Biblical Translations, Religious Habits, Souls | The Atheist Experience 28.02

[@coachfrankie1112]

Enjoyed having 3 hosts of the show. That was great. 👏

[@Orochi_001]

The George call instantly entered the pantheon of greatest AXP calls of all time. Can we get Johnny back, please?

[@onepunch9203]

Johnny P Your reply to John from SC is beautiful. It would make an excellent AXP clip.

[@alisonjones8861]

JMike's laughing during George's call was making me 😂😂😂

[@bazingaburg8264]

A laughing fit is a rare joy that happened to me only twice in 35 years. JMike is a professional, but sometimes you just can't help it. "So many assumptions!" 😂 Good stuff.

[@nitehork2796]

And yet again, yelling into the sky, I look like a maniac listening to an AXP video as I’m walking to the gym. The “A soul is a soul” guy is astounding. Must be so much fun having a conversation with him.

[@melbied6215]

John- Your question reminds me of that story (parable?) about the little boy throwing back beached starfish into the ocean after a storm. An old man comes along and says “There are hundreds, maybe thousands of stranded starfish, you can’t possibly make a difference. Why are you wasting your time?” And the little boy answers “Because it makes a difference to THIS starfish.” As he throws it back.

[@queuecee]

I thought you were going to talk about how fishermen want to get rid of the starfish and so they chop it up. And thus making the population explode since the starfish regenerate from the pieces.😅

[@nac.mac.feegle]

Eff those medical people with expertise...their care couldn't _possibly_ have had anything to do with Mike's dad's recovery. What about those people who didn't have someone pray for them who recovered from a coma. Or people who did have someone pray but never recovered. This is one of the most maddening reasoning for a belief in god. Maddening and cruel.

[@queuecee]

And what about all the useless people who prayed for his dad's recovery and nothing happened? They were probably not real Christians. So if you don't count all the times that prayer did nothing, and count the one time where his dad came out of coma after the last prayer, then prayer works 100% of the time!

[@edwalker2790]

Almost spit my coffee out on my keyboard with the " over".

[@macdougdoug]

5:57 Mike (theist) The original Hebrew version of Genesis speaks of "flying creatures" rather than "birds" as it does in the English version - which means the order of creation might be less wrong. Also claims he is a theist because of something that happened to his dad. 41:33 Mari (Brazilian atheist) Feels guilty about something, maybe her relationship with religious friends. 54:42 George (eastern euro theist) Has convoluted beliefs about souls. 1:28:55 John (theist) Does belief matter in a universe without God? Also don't miss excellent $10000 offer to crush all atheists on the AXP voicemail at 1:58:20

[@PaulBrown-uj5le]

Ty

[@queezle4277]

Thank you ❤

[@kidslovesatan34]

Thank you very much, great work.

[@Mr_Porter]

Appreciate cha 🫡

[@melbied6215]

OMG! You picked my comment last week! Woo hoo!

[@smochygrice465]

Awesome content as always AXP ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ Keep up the great work. Peace Love Empathy From Australia 🇦🇺👍🤠

[@nataliegoblintoes]

Thankies for the show guys! Over.

[@granthinson7495]

jmike you are awesome. I love what you had to say to John from SC. Thank you for all you do. 🙂✌️❤️ this is G_HIPPIE

[@ToddSheetsEntertainer]

That last dude on the voicemail should really call in to talk to the hosts. It's free!

[@rhondah1587]

After my Dad had heart bypass surgery, he was on heavy duty pain meds and would tell us that huge spiders were crawling all over the walls. Our brains do funny things on drugs and with traumatic experiences. Even extreme fearful situations or extreme grief can make us see what's not there in reality.

[@itomba]

Heretic! You don’t believe in the Arachnagod?

[@redflag4781]

@@AtheismPoisonsEverything Way to look super dumb.

[@kennybachman35]

@@AtheismPoisonsEverythingsounds like projection.

[@melaniesouthworth5618]

@@AtheismPoisonsEverythingwhat are you talking about?

[@redflag4781]

@@AtheismPoisonsEverything You really are making your trolling too obvious

[@Ghostyfrost9688]

Johnny P Angel is so fucking funny. Today was an especially good day for him 🤣

[@RaulPerez-jj5jj]

Hes hilarious. J Mike was dying laughing from it, which prompted me to laugh everytime he did too. 😂

[@silverlining2677]

I think he'd make an incredible debate moderator.

[@brandontankersley8107]

​@RaulPerez-jj5jj all 3 has me rolling with the "over" skit 🤣. Johnny just wasn't in the mood for bullshit though. He had no patience and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@SamsamTS]

Armin and SR are thinking "If tomato is a fruit, isn't ketchup a smoothie?""

[@diogeneslamp8004]

Yes! I’m stealing that.

[@dianabender1715]

My husband was in a coma and when he slowly started waking up, he kept claiming that he had been kidnapped. He believed this for days and days. He finally realized that it was something he dreamed. But we had to keep telling him that it did not happen.

[@mk-nj7rr]

Love johny angels voice.

[@blakewalker84120]

The callers tonight are not equipped for this conversation. The have the blinded theist mind: "I know there is a god, I know there is a heaven, I know we have souls, now let me tell you something very loosely based on those presuppositions." But when the hosts challenge that and ask how the caller knows the presupposition, the callers cannot even understand the question. They cannot possibly answer it because they cannot even begin to understand the question. So they just make further claims, or restate the original one, like if they enough things then the hosts will suddenly understand and accept those presuppositions. And they don't even know why that is not proof of anything, ever. They are so blind in their unquestioned beliefs that they cannot even understand the concept of questioning or proving them.

[@katiebarber407]

the biblically accurate golden retreivers are killing me lol

[@philhoenig]

Armin and SR are thinking "Well, he does have a point. Could there be something in it? There are indeed seven days in a week..."

[@kowoh]

Frigg’s day called they want their odin’s wife got tired of waiting for Jesus day back….7 day cycle the director’s cut.

[@mirandarensberger6919]

For 20 years I worked as a patient care tech, most of it in the ICU. I saw many patients who were prayed over; some got better, and some didn't. I also saw many patients who were not prayed over; likewise, some got better, and some didn't. Almost as if the prayers weren't doing anything. And of course, there are also studies showing the same thing, much better than my anecdotal observations.

[@holgerlubotzki3469]

Everybody knows that if it's good then g0d dunnit but if it's bad then something something mysterious ways...

[@BlarglemanTheSkeptic2]

​@@holgerlubotzki3469nah, it's worse than that: if it's bad, then that's because you are a bad person.

[@friedrice7312]

@@BlarglemanTheSkeptic2 Or even worse: it’s not your fault you’re suffering, blame it on a man and woman who lived a few thousand years ago I can just imagine if god were to exist, he’d be like “Aha! I have created a good excuse for people to suffer!”

[@BlarglemanTheSkeptic2]

@@friedrice7312 yep, and _"that's why you are a bad person, even if you are a newborn!"_

[@Wiggimus]

I love the voicemails. Especially this "debate me, bro!!!" I got a great laugh at that 🤣

[@project_nihilist]

39:21 that is a great brick. “Brick is not to be used for stoning!” 😂

[@broxy55]

Absolutely awesome trio! Over. . . I shouldn't have laughed so hard at times, but I did.

[@rhondah1587]

Voice mail man argument - Look at the trees. LMAO He's so chicken to call the show so he leaves a silly voice mail.

[@zipherdias420]

JMike: What is a soul, because for me its constituent with James Brown? That one strait up killed me.

[@StealingTimeAtWork]

God damn that voicemail guy sounded like a wrestling heel.

[@TannerCLynn]

You guys need to turn up the callers audio. In the last several videos they’ve been VERY quiet compared to the hosts and it makes it hard to listen to cuz I either blow my ears out or can’t hear the caller. JMike is especially loud compared to the other hosts too.

[@MrCanis4]

From this broadcast: Humans have a tremendous amount of FANTASY.

[@blakewalker84120]

Poor George. Each time he speaks he drops a one-liner from a Jordan Peterson video that a) George doesn't understand b) The hosts don't understand c) Jordan Peterson doesn't understand d) Jordan Peterson doesn't even know why people give him millions of dollars to say this nonsense but he's happy to keep saying it and taking their money. Or, maybe it's Santos instead of Jordan Peterson. Same thing but more crazy and far, far less wealthy. Nobody knows what any of this nonsense means. Certainly not George. But he's convinced it means something and now he wants to convince us too. It's very sad, really.

[@Leith_Crowther]

Attention crew: caller audio levels suck.

[@truthsantiago772]

All the levels suck. Everybody is at a different level. Johnny p. Audio is trash too.

[@melaniesouthworth5618]

Agree! I’m only on the 2nd caller and I’m struggling to keep going.

[@an9l1c1sm6]

Would be cool if audio was adjusted automatically and averaged.

[@skyboundmusic7397]

@@an9l1c1sm6 that’s alot Easier said then done

[@an9l1c1sm6]

@@skyboundmusic7397 well, is it really? If you have 3 different audio channels, surely some program can average it out?

[@TheStupendousMusicMan]

I was having a bad day until Gerorge came along and made me laugh like I haven’t in a very long time. Bullshit does provide hours of fun!

[@mackhomie6]

Lol, the reason he said he believed the angel story, but wouldnt believe the pterodactyl story had something to do with how pterodactyls fly lol

[@chris424cm]

Funny how Mike from Georgia thinks his story is incredible.

[@PeerAdder]

Mike has clearly no idea about coincidences or the notion that it makes no sense that his father's life should be saved while millions of others aren't.

[@bazingaburg8264]

Mike from Georgia sounds like Xenu from South Korea. Could this be the magic of VPN or am i tripping? That bloody "7 day week proves the biblical god's sovereignty" guy made me start an aka list of repeat callers and i'd hate to mess it up.

[@tctheunbeliever]

Well, I'm convinced. All theists are dim-bulb badasses. Thanks, Harold. [insert cutesy sarcasm emoji here]

[@markmcgee2417]

Armin and SR are thinking: " What if there really is a Gosh?"

[@mirandarensberger6919]

Uh-oh, we might get darned to heck if we don't believe Gosh!

[@artemis213]

Great show everyone, but I have one request. Could the crew closely monitor the audio levels? Caller Mike was almost impossible to hear. His audio was so soft compared to the hosts. Several of the calls suffered the same issue, and it has been a problem for a few episodes now. Otherwise thank you guys and the crew for the hard work and great content!

[@lmnop1022]

I would agree, especially with callers with heavy accents. I'm betting that the specs on the mics/phones many callers use aren't that high....don't know what can be done with that.

[@swordsaint01]

The person in the Voicemail sound like a delightful person. Someone that the Christian Gawd will actually love and accept in heaven with open arms.

[@queuecee]

He seems to have been a bit confused. He's leaving a voicemail for a call-in show to ask for a debate. Maybe he doesn't understand that for a call-in show, he needs to call in. I get a feeling he won't do well in a debate if he can't follow simple logic.

[@LordNorthstarMusic]

33:03 how do you guys NOT laugh during these calls?😂

[@rhondah1587]

To John - SC The people you touch in your life in a positive way can matter as your actions and deeds may contribute to a continuation of good things down the line of humanity. It will all end but was it good? That's what matters and can make leaving existence okay when it comes.

[@donkeehotay]

Armin: Let me tweak this filter a little more... SR: hoooold... hold the thinking pose...

[@cgfamorcan9809]

Caller Mike: I'm not boastful Says the guy bragging how "humble" he is by snobbing the suffering in the world 🙄

[@markmcgee2417]

Johnny's t-shirt is simultaneously making me laugh and be angry at the same time. Deep cuts Johnny. Bravo!

[@nietzschescodes]

why? it is a t-shirt with the logo and the name of a band in the 80's: New Order (formerly known as Joy Division in the 70's)

[@itomba]

Angry? Why?

[@uncreatedskeptic9968]

Johnny Bravo. Nice!

[@jonstrummer6930]

​​@nietzschescodes Aye, but it's a Joy Division album cover with New Order written above it.

[@nietzschescodes]

@@jonstrummer6930 the name Joy Division didn't appear on the cover. Since the image is linked to Joy Division and New Order comes from Joy Division, I don't see really a problem. It is not as if it was written Tears for Fears on his shirt.

[@RaulPerez-jj5jj]

I couldnt help but laugh too when J Mike started laughing on Georges call. 😂

[@ItsJustAisling]

I could never host this show. My disposition is very akin to Forrest Valkai's, as I prefer to be very respectful and allow people to fully explain their position as best they can before I dive in, but unlike Forrest, my patience on a phone call is abysmal, at best. I'd be hanging up on so many people. It's insane to me how patient Johnny, Jmike, and Kelley are being tonight, especially considering how "spicy" Johnny was feeling 😅

[@OldNewsIsGoodNews]

Oof, I feel this! I don't think I could ever be as patient as most of the hosts, especially on a day like they had with this one, which seems to be particularly wild as far as I've gotten into it.

[@Biggles2666]

Top of list of things I didn't expect to hear today was 'he fell out of a helicopter'.

[@captainzappbrannagan]

SR and Armin are thinking hard to consider if those 1984 SR gumballs are still edible.

[@joshuamartinpryce1237]

A soul to me is something we all have, the feed to soul with positivity is connection to the Spirit. Connection to the body is a decaying and temporary fix, but connection to the spirit is eternally led and inspired.

[@rcblazer]

Armin and SR are thinking "Who IS the real Slim Shady?"

[@ItsJustAisling]

I love this one 😂

[@queezle4277]

SR and Armin are thinking "who cut the cheese?"

[@Tweepx]

QOTD: "How can I temporarily lose enough brain cells to relate to this people?"

[@adako25]

Armin and SR are planning their outfits for the next Inner Circle Of Atheists Yacht Party (lucky bastards)

[@ItsJustAisling]

1:50:22 Kelly chimes in with zero audio viewer-side. It seems the other hosts can hear him, at least, but he's just mute in the video.

[@adako25]

Armin and SR are trying to recall if they had performed their morning ritual sacrifice properly, they'd hate to waste good fresh babies.

[@jaxnaturals]

Caller Mike: why does anyone have to be in a coma to talk to an angel? Does everyone have to be in a coma to see them? Why would that be a precondition? Why not talk to us when we are coherent?

[@ojrmk1]

"A person is like a suit!" Yeah boi I'm a Gundam!

[@Nocturnalux]

Setsuna F Seiei basically becomes god.

[@ojrmk1]

@@Nocturnalux We already have Kira "Jesus" Yamato

[@Nocturnalux]

@@ojrmk1 Indeed. And soon, Kira will be back for the movie. And there’s “Archangel”, “Raphael”, you name it. And Tieria came back from the dead not once, but twice.

[@robnagy5157]

Johnny's shirt makes so much sense 😊

[@zhen_r_zyt1286]

We need a whiteboard to track the questions and arguments we encountered. With three hosts and a caller it’s really in chaos.

[@jamiegallier2106]

Johnny P. Angel really nailed his point to caller John (around the 1:40 mark). He beautifully explained how atheists care about life and others, without need for a god. It needs to be a clip. ❤

[@mykelpoole4201]

I'm a skydiver/vet and dying to know - what was the ALTITUDE of the chopper? I thank him for his service.

[@jamesonschaefer3035]

SR and Armin are thinking "how did they get the caramel into the Caramilk bar".

[@peterskove3476]

Love the painting because I always thought religion is one big typo. The first scribe was dyslexic, but I am still agnostic- I’m not sure if there is a Dog.

[@ilovethe80sNW]

Johnny P I LOVE your New Order t-shirt!❤❤❤❤

[@erinjohnson7329]

SR: let's have a Joey "smelling a fart" competition! Armin: what silly thing are you saying? There is no fart for me to smell.

[@VanHalenIsolated]

Armin: “I really, really, need to poop but this caller just started crying about his father dying.” Secular Rarity: “Nice, my soul patch is coming in!”

[@diogeneslamp8004]

That’s not bad.

[@mirandarensberger6919]

SR [looking at menu board]: I'll have a double latte, no foam-- no, wait, make that a chai-- no, hang on... Armin [working the cash register]: Jesus fucking Christ, would this guy just order already!

[@Leith_Crowther]

Armin and Secularity are thinking hard about why kids love the taste of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

[@colinmatts]

SR and Armin are thinking...I wonder what happened to the seven day cycle guy?

[@jakedickamore]

I absolutely need to know where Johnny and JMike got their background from!

[@whitehart11]

So George is saying we are living in a Matrix that we construct for ourselves. Thank goodness he has no kids!

[@dimitrioskalfakis]

george sounded like being in a very laborious psychoanalysis session with the hosts trying to unveil the source of trouble within his psyche to no avail as to the'why' of his magical and metaphysical beliefs.

[@kieronbrowne7881]

George is off his trolley

[@thomasmcnally563]

Great episode guys

[@holgerlubotzki3469]

The only question I have is about that last voice mail caller. Was it: a) Seditious Edith/Jim b) Damon DonKey c) The FloBloJoBoi d) The Never Ending Parody

[@queuecee]

I can't imagine any of these cowards actually leaving a voice message. And none of those guys would even offer a real voice debate. They want to stay safe behind their keyboard.

[@giladpachter4546]

1:03:40 - JMIKE breaks down 😂🤣

[@992turbos]

The volume discrepancy between the hosts and the first caller is ridiculous.

[@jasontechlord]

What are Armin and SR thinking? Armin: Soon... Wait, you can hear my thoughts? Uhhh nothing to see here!" SR: "You know, if I hook my plumbing to a constant Monster supply I can have the ultimate wake up shower!"

[@iconifyme]

Wow. The dude who left the voicemail is really demonstrating the love of Christ. I can just feel the love. "WSWJR - Whose shit would Jesus reck"?

[@Heathen.Deity.]

I’m getting ‘drives a 10-year-old MBW so he can say he ones one, then acts like he rules the road’ kind of bumblenugget vibes from his precious little call.

[@mykelpoole4201]

This call was great! Over...

[@JGM0JGM]

I burst out laughing when the first caller, Mike, said he was a believer because his father met an angel... What if someone else, say a drunk homeless person, told him the same story? He believes in god because he believes his father is trustworthy, yet the crappy story is totally unbelievable in the first place. So, in fact, his father has nothing to do with his belief, he's just using him as a prop. He believes because he WANTS to believe, period. This is a great example of Dennett's belief of belief.

[@katiebarber407]

only a christian could come up with something depressing as "whats the point of life at all, the heat death of the universe is going to happen anyway"

[@queuecee]

That's why I don't make my bed. The universe is going to die a heat death billions and billions of years from now, so it's futile for me to try to change the entropy of my bed covers.

[@mirandarensberger6919]

SR and Armin are thinking about how many days are in a week, and whether it proves the sovereignty of Roland the Closet Goblin.

[@steveyuhas9278]

I absolutely LOVE the metaphor of bad and good salt lol. It pretty much perfectly exemplifies exactly what I've always tried to put into my own words about how functionally useless a god's divine approval is. It doesn't MAKE people be better. It doesn't help us in any way here on earth. It's not applicable to anything I do in my everyday life. This is why secular morality is far far more meaningful and has real utility. It's up to you to decided what gives your life meaning and if you even want anything to have meaning, to answer John's question. It doesn't make me upset that the party will end one day, that's what gives it meaning. But one thing is for sure, religious morality is useless because there is no real way to comprehend if it exists, how to apply it, or what use it has.

[@gayesthusky2177]

Apologists using “but atheism is a belief position” in order to try and shift the burden of proof is like when sovereign citizens think that a stack of papers and repeated and insistent assertions will somehow make the law disappear. It’s childish yet hilariously entertaining 😂😂😂😂😂

[@Leith_Crowther]

I’ll admit it’s possible to hold a belief position - or a nonbelief position - incorrectly. For example, it’s ridiculous to not be convinced evolution happens when there’s an embarrassment of evidence supporting evolution. Acknowledging this doesn’t actually shift the burden of proof onto the nonbeliever, though; the burden is still on evolution proponents to support the claim (something they should be able to easily do).

[@queuecee]

@@Leith_Crowther But when someone is denying established scientific facts that are supported by the embarrassment of evidence, the burden is on the person denying the established science. That's because the burden of proof has _de facto_ been met in these cases and goes back to the person just claiming "nuh-uh" with nothing to back up their claim.

[@Leith_Crowther]

@@queueceeSure, I’m happy to agree that there’s a “burden of rebuttal” when a claim meets its burden of proof. That’s why I concede that someone’s belief or nonbelief position can be unwarranted.

[@queuecee]

​@@Leith_Crowther Didn't mean to sound like I was trying to disagree with you. Just adding additional clarification that it's nonsensical to just doubt established science and claim that the other person has to defend well-established science. That's what a lot of theists do. Claiming there's no "evidence" for evolution or the big bang. But they have NO problems accepting their silly understanding of the "2nd law of thermodynamics".

[@friedrice7312]

When someone uses the excuse “but atheism is a belief as well”, they’re basically saying “if I’m wrong, you’re going down with me”

[@eldritchwulfe]

There is nothing to feel guilty about for Mari. Even if she's an atheist now, praying is solidly engraved in her life. I smoked for 25 years until I quit 9 years ago. However when I leave my house the mantra " ciggies, lighter, keys" is still in my head

[@nullverba856]

That your mantra prioritized ciggies and lighter over keys says it all.

[@eldritchwulfe]

@@nullverba856 Not entirely, the flow was better but I do agree in that era ciggies were very important :)

[@rchecka]

Great show, but PLEASE find someone to properly balance the audio better. We can't hear the callers, and the hosts are all at different levels so we have to adjust the volume constantly.

[@queuecee]

JMike's volume was definitely too high. They needed to get the host volume down to be closer to the callers' volume. I would think that they have an audio monitor to listen for the balance.

[@tiltingwindmill]

​@@queueceeAbsolutely agreed. This issue has seemingly compounded recently. It's becoming quite frustrating. I love the crew for all the hard work they do, but the audio definitely needs improvement.

[@queuecee]

@@tiltingwindmill I know it's not as easy as it sounds, but it's definitely easier than mixing at a live venue where the actual volume might be different than what comes out the monitor.

[@tiltingwindmill]

@@queuecee you're not getting any disagreement from me. Today was probably the worst I've heard in recent memory. Really hoping someone sees these complaints and figures how to resolve it in coming weeks.

[@ookekklibarianbornagain6708]

@@queuecee G'day cobber, She Who Must Be Obeyed used to run one of the largest rehearsal studios in the UK and wonders if there are any sound engineers who know what their doing in Austin.

[@sirilay]

Caption: considering the proper order of taco toppings for heathens. Theists got their order from their book, but we're just left to CHAOS!

[@mckaylapaddock9319]

I think for a lot of people, if they were truly honest, the answer to why they believe something fantastical would be: someone told me, or I thought about it and came up with this idea, and I like it, or it just feels right to me. With the scary stuff, it's usually due to indoctrination and fear: I've always been told this and I'm afraid of the consequences if I don't follow the rules. With the more flowery, feel good non-mainstream ideas, like what George was saying about how we get to choose which infinite universe we live in, etc, it's usual just a cool or interesting idea that gives them comfort.

[@adako25]

I've never seen JMike cry because of a caller before. Poor guy had to hide his face for a bit. 😢 😂

[@mosesnebogipfel3960]

I'm pretty sure he was laughing uncontrollably.

[@adako25]

@@mosesnebogipfel3960 I was joking, I put a laughing emoji at the end for that reason 🙄

[@Gnome_with_no_name]

Mike can’t believe the pterodactyl story because everyone knows that pterodactyls don’t like poodles. Too fuzzy. A family member was in and out of a coma for a while and was convinced that ninjas stole his legs, so by mike’s logic that makes it true.

[@gotthasossij]

Share your experience: In the picture, Arman and SR look like they're considering what flavor of baby they want to eat for lunch

[@jennycook290]

Holy shit, they come in flavors!??

[@darrylglynn1557]

Armin and SR: Well the mic definitely picked up a fart noise, and it wasn't me!

[@cesnapilot]

Hosts: what is George:

[@mihaicolceriu-nicola7148]

that voice mail made lmfao

[@bazingaburg8264]

Armin: That looks reeeally good 🤤 (watching muted cooking shows on the side) SR: OMG, that spider is HUGE 😱 Stay calm, don't lose sight of it.

[@Anastaecia]

I have a simple reason why it matters that others believe and live their lives by fairy tales...because as the hosts mentioned, you live around other people whose lives your fake beliefs ALSO affect. This isn't hard if you aren't selfish, like anti vaxxers.

[@mckaylapaddock9319]

My mom is convinced that I was healed by God as a baby. I was born with diaphragmatic hernia, had to be medevaced to another state for surgery. A doctor told my mom to plan for my funeral instead of my nursery and sage my name due a future baby. But she prayed and called my grandmother who took the prayer request to her church, and acted with faith that I'd come home. And I did. But another baby in the same hospital with the same condition died. So I grew up hearing that the doctors had given me 0% chance to live but God had healed me because of her faith, and the other baby died because her parents did consider funeral plans rather than insisting their baby would love. Now I think it's really cruel to blame those parents. And if there really had been 0% chance, then the doctors wouldn't have done the surgery. There had to be a chance of survival and a known procedure to try and save me. But there is never a 100% success rate for life saving procedures. So it doesn't seem like God saved me, doctors and medicine did, even if it worked better than expected, that happens sometimes, regardless of faith.

[@ktiemz]

how could an imperfect being even KNOW what a perfect being would look like??

[@mort8143]

The church. The sponge that soaks up the blood, sweat, and tears of the oppressed and needy. A lucrative business indeed.

[@mirandarensberger6919]

It also soaks up their tithes.

[@wwlib5390]

@mort8143 Jesus, the One who loves you so much He gave His own blood, sweat and tears to free the oppressed, bring forgiveness and redemption, salvation and everlasting life to all who will come to Him. For those who 'cry out to the Lord, will be saved.' A relationship not a religion. Love is the basis for knowing Jesus.

[@BlarglemanTheSkeptic2]

​@@wwlib5390Hebrews 9:22 _In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness._

[@holgerlubotzki3469]

"Mankind never seems to take God at His Word. Most didn't in Noah's day either" said wwLIB who clearly believes that it is morally acceptable to slaughter infants because they didn't take somebody's word for something. wwLIB is suffering from the misconception that good, kind, and moral atheists want to share her despicably *EVIL* immorality.

[@wwlib5390]

@herbieshine1312 You are partly correct: "Christianity is a man-made regligion' - but CHRISTIAN who truly follow Jesus are in a RELATIONSHIP with Christ. whose only commandments are love God and love others. The CHURCHES are full of 'thou shalts and thou shalt nots' that are NOT part of God's commands, but rather incorporated over the millennia by mankind. If you do or think something that is not 'loving God' or 'loving others' then the TRUE Christian REPENTS immediately and knows those sins are forgiven and then they move on, seeking Him further and drawing closer and closer as you would anyone you consider beloved in your life. As for proof. God gives proof. I have the proof I need to know He exists and is present in my life. You can have the proof He will give YOU if you draw near to Him and desire to know Him. I always recommend atheists 'get out of Nazareth' however, lest their seeking be quenched by others in their circle of Psalm 1 'friends'..