Questions For God

I am a Photographian Pho.to.graph.ian adjective relating to the beliefs of photography and it's teachings. noun a person who is of the Photographian religion or is a believer in and devote of Photography. My religion is Photography.  I have been a Photographian for the past 55 years, since I was about 11 years old and was first introduced to the  Photographian  faith by my grandparents, who gave me my first camera - a Kodak 126 Instamatic.   Even during my 25 years as a Christian (beginning around age 17), Photography never left my mind - I was still a member of the Photographian religion the entire time that I was a member of the Christian religion.  I found it very easy to be a Photographer, even while I was a Christian.  There were a few times that my dedication to, and my love for Photography conflicted with my love for, and dedication to Christianity.  I even documented one such conflict in my journal - below is the actual entry:  May 1987 Since my last entry, in my judgment,

Firstborn Son Exodus 22:29-30 You shall not delay to make offerings from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall remain with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me . What the hell?  Why did bible-god demand the Hebrew first born? I am a "first born son". Should I be glad that my parents were not ancient Hebrews?  I am very glad. Should I be glad that my parents were not modern day Christian fanatics?  I am ecstatic. Why did bible-god kill - specifically -  the "first born" of the Egyptians? What is it with the "first born" that this god was so obsessed with?   Why did he want them dead: first born cows, sheep, Hebrews and Egyptians? What a scary movie, this god character is. bob r.u.reasonable@gmail.com

  "Must not contradict. . ." "But monster can't help self. . ." "Aaaaarrrrr" Invasion of the Contradiction Monster   staring Macenstein Is it any wonder that many Christians refuse to recognize contradictions in the bible? No - it is perfectly understandable - when you see that some Christians can't even type two paragraphs without contradicting themselves. A bit of a quick recap - below is a short exchange that Mac and I had: bob - (referring to Jesus as) ". . .  a dead apocalyptic prophet who roamed Palestine for 3 years before he was executed for sedition some 2,000 years ago ." Mac - " No Christian of any variety ever ascribes this description to Jesus, so by your own admission, you were never a Christian." (Mac doesn't seem to understand that this is my view of Jesus NOW , as an atheist / former Christian.  This was NOT my view of Jesus THEN , when I was a Christian ) Mac - " You were just pretending to be on

  1 - He was born. I could easily believe this.  I was born.  Every person that I have ever known, seen, and heard of has been born.  Claiming that someone was born is no more than mundane. 1a - He was born of a virgin .    They just couldn't leave it alone, could they?  The authors of Matthew and Luke are the only ones that mention this "virgin birth".  Why couldn't they be satisfied with the simple, normal, natural story of the birth of Jesus?  Why did they have to add this utterly absurd claim that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was impregnated supernaturally by God? 2 - He died by crucifixion. This is believable.  Historians know that this was a common form of execution that the Roman authorities inflicted on many that were found guilty of particular crimes.  One of those crimes was sedition, of which Jesus had been found guilty of (according to the bible). 2a - He arose from the dead. Why ? ? ? did they add this absurd supernatural claim to the death of Jesus.  This

  So you want to know my views on Christianity.   Here is my current (in a sentence) view of your religion - and I have arrived at this view after 25 years from the inside, as a Christian believer myself, and after almost 25 years from the outside as a former Christian: I find much of Christianity to be objectionable and disturbing.     Now, I would suggest, dear Christian, before you make any attempt to evangelize me, go ahead and tell me what your views are with regard to:   Donald Trump Abortion rights Child sex abuse amongst Christian ministers Uber-wealthy Christian ministers Gun rights The science of biological evolution The age of planet earth Biblical inerrancy Biblical literalism Biblical slavery Water Baptism Let's start with topic #1: Donald Trump I am actually much more concerned with YOUR views on Trump than I am with MY views on Jesus .    Before you try to win me over to the Lord, tell me what you actually believe with regard to Trump.  There is a very good chance

  Mac Note - I removed this post after apologizing to Mac last week after our rather heated online discussions - he called this post a "hit piece" - but upon reflection, and after seeing that he seems to be incapable of modifying his attitudes and behaviors, I believe this is an accurate post, well reflective of how I view him and many other Christians -  so I am re-posting it. This is Mac (above) . . . well actually, it's Jonathan Edwards, the notable 18th century theologian.  Mac chose Edwards as his avatar.  Can I assume that this means Mac agrees with, or in some way identifies with the beliefs of Johnathan Edwards . . .  . . . the sight of hell torments will exalt the happiness of the saints forever. It will not only make them more sensible of the greatness and freeness of the grace of God in their happiness, but it will really make their happiness the greater, as it will make them more sensible of their own happiness. It will give them a more lively relish of it: it

  I recently listened to a dialogue (debate, discussion, argument, throw-down, rumble, brawl) on one of my favorite podcasts, Skeptics and Seekers .  The hosts, David and Mac: David and Mac will often listen to a sermon or debate on the web and offer their critique, and - believe it or not - from time to time they will disagree with each other. At some point, late in this recent episode  around the 2:13:00 mark (it's a long podcast, almost 3 hours) David pauses the video and offers a criticism over the Christian claim of Jesus "helping the poor" or "feeding the hungry".   David is saying that he knows of no instance in the bible that this is illustrated.  Mac counters David and states "You're Still Wrong", and then he cites two bible passages from Johns gospel: 12:3-8 and 13:21-29 saying that these verses "imply" that Jesus and the disciples routinely collected money and used it to help the poor.  David suggested that Mac read those passa