WHAT I'M ON ABOUT

This blog intends to provide some balance in the religious debate by providing a counterpoint to Billy Graham's religious advice. On his website http://www.billygraham.org/ he responds to readers' questions by quoting from the bible. I am attempting to respond to those same queries by resorting to reason and rationality.







I must acknowledge a debt here to Jeff Hope who started in this vein but who has unfortunately taken a hiatus. His blog is http://atheistsanswer.wordpress.com/. Jeff has inspired me to continue.







Saturday, December 11, 2010

The Tyranny Of Geography

QUESTION: Today's comes from PR...
"My family came from a country that doesn't have many Christians, and I'd like to ask you a question. I understand Christians believe Jesus was devine, but isn't God supposed to be pure and holy? How could He have anything to do with a sinful world?".

IRRELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE:
The fact that your family came from a country with few Christians should tell you something about belief: it is dependent on geography. Different cultures have different deities, and over milennia this can change. Why is India full of Hindus, Iran full of Muslims, and Italy full of Roman Catholics? Why did these various gods reveal themselves to people based around man-made borders? The answer is obvious: because the gods are man-made.
You pose a theologically interesting, but in reality meaningless question: How could a pure god exist in a sinful world? A belief system could make up any reason to rationalise this. Asking questions such as this is to ask the wrong question. Instead ask yourself why different cultures and different countries have different deities.

BILLY GRAHAM'S ANSWER:
http://www.billygraham.org/articlepage.asp?articleid=7546