Reply to Did anyone become an atheist late in life?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]RE: suffering, which is a frequent reason people express that they become an atheist

Everybody goes through really bad experiences in their life.  Being a Christian is supposed to better equip you to handle the ugliness in the world.  It is not magic fairy dust that will make all your problems go away.

For some people, this just doesn't work.  And that's fine.  If belief in God gives you no comfort or guidance in life, it's probably not for you.  And that's ok.

But a lot of atheists on this board seem to believe that Christians think God is some sort of failed Santa and that the mere existence of suffering means there is no God.  This is not as sophisticated an argument as you think it is, guys.  The world can be an awful place, but [b]in the context of eternity (which is what Christians believe [/b]in, an infinite period of time), our problems, no matter how terrible they feel to us, are very small. [b] Christ defeated death[/b], and we believe that the afterlife has no pain, suffering, or mourning.

So why would God create this world that is so imperfect, and that we live in right now?  I don't know.  I don't know why the conditions of this world, which include suffering and free will, exist.  Why am I suffering? is not really my personal focus.  How can I be more like Jesus? is my focus.[/quote]

Sure, if you believe all that stuff, then you can think about the happy eternity that awaits you.  A lot of people find it hard to believe. And Christians believe those people are destined to an eternity of suffering just because they couldn't believe that story.  They could have led an exemplary life and maybe even tried to believe, but couldn't, but according to the Christian story, they are destined for eternal hellfire. This is not a failed Santa -- this is an ogre.[/quote]

Well, I don’t have a fear based belief.  I don’t go to church because I’m afraid of hell.  I go because I want to be near Jesus, and to be like Jesus, while I am still alive.  Fear does not really play into the equation.  Honestly, I believe that hell is something we create for ourselves.  It is a fair criticism but I don’t think nonbelievers are necessarily condemned for no real reason.  I know that God is good and in any event, I am not in charge of what happens to other people.  My only calling is to love others.[/quote]

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