I actually posted a few of these last night. I very rarely want to dispute things said in the bible of their beliefs. Instead I want them to tell me about their beliefs and what they think of them. I want to know how they feel about X, Y, and Z and I think asking good, sincere questions is a lot better than trying to debate.

Here's what I had posted last night as questions to ask. Some of them are a little confrontational, but I really try not to be. I don't necessarily even want an answer, I just want them to consider the questions. You can always tone them down and still ask the same questions.

The point here is to be sincere. Actually want to know what they think. Don't challenge their answers, just let them answer and move on.

What exactly did Jesus sacrifice when he died if he received eternal life? Isn't merely a horrible weekend a pretty good deal for eternal life, salvation, and sitting at the right hand of God? Haven't people been tortured much worse for much less in human history? What about the god Prometheus, who has his liver pecked out by a hawk every day just for giving man fire? Pretending both Jesus and Prometheus were true, which is the bigger sacrifice?

Do you believe it is better to be dead than alive? Do you think Christianity portrays it to be better dead than alive? Why or why not?

Do you think God's doctrine of being "all-loving unless you sleight him, and then you're going to be damned" is fair? How does it compare to say, an abusive boyfriend?

Put another way, The Biblical God is supposedly a God of love yet I demonstrate more paternal concern for my cat than he does for all of mankind even though he has infinite resources, infinite power, and infinite love for his children. My cat piddling on the rug is "wicked in my eyes" so I have appeared to him and demonstrated that this will not be tolerated. You’ll also note that I far more often appear to him and demonstrate my love by petting him, washing him, taking him to the doctor, and sundry other practices in accordance with my responsibilities to a creature under my care. God fails in this constantly and consistently. Why?

If you look at the Biblical God's power over time you notice that it diminishes rapidly up to the present day. It starts with creating the universe, then flooding the planet, causing plagues, walking on water, curing syphillis, and these days apparently appearing on toast. What gives here? Why is it that operationally, the Biblical God resembles not a ruler but the last fading smile of a cosmic Cheshire cat?

Would you rather live with someone who does not kill people because God says it is immoral, or a person who does not kill people because they think it a cruel thing to do?