RESPONDING TO QUESTIONS FROM THE 3 REASONS BILL MAHER WANTS GOD TO EXIST
- BECAUSE HIS FOLLOWERS HAVE CHANGED YOUR LIFE FOR THE BETTER.
- if He doesn’t then SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST is the only remaining Basis for Morality.
- if He doesn’t then MORALITY IS A FAIRTYTALE just like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny
Q:
You can be an atheist and be moral.
A:
Of course, you can. You can also be a Christian and be immoral. That misses the point. What I said is that if God does not exist, nothing OBLIGATES me to be moral.
Q:
Christians are basically selfish. They behave so they can go to heaven and earn points with God.
A:
Wow, that’s a person who believes Christianity is simply transactional— GIVE to GET. That’s like saying marriage is all about getting what I want— the reason I give to my spouse is so I can get. That’s really JADED. BTW, marriages like that don’t last long.
I tried to obey my PARENTS growing up because I loved them. I do nice things for my WIFE because I love her. I do things for my KIDS because I love them. Likewise, I try to please GOD because I love him, --and He loves me. I don’t see why that is so hard to understand.
Q:
You’re quite happy to point out the good Christians have done but none of the bad and conversely all the negative things atheists have done but none of the good.
A:
I was hoping someone would notice. It was rhetorical bait to make 2 points:
First, detractors of Christianity always talk about all the bad things Christians have done, but they never mention a single good thing Christians have done. Not one. I simply REVERSED the scenario. The reaction was predictable.
Second, atheists always talk about how noble atheism is, but they OMIT the horrendous atrocities SOME atheists have perpetrated on the human race.
My goal was both to HIGHLIGHT what they always leave out, and to point out how humanity has benefitted in real ways because of Christianity.
Q:
You’re happy to drag out Joseph Stalin and Chairman Mao for their atrocities but give no mention to the various witch trials and Inquisitions throughout history which only could have existed because of the Christian worldview of the time.
A:
That begs the question, “What is a Christian?” There are a lot of GOOFY ideas out there about what it means to be a Christian. Most people assume that if a person claims to be a Christian that they must be a Christian. I don’t. I can claim I am a CAR, and even sleep in a garage, but that doesn’t make me a car. I can claim to be a CHRISTIAN, and sit in Church every Sunday, but that doesn’t make be a Christian, RIGHT?
Q:
Just like people who claim they believe in global warming….
A:
A Christian is a person who realizes they are irreparably BROKEN inside and can never be good enough to please God through their own efforts. So they trust Jesus to rescue them from their brokenness.
A Christian is not perfect. But over time if their life does not begin to change they should question whether or not they are really a Christian. In general terms, a Christian is person who follows Jesus— who places their trust in Him and does what He taught.
Jesus said we are to:
- love God,
- love our neighbor,
- and love our enemies.”
Those are the core teachings of Jesus.
If a person’s life is a REPUDIATION of those three commands, then I have to seriously wonder if they followers of Jesus at all.
Stalin, Mao and the Inquisition all had the same basic problem. They all started with a broken view of God. Based on Jesus’ 3 commands, the Inquisition was no more Christian than Stalin or Mao.
Q:
You give credit to Christians for fighting to end slavery in the Civil War and yet it was also Christians that fought to defend slavery in the Civil War.
A: Same song, second verse.
Am I a Christian simply because I say I am? or am I a Christian because I follow Jesus and embrace his teachings? A follower of Jesus LOVES his neighbor, he doesn’t ENSLAVE him.
So, here is what I hope every atheist who is hearing this will do. Atheists, are you listening? I’m giving you a great tool to use with people who CLAIM to be Christian. The next time you see a person who claims to be a Christian act in a manner that does not reflect the three core commands of Jesus
- Love God,
- Love others,
- Love your enemies
please ask them two questions:
1) “What did Jesus mean when he said, “Love your neighbor?”
2) “How can you call yourself a Christian when you don’t do what Jesus taught?”
Those 2 questions will make a lot of uninformed or insincere Christians, squirm, and will help you figure out if they are true followers of Jesus.
Q:
You ask, “Why are people obligated to follow moral laws?” The simple answer is, you’re not. The far less simple but more accurate answer is that certain moral beliefs benefit the survival of humanity as a whole, and those beliefs tend to spread universally. He also added that “survival of the fittest” applies to the survival of a species, not of a given individual. His response was a lot longer, and lot more detailed but that was his core argument.
A:
Finally, an atheist who is both a thinker, and is honest. I disagree with you sir, but I commend you, and I respect you.
For all you other atheists who attacked me for stating the obvious, that without God moral OBLIGATION does not exist, I encourage you to learn from this guy.
He admitted the obvious and then gave a thoughtful representation of his belief, rather than knee-jerk.
Now let me respond to his argument.
First, “survival of the fittest.” He says it applies to the species, which is correct, but not to the individual, which is incorrect. According to Evolution, mutations must first work for the individual entity before they can be passed on to the entire species. So, to say that it doesn’t apply to the individual is incorrect. It applies to both.
Likewise, if an individual does not see a specific behavior as beneficial, they won’t implement it or pass it on. For instance, let’s take the general principle of honesty. We often say that “Honesty is the best policy.”
However, throughout Latin America there is something called the “Morbida,” the bribe. It permeates from the highest levels to the lowest levels of culture. It’s the number one reason for widespread poverty throughout Latin America. It prevents them from building capital and therefore jobs, because money gets siphoned off at all levels.
If you want to learn more about the “Morbida” and the negative impact it has had south of the border listen to my podcast “The Border, Compassion and Jesus.”
Although it seems that honesty is the best policy, the individual sees the Morbida as the best policy for themselves, and therefore, that is what gets passed on to the entire society. How do you overcome that dynamic if moral obligation does not exist?
Do you really think individuals will always chose what is best for society if it is not best for them at the moment? Do American’s tend to vote for what is best for everyone or what is best for them?
Apart from MORAL OBLIGATION, the beliefs that tend to SPREAD UNIVERSALLY are those that benefit ME personally, TODAY. So, Good luck.
Second, and this relates to what I was just discussing, if moral obligation does not exist then you have to get everyone to agree on what those common moral beliefs are. You will always have cultures that don’t believe that “Honesty is the best policy.” You will always have people who don’t see the MORAL GOOD the same way you do --both religious and non-religious people.
Third, if moral obligation does not exist, then we are really only talking about MORAL PREFERENCES. Moral preferences don’t carry the same weight as moral obligation. If it is a preference, then, really, I get to decide for myself what is best. Many people call this “MY TRUTH.”
Fourth, if there is no moral obligation, and we can’t get everyone to agree on what is the moral best, then you must resort to FORCE in order to get others to behave in the way that YOU think best aligns with the MORAL GOOD, what that is— just like Stalin, Hitler, Mao and the Inquisition. They all operated according to their IDEA of the MORAL GOOD.
Q:
Why in the world would I want an all-powerful, inconsistent authoritarian power in the sky reading all my thoughts? Why would I want a god who could end so much 'natural' suffering (disease, famine, droughts, natural disasters) in an instant, but actively chooses not to?
A:
First of all, I don’t want the “inconsistent” god you just described. I want a God who is both perfectly Just and Loving. A God who is both perfectly Good and Merciful. It seems what you really want is
- A God that is Tolerant instead of Loving.
- A God who is Tolerant instead of Just.
- A God who grades on a curve.
Second, contrary to what most people assume, most droughts and famines are caused by misguided government policy, not natural disasters.
Third, according to the Bible, God placed humanity in a paradise and also gave them free will. Adam and Eve decided they wanted to do things their way, rejecting paradise. The rest is history.
We are simply living with the consequences of their choice. You talk as though you should be ENTITLED to Paradise. You’re not. God is not your personal Santa Claus.
The issue is, God gave us free will. But we must live with the consequences of our choices, and the consequences of the choices of others. You can’t have it both ways.
So, the question is, would you rather have Paradise or Free Will?
Q:
The fact of the matter is, just about any conceivable group of people with a large enough sample size has contributed positively and negatively to the world.
A:
True, however it is also true that some have made more positive contributions than negative, and others, more negative than positive.
For instance, who has made a greater positive contribution to the world, North Korea or South Korea? If you ever see satellite pictures of North and South Korea at night, what you will notice is that North Korea is entirely BLACK, while South Korea is lit up like a CHRISTMAS TREE.
South Koreans have a far higher economic standard of living, while the average North Korean is a starving peasant ruled by a fat boy who clearly eats very well. South Koreans have greater freedoms, while a North Korean peasant who speaks his mind will be imprisoned or taken out and shot. I’m really not sure North Korea has made any positive contributions to the world at all.
I could go on and on.
For instance,
- the CASTE SYSTEM in India which basically spits on the “Untouchables,”
- Or the SOCIAL CREDIT SYSTEM in China which the Communist Party uses to control everyone.
- Or, as I mentioned earlier, the Morbida in Latin America which traps many in poverty.
- Or Islam which often kills gays or adulterers.
We can go on all day.
Here’s a question I want you to think about: Christianity gave birth to the scientific method. Why didn’t Chinese culture, or Islam, or the Aztecs, or the ancient Greeks, or the Romans, or the Babylonians? All those cultures were very advanced. All those cultures had very smart people.
What made the difference?
Some people groups make more positive contributions. Some make more negative contributions. Never fall for the fairytale that all cultures are basically equal. They’re not.
Although every person has EQUAL VALUE in God’s eyes, not every culture contributes equally.
GOD IS THE ISSUE, IN EVERY ISSUE. This is Brad Bright and the God is the Issue Podcast. Thanks for joining us. If you found this podcast helpful, please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE.
