Atheist Debates - Who are you to question God?
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- Опубліковано 9 вер 2024
- Part of the Atheist Debates Patreon project: / atheistdebates
In discussions about the character and actions ascribed to a god, we're asked to evaluate and reach a conclusion - often encouraged to "choose god". Why then, when we offer an honest evaluation, do we sometimes hear, "Who are you to question God?"
I would have thought the obvious next question was "Who are you to defend God? Can't he do it himself?"
Good thought
Yeah, God should be able to defend himself and answer any questions I have for him.
@@deleted3792 [citation needed]
If God wrote his morals on my heart, then why does God seem immoral when I evaluate him?
Just say: "Are you afraid God will crumble under my scrutiny?".
+Erik Stoop LOL that's what I was thinking through the whole video. I'm glad others did too. :-)
Erik Stoop That's probably not going to help anybody though, it will just make them angrier than you could while being logical
+Deepto Chatterjee Sometimes angry is needed.
"Show me there's a God to question and I will question God. Until such a demonstration I will question your claims."
God is so weak he can't even stop me from posting this reply.
I'm reading the title card as a dialogue.
Believer: "Who are you to question God?"
Matt: "Matt Dillahunty."
_Who am I to question God? Well good point. I guess slavery, misogyny, torture...etc. is good. Lets get that started... Oh, you think those things are bad? Who are you to question God?_
Who am I to question God?
I'm not. I see no God to question. I question the fallible humans who assert things to me. I question the fallible books some humans deem holy, though their authorship is dodgy and they can't even maintain internal consistency.
Who am I to question your god? Who are you, theist, to demand I not think?
I love that Christians expect that no one question their god, yet have no problem with questioning everyone else's gods.
I love that Muslims expect that no one question their god, yet have no problem with questioning everyone else's gods.
If they had valid reasons for believing what they believe, they would not have to do something so nakedly dishonest. Instead of playing games to avoid defending their own truth claims, they would proudly and confidently present the supporting arguments and evidence for their truth claims.
Crap! Did I mention you are right? I tend to get ahead of myself after a few drinks. 😂
+Razhender Wild What gun problem are you talking about? I didn't know a bunch of guns started running around shooting people. Can you demonstrate that the guns themselves are a problem and not the mentally unstable people using them to inflict harm on others? Once again you are generalizing that Americans are overly concerned about terrorism in America. Is there a segment of the population that watches too much Fox News and therefore are misinformed about the severity of the issue? Sure but it is not all or most. It is some. I understand you are speaking colloquially but it is unproductive to make those type of generalizations
Root of the gun violence unaddressed.
+Razhender Wild people kill people...but ignorance, arrogance, and human animalistic territorial battles among other things. There is more than one way humans are violent.
Never said otherwise.
Who are you to question God?
"I am questioning YOU."
+TheBaconWizard Exactly! How can I question God if I'm not even sure he exists yet. I'm questioning the people who claim his existence.
+Demian Haki Great point! Exactly.
Right on! You can question Matt. He may or may not answer, but you can question him.
+TheBaconWizard This is actually much deeper. "I am questioning YOU" might be seen from the surface as questioning a different person. However, if you understand that "God" is in the mind of "YOU", then you are asking the question to the same person. It brings to light who's mind is actually answering the question. "YOU" might be offended you are questioning "God" because "YOU" is vicariously predicting the offence as if "YOU" were the boss, and you are being insolent to "YOU". "YOU" is acting for the place of "God".
Totally agree
Thomas Jefferson once said something very profound about this in a letter to Peter Carr:
"Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because if there be one he must approve of the homage of reason more than that of blindfolded fear."
To ask, "who are you to question God" presupposes that God actually exists. We atheists are not, in fact, questioning God, since we do not believe he exists in the first place. Instead, we are questioning whether and how it is possible to believe in a God as he is commonly described. We are questioning whether it makes any sense to accept that a God as commonly described could possibly exist. In other words, we are questioning the belief in God, not God himself.
Question it all!
In a totalitarian/authoritarian system, you aren't supposed to question god(s), dear leaders, and big brothers. You aren't supposed to question anything. That's pure dogmatism. Great video Matt!
You are not questioning God because you do not believe in God. You are simply questioning a believer's perception of their god.
+pokerk09 That's the thing.
+pokerk09 Stating the obvious.
It is obvious, I just thought it would be a better answer to contextualize it for believers
pokerk09
It's clearly called for. They can't seem to get their head around it. Of course they can't. Conceeding it to themselves means realizing they have even less ground to stand upon than they thought. It's instinctive self defense.
Another way to frame a similar concept would be to ask "Who are you to question Allah, Zeus, Thor, (insert god you know they don't believe in)"
Believer; "Santa exists!"
Me; "Can you prove this claim?"
Believer; "Who are YOU to question SANTA?!?"
I don't question God. I question the people who believe that he exists.
I'm sure I WOULD question God, if he ever showed up to be questioned. But as it is, I have no choice but to question the people who claim that he exists (and that they know what he wants).
"Who are you to question God?"
"Am I required to worship any evil calling itself God for fear of questioning?"
In any debate.....if your opponent ever brings up something like this.......its basically admitting they lost.
"Who are you to question God?"
"Hi, my name is ___________. And hey, *someone's* gotta do it."
When you pray (for anything) you are questioning god. You question if god will do the right thing without prompting (questioning) him.
"I'm not questioning God, I'm questioning your claims about God / the existence of God."
Honestly I usually just explain that the bible cannot literally be true; starting with the utter logical contradiction starting in Genesis when: People were condemned for eating of the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil" when they by DEFINITION did not know the difference between "good and evil". That usually gets the "free will" response, to which the simple answer is "but they didn't know it was wrong, so they cannot be accountable for something they must have been made to do. If 'god' made humans with full foreknowledge that they would do it without knowing it was 'evil', that would leave the "Original sin" on 'god's' hands, not ours." ... they usually stop talking to me after that or try to change the subject, in which case I insist on an answer before we go further. If the very beginning of that wretched book is wrong, why would I agree to go any further?
Geoff Ozzy. Agree man. I used to believe it without much digging in ,but the whole thing don't add up
I agree with you. I think the real sin was doing that one thing god told them to not do, as exemplified by eating of that one fruit. And then the exegesis begins, "and then their eyes were opened." Opened to what? Opened to disobedience had few rewards and the rewards at best are temporary, or their eyes were opened to gaining an actual understanding of right and wrong which they had lacked before? I thought they were perfect, and if they were perfect they couldn't have been lacking in that understanding - for with out that understanding, they were not perfect. Sorry, it goes on and on, and it's only refreshed by the new generations asking the same darned questions over and thinking they are new questions. Euripides is only one of our earliest thinkers of record wrestling with all that. We can doubt he was the first and we can show he wasn't the last.
"Who are you to question God?"
"There is no god to question."
End of debate.
GOD: "Who are you to question me?"
Me: "If you don't know, then you ain't god. PbbbbbbLt!!!"
+ExtantFrodo2 Ha!
"Who are you to question God?"
"I'm not questioning god. I'm questioning YOU. You are here claiming to represent god and you are the one who must defend your claims. If your god were here to speak for himself I might question your god but that would be between me and him. Until he shows up, I can and will question and rigorously doubt your positions when you claim to speak on behalf of an almighty being."
Whenever someone asks "Who are you to..." I always pull out my ID,show it to them......ask"can we proceed?" Then I make it clear that I'm asking them(the believer/believers) to answer a simple question about something written in the Bible. When they hem/haw, obfuscate, or try one or any number of "dodges", I simply say: "I guess I should ask someone who"s actually READ the Bible". They usually say some decidedly UN-Christian things at this juncture...
The better question is, who are you to speak for your god? If he's so powerful and all knowing, then why does he ALWAYS require gullible believers and professional apologists to speak for him and interpret his documented immorality as being moral? Is he no longer a theistic god?
I've never understood that about theists. If I am offending god by questioning him, then are they not presenting an even greater offense by presuming to know what he thinks?
+Dogma Disputant™
thats basically Wizard of Oz ;D
The answer is "I'm not questioning God, I'm questioning a person who's telling me there is a God. Do you have an answer or not?"
Matt, I salute for the energy you put into this. I think there are many in the US in particular that benefit from something other than a 1 sided view. In the UK, religion is very much watered down so it's easy to move away from it if you so choose. If through your work, you help one person free themselves (as you did) from something they feel trapped in, then that's justification right there. Keep up the good work Brother Matt! Free thinking is all you need!
Thank you for a very thoughtful and compelling response to this question, Matt.
Theist "Who are you to question God?"
My response "Who are you to tell me what God wants?"
So in the same vein...who are children to question parents? Who are students to question teachers? Who are customers to question the makers of a product?
Anyone that claims themselves, or something else by proxy, is beyond questioning, is a red flag they are not worth listening to.
+TheHigherVoltage I'm not sure those are valid analogies
Human understanding is always built upon questioning the ones before us. I question my forebears understanding. My children will (I hope) question my understanding. That is how we build an enlightened society.
Sorry, I was not contradicting your premise. I only wanted to shed a bit of illustration on it.
Those that are opposed to questions lose the right to be....well any authority.
+youtuber
The first one is most definitely a valid analogy and the point stands.
or another way to phrase it "who are you to judge god"? But believers judge him all the time. To come to a conclusion that 'god is good' is making a judgement. You can judge something to be good or bad, but theists don't realize they are judging - but when they are backed into a corner their easy 'out' is to say who are you to judge? The same as believers. Believers are once again blind to inconsistent arguments
All I hear when someone brings up "thou shalt not put thy god to the test" is "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!".
As an Atheist, before I watch the video, my answer to if a Theist asked "who are you to question god?" would be "I'm questioning you, not your god, I think your favourite god is as made up as homer simpson. I question why you follow this 'god'"
Thinking deeply about other cultures, ideas, and beliefs not like one's own is difficult for some perhaps.
(first of all I'm sorry but English is not my 1st language)
why i follow my God? simply, because He is my God and He answered my prayer to heal my father. That time, the doctor said, "I'm sorry but your father might die only a prayer in God is the only chance to heal him" The time when i'm starting losing faith, my best friend and my mother find a way to bring back my faith. Until, i confess to all my sins and ask God to heal my father. And the next day I heard a news from my MOther that he was already okay that was too fast and He answered my prayer :) Then now! you are asking me why am i following my God? ha?! He is deserved to be praise! He is deserved to be followed! God's mercy is amazing. Because of Him my Father was healthy and still alive.
First of, I would ask second opinions of diff docs, this one doesn't sound to good in his job.
You are aware that a lot of ppl claim these kind of stories for a lot of widely different religions? Even the denominations of those religions claim eachother to be false and deserving of hell or other punishments.
Now you claim you have 3 facts. A doctor claimed your father was beyond hope, your father turned out to be all fine without trouble, and you prayed.
What is your reason to believe those 2 are connected and not a coincidence?
How did you determine that the doc was correct?
How do you suggest that your explanation of those happenings is indeed the correct explanation and the many other things that could explain them are less likely? I for one just on what you said find it more likely to conclude the doctor made a mistake. But you gave no information about what ill he had, I would be interested to hear about some illness that is very deadly and then disapears the next day I'd love to see his medical records from the day before and the day after you prayed as you claim it happened overnight.
Now how do you suggest we go about finding out how your claim is different as claims from hindu's muslims christians who don't follow your god/donimination?
You claim something happened, you claim you was the one who caused it to happen.
I for one would like to find out if it happened, as taking the word of someone online isn't the most reasonable thing to do.
Secondly I would love to hear how you want to proof you was the one that healed your father, as that is quite a big claim to make.
So... something happened to YOU and YOU attributed to this god, and that makes him "deserved" to be praised and followed by everyone?.
Well, when this god give me something that i can attribute to it, then i may think about praise it and follow it, untill then i'll keep asking why i should believe in it.
Preface: I am a huge fan: I have to comment since I'm an avid home cook also. Your spice rack is good - but is not yet great :) Also you are still using iodized salt. If you cook enough you need more custom spices from the buckets at your local store!
Substitute the lack of iodine with a bit of tuna each week or some seaweed if you find it tasty!
Thanks for another great video Matt.
Being taught that a belief is unquestionable, before you're even old enough to have the ability to question, is sadistic.
"Who are you to judge (my) god?"
"Why, a being your god granted the capacity for judgement."
"Who are you to question God?"
Who are you to question Allah, Vishnu, Brahman, Zeus, Yahweh... I could go on.
"Who are you to question God?" I'm not questioning God. I'm questioning human beings who claim to be speaking on God's behalf.
Someone needs to put that ending quote on a t-shirt. "You might as well be saying, "I don't really care whether or not my beliefs are true or good and I'm confused as to why you do"."
When people question God, or religion, it leads to enlightenment... When I was a young man, we were taught to question everything --- I did, and now I am an Atheist.
We have to question it otherwise there is no reason to believe he is true. We cant just assume it, or we have to assume all gods.
Just a quick note to tell you, Matt, that I really appreciate your videos and efforts towards positive atheism. Keep up the good work.
Another excellent video.
I think the question is misdirection. I'm not questioning God, I'm questioning what believers claim to believe. Nor, am I denying them their experience, I am denying the explanation they give for their experience.
Matt, you’re seriously the best. I’ve debated religion my whole life, as young as 15 years old. The difference between you and I is you do it with much more grace. I’m more of a WTF kind of a guy. It’s all so childish and silly, that I struggle to show any respect for ones beliefs.
this needs to be spread around more
Getting better and better Matt, great job. Keep focusing on advancing the production values and quality of the audio/video. Your logic takes care of itself.
These videos are truly excellent
Great reasoning and clear presentation of logical arguments.
Good job Matt.
Bruce
Ty, for your quality and educational content. Your voice sound great here, more bass.
The question should be turned around : Why would you believe in a God who tells you he has given you free will but you are not allowed to use it?
Knock Knock
Who's there?
It's Jesus, let me in!
Why?
So I can save you!
Save me from what?
Save you from what I am going to do to you if you don't let me in!!!!
Can't remember where I read this but found it funny so decided to share.
+Leslie Morrison That's a good one!
I do wish you guys (I understand it's not solely up to you, and you may even be opposed to it) would open comments on The Atheist Experience. You make the argument quite articulately that people shouldn't put much, if any, stock in even repulsive comments or differing opinions (even debunked ones made over and over by apologists).
As usual, great video, keep up the good work.
my favorite wording of this is: "What does God need with a starship?"
+imbadillo or in the case of David Koresh "What does god need with a semi-automatic?"
"Who are you to question God ? "
"Um...I'm real , your god isn't but got too much credit ."
As a person losing faith you brought up a lot of good points
Im not an atheist because I do believe in some sort of divine spirit, but I love Matt's critical thinking. His videos have helped me on my journey from forced dogmatic christianity to embracing my own personal spirituality, whatever that may be.
I love your logic, Matt! I think the puzzled, wounded facial expressions seen in discussions with theists illustrates aspects of Jonathan Haidt's work on moral foundations - especially the Authority/subversion foundation of morality. As moralfoundations.org states: "...liberals try to create a morality relying primarily on the Care/harm foundation, with additional support from the Fairness/cheating and Liberty/oppression foundations. Conservatives, especially religious conservatives, use all six foundations, including Loyatly/betrayal, Authority/subversion, and Sanctity/degradation."
Hey Matt. A little semi-professional advice about your camerawork. If you're going to offset your framing (good choice, I like) don't look straight into the camera lens. Since you've framed your head in the left of the frame, you need to look just to the left of the camera. Not too far though. That will make your eye-line appear to the viewer as if you are speaking to someone, but the farther left you look you will come across as less intimate with the viewer. If you want to come across as if you are having a direct conversation with the viewer, then you need to frame yourself in the center and then look directly into the camera. Make sure your head is close up enough that you have just enough room that your mouth doesn't get cut off at the bottom of the frame when you talk, but it is okay to have s slight cut off at the top of the head.
Keep up the good work.
Ah, as I watch further, I noticed you changed your framing. Just tighten it up a little.
Who am I to question God?
I am one who your God endowed with the capacity to evaluate the reality around me. My questions don't challenge your God. It challenges your and my views of reality.
i like the look on his face trying to gain coherency with the ant asking einstein lol
either way good video Matt
It's much simpler that that. The question, "Who are you to question God?" sounds about as ridiculous as the question, "Who are you to question Lord Shiva?" to a non-Hindu.
Anything that can not be questioned is not worth knowing in the first place.
Many thoughtful points brought up in this video, but I think there is one even simpler way to respond to this question. Since nothing they say can ever be more than their own interpretation of God (or of what God is/wants/says...), they are in fact equating themselves with God when you are questioning their claims. A simple reminder of that, such as: "So you're calling yourself 'God' now?" should be sufficient.
Who am I to question God?
HIS WOULD-BE VICTIM!
Matt, I'm surprised you didn't mention the biblical character of Job. Especially as the conclusion of the book that is named for him is, essentially, "who are you to question God?". The interrogator here being none other than the big guy himself. Presumably, that's his best argument when faced with questions concerning his character, too.
But the surprising thing about the Scriptures is that they never take the logical problem seriously anyway. Because the logical problem moves on God’s existence. The scriptures never question His existence; rather, they question His goodness. This sounds strange to many religious ears. Our modern age is deeply concerned with whether or not God exists, because we essentially adhere to a materialistic worldview.
But the ancient near east acknowledged a hierarchy of elohim, a whole other realm of gods and spirits. Most pre-modern cultures have this on some level. So the question was never whether there were gods, but whether there were any good gods, or any gods that should be worshiped. And ancient Israel is the only ancient culture that claims to have found such an elohim. Or rather, they claim that such an elohim found and created them.
And so the Scriptures continually confront the question of whether or not God is good, the doubting of “hesed,” which is Hebrew for “lovingkindness,” in this case God’s lovingkindness. This is essentially the subject matter of the book of Job. Most commentaries say the story of Job is about theodicy, the ‘problem of evil. Could it be that the book of Job is really about the problem of God? Or to put it another way, the mystery of God.
It is sad that our contemporary world has become so shallow that we reduce such profound mysteries to theodicy. The book of Job is not philosophy. It is mysticism. But Biblical mysticism is completely different from any other form. Because there is no peaceful serenity for the true mystic. Biblical mysticism is a holy struggle. This is exactly what Job does. Having refused to let go through his stubborn lament, Job stands before God, broken, bloody, still covered with his detestable, putrefying sores. Having lost everything a person can lose, he now possesses everything?
Job, Like Us, Seeks to Understand God’s Nature
Job is never in any way depicted as having sinned anywhere in the Scriptures. James portrays him as the model of suffering perseverance (James 5:11). And God does not rebuke or punish him when he shows up at the end. In fact he praises Job as speaking of God correctly (Job 42:7). He also rebukes and punishes Job’s three friends, telling them that he will only forgive their sins if they sacrifice and beseech Job to intercede on their behalf (Job 42:7-9).
In other words, not only is Job sinless, he literally is a type of Christ, the suffering righteous intermediary of God’s forgiveness. The book of Job is essentially summed up with “Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani,” Jesus’ infamous cry of dereliction found in Matthew 27: “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?”
So then why does Job repent? Repentance only implies turning from sin if sin is involved. But Job hasn’t sinned. His repentance is a change in his relationship to God. He realizes his previous image of God was incomplete. Though he was faithful and religious, he had not known God as he does now. His connection to God has deepened, leaving behind the religion of distance and embracing a religion of intimacy.
Anyone who has come to know God more deeply looks back on their old ideas as if they were idols. Maybe those idols were needed at the time, heuristic devices that facilitated knowledge. But once God shows up, the idols fall away. Job says, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Still, no sin is mentioned. Job despises his old self, who he was before truly meeting God. Not because his old self was sinful, but because his old self was incomplete.
Oddly enough questions like this are what pushed me away from religion. Getting that retort made me realize it's precisely the sort of people that demand not to be questioned _that you should question the most_ , and that, with all these different religions out there, and them just trying to shut me up when I prod the "solid rock" of our religion, what if I'm the one being deceived here?
Realizing what could be at stake, especially if _some other religion_ was right, not only my livelihood, time, and money was on the line, but potentially my very soul. I had to find a worldview *backed by the most evidence.* An actual "solid rock" that could withstand scrutiny. _I have yet to find any religion that's held up._
So when I'm "attacking" your religion, it's not out of malice, it's about testing it. If your religion is so weak that it crumples to dust in the face of a few questions, who's really the one "building on sinking sand?"
I think there is a huge difference in connotation between "questioning God" and "questioning the belief in God." Saying you are questioning a person - especially an authority figure - does sound rebellious. But saying you are questioning an idea doesn't have the same weight. So if you say "I'm not questioning God, I'm questioning whether it's reasonable to think such a God exists. Besides, if you prayed, 'God, why are you hidden from us? Why don't you make your presence more clear to those who have doubts?' do you think God would be offended? Would his response be 'how dare you question me?"
God thinks that the world is flat and the sky above is glass holding the stars up
Did you notice the Kosher Salt over Matt's right shoulder? Funny.
How can you judge god?? Well, religious people judge god all the time. You judge all of his actions to be good, but making a judgement that is worthy of praise is no different judging actions or pronouncements worthy of scorn or doubt. Yes you can judge and question, it's just that believers need to do with a little more critical thinking.
Although I’m an atheist... I often wonder what the world would look like if the Christian God revealed himself to the world with proven undeniable evidence. (ie god revealed himself to everyone all at once). Not sure I can even imagine that scenario. The Church would become the state? Would most peoples values change? Would money still have value? What about Wars ?
Or would it be complete mayhem?
It would be chaos. People would argue over what happened.
If anyone asks me that I'll tell them
"Who are you to question evolution?the big bang?Radiometric dating?etc."
I am not questioning god. I am questioning your claims about your god, and what you say he is.
Why not both?
Makes me think of an experience I had with a Soka Gakkai International Buddhist who tried to convert me. (Actually, the only non-Christian group ever to try). My girlfriend at the time mentioned that she might put her new Butsudan (a little cabinet with a scroll in it) on the floor. The SGI Buddhist exclaimed that it must absolutely not be put there, because we might show it our feet, which would be considered very insulting. I asked whether the scroll was supposed to be conscious, because I had previously been told it was "just a place to focus your attention" while chanting. Furthermore, if it was conscious, I wanted to know why it wasn't aware that in American culture, showing the bottom of your feet isn't considered insulting. (The person I was talking to was American as well.) "WELL!" she exclaimed angrily. "SOME PEOPLE JUST THINK RULES ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN!" Needless to say, I didn't wind up joining. I don't know if my ex-girlfriend stuck with it.
Is it getting too cold to shoot outside?
I love that setting.
even to this day... the regret is eating away at my sanity, I can't ever dream again, soon I'll die from insanity alone, and the cycle will just repeat.... I just want... a friend.... A friend i know I can never have.... I'm an idiot for thinking otherwise...
go matt! your are brilliant more power to your elbow
I love this! Thanks, Matt!
Before answering who am I to question God, we should identify which God are we talking about? And why the people think that he/she/it the one to question? I think that the Pascal Wager answer can be applied here as well.
The version of this that I've encountered is the "Oh, so YOU think you know better than God?" one - it literally stupefies me, I'm thinking: "Uhm... , of COURSE I think I know better than someone who doesn't even exist..."
Q: Who are you to question God?
A: Who are you to question me?
Agreed.
I would bring up the 'made in God's image' line from the bible. The ability to think and act means we have to question. I would also bring up our lack of omniscience. It seems we have to question because we can't possibly know for sure if God is actually omniscient himself. The only way to know if another entity is omniscient is to be omniscient ourselves.
good stuff, Matt.
Instead of responding "Who is god not to be questioned?", one could say "who am I (or you) to NOT question god?" - this follows the same thought as "why shouldn't the ant question Einstein?" The answer to this question will put a spotlight on a theists view of themselves and their self respect.
hmmm....I don't think everyone would understand that even with that question. Some are very stubborn and others are not use to thinking for themselves.
Excellent. I really have to thank you for this - and I laugh knowing that apologists are straining to watch these videos. They likely anguish having to listen to your clear and concise statements.Somehow they'll justify their position, maybe they'll explain that justification one day. You know, the internal justification they maintain while examining and dismissing the arguments other-believers and non-believers have contrary to (or overlapping) their beliefs.
If I had to guess:
Other-belief is "just wrong" and "non-belief" is just waiting to know.
Awesome video, as usual!
There's another aspect to this that I find trips a lot of people up. Religious people tend to question God all the time. When you're praying is that not exactly what you're doing? To be clear I'm talking about prayers that ask God for something. Blessings, health, etc. And many, many religious people say that God's plan is unchanging and inerrant. So if God has a divine plan and that plan is infallible does that not mean you should trust God to enact that plan? When you ask God for something either you're saying "Please change your plan to include this" or "I hope this is in your plan." Well, the first is problematic for obvious reasons. The second is pointless. If God does not make mistakes and every event that occurs is what He wants to happen that means the plan does not change. Because it's perfect and always has been.
So the bottom line here is that if you believe God's plan is perfect, God does not allow anything to happen that He does not approve personally, and God is all-knowing that kind of prayer is questioning God. You're asking God to alter his plan for you. That seems like the height of hubris to me. And it also seems like you're saying you know better than God. I don't see anyone praying with "Dear God, do what you're gonna do. Peace!" Doesn't happen, I don't think. You can use this point when someone asks you this. I find the theist will immediately stop the conversation at that point but I also think it tends to get them to think. "Hmm... Does this really make sense?" Now if they're just not willing to think about it at all nothing is going to work, obviously, but if they are I think that's a pretty good way to do it. I've not come across any way to shut that down. I mean what are you going to say? You're not asking God to change His plan? Then what the fuck are you doing?
Well said, Matt.
You can always ask the Christian "Who are you to question Allah?" and ask the Muslim "Who are you to question Yaweh?".
pilgrimpater lol. You realise those 2 names are for the same god, arabic christiams (assyrians) call god/yaweh allah?
Abraham questioned God.
King David questioned God.
Moses questioned God.
There are few others but I would have to go look them up.
In the Torah the Creator does not have a problem with people asking questions. However with that said there is a right and wrong way to question somebody.
A child that went to his mother or father with foul language and question them, would not get away with it. Especially children who were born prior to 1980s, the switch would come out. LOL
I almost do not need to say this.
Well said!
In "who is God not to be questioned", what's implied and what's written between the lines seems to be doing most of the heavy lifting there.
I'm an atheist and I'd also be rather confused by that question (but then I've never been all that good at reading between the lines). If I spent a few minutes, hours, days or weeks thinking deeply about it, I presumably could've figured out the implication there, and figured out why "he's the all-powerful creator of the universe" is not a sufficient answer to that (and I still don't really know why not). But in a live conversation? Not a chance.
If the question were "what is Christianity not to be questioned", that makes more sense to me, because if someone says "Christianity is the one true religion", you can say that every other religion says the same thing, and it brings into focus whether or not it's true. If you're saying "who is God", there seems to already be an implication or premise that the all-loving all-knowing and all-powerful God exists, and if we accept his existence, the argument that God is beyond our understanding, and we thus shouldn't question him (because nothing good can come of that), at least has some merit. But that argument fails spectacularly if you question whether God exists, what he's done and what his traits are, because you can argue that God has whatever traits you want by selectively looking at what God might've done and dismissing everything that doesn't fit with the desired traits as "beyond understanding".
In conclusion, and not that I'm trying to pull a Jordan Peterson (because eww), but I guess it depends on what you mean by "God", and what you mean by "question", and what you mean by "who". Expecting the person you're talking to to understand all those words in the exact same way you do is just a recipe for disaster, when the question seems to depend so heavily on very specific definitions of those words.
Or just respond with an actual argument or answer instead of a catchy one-liner.
Great video! At first I thought it was silly that you had all your kitchen stuff and spice rack in the background while you were talking. Then it hit me that this gave the atmosphere a more natural feel. Like you were talking to people as they were guests at your kitchen table. Here's my idea, continue to make videos with backgrounds like this. Maybe make a video while you are slicing food up/preparing a meal. Or make a video while you are making coffee, or folding laundry, as if you are talking to a house guest. I think it would give an interesting affect. After all you are not going to be able to top the visual/green screen graphics that network news stations have, so go the other direction? I probably thought about that one too much .. but what do you think?
sounds like you are ready to direct your own,go for it.
Who are we to NOT question god..
Very well said.
Theists would ask, "Who are you to question God?" are ignoring the position of would-be believers. Genuine belief in any of the many varieties of Christianity would entail re-evaluating and retooling one's entire life! Who am I to question God? How dare I not question this or that putative god, when the consequences of belief are so comprehensive? And there's a tacit double standard at play here. Ask a theist to become a vegetarian, or to make hefty (and regular) contributions to a charity they're unfamiliar with, and they'll want to know why they should do that. They'll need some serious motivation. But ask an unbeliever to believe, and to accept all the many life changes that belief would require, and they're expected to respond with alacrity: no doubting, and no questions. Just as "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," so extension changes to one's life and worldview require extensive motivation. "Questioning God" is just a silly Christian dysphemism for the careful consideration of what is supposed to motivate belief. It's just another way to discourage thought.
Thanks Matt. You no what's so frustrating is that no matter how much you smash theists with logic, which is what you have done such a great job.i think they understand but feel that they would be betraying their tribe,their peers, etc. How does one combat that. ?
like cults are usually given combat. Never ending until humans no longer exist I suppose
It's also worth pointing out that another worthy response is 'I'm not questioning god, I'm questioning you, because you're the one insisting that this entity exists'. The question only arises because of somebody else's insistence.
Who am I to question God? Someone with a question that God should be able to answer.-w-
This is one of the reasons I try to avoid using the Big G "God" in debates and discussions. Doing so instantiates the very thing I don't think exists. I stick to specifics like Apollo or YHWH. Believers have hijacked the generic "god" and used a trick of language to give their deity a standing and presumed existence that is not earned by evidence. If you keep their deity even with Thor and Baal there is no problem putting forth "questions."