QUESTION: Today's comes from LF...
"I've always tried to do my best and live by the Bible's statement that "God helps those who help themselves" because I want to go to heaven when I die. But recently a friend said she thinks this may not be what the Bible means by this statement. Is she right?".
IRRELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE:
There's not a human being who has not done something wrong in their lives. Thus there is no totally good person and no totally bad person. We are all a combination of these to varying degrees, which changes over time. Patently any religion that preaches that good people go to heaven will end up with an empty heaven, and empty pews. So Christianity gets round this by proclaiming that Jesus Christ died for our sins and if you accept this you will go to heaven. On the surface (like most religious dogma) this appears to be just and to make sense, but on examination it is extraordinarily arrogant. According to it any member of another religion, or indeed atheist, who leads an exemplary life cannot go to heaven, and anyone who leads a rotten life will only need to sincerely accept Jesus on their deathbed to ensure a berth in heaven. Furthermore those people who never even hear about Jesus throughout their entire lives are doomed to the fires of hell forever. Christianity appeals to people's vanity by convincing them that they have chosen the right religion whilst all the other belief systems are made out to be phoney. Christianity preys on our fear of death to offer us something that is arrogant, unjust, and cannot be proven.
BILLY GRAHAM'S ANSWER:
http://www.billygraham.org/articlepage.asp?articleid=6101
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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.
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.
ATHEIST BLOGROLL
About Me
- Moderator
- I am just an ordinary person who has travelled the world a lot, observed other cultures, studied some history, met many people, and thought about things a lot. I can see the many benefits that adherence to a religion brings: charities; a support group; and pastoral care. However, all of these benefits can occur without needing a god. I am greatly concerned with the downside of religion brought about through blind faith in doctrine that has no basis in reality and which invariably overlaps with other beliefs leading to conflict. I would not like to see religions disbanded, but rather to have their downsides neutered. I consider it a basic human right to choose one's own spirituality, as long as: it's non-harmful to others; has no privileged position in society; and the young are allowed to grow up before being recruited. I am Bavin Stach.
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