Why do skeptics get so emotional and aggressive in opposing biblical Christianity? Why does it bother them? Why does it matter at all to them? [Spirituality & Religion]

@NankerPhelge You think it might be because of the way skeptics approach/address those who follow Christ? They are cursed, criticized, belittled, called names, and condemned. On either side, if this subject is going to be discussed in this forum, there's no need for any of that. It doesn't belong. Yet people do. Then you have problems.

@LadyGrace Why can't both sides just agree to differ and shut up about it?

@NankerPhelge I agree. Yet any subject is allowed here, and if anyone wants to talk about whatever, that is their right. No one forces anything down people's throats, as accused. No one is forced to read anything here, on any subject, they don't wish to read, nor to answer it.

@LadyGrace I agree any subject should be allowed here as long as everyone is civilised about it. By that I mean no arguments.

@NankerPhelge Absolutely. No arguments, is right!! When it reaches that point, one or the other needs to just stop and leave the conversation. It's very disturbing to witness, and serves more harm, than good.

@LadyGrace I've been trying to tell people that ever since I came here.

@NankerPhelge Me too. Thank you for that! I wish people would just stop and think before they speak. There's no need for hostility or jealousy, whatever the case. I can envision God just shaking his head at all this. What a mess.

@NankerPhelge I'd like to discuss something you just said about rebellious children being stoned. Those verses must be taken in context. Along with that period of time. At first glance, many talk about contradictions in the bible. However, upon careful study, they dissolve.

There are several things to keep in mind about this particular sin and about the law:

The sin was ongoing and continuous. Deuteronomy 21:18 indicates that the punishment was only meted out after a persistent refusal to heed both father and mother and after all discipline had failed. The parents have tried to deal with their son in a loving, firm way, but nothing worked.

It was deep-seated sin. Verse 20 specifies that the son is stubborn in his rebellion. Not only is he recalcitrant, “he is a glutton and a drunkard.” This is not a case of a child who misses curfew or plays ball in the house. This was a true menace, a child who is causing trouble in society and grieving his parents, possibly to the point of endangering them physically and financially.

The punishment was not an impulsive act of anger or vengeance. Verse 19 says that the city elders had to oversee the case and determine the guilt of the child. It is only after the elders pronounced a sentence of death that the execution could take place. The law did not allow an angry parent to arbitrarily stone a child. A modern equivalent of this is when a parent sees news footage of his child committing a crime and subsequently turns the child in to the police. If parents know their child is acting in a way that endangers society, they are responsible to obey the civil authorities and report the crime.

The punishment was designed to preserve the nation. As verse 21 explains, the reason for this law was to purge evil from society and act as a deterrent to further rebellion. Israel was a nation chosen by God to be holy (Exodus 20:6). God gave the Israelites three types of laws: judicial, moral, and ceremonial. This is a judicial law. A child who was actively and deliberately rejecting the laws of the land needed to be punished judicially.

The law requiring rebellious children to be stoned to death was meant for extreme cases to protect God’s people. It would have been heartbreaking for parents to bear the responsibility of initiating such severe measures. However, the Bible never once records this law being enforced.

@LadyGrace "I'd like to discuss something you just said about rebellious children being stoned".

It wasn't me who brought that up, I reacted to it by being shocked. It was NeonPanopticon who mentioned that.

@NankerPhelge Oh, sorry.

@NankerPhelge It's because they don't believe their "all powerful" god is capable of standing up for itself. 🤣

@Sharon That doesn't make sense. Surely the "all-powerful God" can stand up against anything. Isn't that one of the things "all-powerful" means? 🤔

@NankerPhelge Exactly. Obviously they don't have as much faith in it as they claim to.

@Sharon Then why do they claim to have such faith in it? What's the point?

@NankerPhelge I think they delude themselves out of desperation.

@Sharon I still don't see the point.

@NankerPhelge There probably isn't one but they think there is.

@Sharon We could say exactly the same thing about God.

@NankerPhelge In what way? First we'd need to accept it exists.

@Sharon You said "There probably isn't one but they think there is" and I said we could say exactly the same thing about God.

@NankerPhelge That there probably isn't a god? Yes, I agree.

@Sharon But they think there is. Lol :)

@Sharon @NankerPhelge
How do you know Yahweh doesn't live?

@GodSpeed63 There's no evidence that it exists. Despite all your repeated claims, you've never, ever presented a single shred of real evidence.

How do you know The Flying Spaghetti Monster doesn't live?

@Sharon
I know that there is no evidence for your god 'it,' I'm talking about my God, who is the one true God. I'm asking about Him.