williamlobdell.com

8 responses so far ↓

• 1 psalms4us // Jun 10, 2009 at 3:35 pm

  Read part of the WDGHA? article, and I’m fascinated how people who don’t believe the Bible actually try to understand it, only to “destroy” it (good luck on that one!). And, people who don’t want to believe in G-d try to understand why others believe in G-d, or even more ridiculous, convince them to stop believing in G-d.

  In 1 Thes 5:17, Paul says to “pray without ceasing.” Jesus is attributed as saying that “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son” in John 14:13.

  Does that mean that Christians could completely take over the world, if we just kept praying?

  Well, obviously, that hasn’t happened.
  SO, why bother praying? What’s the use? (I wrote a song called “What’s the use” a while back, asking this same question).

  Prayer is never a sure bet. That whole “faith like a mustard seed” issue gets in the way. In my life, I have never met anyone with enough faith to “pray through”, as I call it, and receive solid, significant answers to very specific prayers. The only guy who comes remotely close is Bob Whitaker. Here’s an mp3 of one of his talks. i haven’t heard it all the way through, but he’s not a shakey-hand, fall backwards kind of healer, but someone who actually goes to hospitals and prays for people, not looking for money. http://hopechristianchurch.net/Portals/165/messages/2009/HCC2009-02-08.wma

  I have learned how to pray vague, harmless prayers, but sometimes, I pray specifically for things, and have received some pretty cool answers. Most of the time, I don’t get what I pray for. I’d say my faith is lacking, and as I learn more about faith, prayer, and G-d, the further away I seem to be from actually attaining those promises. I don’t doubt G-d, I just doubt me. I also know that “He who began a good work in you will complete it” so there is still hope for me, and the rest of the world, too!

  I have a 4cm short left leg, and I’d love to see that sucker grow and match my other leg’s length. I’ve been to several “leg lengthening” services, but no cigar. Does that mean I don’t believe? I can’t say, but I’m not giving up just because I don’t get my way.

  Answered prayer has only one purpose, according to John 14:13 — to glorify the Son. So, how do we give credit, award the trophy, if you will, to G-d, when we pray? Again, that’s a hard one, and I’ve met very few people who can actually pray through, and give glory to G-d, except by what might be considered lip service, or a gratuitous “praise the Lord!”

  In many cases, if a person’s prayer is answered, that person might be tempted to take just a little credit for the answered prayer. And, G-d wouldn’t be lifted up, ascribed the power, ability, and credit for the act, or in other words, glorified.

  The new testament never describes the healing of an amputated (did they amputate limbs back then?), or severed limb. I believe Jesus did plastic surgery after Simon Peter slashed the guard’s ear, but beyond that, no spontaneous limb regeneration. So again, it’s never been done before, so why beg the question? Some did raise from the dead (two did — Lazarus and Jesus), but I haven’t seen that lately, either.

  I’ve never been able to move a mountain, and no one at my church has, either. Would it be a good trick, or would it glorify the Son? I’m not sure Jesus really meant move a mountain, nor do I believe He would allow us to do that. Something about land rights, underground water tables, ski resorts and chair lifts, etc.

  Anything I want? In Jesus’ name? And I get it? Again, asking a request in Jesus’ name is one I don’t think anyone can fully understand. I think a lot more good would happen if people understood life in Jesus’ name, which I believe is how you pray in Jesus’ name. However, I do believe that our prayers, however crummy, still get heard, and G-d answers as He sees fit.

  So, if your goal, or the goal of the “Why does G-d hate amputees?” cartoonist and website author is to dismantle Christianity with some lame arguments and a complete misunderstanding of the Bible, I just have to laugh out loud (oops, I mean LOL!!).

  Jesus was tested many times by Satan, Sadducees, men of the Law, Pharisees, and the high priest, and He had nothing to prove, but still played with their minds. “Render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s, and to G-d that which is of G-d” is one of the most famous answers to a stupid question asked by an unbeliever. As if one could actually trick G-d…

  So, why am I still rambling? Why are you still reading this? I assume that you might not see spiritual things tied up in nice, pretty little metaphors and similes, illogical syllogisms, and maybe, your “WDGHA” website might not be the best resource to understand prayer in Jesus’ name, healing, and G-d. Maybe a trip to http://www.biblegateway.com/ might be a better resource.

  1 Cor 3:19-20…
  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS”; and again, “THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS.”

  In His grip, TJ McCormick aka psalms4us

• 2 ronmorrison // Jun 11, 2009 at 12:28 am

  Because there is NO GOD. It’s a simple fact, a simple reality that as a people - we do a great disservice to mankind to not continually and compassionately express. When questions like this come up - it is among the best of opportunities to share with believers and “quasi-believers” (whom by the way I personally believe to be among the great majority of believers) that there is no god. To share with them that it is safe, it okay, it is good to trust in that belief. No being - space man or other wise - is going to grow an amputees arm back. Likewise no being created the earth, you, or a luxurious place in the galaxies for you to forget 90% of your entire life! (Remember - no unclean thing in heaven… that includes your thoughts.) Good thing there is no such place - boy would it suck to be there in lobotomyville!

• 3 psalms4us // Jun 11, 2009 at 1:49 am

  Hmm. So, you’ve completely and utterly proved there is no G-d. And, you’ve proved this with… the bible?

  Okay, Ron Morrison. Tell me, how can you prove there is no G-d? Did you come to this realization with, ummm, your un-created brain? Un-created by ooze seeping out of the primordial soup, which then spontaneously sprouted legs and arms (oops, I forgot, nothing can do that!) Then, your un-created circulatory system which feeds your uncreated brain, etc…

  And, what is this great disservice to humanity? That we believe that G-d Himself created the universe, the earth, and all that dwell in it, came down to earth, told us about heaven and hell, and described the way to get heaven (oops, I mean lobotomyville), and even died to provide the bridge to G-d and heaven?

  According to the bible, which you use to disprove the existence of G-d, G-d prepared all the known universe in six days. Jesus has been in heaven over 2000 years now, preparing a place for each person who follows His will. That means we have a pretty good chance that heaven will be a lot better than earth. Do you like to go on vacations to resorts, or like the idea of retiring in the Caribbean? All that was made in six days, but a master designer/builder has spent 2000 years building a new place for us. I’m willing to take that bet, and believe that Jesus was Lord, and not a liar or a lunatic.

  So, my new address will be Lobotomyville? I kind of like the sound of that. It means the really smart people won’t be visiting me there, with their non-spontaneously generated arms, legs and heads.

  Look, Ron Morrison, I’m just teasing. I’m not an angry believer, who wants to make fun of atheists. I hope that this forum can be used for discussion, and maybe even for understanding of alternative viewpoints. I believe that William Lobdell would be more amenable to this type of use for his website (which, btw, fascinates this old Wilson alum…)

  I’m willing to discuss the nature of my beliefs with anyone who wants to listen. The bible has a lot of information I haven’t read, and more that I don’t understand. I’m only a student, not a professor. I’m willing to have civil discussion with anyone who desires. Even Ron Morrison.

• 4 Tim Stroud // Jun 13, 2009 at 12:30 am

  Trick question?

  Is this a question like “Have you stopped beating your dog?”?

  Both “yes” and “no” are incriminating answers.

  Or, is this a question like “Why hasn’t the U.S. government killed Bin Laden?”?

  Is the answer “Because there is no U.S. government.”?

  I think there are better ways to make the point that god either doesn’t care or doesn’t exist.

  But more and more I get the feeling that the question whether god really exists or not just isn’t important.

• 5 janaremy // Jun 13, 2009 at 1:49 am

  Bill:
  I’ve grappled with this question on a fairly personal level, being an amputee myself. (see http://pilgrimgirl.blogspot.com/2006/10/why-does-god-hate-amputees.html ).

  My amputation was due to bone cancer. At the time I was Mormon and received several blessings saying that I would be healed (meaning: the cancer would disappear and my leg would not be amputated) if I had enough faith. When my ‘faith’ wasn’t strong enough to eradicate the cancer, it was suggested that it was God’s will that I lose my leg, because of previous sins.

  I was 13 then and I can’t even begin to explain the world of hurt that I experienced in the ensuing years as I grappled with my lack of faith, my inherent sinfulness, and my eventual departure from Mormonism.

  I heard you speak several years ago at the Sunstone Symposium and appreciated your candor about your own faith journey. Thank you.

• 6 Lexybeast // Jun 15, 2009 at 10:58 am

  The Simpsons did a brilliant bit on God’s plans for amputees. You can find it on youtube at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xbuFLFfD4k

• 7 ronmorrison // Jul 4, 2009 at 12:59 am

  Okay Psalms4us… and the rest of any of the remaining confused friends. I have not “utterly proved” (whatever that means) that there is no god. That has been incontrovertibly proven by others already. I know there isn’t from my own religions experiences and my own long and committed research and study. Like I did not prove that that gravity exists… I know it to be true from my education and study on the topic. I can give you thousands of like examples. Here’s what I’d recommend - hopefully before you prestidigiate any other emotional response - PLEASE READ “Why Evolution Is True” by Jerry Coyne. It will require only a small investment of approximately 3 to 4 hours of your time. Once you’ve completed that entire study, then I’d ask you to re-read your commentary above and provide another response. If you choose to cursorily read excerpts from the web or from your bookstore without thoroughly reading this book. If, following this enlightenment and education you’d like to further understand the scar in malignancy that religion has brought to society then I’ll recommend dozens of others in that study too. For instance Sam Harris’ “End of Faith” or Richard Dawkins’ “The God Delusion”.

  That being said - mine knowledge - absolute DEFINITIVE KNOWLEDGE comes from the study of the “studies of many.” I offer you this: Be brave. Be you. Study.

• 8 psalms4us // Jul 15, 2009 at 3:36 pm

  Janaremy,

  I know how that feels, getting spit on for not enough faith, but not to your extent. I had a leg length discrepancy of about 4 inches, which through surgery became 4 cm. I still wanted it even, and went to someone called a “leg lengthener” who had prayed for people to be healed from a short leg.

  As you might imagine, it didn’t work. I was told “You have sin in your life” and they blamed their failure to heal me on my lack of faith. I haven’t left my faith (Evangelical Christian/Calvary Chapel), but I feel pretty bruised about prayer for healing.

  Sorry it’s been a while, Ron. Lots of new stuff in my life…

  Not to get into a protracted debate regarding evolution (I still want to know how we sprouted legs and arms), but the point of WDGHA? was to say that because G-d doesn’t heal amputees proves His lack of existence.

  The point of discussing religion is to come at it from a point of humility. Since a) you haven’t walked on water, b) you haven’t died and returned to tell what really is behind death’s door, and c) you and I are not theologians, we are espousing our opinions, and neither of us will know who is right, and who is wrong, until we die. Until then, I like the debate.

  “the scar in malignancy that religion has brought to society…”

  Not quite sure what that meant. Are you trying to say that religion is malignant, like a cancer? Would you like to sponsor a “Religion Cancer Walk-a-thon” to raise funds to find a cure?

  The country you live in, the USA, was founded as a colony of puritans and other religious groups who desired the free exercise of their religion. With that, came many inalienable rights endowed by their Creator, which you now enjoy. You know, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

  Cancer? At the very least, I’d call that a blessing. And, maybe you’d like a list of the benefits of living in a Christian nation (sorry, but read the founding documents, and you’ll see it’s pretty clearly a Christian nation), such as freedom from unreasonable search, the freedom of speech, and freedom of religion (or lack thereof, which is another religion of its own).

  Don’t get me wrong. I’m just as ticked about some of the abuses in the name of Christianity as the next guy. I’m embarrassed by how so many fall away, or never were part of the flock in the first place. But, to say religion is a malignancy, that’s pretty out there. Maybe you spend too much time focusing on the wackos, and you haven’t seen a healthy, functioning church. Would you like to invest 2-3 hours and go to a church that actually teaches out of the Bible? I can suggest a few.

  And, please, oh please, don’t give me one “enlightened” guru’s spin on evolution (Coyne) as proof of evolution. The debate is far from over. Many of the “recent proofs” of evolution continue to be proven as misguided, fallacious, or fabricated from whole cloth.

  Remember Miller and Urey? I heard from some bio teachers that their experiments were still used as proof of macro-evolution into the 90s, but those experiments were disproved around the late 1970s or early 80s.

  The Drosophila (aka fruit fly) studies have tried to show speciation for years. Coyne sounds like one of those guys that presented at the Experimental Biology conference I attended every year for a while (sold physiology equipment, from BIOPAC Systems). They’re still trying to use these little flies to prove stuff, but so far, I’m not impressed. They’ve had a long time, too, but no ground-shattering, bible burning findings.

  I’d like to read the book you suggested by Coyne, but I’ll wait until he makes the necessary changes so he can keep up with the technology.

  Because that is what happens with every book that discusses “current” evolutionary theory. The theory is not static, but extremely dynamic (as are most poorly-crafted theories which keep getting disproved — just kidding!).

  I’ll wait until the premises he used become relegated to the archives, as the stuff of fairy tales, and then get the new edition, which will have a new set of theories.

  In the meantime, the bible hasn’t changed in 2000 years, and the Old Testament has remained the same for the past 4000 or so years.

  Ron, don’t hold onto your truth too tightly. Like you said, Be Brave, Be You, Study. Don’t come to a conclusion until you rattle the cage a little bit. Have you traced back previous theories that evolutionary scientists have come up with? You might be surprised.

  Above all, QUESTION EVERYTHING!

  And, on the flip side, I’d be willing to become an atheist or agnostic if it made sense, but so far, it hasn’t. If it does, I’ll let you know.

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