlalocW

Freelancer

(2,107 posts)

5. Always amazed me there's no thou shalt not regarding child abuse

Reply to TlalocW (Reply #1)

Sun Jan 21, 2018, 02:16 AM

Jan 2018

Plenty about obeying one's elders, though. Strange.

A HERETIC I AM

(24,583 posts)

14. ....

Reply to Freelancer (Reply #5)

Tue Jan 30, 2018, 03:05 PM

Jan 2018

3catwoman3

(25,433 posts)

2. I can't wrap my mind around the idea of a supposedly...

Reply to Binkie The Clown (Original post)

Sun Jan 21, 2018, 12:06 AM

Jan 2018

...superior being that would have suffering of any kind be part of a "higher purpose."

Complete bullshit.

thbobby

(1,474 posts)

3. God is a Darwinist

Reply to Binkie The Clown (Original post)

Sun Jan 21, 2018, 01:15 AM

Jan 2018

Survival of the fittest.

Freelancer

(2,107 posts)

4. Curing the child would be blasphemy, then... against the plan. Right?

Reply to Binkie The Clown (Original post)

Sun Jan 21, 2018, 02:13 AM

Jan 2018

Magic wands are a big No-No too -- part of that not suffering a witch to win on Jeopardy passage, if memory serves.

Cary

(11,746 posts)

6. The literal meaning is irrelevant

Reply to Binkie The Clown (Original post)

Sun Jan 21, 2018, 02:17 AM

Jan 2018

I'm reading an excellent book: "The Fundamentalists."

I'm not finished yet so I can't finish this post yet.

mountain grammy

(27,271 posts)

7. My grandfather was a fundamentalist, a Rabbi.

Reply to Binkie The Clown (Original post)

Sun Jan 21, 2018, 10:29 AM

Jan 2018

When my mother married a gentile, my grandfather tore his shirt and declared my mother dead. The rest of the family ignored him. The only way to deal with fundamentalists, according to my mother.

Freelancer

(2,107 posts)

8. Similar happened to my Catholic great grandmother

Reply to mountain grammy (Reply #7)

Sun Jan 21, 2018, 01:21 PM

Jan 2018

She married a Baptist and her father disowned her. The Catholic Church didn't recognize her marriage and denied her communion. When her husband died, and the church tried to steal her children from her, her father did step up to fight them off by her side. I guess that counts for something.

Binkie The Clown

(7,911 posts)

9. I guess my sister is luckier than I realized.

Reply to Freelancer (Reply #8)

Sun Jan 21, 2018, 01:30 PM

Jan 2018

My devout Catholic sister married a devout Jewish man. Both families supported them fully, and they've been happily married for just over 40 years now with kids and grandkids aplenty. (The kids, by the way, grew up to be atheists.)

mountain grammy

(27,271 posts)

10. My grandfather relented

Reply to Freelancer (Reply #8)

Sun Jan 21, 2018, 01:35 PM

Jan 2018

because he had too. Nobody was obeying him. Wow, the church trying to take the children, that's scary, but I could definitely see it happening.

Freelancer

(2,107 posts)

11. Things have gotten better in a hundred years, thankfully

Reply to mountain grammy (Reply #10)

Sun Jan 21, 2018, 07:32 PM

Jan 2018

It feels like an elastic strap is always trying to pull us back, though.

Act_of_Reparation

(9,116 posts)

12. Here's a real conversation I had right before I checked out of religion for good:

Reply to Binkie The Clown (Original post)

Mon Jan 22, 2018, 08:40 AM

Jan 2018

ME: The trouble with Christianity is we're told time and time again to behave like God, but page after page of Bible describes God as a mass murderer.

BELIEVER: Mass murderer??? What do you mean?

ME: Well, he did kill the firstborn of Egypt. Thousands of children dead in one fell swoop.

BELIEVER: But what if those children all went to heaven?

ME: Don't you have to believe in Jesus to get to heaven?

BELIEVER: ...

And the that was the last time I attended a church function not involving the marriage or funeral of a close friend or family member.

trotsky

(49,533 posts)

13. I'm surprised you even got that far.

Reply to Binkie The Clown (Original post)

Mon Jan 22, 2018, 01:06 PM

Jan 2018

Most religionists I've engaged that line of reasoning with cut it off immediately because even they know they're more moral than their god is.

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