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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
Atheism is not a belief system -- it only mean lack of theism.[/quote]

I wasn't suggesting atheism is a belief system - only that you were trying to pin all the world's ills on theism, and you were incorrect in that.

[quote=Anonymous]
Regarding bloody, I was referring to the terrible bloody death of Jesus himself and how his father set him up for that, with shedding his blood for us as the only way to save humans from everlasting damnation.  Then there's all the blood that has been shed since then in the name of Christianity --- the Crusades, for instance.   I know there have been wars declared by countries that are not religious, but they do it to satisfy their earthly desire for power.  The Crusades were fought for the glory of God, to take the holy land from the infidels.
[/quote]

The NT is explicitely against wars for land, riches or power (render unto Ceasar, love your enemy, turn the other cheek, et cetera). You asked for "specific" instructions from God, and these are very specific.

People want to kill each other for land, riches and power. To justify their wars, they will use religion or a political ideology (going back to my point about "lack of theism, as you put it, being no panacea). Yes, people have free will, and often people suck. Doesn't mean the instructions were bad, though.

[quote=Anonymous]
Regarding "more specific," I meant a message that more people would understand better and know how to react to properly.  People seem to have many different interpretations of what God wants and expects from us.  [/quote]

To me, "turn the other cheek," "love your enemy," "don't kill," "render unto Caesar" and the like are very specific and also have the benefit of being universal and timeless. God gave us free will and intelligence so that we can work these out.

It sounds a little like you're asking for a God who gives instructions and then forces people to obey. Sort of like, God should create robots that  will only do what he wants, probably with a big emphasis on worshipping him all the time and without question (no atheists here!). I see little value in an arrangement or belief system that (a) turns us into mindless worshippers, (b) is so specific that it is rooted in the values of a specific time period (for example, Jesus didn't talk about LGBT, and that's a great thing for many churches today that would like to welcome gays).[/quote]

I'm not asking for a god at all, but given that some people believe in a good god who loves them, seems like that god could give a more clear understanding of what he thinks makes a good  that all his beloved creations can understand.  People have an easier time getting around in the metro than they do understanding what god wants from them -- which can be pretty important,because  if you get it wrong, God, who loves you, can send you to hell for eternity.  Some christians don't believe it, but others do and it  causes a great deal of anxiety for them, which God apparently doesn't care about or can't control, or something.

What about the blood issue raised earlier?   God sending his only son to be brutally murdered.  What about those hymns about being bathed in the blood of the lamb?[/quote]

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