This debate is very similar to the long running thread that Tammy gave a link to. The reason this thread has gone on for so long, is that the question asked has not been answered. I take it we are talking about the failure of the god of the bible, Jehovah or Yahweh, Jesus’ father, to warn humans about the tsunami on 26th Dec 2004.
Inevitably it comes down to the question of whether such a god has ever existed. There are Biblical accounts of this god of talking to humans and sending angels. Either these events happened or they didn’t. We ask, does god still talks to humans and sends angels? How can we know one way or the other? According to the bible, angels are messengers, and Jehovah has myriads of them. Did he send one with a message that could have prevented the needless death of a quarter of a million innocent men, women and children in the tsunami on 26th Dec 2004. We all agree that the answer, sadly, is NO. Has he sent an angel at any time in the last 1900 years? The answer again is, not as far as we know. In view of this, is it unlikely that the tales of angels are anything more than folklore.
The matter would normally end there with some choosing to believe regardless of the plain fact that we have no evidence that angels ever existed. Except for one thing - some Christians, who are alive today report that one of god’s sons, Jesus, regularly talks to them; often about trivial matters. For those of us who have left behind the illusionary world of the Watchtower Society and concluded that invisible gods do not exist, this is a most extraordinary claim. As we all know, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
For those that claim Jesus still talks to humans, we must ask again; why he does he not talk to humans and warn them about major disasters, such as the in the tsunami on 26th Dec 2004, giving them a chance to flee. Could he not spare just one messenger-angel for an hour; or send a million messages in a few second via Google?
It is perfectly fair and reasonable to ask those that hear Jesus voice why he did not issue a warning to humans - his own creation. In the absence of a rational answer, the only conclusion we can come to, is that the god of the Bible has never spoken to humans and has no angels to use as messengers. The only intellectually honest conclusion is that he does not exist.
Atheists do not need to prove to others that such a god does not exist, but we do at times feel a moral obligation to publicly state that we no longer wish to be associated with the biblical myth of Jehovah of armies.
I would like to add that most atheists did not start out with a desire to remove all gods from their life. Quite the opposite! Most atheists on this board made many sacrifices and spent many years seeking, worshiping and trying to please the god of the Bible and follow his son Jesus. Many honest seekers of truth have come to the conclusion that if the god of the bible, and his son, existed and still spoke to humans, he would have issued a tsunami warning on 26th Dec 2004 - instead the silence is deafening.
Tammy, this post is not written specifically to you, though obviously, you are one of the Christians my comments will apply to. I say very little on this forum nowadays, rarely commenting on your posts; Cofty does well enough on his own. You post a great deal and have an influence on new posters who are looking for answers. The questions raised by this debate are too important for me to ignore.
Take Care - Trev
