I'm not trying to sound like I really know this stuff but I figured I'd give it a shot.
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Explain why the story of Jesus is so impossible-to-be-a-coincidence-ly similar to previous gods like Horus, Mithra, and Dionysus.
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Perhaps they are all describing the same person even if Jesus isn't the end. Ever play "telephone" in grade school where someone starts a message and passes it to one person and then another and then by the end the message is completely different?
It is awfully coincidental that all these cultures ended up with the same/similar stories. Somewhat similar to the flood myths present in all cultures.
Does it mean that they happened? I suppose it doesn't, but why is the assumption that one of these messianic figures didn't exist when we have
more accounts of their existance?
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-Explain the justification of punishing those who want to believe in God, but can't, with Hell.
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I think it's a leap of faith to think that if God exists that he would be as arbitrary as an unwavering bureaucracy. "What? You were living on an island where Christianity never existed? To Hell with you!"
And perhaps hell is an empty threat? Does the bible ever mention any human individual being sent there besides renegade angels? I can't seem to remember. Perhaps there's a greater emphasis on purgatory? People exist until they can successfully be considered purified of their crimes. Then they move on. For some it would just take significantly more time than others.
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Explain why crimes as despicable as murder, rape, cruelty, genocide, and so forth are forgivable by an act so trivial as accepting Jesus as your savior. What moral foundations are there that back up the forgiveness of horrible deeds by simply accepting something that is obscure to many and which, demonstratively, does no statistical good at reversing these evils.
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I don't take forgiveness to indicate that there are no consequences for ones actions.
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Explain why the means of enlightenment, the story of Jesus, is so poor of a method of conversion that the room for conflict is not only vast.. but invited. A test of faith is not an acceptable answer. There is no test of faith worth the infinite damnation of billions.
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I guess this is a matter of opinion. I'm not sure where you're going with this one though.