"Godless...
Why is godless such a bad word? Well, it's not really, but people use it publicly as if it is. To me, it's an aspiration that one day we will all be 'godless'. We don't need any Gods. The one we have now is ripping the world to pieces either via his inaction, indecision and ostensible indifference."
Need is an individual perception. If indeed one believes in salvation (Christian) then God is indeed needed. Your presumption to decide what is needed for everyone is a bit egotistical, and frankly, what makes you qualified to make that decision without all the information?
"What's God done for us lately anyway?"
Do for yourself. I am not sure of any faith where the Deity is supposed to do for you. In the faiths that I am privy too, you are to follow the tenets of the Deity to live the life expressed in those tenets. You are responible, not the Deity.
"When I look at religion, I don't see the humble helpers who serve soup to needy homeless people on their weekend's-off. They're out there, but few and far between. Starved for cash these actual charities scratch and bite the arid desert of inner-city philanthropists to eek out a miserable, poor and difficult existence."
You touch upon a verse in the Bible here.
(Thou shall not throw stumbling blocks in front of nonbelievers.)
This verse says that we (Christians) are to live a life that doesnt provide others excuses to not come to the Grace of God. Your perception of greed, ego, lust, etc, while accurate in some areas, is what that verse warns against. You are making the classic mistake
"Why should I be saved when they, who claim to be saved, act like that? If that is what being saved is, then it is not for me!"
My suggestion is not to base your potential relationship with God on other peoples misconceptions, bastardizations, or just plain evil nature. Each relationship is judged on its own, and if indeed your perception of these people, and leaders is accurate, and it is indeed against the tenets of the faith, and God is indeed a force to reckon with, they will get theirs in the end.
"Meanwhile, money pours into the churches, mosques and temples as if they had their own gravitational force that attracted only tax-free cash. The money is, of course, used for building more churches, mosques and temples."
Hence my statement that I have faith, and not religion. My perception too, is that the Church has lost site of the Word of God, in favor of the Church itself (The earthly representation). That has not changed my faith though. I understand that this isnt Gods doing, it's Mans doing.
"Meanwhile, those sorry few among us who are also the least burdened by the weight of intellect are also the most susceptible to the madness. They are the ones who go forth into the world proselytizing for their cunning masters the myriad of wonderfulness that will befall their lives if only they too would believe. It's heartbreaking to watch, really."
There are those who believe what they preach, and those who will feed off the weak. This is no different then any other Flim Flam artist. Unfortunately, the damage is not only to the poor, but God. You cataogorize all of them into Religion to support your preconceived conclusion. This is a presumption based on your desire for a specific conclusion. You would rather look for reasons to believe the way you do, thus, you see only that you wish to see.
"Today I drove by a man on a curb holding a sign to drivers as they passed asking us to accept Jesus. Does he know he's part of the problem? I wish he was godless."
Why is that a problem? That being said, I have seen many homeless attempt to you conscience to get to you to give them money. This isnt the work of God.
"When is the world going to figure out that God isn't helping. He's either gone or he doesn't care, but he's certainly not watching what's going on here. He's torch the lot of us if half the things it says about him are true."
So now you sit in Judgment of God? A bit presumptuous dont you think? Is God helping? I say God has given us, Man, the tools to help ourselves, so yes, help is there, just not through a magical miracle. We have chosen to either not use those tools, or to use them for reasons other then God has provided. Consider you are ill, and the medication to ease or cure the illness is on the table, given to you by God. You choose not to take it, or you sell it for money. Now you blame God for not curing you.
In essence, that is what has happened in society today. God has helped, we just didnt apply the help as needed.
"While I must admit that as a reasonable person I cannot say there is no one, true God. Maybe there is. I am simply stating that if there is a God, we're all better off without him. The most religious among us seem to, throughout history, prove to be the most dangerous to the rest. I'm willing to tell that to God if I ever meet him. If he's responsible for this mess of humanity he's created, he'll have a lot to answer for."
Again, a pretty presumptuous statement. You sit in judgment of God? That is laughable. You in your own self importance have just put yourself above God.
Your perception is that God should do everything for us. That isnt what life is about. Life isnt handed to use on a silver platter, it is not just a magical wave of a wand and we are happy. We have the will to make our own choices.
If you believe the Bible, when Eve bit the apple, she gave humanity the knowledge of good and evil. Now, we as the human race have a choice how to use that knowledge. It was our species disobedience that has created the path we walk today. With the power of choice in our hands, God took a direction of education and love. God told us how to use that knowledge, gave us the tools to use it right. We have chosen not to use them as taught, and now you blame God for our decision. We have chosen to use them for greed, lust, avarice. This isnt Gods problem, it is ours.
Your blame God for our mistake. Not surprising though. History is filled with children blaming the parents, for the mistake the child made. We are a faultless society, we look to blame, find reason for the things today, and like you, we never look to ourselves.
This isnt Gods doing, its Mans. If indeed youre going to hold someone responsible, look to those who are guilty of the crimes, dont look for some magical wave of a hand for paradise. We had that at one time, and blew it. We can earn that again, but we do have to earn it.
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