Why does god not heal amputees?

Erin - posted on 03/30/2010

Your story of Baby P is awful, no I had never heard about him before :( I would sure hope that his death was not in vain, that new protocols were implemented from the things they would have learned in that child's death! I hate to use the example of Jesus, but how many times has 1 (or more) persons death paved the way to save more? John Walsh's son was kidnapped and he has made great strides in saving lives of others w/America's Most Wanted; how many people's deaths have been the ignitor in changing laws, procedures, etc...? What would make all these deaths a total loss would be if we never stepped up after such attrocities! You don't need to believe in God to think this way; to be a good person; to do good...and I in no way would push u there...If your beliefs make you happy, then I am happy for you! Other then proclaiming God as imaginary the questions in this video did nothing for me, even thinking outside the box/objectively...everyone will have different answers to those questions; saying God is imaginery would def. answer those questions in a way that makes sense, but I don't think my answers (not the same as the video) are delusional or make less sense. Because God did provide for the starving in africa, then the white man showed up & made them export crops & import food which took away their natural ability to provide for themselves...MANS doing!

Wanda - posted on 03/30/2010

No worries Kati.

Teresa - posted on 03/30/2010

Yeah, then there is no point in me trying to continue this discussion cuz we will just go round and round and round. God WAS first. God created everything. No, rules and morals aren't a new concept. They HAVE been around since the beginning of human time... since God created humans.



See, no point in us continuing to try and discuss this.... ;)



*edited cuz I forgot the comma after no.

Lady - posted on 03/30/2010

As I said earlier if we were all bad and selfish and only cared about ourselves then the human race would come to an end, as a society we have to look after each other and care for each other - people were looking out for each other in cave men days before god had even been thought of. Rules and morals are not a new concept it's just something people have attached to god so they could say behave or you'll go to hell - it would be so much better if people said behave or your end mankind.

Teresa - posted on 03/30/2010

If the existence of bad proves that there is no God then what does the existence of good prove? How can you know exactly WHAT good is if you didn't have any bad?

Really, really lame nonsense analogy, but... if the only ice cream in the world was vanilla then no one would know how good chocolate is.

Yeah, ok... like I said... LAME. ;) I am not a debater at all....

Amy - posted on 03/30/2010

an apple dies, rots and becomes nothing more than mush on the ground. but maybe that had to happen. because if it didn't, maybe that seed wouldn't grow. if there wasn't a mass polio outbreak, maybe we wouldn't have found a vaccine for it. i'm not sure where i stand on God exactly, i just know there's more to life than me and now. there's a future. and if i have to have tragedy so my daughter won't see any, fine. if I had to miscarry in order to get to my son, i deal with it. some things suck. to me it's all the more reason to hope for a paradise to come. so no one in the world will have to experience these things.

Lady - posted on 03/30/2010

I can honestly say I don't "blame" god for anything, you can blame something you don't believe in. I blame man 100% for all the bad in the world, it just all proves in the non existence of god to me.

Teresa - posted on 03/30/2010

Nonbelievers probably won't get this or care, but my pastor said something very profound in his sermon on Sunday.....

You have some atheists fighting to get the 10 commandments removed from the courthouse, but if everyone FOLLOWED the 10 commandments.... we wouldn't NEED courthouses to display them in.

I liked it at least. :) I could get into this discussion and try to make points, but I suck at debate and even if I was actually good at it... no one here that doesn't want to believe will believe regardless of what I have to say about it.

One thing though.... as someone who has suffered 2 miscarriages, been cheated on and massively disrespected by my husband, abandoned w/ a newborn, and other less 'tragic' events... I can still see God's hand in SO much, so I really think it depends on your perspective on whether or not you can see God's hand. If you don't believe in HIM, of course you aren't going to see all the good that He's doing/has done. You will credit the good in the world to someone/something else, but still continue to 'blame' a God you don't even believe in for all the bad you see.

Of course there is bad in the world. There is SIN in the world. And now my brain is at a deadend since I didn't even intend to respond to this at all.

Lady - posted on 03/30/2010

Erin of course I let my children make mistakes but I would never allow one of them to starve to death or be beaten or torchered or passed round a pedafile ring for most of their lives. All things which "god" allows to happen to millions of his children. No I do not think it should be heaven on earth but I just think if there were a god we would be able to see his hand in things a little more often. I don't know if the Americans heard of baby P but to me he is a perfect example. A little boy torchered and beaten by his parents and seen on numerous occassions by doctors and social workers. but non of them did anything. The mother covered bruises with chocolate and plasters and gave excuses as to why he was quiet. The last time he saw a doctor was the day before he died the tips of his finger had been cut off he had been beaten so badly his back was broken and was covered in bruises, but the mother covered it up and stuck him in a pushchair. If god had a hand in life, had any influence at all could he not have guided one of those social workers or one of those doctors into looking a little closer, could he not have whispered in someones ear "wipe away the chocolate and see what's underneath!" ? Baby P was just one case in hundreds every day where if god had any influence what so ever he could make a difference and save a childs life but doesn't. Like I said I know I'm not going to change anybodies mind who already believes, I'm not trying to, and I don't expect you to have all the answers because you can't - but my answer is god chooses not to help because he is not real!

Amy - posted on 03/30/2010

I agree with Erin. I remember when I asked my dad about this when I was little. Why so many bad things happen. He said to me "Remember when I said to be careful with the knives because I'd just sharpened them, you said okay and later in the day you cut yourself and we had to go get stitches? Well, God is like a father. A heavenly father. He can tell you in your heart until he's blue in the face not to do something. It's up to us to listen and make the right decision. You got hurt. But I was still there and you learned from it, right?" That kinds sticks with me. Anyone who is a parent loves their children like no tomorrow, but even though you teach them right from wrong, they make mistakes, grow and even if you do your utmost best to make them "perfect", they have that free will and ability to change. i had a miscarriage too. I was angry, hurt...wow. tons of emotions. But when I look at my son, I think it just wouldn't have been the same little boy. And I'm not happy that I miscarried, but I love my son so much that it makes all the hurt worth it.

Erin - posted on 03/30/2010

Gillian do you let yoru children make mistakes? You have to let your kids mess up to learn. If God did everything for us that would then take away the free will he gave us to make the mistake in the first place, and seriously, what would we be learning if everything was good? If he was going to make this HELL, which is what Earth is really, anything like heaven what would be the point of heaven??? We are here in hell to learn and use his "teachings." To my knowledge his teachings essentially were to be good people, no you don't have to follow a "God" to be a good person, but IF everyone had a belief that being good people was the right thing to do because you believe in God or kharma or WHATEVER then that would make a vast difference, I think was along the same lines Mary was talking about.

Alison - posted on 03/30/2010

Alison said: "I believe he could heel amputees if he wanted to."



Well, why doesn't he want to?

Lady - posted on 03/30/2010

I do understand what you are saying Mary and to some extent I agree with you although I don't think it necessarily has to be the teachings of jesus we need to follow to lead good lives. I think sociatally and humanistically (sp?) we have to care for and help each other in order for us to survive as a race and dare I say it evolve and that is why the majority of people DO live good lives. The problem is that because we are human with free will and because of the spectrum of good to bad then there are selfish nasty people who do bad things. And I just think if there was a god who had more of a say in what happened on earth then he would be able to influence more people into being good or being able to stop the bad from happening so frequently. I realise I'm not going to be able to change anybodies mind - I wouldn't even try as I think it would be as useless as anybody trying to change mine!! But I just hope that the clip may have helped some of the agnostics out there because they were all questions I asked myself over the years and eventually came up with the same aswers as the chap in the film. It just took me a few years.

Mary - posted on 03/30/2010

No, not at all....

I guess it would help if you understood that I do not believe that there is one "true" God...I believe that there is one higher, benevolent being, that is called by many different names...God, Allah, Buddha, whatever...we as humans, with different cultures, have just come up with many different paths for the same destination. Mine just happened to be shaped by a Catholic upbringing.



This is why I am not the best person to argue this...I am so far from the traditional Christian, and do not believe in the literal translation of the Bible. I'm "Christian" in that I believe in God, but not so much the man-made tenets of organized religion. My guess is that a lot more zealous or evangelical Christians out there would find fault with my beliefs, and openness to other faith systems. I come at this argument from the perspective that God does exist, just not as defined by the narrow constricts of any one set, man-shaped organization. Believe it or not, a lot of my perspective on this comes from my 4 years of Catholic high school, and those marvelous, open-minded SSND's that taught me!

Kathy - posted on 03/30/2010

Mary, are you saying that everyone the world over must believe in God for our lives to improve radically? But then we're getting into the old "what if you're a Muslim/Buddhist/Hindu etc?" question. Where do they stand?

Mary - posted on 03/30/2010

I suppose it's all about perception, and what you choose to see.

Gilian, I am one of the least qualified people to explain this. However, I think the question you pose is best answered by this:

If everyone the whole world over TRULY believed in God, and followed and LIVED the most fundamental teaching of Jesus "Love one another as I have loved you", than none of the horrible things you mentioned would exist.



It may seem simplistic, but I think it is the truth. Natural disasters and catastrophes would still occur, but humanity's response to them would be markedly different. Wars, prejudices of ANY kind, and abuse would not exist. Yes, there have been wars and other atrocities committed in the name of religion. Yes, there are Christians today, and thousands of years ago who persecuted others, and justified it in the name of faith. God, however, played no part in that...these are injustices perpetrated by MANKIND.



I myself am far from perfect, but I continue to try. I think the failings and fallacies of all organized religions are that they are based on humanity's interpretation of God, as well as it's implementation.

Lady - posted on 03/30/2010

I think the clip left out one of the most important questions that I would love to have answered which is ; So if THIS is the world WITH a god who is supposed to care for and look out for us but there are millions and millions of children starving, dying, being torchered and raped and abused in more horredous ways than I care to imagine every single day then what would be the difference in the world if there was no god? Maybe you can all see a difference, but I certainly can't!

Good Day! - posted on 03/29/2010

So why do bad things happen to good people...

Well God loves all people the same. The good and the bad. So if He loves us all the same then it wouldn't be fair to only protect the good or the believers from all bad and evil things. And He doesn't cause the bad or evil things. That is the result of sin. But sometimes He does allow for bad things to happen, like in the book of Job. More people came to know of God's greatness through the sufferings of Job and his continued praise and devotion to God despite it all. And we must remember that Job was blessed immensely in the end.

I too also recently suffered a miscarriage. I prayed that a little miracle would come out of this, but it didn't. Why? I don't have God's big plan, so I don't know. But it would be selfish of me to assume that because God didn't answer MY prayer, that He must not exist. He had a reason for the miscarriage. Maybe so that He could open my eyes to the sufferings of other people around me. I'm talking about the sufferings caused by human sin, not by a loving and just God. Or maybe He could see that I was relying on myself and He wanted to show me He is the one in control. Or maybe my baby was just so special that God wanted him/her in Heaven with Him. Maybe yours was too Kati and Wanda. =)

Some people want to treat God like a Santa Claus. "God, this is what I want, and I want it now!" God is God. We are mere humans. What makes us think we can tell Him what we want and that He will actually give it to us every time? It's not wrong to ask God for blessings and miracles. But we shouldn't be angry with Him if He chooses, out of His divine wisdom, to not comply with what we want.

Rosie - posted on 03/29/2010

i took what was said a little bit too harsh, it just seemed like you were saying you had prayed harder and that's why your little miracle lived. going back and rereading it, i understand a bit more of what you were saying. sorry if i freaked out a bit :)

Kathy - posted on 03/29/2010

Alison said: "I believe he could heel amputees if he wanted to."



Well, why doesn't he want to?



Although on the whole, I agree with this video, its tone was a little too slick for me. I think the narrator's dismissal of god as "imaginary" is condescending and ignores faith. Now I don't understand faith - I don't have any, I don't believe in god. But I know plenty of people who DO have faith - their faith is so real that they base their lives on it, and I don't think their beliefs should be dismissed as delusional.



Interestingly, the narrator is only appealing to college-educated people. Why?



But the video did bring up things that I often wonder about - the poverty, starvation, why some people can pray till they're blue in the face and nothing happens.

Wanda - posted on 03/29/2010

Kati, it wasn't my intent to make anyone angry. I was just responding to Gillian's questions as best I could. I suffered a miscarriage before having my son, I know that pain and loss all too well.

Alison - posted on 03/29/2010

Why doesn't God heel amputees?
Luke 22: 50-51
"And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, No more of this! And he touched the man's ear and healed him."

OK it's not the same as an arm or leg, but all things are possible with God. I believe he could heel amputees if he wanted to.

I've seen the clip before he goes into a few attacks about creation in 6 days and all the killings in the world. etc, etc, etc. I'm sure I've already shared my view on those things before so I don't feel that there's anything to be gained by repeating myself.

I'm not offended by the narrator of this clip at all. His clip just blends in with all the other youtube stuff. Zero points for originality.

Amy - posted on 03/29/2010

who says we don't have the ability to renew our limbs, but don't know how to use that part of our brains to do so. ?? just wondering. I don't think God is curing anything. I think the cures are always there and we have to find them. All those plants we have must be good for something. Doctors i think call them miracles simply because THEY didn't make it happen, so it must be divine providence. blah. the "amputees get no miracle from God" is a flawed statement IMO. maybe they could have died, but are alive without a limb. yep. damn the world that i'm alive without a limb. Anyone ask the amputees if htey got a miracle? maybe their miracle isn't a new leg/arm. but just life. well, geepers, then they got a miracle. Why are kids starving? because we're feeding all the grain to cows to make people happy at mcdonald's. we have free will. we can give money to organisations for food. most are just too greedy. it's not god, it's us. and how arrogant for someone to pray for a raise. i loved the anti-scientific. because it actually talked about the world an moon being round way before we "discovered" it was. and if anyone studies the bible, a year for a day and just the plain number seven symbolizes completion. people take it too literally. as far as the flood, the story of gilgamesh coincides. perhaps it was a polar shift and many died in floodwaters. i dont know. i didn't live there. i can't ignore the science of the ark though. watched a documentary on htat. tricky how the sucker would NOT capsize. if you look at translations. just like they say leviathon or dragon because "dinosaur" wasn't a word until 1900s right? and how do you know evolution wasn't god making us like a kid plays with playdough? and how many other planets have "toys" on them? our planet is stretegically placed to not be too hot or too cold and provides us a perfect living environment. pretty spiffy - scientifically. slavery...thought moses and all were slaves and left egypt. yay for freeing slaves. hm. as far as miracles - just wondering what people want left behind. Lazarus to not just be raised from the dead, but be immortal or what? wine that keeps constantly flowing out of a tiny pitcher? i thought Jesus was in heaven. i'm not in heaven, hence, i can't see him. I cna't see my husband right now, but i know he exists. hm... I can't see my brain either. but i know it's there [some days anyway!]. i laugh when people talk about the bread and wine. if anyone studies it was right after teh whole loaves and fishes and the people were not after enlightenment, they just wanted material things. since they m issed the point, he was making an analogy. and people can really research that one for themselves. Divorce. lol. Well, god divorced isreal for being too darn stubborn and evil in hteir ways. takes two parties to straighten out any relationship, right? why do so many christians get divorced? well, how many people claim to be christians and aren't. hello. even if you don't believe the bible is true - you can still take away important lessons in life from it.
well, science isn't all knowing/powerful. it can't explain dark matter, cold fusion, esp, ghosts, cosmology,....heck, they can't even explain a female orgasm, but i know i have one!

Mary - posted on 03/29/2010

Gillian, re-read Erin's post.
In no way did she say that God "made" babies die or starve for the sole purpose of making others grateful or appreciative. In fact, she said just the opposite.

What she DID say was that the pain and suffering of others was not without it's possibility to impact others in a positive way. Yes, millions of people the world over have various types of suffering, not at the hands of God, but most often at the hands of their fellow man.

And, you are completely missing the point about faith in God...it is NOT something that can be rationalized...faith is a FEELING, an emotion, a gut-level instinct. What "we" are saying is that it is something that cannot be fully explained, proven or dissected in a lab. It just is.

The funny thing is, those that know me would say I would be the last person to take place in an argument about God or religion. I'm just not a particularly devout or religious person. But, in times of great stress, suffering or difficulty, I find that my faith is strongest. When I've most needed it, is has helped me through some exceptionally trying times. When faced with questions like the one in this clip, I find myself feeling more passionately about the truth (to me) of God's existence. It's not something I give a whole lot of thought to in my everyday life. But when put to the test, or backed against a wall, I find a reaffirmation of faith in a higher, and benevolent power.

Keisha - posted on 03/29/2010

I completely agree with this video.

Lady - posted on 03/29/2010

I have to say Erin it's a pretty horrible god that would make children in africa starve or make you lose babies just to make us grateful for what we have.

And I hate to say this even more but a lot of the arguments on here for god sound a lot like the rationalisation mentioned in the clip. I knew it wouldn't change anybodies mind but I hope it at least made you thin and question just a little. If your faith is strong then it should be able to stand up to some questioning. It was how I started my road to aitheism by starting to question, obviously my faith wan't stong because once I started questioning it all, it completely fell apart and the only thing that made sense was that god was not real !! I personally didn't find the clip at all condicending by then why would I?

Erin - posted on 03/29/2010

On many levels I agree w/Mary. I also believe we are God's children and they (being 2:a Male & Female God) had us, their children, and we have the free will to do as we please. So we are given circumstances like the starving children in Africa, and all over the world, and we are supposed to use their guidance (I do not believe in the Bible for more then a story told by man...) and do what we can for our fellow man. So I think that the starving children around the world are NOT God's fault but OUR fault! I think that we are given opprotunities/problems to show us to be thankful for what we have. People who are faced w/possible amputation are given miracles that allow them to keep their limbs (but aren't amputees to be considered in your question) the other blessing the amputees should think about is that they have their LIFE, maybe not thier arm, but I'd happily walk away with my life even if the cost was my limb! Those that lose thier limb I wouldn't say it was because of a lack of prayer (same to those of you who have miscarried or lost babies) but rather that their is a lesson to learn in this, the timing wasn't right...whatever the case may be...every case is different as with every lesson. I don't know what your lesson was Kati to lose 2 babies by miscarriage, but I bet it made you REAL thankful when you did have your baby, or maybe grateful for the baby you already had? It gives you a level of gratitude for life that I can not compare to not having lived through your plight. The souls of the children who die, IMO, were not ready for life at the point they were born. Their purpose, to me, was a lesson for their parents, research for medical staff, experience for all parties involved. I know I wouldn't choose to have that experience, but who would? Unfortunately there has to be someone who gets it. I think that our souls make a life plan before they grace this Earth with their presence and sometimes our goals are for other people (in the case of a baby dying) and other times they are for our own personal growth. The more crap you go through the more your soul chose to learn.

LaCi - posted on 03/29/2010

*It bothers me that he says 3 out of 4 doctors believe god is working medical miracles, I sincerely hope my doc is in the minority there..

"God" wants EVERYONE to suffer and die for some *mysterious* reason, which is precisely the reason we have science, to fight "God", his diseases, and so on. ;D

evilbible.com is also good for some chuckles. ♥

Charlene - posted on 03/29/2010

Kati, I don't see where in any of Wanda's posts she said that maybe some mothers didn't pray enough. She talked about the individuals fight and want to live and she also mentioned that her faith in prayer helped HER through that difficult time.



I am not overly religious. I believe in a higher power, but I don't go to church or follow a set religion. Still, it really bothers me when people take a condescending tone like this and try to denounce a person's religion or make them look like a fool. And this can go either way.. I have seen some pretty condescending Christians as well, who try to belittle people who are not religious or they try to push their religion onto people who didn't ask. One is just as bad as the other.

So what if people believe in God, Buddha, Allah, the Devil.. WHATEVER. It's no one's business but their own. Grow up and move on. This whole 'need to be right' thing is lame. (Note: I am not speaking to anyone specifically in this thread with this comment.. I am speaking toward the creator of the video.)



I have more to say, but I need to get lunch ready for Gracie, so I will be back. :)

Mary - posted on 03/29/2010

Wanda, you're right, it was the tone that bugged me the most, and what compelled me to respond. As I said, I'm not a deeply "religious" person, but I do consider myself to be spiritual, and I do believe in God. The implication of this clip was that it was asinine for anyone with half a functioning brain and higher education to believe in God. Not that I'm trying to be conceited, but I am both intelligent, and college-educated.

I think the point being missed here is that FAITH is about believing in something without concrete proof of it's existence, and sometimes in the face of contraindications. Some of you may believe it is fate that Wanda's baby survived and thrived, and some may choose to see the hand of God at play. Many things happen in the world that I truly do not understand...but I don't choose to believe God is responsible for all of the good, or all of the bad. As I said, I believe that God gave us free will. I do not believe that he "causes" bad things to happen to some, and prevents it from happening to others. Instead, I believe that he is there to support us in a variety of different ways when the worst is upon us...and it is through the kindness and help of other's that God makes his presence known in our lives, IF we choose to see it that way.

I also believe that everything happens for a reason...and time has taught me that those reasons are not always immediately evident. Like Kati, I had a miscarraige shortly before I conceived my daughter. This was following YEARS of infertility, and accepting that having a child of my own was not meant to be. Did I get angry, upset and, fo a period, totally fall apart? Of course! Did I blame God, or see it as a punishment for whatever sins? No. It hurt terribl of course, but what I walked away from it with was the knowledge that I had finally found a man who truly loved and supported me (the 1st hubby wa a bit cold and distant)...I may have been denied the baby that I had spent years praying for, but I had been given just as precious a gift when I opened my eyes to what was right in front of me. THAT was how God answered those prayers. It may not have been what I wanted, but it was an answer nonetheless.

I do not profess to have all the answers, but that is what faith is for me. Many of you may not agree or understand, and that is your right, and your choice. It really doesn't matter all that much to me what others choose to believe...as long as you refrain from looking down upon those of us who do believe. Fatih in God is not about intelligence, rationality, or proof. Like love, it is a feeling, and cannot often be quantified or explained.

Good Day! - posted on 03/29/2010

This is pretty silly.

But ever read Job? All the suffering he faced and still gave glory to God.

I just have to say, why does this person care if other people believe in God? Is it hurting him?

Carolee - posted on 03/29/2010

Sorry, but I couldn't help but laugh through the entire video. I'm not "christian", but I'm not anti-christian, either. My dad and I have had this type of conversation MANY times (he was a pastor in a Seventh-Day-Adventist church and I'm pagan).



I don't get why every single religion insists that every other religion is wrong. They (almost) ALL have the same basic concepts. It's utterly rediculous to me! Let people believe what they are going to believe and let them deal with the "consequences" after they die on their own (whether it be heaven, hell, nirvana, the astral realm, reincarnation, or worm food).

Rosie - posted on 03/29/2010

i agree 100% with the video. however christians explain everything away by faith, and they don't get uncomfortable with it. it's just imbedded into the christian religion that they don't know all the answers, so faith will always be the answer. i don't feel christians are delusional however. would we call someone who believes their child is going to survive a coma or something and be perfectly normal even though all science says she's wrong, delusional? i know i would have faith ,even if it wasn't in god, i'd have faith. does that make me delusional? no, it makes me an optimist!:)
the reasoning that wanda gave for why other children die makes me kindof angry. like one mother is praying harder or something? i've had 2 miscarriages, the first one hurt sooooo bad. when i was pregnant with my second one i prayed feverishly everyday (i was religious then) that that baby would live as well. i lost it. soooooo, i didn't pray hard enough? i call bullshit on that one. what about the family of mennonites that got killed recently in a car crash in kentucky? did they not have enough faith between the 10 of them that would've somehow allowed them to live? did their family members not have enough faith either. much of my family is mennonite, and i can tell you firsthand that these people do not take faith lightly.
i don't know, christians will always find a reason to keep their faith-i don't understand it, but if it makes them happy i don't care.

Teresa - posted on 03/29/2010

Since this is just another blatant attack on Christianity... I'm not going to bother. Have fun. :(

Wanda - posted on 03/29/2010

@ Gillian - I've never heard of that study, sounds interesting. Maybe because my religious beliefs are very liberal (?) almost agnostic, I escaped that little bullet.

Wanda - posted on 03/29/2010

After my origianl post, I ran out to make cookies and while I was stirring the batter I had another thought...

I'm assuming from the video that this guy is college educated and considers himself to smart. I wonder if at any point during his college career if he found himself hunched over a porcelin bowl in the men's room repeating this little mantra "Please God make it stop and I swear I'll never drink that much again." If he had I bet he'd never admit it because that would would make him one of the delusional people he has so much disdane for.

Lady - posted on 03/29/2010

I'm glad that praying helped you through your obviously really hard time - but just because I can't resist I have to tell you there was a study done and the outcome was that when people knew that others were praying for them they actually became sicker because they believed that that they must be really ill for people to be praying for them. My husband and I found this so funny and whenever my MIL says she'll say a little prayer for us we yell "No don't, we don't want to get really ill !" It all totally subjective of course but just thought that fact was interesting!

Wanda - posted on 03/29/2010

Gillian, I believe the desire to live is within us. Knowing people are praying for you helps but if you don't want to carry on then you won't. Are babies are actually aware of a desire to live, I don't know, it may be more of an instinct. All I know is that a belief in prayer helped me through a rough time, were my prayers answered, yes, was it because god answered them or just the luck of the draw, once again I don't know. None of us will truly know until we give up the fight.

Lady - posted on 03/29/2010

Wanda what about all the babies who have hundreds of people praying for them but don't make it, are they less deserving or are the people who are praying for them not as good christians? Who do you think decides which babies live and which don't?

Wanda - posted on 03/29/2010

I forgot to add: I'm the mother of a miracle. My son was a 25week preemie and the odds were against him. Not only did he beat the odds, he kicked the shit out of them. Yes, science was there to help him breathe, provide anibiotics to fight infections, the knowledge to perform a blood transfusion but sciecnce can't provide the strenght and will to continue to fight. I prayed and prayed hard for the 114 days my son spent in NICU, science helped him a lot but I'd be a fool not to believe that a higher power was holding him in the palm of their hand.

Wanda - posted on 03/29/2010

Hmmm.... there's just something about the whole tone of this video that bothers me. I find the narrator very condensending (sp?). I find it amusing that this guys assumes all who believe in a higher power are delusional. If that were the case a lot more people would be spending time on the psyche ward of their local hospitals



Okay, so anyone who's read any of my other posts on religion know that I believe in a higher power (I don't care what you call him/her) my belief is one God with many names. I also like to play devil's advocate sometimes so here's my take on the 10 questions. .



I look at it this way - we're God's children, he/she gave us the tools and basic rules to live by (if you look at the bare bones of most religious texts -and, yes, I realize they were written by men and not a god - they say the same thing, love thy neighbour, do onto others etc. the basic message is the same in them all). Now it's up to us to take what he/she taught us and live our own lives. Like we do with our own children- we teach them right and wrong, how to be a good person and then we send them out into the world. Sure we help them out now and then (liken this to prayer to God) but there comes a point when you have to say "You're an adult now, you have to learn how to deal with and fix your own problems." This is what I believe God has done. We're adults now so we have to run the world (for good or bad) with the things he/she has taught us.



And why does the Big Bang Theory and Creationism have to be mutually exclusive? The Big Bang seems almost too random, so who to say there wasn't a higher power guiding those first little particles.



Side note: the narrator mentions the great flood and says that it never happened. If you look at any major religion or mythology, they all have a flood story which leads me to believe that some kind of big flood did occur at some point in earth's history.

Mary - posted on 03/29/2010

I could pick this apart question by question, but that would be almost as silly as this clip.



My biggest issue with it is that it operates on the assumption that ALL Christians take the word of the bible as literal truth, as opposed to the written words of men , authored thousands of years ago.



I am not a devout, evangelical Christian. I was raised Catholic, but do not regularly attend church. However, I do believe in God. I am a nurse, and I have witnessed more than one "miracle" in my professional, and personal life...things that defy scientific and medical explanation. I do beleive that God listens to our prayers. I believe he answers them, just not always in the way that we demand, or in the most sraightforward of fashions. Does he allow an amputee's arm to grow back? No, but he provides them the support and strength needed to learn to live with the amputation, if they choose to see and utilize it.



Bad shit happens in life, and God gave us each other to get through it. He also gave us free will. Children are starving in this world because other HUMANS allow it, because we do not equally share in all of the resources available to us, or work together to make those resources available to us. I do not beleive that God micro-manages the world at large. Life is hard, and you have to die to get to heaven.



Does everyone need to see thing the way I do? Of course not, and I'll not try to convince you otherwise. I agree that there are som fundamentalists out there that behave in what I think is a less-than-Christian way, and are full of judgement and prejudice. I do not believe that this is true Christianity at all, and is lacking in compassion and basic human decency. Is it God that is flawed and unrealistic, or is it man's interpretation and implementation of the gift's we've been granted that is flawed?

Part of having faith is accepting that I'll never really know for sure in THIS lifetime...I'll have to wait until I die to find out for sure.