Is it possible that god punishes those that speak out against religion?
What sort of question is that to pose to a bunch of nonbelievers? We have to first assume the existence of a god or gods...that’s pretty hard to do without any evidence....thus rendering your question unanswerable!
Which god, and which religion? According to most religions, it is one's duty to defend one's faith against other 'erroneous' beliefs and 'false' religions. With tens of thousands of religions, there's either a whole lot of punishing going on or this whole notion of some punitive god out there who, even though being as far above us as we are above an amoeba, would feel the need to punish someone for speaking their honest opinion, is just plain bullshit. Consider this amusing allegory:
"Suppose Mr. Smith should overhear a couple of small bugs holding a discussion as to the existence of Mr. Smith, and suppose one should have the temerity to declare, upon the honor of a bug, that he had examined the whole question to the best of his ability, including the argument based upon design, and had come to the conclusion that no man by the name of Smith had ever lived. Think then of Mr. Smith flying into an ecstasy of rage, crushing the atheist bug beneath his iron heel, while he exclaimed 'I will teach you, blasphemous wretch, that Smith is a diabolical fact!'"
Robert Green Ingersoll, "Individuality" 1873
No. There is as much chance Godzilla will punish "those".
So I guess a Plague of Frogs,or whatever, is overdue for us non-worshippers? Why don't you hold yer breath until it happens....?
Must we consider every type of nonsense that humankind invents? Of course not. That is why proof is necessary for reasonable discourse. They must first prove a god exists, then everyone can join the conversation.
This is like asking: "Is it possible that Bigfoot punishes those that shit in the woods?"
This post I wrote may explain: "Imagine for a moment that the concept of god never existed, that no one had ever heard of such an ..."
I can say for a fact, Bigfoot doesn't care. He does it too.
Sure, it's possible in the sense that we don't know for certain and so cannot rule it out. That would be similar to saying that it's possible there's a ghost kitten that kills mice that disrespect cats by running away. But do you believe in the wrath of ghost kitten? I don't, but I can't rule out the possibility. I just have no evidence that such an entity exists and, even if it did, that it is vengeful toward mice. The claim is without sufficient support — just the same as God or gods and the punishments we're told they dole out to the blasphemous, unbelievers, apostates, etc. I feel fully justified in dismissing the claim as irrelevant unless and until such time that there is strong, credible evidence to support it.
When I was a little kid, if I fell and hurt myself and I was on my mom's shit list she'd say "God punished you!" lol
I was brought up in a religion that adhered strictly to keeping the Sabbath, and if you were doing something that might have been considered 'breaking the Sabbath' and something bad were to happen to you, it was seen as God's way of punishing you for breaking the 4th commandment. I used to loathe the Sabbath, but now I sometimes wish I had an excuse to take a whole day off!
@p-nullifidian Jewish? 7th day Adventist?
No, not possible at all. We don't get punished or rewarded by imaginary beings. There is no god, no santa claus, no easter bunny, no gremlins, fairies, or leprechauns.
Har yow speak fer y'self Colleen
@LenHazell53 My 3.5 year old granddaughter spent the night with me on Saturday. She asked me if there were snakes under the bed. I told her Grammy had chased them out with my baseball bat, that I am too damn old and mean to deal with imaginary snakes or boogey men. SamSam believed me, and I told her I will always protect her from snakes and creepies under the bed or elsewhere. Seriously, I would give my life to protect those babies.
Don't start with the Easter Bunny again, I'll have a problem with that.
Ruh-roh!
It’s possible that we are designed by evolutionary forces to believe in gods that we experience as punishing us when we speak out against religion. ( among other things )
Let's see your evidence.
@LovinLarge
I’ll show you mine if you’ll show me yours.
[amazon.com]
@skado Promises, promises.
Does that mean I am not evolved?