Why?

[Pielover]

I'm not a Christian, but if these questions are answered satisfactorily you may have a new convert.
1. Why aren't amputees healed? Does god have something against them?
2. Why doesn't god stick his head out from wherever he is and say "hey, I'm real," and why does he require that you believe in a being for which there is no proof to get into heaven?
3. Why should I choose to believe in a god that essentially says "I'm not telling you if I'm real or not, but if you don't believe in me, you are condemned for all eternity"? Isn't that a little cruel? Isn't god supposed to be loving and caring? If I was god, I think I'd show people that I exist every once in a while.
Thanks.

[jlay]

1. Why aren't amputees healed? Does god have something against them?

Any supernatural act of god is not to amuse us, but are specific to His purposes on the earth. If an amputee, cancer patient, etc. is healed it has a specific part in fulfilling His plans here on the earth. The Christian scriptures are consistent throughout in verifying this claim.

2. Why doesn't god stick his head out from wherever he is and say "hey, I'm real," and why does he require that you believe in a being for which there is no proof to get into heaven?

This is a loaded question. First it is bogged down with your presuppositions about God. That being that his head is stuck somewhere.
2nd, you say he requires you to believe in a being for which there is no proof. There is ample evidence for God. The sense in which you are using, "proof" is arbitrary. In other words, you are saying, that whatever you subjectively consider 'proof.' The fact that you can attempt to use logic and reason to ask such a question, is evidence that He exist. There is absolutely no basis for logic or reason apart from the Christian God. None. And yet, here you are using it, and apart from there being a god, you can give no reason WHY logic or reason exists. Even though you can not see logic or touch it. It is abstract, yet you inherently know that it is, and that it works.

3. Why should I choose to believe in a god that essentially says "I'm not telling you if I'm real or not, but if you don't believe in me, you are condemned for all eternity"? Isn't that a little cruel? Isn't god supposed to be loving and caring? If I was god, I think I'd show people that I exist every once in a while.
Thanks.

That is also a loaded question. You are asking us to defend a statement that we don't agree with. We believe there is evidence to know God exists. By what standard are you determining that God is cruel? Why do you assume that god is not loving or caring? Are you holding God to some objective standard of loving or caring? How did you arrive at that standard, and why is it adequate to judge a being you don't believe in? Isn't that kind of setting the deck?
Could it be that God is totally just in judging people for rejecting His provision of salvation?
You see your questions are somewhat self-defeating. You claim that you don't have enough evidence for God, but then comment on the fact that you are aware of who He is, the fact that he judges, and that there is a standard He judges by. How can you claim that there is no evidence of God, if you are in fact asking about Him?

The Christian scriptures tell us that God has provided evidence that he is real. The fact that you are asking questions about Him implicates that you do in fact have knowledge of Him. Only that you don't like what you know.
-If you were God? Well let's see if you qualify. All you need to do is make a single cell. And you get to start with nothing. If you can do that, then perhaps you are worthy to judge Him. You claim that God is unfair if He rejects you for failing to comply to His standard. Yet, your whole case is that you reject god for not complying to your standard. Hypocritical? Perhaps you should consider the validity of your position.

[August]

1. Why aren't amputees healed? Does god have something against them?

How do you know there are no amputees that have been healed? Have you examined every amputee, ever, throughout the history of the world? And should you find one that was healed, would that satisfy you as to the existence of God?

[Gman]

I'm not a Christian, but if these questions are answered satisfactorily you may have a new convert.
1. Why aren't amputees healed? Does god have something against them?
2. Why doesn't god stick his head out from wherever he is and say "hey, I'm real," and why does he require that you believe in a being for which there is no proof to get into heaven?
3. Why should I choose to believe in a god that essentially says "I'm not telling you if I'm real or not, but if you don't believe in me, you are condemned for all eternity"? Isn't that a little cruel? Isn't god supposed to be loving and caring? If I was god, I think I'd show people that I exist every once in a while.
Thanks.

God will reveal Himself more to you if you are willing to walk towards Him. It's all about free will kiddo... He didn't make robots.

[MarcusOfLycia]

I'm not a Christian, but if these questions are answered satisfactorily you may have a new convert.
1. Why aren't amputees healed? Does god have something against them?
2. Why doesn't god stick his head out from wherever he is and say "hey, I'm real," and why does he require that you believe in a being for which there is no proof to get into heaven?
3. Why should I choose to believe in a god that essentially says "I'm not telling you if I'm real or not, but if you don't believe in me, you are condemned for all eternity"? Isn't that a little cruel? Isn't god supposed to be loving and caring? If I was god, I think I'd show people that I exist every once in a while.
Thanks.

I think the others handled the questions fairly well, so I'll try another approach. I'm not an atheist, but if these questions are answered satisfactorily you may have someone who considers atheism less silly than he currently does:

1. Why do amputees exist? Why does anything exist? If everything is predetermined, what predetermined this predetermined universe and reality?

2. How can someone's lack of knowledge as to whether God exists or not be of equal evidential merit as someone who has -positive- belief that God -does- exist?

3. If God exists and you suddenly believed it, would you still question his existence on the grounds that you thought, by your standards, that He was cruel? (logically no... you can't believe and not believe at the same time). Since He Himself would then be -the- standard, would this make sense even if it wasn't contradictory?



My point: Are your questions harder to answer, or are mine?

[musician]

I'm not a Christian, but if these questions are answered satisfactorily you may have a new convert.
1. Why aren't amputees healed? Does god have something against them?
2. Why doesn't god stick his head out from wherever he is and say "hey, I'm real," and why does he require that you believe in a being for which there is no proof to get into heaven?
3. Why should I choose to believe in a god that essentially says "I'm not telling you if I'm real or not, but if you don't believe in me, you are condemned for all eternity"? Isn't that a little cruel? Isn't god supposed to be loving and caring? If I was god, I think I'd show people that I exist every once in a while.
Thanks.

1. I don't know. God gave the most he could give toward their redemption, so I think He cares for them very much.

2. It would be much better if you took God's word for it; and there is no reason not to do so. Amongst people, there is a big difference between being trusted and being monitored electronically or on video recording. Spiritual revelation from a God who promises to dwell in a person is far more significant and precious than parlor tricks; that would be treating God like fido doing tricks.

3. How can a God who gave life to every person (and possibly twice) be cruel?

People often have an expectation of hocus pocus from God on a daily basis they are not entitled to.

If I were you, I would be much more concerned with the cruelty of a natural existence where your life is meaningless except for your potential to be food for other beings, and after that a promise of sure death and total annihilation without consideration. Now THAT's cruel.

- N

[MarcusOfLycia]

If I were you, I would be much more concerned with the cruelty of a natural existence where your life is meaningless except for your potential to be food for other beings, and after that a promise of sure death and total annihilation without consideration. Now THAT's cruel.

I've tried explaining this concept to an atheist friend of mine before and he doesn't seem to understand it. I think it's a significant point (to the degree that I would call existence without a God worse than hell - and in fact existence without God is a very accurate of description of what the real hell is like). Its amazing to think people can adhere to a worldview where this is the only 'logical' and 'reasonable' outcome, and yet think that its also 'logical' and 'reasonable' to believe in such incompatible things as objective purpose, morality, meaning, love, hope, mercy, peace, etc. Those things require free will and eternal life to really exist in any meaningful capacity.