Like I've always said, if the belief gives someone strength, and/or pleasure,
fine, more power to them.
I think it's crap.
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<< My brother-in-law, who has devoted every waking minute, dollar and
thought to the church, now is battling skin cancer, at the ripe old age of 46.
He borders on fanatacism, and his "god" pays him back like that. >>
SuperSix, that argument against theism definitely has merit. How could someone possibly have faith in a "god" that pays back his devotion by allowing such a horrible thing to happen?
The best theist argument I ever heard against that was a sermon our priest delivered at least 15 years ago, but that I still remember. He spoke of a devout Catholic who attended his first church years back every single day. She had three sons, and all were good, upstanding members of the community. Her first son was killed in some kind of accident at a young age, and the second died of some form of cancer. The third was shot to death while trying to stop a robbery attempt.
The woman's neighbor thought it incredible that she still went to church regularly, in light of all the pain and tragedy in her life. He asked her how she could believe in a God who allowed such horrible things to happen to good people. She responded, "I do not believe in a God who allows such things to happen to me. I believe in a God who is here for me, guides me though the pain, and gives me the strength to continue living in spite of all of this."
Those are not quite my own personal beliefs, but they do a pretty good job of explaining one way that bad things can happen to good people. >>