Originally Posted By: Revlgking
child who asked the minister: If God made everything, who made God?

This is the kind of child-like question that is not really a proper question at all.

That is a proper question, it shows a fault with the claim that "God made everything". It should be worded in an internally consistent way, like "God made everything except God" or "God made all the things, but God isn't one of those things". Or maybe something else that shows the true idea.

Quote:

It is like asking: Which came first? The bird? Or the reptile? Or the egg? To some questions there are no
concrete answers, yet.

Yet. It really doesn't matter if there's a lack of knowledge, but failing to admit that is dishonesty. However there may be possible answers and impossible answers. Eliminating the impossible can help.


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Do you have a problem with helping people be kind and good to one another--the main goal of healthy religion?

You admit that that's all it is? Then why mention GOD? No I don't have a problem with that idea. But I do have a problem with inventing unnecessary baggage to apparently justify it. Why not justify it the way you just did - "be a kind of heaven on earth if everyone did just that" ?

That was a rhetorical question. I know why, it's too simple. If you fool people into believing in something beyond their capability to detect or even visualize, then they feel it's somehow more important, and should follow whatever advice other people (not GOD) hook onto the concept.

Just the same as conventional organized religions do. They're to manipulate people who can't be trusted to make "good" decisions themselves.

If that's really your idea, to manipulate people into doing good things, people who without a religion would be unable to control themselves, then that's fine. Good on you. But why not admit it? Sure don't admit it to the subjects, but we in this forum aren't, so there's no loss by showing your true ideas to us.