God Put Contradictions In Bible To Weed Out Atheists

[Unbeliever]

I seem to recall (it was a long time ago) that doubt was considered a grave sin. But, lucky for me, I doubted that.

[widdershins]

I seem to recall (it was a long time ago) that doubt was considered a grave sin. But, lucky for me, I doubted that.

It depends on the religious beliefs, I suppose.  That does sound like a very fundamentalist thing to think, and it does seem to stir vague recollections in my psyche, but I'm old.  I don't know what memories are real and what came from TV shows any more.

If I recall, it wasn't outright spoken in my religion that doubt was a grave sin, but it was overtly suggested that if Jesus came back at the moment you were doubting (and Jesus is coming back any minute now....he's probably pulling the car around....he'll probably be here....NOW.....how about NOW!...maybe NOW...) that you would be condemned to Hell for all eternity because you had to be completely free of sin at that moment or burn forever.  At any minute Jesus could come back or you could die and if there was one, single sin on your soul at that moment you weren't good enough for heaven.  Try being a teenage boy just noticing girls with THAT hanging over your head.

[Unbeliever]

Man, that's harsh!

[Mike Cl]

It depends on the religious beliefs, I suppose.  That does sound like a very fundamentalist thing to think, and it does seem to stir vague recollections in my psyche, but I'm old.  I don't know what memories are real and what came from TV shows any more.

If I recall, it wasn't outright spoken in my religion that doubt was a grave sin, but it was overtly suggested that if Jesus came back at the moment you were doubting (and Jesus is coming back any minute now....he's probably pulling the car around....he'll probably be here....NOW.....how about NOW!...maybe NOW...) that you would be condemned to Hell for all eternity because you had to be completely free of sin at that moment or burn forever.  At any minute Jesus could come back or you could die and if there was one, single sin on your soul at that moment you weren't good enough for heaven.  Try being a teenage boy just noticing girls with THAT hanging over your head.

Being a teenager is bad enough all on its own.  I can't imagine how much worse it would be with that kind of thing thrown in. :(

[Blackleaf]

It depends on the religious beliefs, I suppose.  That does sound like a very fundamentalist thing to think, and it does seem to stir vague recollections in my psyche, but I'm old.  I don't know what memories are real and what came from TV shows any more.

If I recall, it wasn't outright spoken in my religion that doubt was a grave sin, but it was overtly suggested that if Jesus came back at the moment you were doubting (and Jesus is coming back any minute now....he's probably pulling the car around....he'll probably be here....NOW.....how about NOW!...maybe NOW...) that you would be condemned to Hell for all eternity because you had to be completely free of sin at that moment or burn forever.  At any minute Jesus could come back or you could die and if there was one, single sin on your soul at that moment you weren't good enough for heaven.  Try being a teenage boy just noticing girls with THAT hanging over your head.

Don't want to be caught sleeping when the groom passes by or he'll be too bothered to wake you up to marry you. Or unprepared for when the thief breaks into your house and ties you up. You so much as shut your eyes before he shows up and you're fucked.

[widdershins]

Yeah, it was a living Hell.  I was constantly terrified.  I was 15 years old and believed that touching myself was as evil as killing babies.  A wandering mind often lead to the sudden realization that I had just thought something bad, something Hell-worthy.  Maybe all I did was make fun of someone in my own head.  It was enough.  More likely I thought about what boobies might look like in real life.  Bound for Hell!  Every stray thought required immediate repentance because Jesus was coming back any damned second...damned!  That's a swear word, dang it!  DANG!  ANOTHER SWEAR WORD!  It's used to replace a swear word, making it a swear word, you see.

It was literally impossible to go through an entire week without doing something which would send me to Hell for all eternity if Jesus came back at that second.  And he took such a personal interest in me, he might just choose to do that just so that I would be punished for being such a filthy, horrible, unworthy slime of a person, and I would deserve it because I was worthless.  The ONLY good thing about me was my belief in God and service to him.  There was NOTHING good in me that I could take credit for except that, and there was NOTHING bad in me which wasn't my own fault.  Imagine being a kid with that in your head, and believing every word of it.  That was my teen years, followed by a suicide attempt, followed by about a decade of unresolved anger and self-loathing.

That's the reason I kind of jump back and forth sometimes between understanding and chastising.  I hate religion.  I hate all religion.  But I feel sorry for the religious.

[Baruch]

You could have been a Catholic monk ... started by that party pooper, St Anthony of the Desert way back in the early 4th century CE.  Masochism isn't saintly IMHO, but neither is dissipation.  Moderation in all things, even Internet forums ;-)

[T7ven]

God wants people to believe in him and not believe in him.  Makes sense.

Well, that explains Job.

[Baruch]

Well, that explains Job.

The Book of Job ... is the key book, IMHO.  But it makes G-d look bad.

[Blackleaf]

The Book of Job ... is the key book, IMHO.  But it makes G-d look bad.

What? Naw. God's behavior in the book of Job is completely reasonable.

[doorknob]

I thought god put contradictions in the bible to keep stupid people busy. You're so busy worried about what this or that in the bible means that you forget the important things in life. science. Or just about anything but religion.

[Baruch]

The Buddha was clear that theological speculation was a waste of time, compared to overcoming your own stupid karma.  He would not have approved of the latter controversies over needless details that later Buddhists got up to.