Reposting this from my friend John from Facebook:

Today would have been Christopher Hitchens' 63rd birthday. In his memory, here's my favorite Hitchslap:

"Our species, homo sapiens, has been on the planet for at least 100,000 years. In order to be Christian you have to believe that for 98,000 years our species suffered and died, most of its children dying in childbirth, most other people having a life expectancy of about 25, dying of their teeth ... famine, struggle, viciousness, war, suffering, misery, all of that for 98,000 years. Heaven watches it, arms folded, with complete indifference, and then 2,000 years ago thinks, 'That's enough of that; it's time to intervene. And the best way to do this would be by condemning someone to a human sacrifice somewhere in the less literate parts of the Middle East. Don't let's appear to the Chinese, for example, where people can read and study evidence, and have a civilization. Let's go to the desert and have another revelation there.'"

"This is nonsense. It can't be believed by a thinking person."

Olorin said Well, not only do you not have any evidence for resurrection (aside from canonized second hand hearsay) you haven't any evidence for heaven or hell.
So instead of handwaving, Olorin, you could present some actual evidence. That might convince me.

"You'll start to become convinced, dear friend, an instant after you breathe your last breath, for at that instant the Devil will arrive and take your hand and lead you up from where your body lies and then lead you down, his grip firm, his laughter soft in your ear, down and down, down and down, further than you ever conceived it possible to go until finally you begin to sense a certain warmth in the air, a reddening of the shadows, a faint but ever-increasing background noise that begins to sound suspiciously like wailing; then, dear friend, you'll be convinced after all of the truth of certain matters.

Write if you find work."

(The foregoing is presented purely as an exercise in written expression and may or may not necessarily align with the actual views of the writer.)

OK, here is another point - Are you really willing to worship something out of duress and consequence?

From your book: Your god allows Satan to exist and was aloud on this planet before his creation of humans. Your god created Hell in the first place. So worship me. Or by my own creation, I will damn you for all time. A loving god? Really?

That is wrong and no amount of apologetics will ever justify this. If you think they do, you are deluded and brainwashed. This is evil, and according to your book, he put it here. Thanks but no thanks. I'm just so glad I know it is all a myth, otherwise what a horrid existence this would have turned into. Oh and BTW, there are a ton of religions, including christian ones that don't believe in hell.

This pretty thoroughly deals with the resurrection.

http://wiki.ironchariots.org/index.p...e=Resurrection

Any Christian religion that doesn't believe in Hell is not biblical.

God doesn't have to explain himself to you. And we cannot explain God to you. The moment we as men can understand everything about God and explain him, he would cease being God. His thoughts are not like our thoughts, and his ways are greater than our ways. If we are talking about the God of the Bible(which I am), this is the same being that SPOKE everything man has ever seen or known into existence. Are you really so arrogant as to expect someone that powerful to explain himself to you? I grow weary of the "prove it to me" mindset you keep beating people over the head with. You have heard the truth and rejected it, there really isn't anything more to be said.

slowroll, your bible says god can't be seen or heard. Yet you have people saying god told them this and god told them that. Humans made all of it up. It is so plain and easy to see this. How much do you know about your god that did not come from another person? None. Why? Because you are simply believing what you are being told. I came to the conclusion that everyone has different details evening the same church. So I went out and researched for myself. I realized that no one talking about god or beliefs knew anything for sure, which tells me it is all not real. I hate to see you waste your life professing to something you have not really taken the time to really determine if it is real or not. If you only read the stuff that supports your "told" view, you are not really testing its validity. Try watching the Atheist Experience TV show youtube, if you can't bear to read the atheist books that are out there. If you want a simple book that just shows how one person did his research try the "Baptized Atheist" by David Smalley. It is short and easy to read. See how some of the simplest things you thought were real or proof were actually just a fallacy in thinking or a borrowed ideal from somewhere else.

IN A NUTSHELL: If this in the only life we get, IF it is, why not let your actions in life prove who you are instead of worshipping something. Do good for charities, help others, protect those that can't protect themselves, and just enjoy your life without guilt or fear.

If there was a loving god (if you could take one-second to try and imagine if you were in his shoes (I know you can't possibly know what it would be like to be a god, but)) don't you think a person's actions on this planet should mean more to than worshipping anything to a god? Just focus on doing something that makes a difference. Just be basic in your actions and ignore the constant brainwashing so much of this world gives you. None of the brainwashing is the same to begin with, you just get what is closest to you and that does not make it true.

I wish you the happiest life possible in whatever direction your life takes you.

After all my readings I came across a book that ends this completely for me. One way to prove someone did not come back to life is to prove that the person never exists in the first place. Nailed by David Fitzgerald does just that. TO be honest I figured he may have been a real person who had legend built around him like Paul Bunyan or he was the combination of many different people. However, this book really pushes the history to show enough evidence of why the the human Jesus, never really existed in the first place.

I've read your book and spent the time researching your stuff. So I ask that you give this book a try if you care to know about what you are worshipping. It is not that long of a book. Kindle version available. You don't have to be an atheist, but I wanted to know what was real and not real, I would hope you care enough about yourself to do the same.

I'll give it a gander.