Serious question. Please answer non-polemically.

If you could talk to a religious (specifically Christian) know-it-all, and ask anything at all about faith generally, or Christianity in particular, what sorts of things would you ask?

I know that issues around how Christians read Scripture have come up here quite a bit, alongside the ubiquitous questions around whether or not God can be said to exist…. Those are the sorts of things – along with anything else that may be on your mind – I would be interested in knowing about.

I’ll tell you why I am asking later on in this thread, but in the meantime, I would genuinely appreciate knowing from you the foremost issues and questions you would want to have addressed.

NB. I would really appreciate this thread not descending into any arguments or nastiness at all, as it will lose its purpose and just become a waste.

Was the lightning strike on York Minster and subsequent fire an act of god ?

Do you consider the personification of God to be useful and or positive.

Related to Q1.

How do you (personally) define God?

Don’t really know what I’d ask in particular, but I live across from a large church, and I’ve never been in or said hello/introduced myself to the people who look after the place.

Would like to introduce myself and see what it’s like inside, but not sure why. More out of interest in the building architecture to be honest.

How, as a person of religion, does one comfortably satisfy yourself that your faith has been come to in any meaningful way when for the vast majority of people of faith theirs has been predetermined by their family background? You believe what you believe essentially because your parents believed the same. The god transfer market is pretty slow.

I have had many debates with the religious. the one question I would like an answwer to is why is one sects god true and another’s false? ie to the United free kirk all catholics will burn in hell but its the same god as far as I can see?

Sikhism I think answers this one by saying all ( monotheastic?) gods are the same just worshipped in different ways and I think some liberal protestant groups see it the same way but the wee frees, catholics, jews, muslims tend to see another sects god as false even tho they derive from the same thing.

Its always confused me this one.

When you see people in North Korea, who have been indoctrinated since birth in a system that threatens to punish you for your entire life for transgressions, stating things that are to the outside observer obviously incorrect, how do you reflect on the nature of your own faith ?

How many gods do you personally not believe in ?

Why can not one single religious person offer any concrete proof of the existence of a god…?

Why, when things go well, does god always get the credit, yet when bad things happen, its never god’s fault or is he (and its funny that its always a ‘he’) in any way culpable..?

When will society break free of religious nonsense for good…?

Where was God during the atrocities of the 20th centuary? Used to up regularly a few thousand years ago.

Why did you let Dave Allen live to a ripe old age ?

How can an omnipotent god exist alongside free will?

How can we as humans be sure that god is malevolent, benevolent or benign when we cannot conceive of the complexity of their designs?

I know an old Archbish of Canterbury, we have talked about:

Crumpets vs muffins and how to poach an egg
Dogs
The weird noise coming from his car (fitted a 12″ sub and amp, noise fixed)
Beanbag stuffing material
Yellowstone National Park
Volcanoes

I was at a dinner with the Rabbi Lionel Blue too, he gave a speech referencing East coast / west coast rap and the importance of perspective.

What is the modern Christian view on hell. Is it an actual place or somethig symbolic, perhaps just an existence removed from god ?

Give me 3 reasons why I should believe in God/follow a faith?

if god does exist, why is he such a bastard?

or put better by stephen fry:

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5RtDpva7nE[/video]

If god created mankind, why was it so shit until Jesus came along to redeem us? Was god a shit designer? And if he was, why should we trust Jesus who he also created?

Is it turtles (or gods) all the way down?

Was god a shit designer?

Beta testing. Standard QA.

Who would win in a battle of the Gods? Which one is the best?

How can you believe such rubbish?

I’d ask them about Ezekiel 23:20–21 and Deuteronomy 25:11.

Well, that’s what I usually do. By usually I mean always.

Rorschach – Member

Who would win in a battle of the Gods?

Odin is the real baddass of gods I think.

Why do you prioritise sins? No-one calls out the fat Christian (gluttony) but they do call out those who sodomise.

Can you explain how a loving, caring God gives aids to children?

Explain to me in rational terms how you think God exists when there is zero evidence to suggest she does?

Why is Jesus, a Jewish man born in the middle east, always pictured as having white, European skin?

How can you believe such rubbish?

Stw sinking to the lowest common denominator again 😥 plenty of scope for religious bashing on other threads. Some of us would genuinely like to hear saxonrider’s views on these questions.

Why is Jesus, a Jewish man born in the middle east, always pictured as having white, European skin?

His father was from Yorkshire.

Why do you reject the idea of Polytheism and not Monotheism?

The Steven Fry question above (why is God a bit of a prick sometimes).

One especially for the Catholic Church – why do you build such riches in your churches when that wealth could be put to better use (perhaps following Jesus’ example and feeding the poor)?

NB. I would really appreciate this thread not descending into any arguments or nastiness at all, as it will lose its purpose and just become a waste.

Next thread-Trumps driving glasses perscription gets leaked during Brexit negotiations

I’d ask if they’d like a cup of tea probably..
Maybe ask them if they have any top tips for quick and easy super tasty vegetarian recipes..

After that I might ask if we had a strictly religious government, what practical steps would they take to ameliorate capitalist greed and the associated symptomatic consumerism that is destroying humanity.

any top tips for quick and easy super tasty vegetarian recipes..

That would be a miracle. Thus proving the existence of god. Cunning.

Why is Jesus, a Jewish man born in the middle east, always pictured as having white, European skin?

His father was a roman soldier. Should at least be slightly swarthy.

Why is the image of Jesus and his family localised, and how / when did that come about? Would Xtianity have been as popular in the West if we’d portrayed the virgin Mary et al as historically accurate figures from the Middle East?

Jesus as portrayed in China, for instance:

Did you find Father Ted as funny as i do?

On the flipside, please could you justify the mass graves and ethnic cleansing i witnessed in Kosovo in ’99?

Why can we trace all of our festivals and Holy days usually to pre-christian times and why did you feel the need to hijack them?

Always thought that religion was there to explain why science couldn’t, i think a graph of scientific explanation and exploration would be inversely proportional to the number of people attending church.

I think it was Ricky Gervais that added up over the religions there is about 280 Gods, yet every religion says there’s is the main man- therefore 279 are lying..

Nice work SaxonRider – likes

I’ll tell you why I am asking later on in this thread

Waits

Always thought that religion was there to explain why science couldn’t,

I’m not sure everyone believes in science either. See climate change, WiFi radiation etc.

Saxon,have you found jesus?

Why is Jesus, a Jewish man born in the middle east, always pictured as having white, European skin?

My understanding is its to do with the holy Roman empire. They had lots of temples to Saturn pre Christianity ( along with a mid winter feast) – a tall white blond. When christianity came along they simply converted the temples to saturn to churches and reused the same image.

My Q: What is it that you believe in and why?

There’s no point in trying to argue against the existence of God with someone that believes so the best I could hope for is to try and understand their interpretation of faith and what led them to that belief as that’s the bit that puzzles me the most.

Taxii25, I know the use of the word “rubbish” is a bit judgemental, but I’m genuinely increduluos that people still believe in religions. In my youth I imagined, given the state of our current knowledge, that belief in religion would wither and die. I know there’s lots of personal and cultural reasons why religion survives but would like to hear a religious person explain how they can maintain their faith

Incidentally,

Are you going to be providing answers or just soliciting questions?

I had a cracking question the other day – proper fundamental foundation-questioning one.

I’ve forgotten what it was though!