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I certainly understand what you are saying, but I do not think it is entirely pointless. Let me repeat what I wrote to another commenter: There’s a large element of truth to what you say. I’ve heard that from several people, including a longtime friend from college. However, for me, it’s worth the effort. 1) People do leave Christianity, and hearing certain arguments may well have an effect on those who are having doubts about their religion. 2) Many people present an intractable front in public but may be less convinced of their beliefs in private. 3) Somebody has to publicly express objections to their belief system, otherwise, they get even more comfortable in their bubble, unopposed. 4) Change is glacial. 5) Youngsters may still be trying to make up their mind. And lastly 6. Depending on the circumstances, I tend to agree with Edmund Burke who once said: “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.”

If God said to kill all left-handed people, I would say that is a false God, not “It was a theocracy and that makes it OK.”

Exactly. I've noted that. Others have noted that. Christians talk about eternal values, but when a bad passage in the Bible is pointed out, they appeal to "cultural context" to justify a bad value. Talk about moving the goalposts.

Correct me. Pick an argument I made and tell me what’s wrong with it. I’d like to know what’s wrong with my thinking.

I don't really think that is true and I will try to briefly explain why. 1. Frank answered the witch question by mentioning "WE take it as true" you took issue with this and critiqued him without considering he might have answered differently if he knew it was actually YOU making the objection. 2. You back up his point by pointing out the "internal consistency" stance, but you simply reject it with faulty logic. As an example, Frank didn't say "witches are real because the Bible says witches are real" he is saying "if the Bible is consistent with believing witches are evil tools of the devil, of course it follows there must be a punishment" 3. Most of your commentary was just bemoaning the fact God has a different moral standard than you

@@sammysam601 1. I was clear I was asking for a response TO A SKEPTIC (that witches exist and deserved capital punishment). To say “We take it as true” is no answer at all to a skeptic. Just an assertion of a Christian belief. Do you believe real witches exist? I don’t. 2. You say Frank is saying “the Bible is consistent with believing witches are evil tools of the devil; of course it follows there must be a punishment." Again, that is circular reasoning. That is ASSUMING the premise. The skeptic is asking how do you justify the PREMISE that witches are evil tools of the devil. Frank didn’t answer the question, but only asserted the biblical belief. Which is why I said that he is essentially just saying “because the Bible says so.” 3. Yeah, I bemoan the fact that people believe in any God who condones slavery. That is not a God worthy of worship.

@2994485 1. I can be unclear sometimes so I will try to be as clear as I can because you obviously misunderstood the point of #1. In the context of the conversation, it is irrelevant what your question was. From his perspective, he was trying to make YOU understand something and so it was not out of place to say WE. In my view, you are simply taking any shot you can at someone regardless of how important the point is(which is why I am saying I find it unlikely you are actually trying to figure out the fault in your reasons). 2. No, the original question was actually why aren't you killing witches RIGHT NOW....this is bas8cally the title of your video and that was definitely what your question was. This is another reason I believe Frank may have responded differently if he understood what exactly and why exactly you were asking the question. 3. There is no reason to even address your slavery comment because you are conceding my point in that you just personally find it icky. So I'll take that W

@@sammysam601 Ah, so scoring points is more important than getting at the truth. Noted.

or try honesty. We could use some honesty from the atheist camp… on occasion.

@ithurtsbecauseitstrue I am not an Atheist. Nor is Mickey. But if you think Frank Turek is honest, then you are either a liar, or an idiot.

Appreciate your comment, but I do not believe in an intervening God, or petitionary prayer. [2006 STEP study, Benson] Nor do I believe in Jesus. No man who teaches the obscene cruelty of Hell can be God’s representative. Also, MS is notoriously variable. [Internet: “Most people with MS have a relapsing-remitting disease course. They experience periods of new symptoms or relapses that develop over days or weeks and usually improve partially or completely. These relapses are followed by quiet periods of disease remission that can last months or even years.”]

Yeah, it's always walking a fine line. If I get too argumentative, I'll get kicked out, or the conversation grinds to a halt.

@@2994485 Ok. It makes sense. Her ignorance made my blood boil!

You’re welcome. But my understanding is that they are no longer making iPods. In fact, I am working on a new video right now [“How to Transfer Music onto Your iPod - 2024!!”] I recently found that even though my old iPod still works fine, I can no longer transfer music to it! And my solution is to switch to an MP3 player instead of the iPod. I still plan to buy music from the iTunes store. (I’m old school. I want to own a copy of my songs, not stream them for a monthly fee.) Where do you buy your music from?

Yeah, I don’t know what happened. I got this comment fine, but I did not get anything last Thursday. Maybe try again. Oddly, I get most comments directly in the comments section but yours I get in my email (???) Hopefully you’ve saved a copy of what you wrote Thursday and can send it again.

​@@2994485 Okay RUclips police, I'm making a copy of this one! Hi again Mr. Jako, I have no idea why my comments were emailed to you. I'm going to try to remember what I can from the post that vanished. In it I wrote about a miracle that my daughter and I had witnessed and how greater miracles happen today than walking on the water. Missionaries talk about these things but you would never hear about them on CNN (or Fox or MSNBC or virtually any news outlet). And I'm definitely not talking about the "miracles" that televangelists talk about in order to get people's money. If you wanted to read some cool miracles, even cooler than walking on water, you could read Tramp for the Lord by Corrie Ten Boom, Evidence not Seen by Darlene Rose, or the story of Prince Kaboo who was rescued by a "flash of light" that told him to run that made his ropes fall off while being beaten almost to death in Liberia. He came to America to learn more about Jesus but became more like a missionary here. (www.taylor.edu/about/samuel-morris) I made the point that Jesus never said anything about starting a religion called Christianity and He really didn't get along with the religious people. He did weep over them the week before they killed Him and He also forgave them as they were killing Him. I said that there is a silly but true quote "Never read a Bible verse" and that we Christians make a big mistake by not understanding the context. The passage in Matthew about that generation not passing makes a lot more sense when you read the verses above it. There is another quote "Seventy-five percent of what we see is behind our own eyes" (Chinese Proverb). I acknowledge that my worldview affects the way I perceive things, however in realizing this I always try to stay teachable with an open mind. I know that a lot of what is said in the name of Christ is not good (or true) but I'm also careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. So, my point here is this: If some people took all of your words, selected the highlights, and put them into a book (The Book of Mr Jako), and then even after 2000 years of analyzing your words, I don't think it would be fair for someone to take a few of the comments that you made (remember, completely different culture) and made subjective beliefs about you based on that. If someone made a book about you or me it would be better if the people in a different time and culture stood back and understood the full message of our words as a whole. (Another good book is Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth Bailey.) And if the Bible made perfect sense all the time it would be harder to believe because that wouldn't be normal. Also, I've read some of your comments about the Old Testament. People had completely messed up everything back then, mostly forgetting about God. He was graciously making way for Messiah to come. We as people have been given a lot more influence than we realize. We have a tendency to really screw things up, but He always has a path to redemption. I had made the point that in watching some of your videos it seems like you really want to know the truth and you mentioned the "hiddeness of God". (Please allow me one more quote!) The Red Sea didn't part until they stepped into the water. I'm afraid that you may be "zoomed in" so closely on certain passages that you are missing the overall context. I agree that there are bad things in Christianity (just like when Jesus was on Earth there were bad things happening in Judaism as well). But again, Jesus didn't come to start a religion. There are too many unexplainable unique things about Jesus to simply write Him off as a religious extremist. And, even though you don't know me and it means very little, I can confirm that He is very present when we ask Him for things. You said something about asking Him for whatever we want and He'd give it to us ("will have anything we pray for granted"). He was talking about it being in the context of being in His Father's will, not like a magic genie. (I'm pretty sure you already knew that though!) The Bible wasn't designed like a standard operating procedure from the police department. I would try being completely honest with Him and tell Him that you would be willing to believe in Jesus but you are having a difficult time with some of the things in the Bible. He is faithful to give us a nudge. Like I mentioned in another post, it's like untying a knot, you have to give it a little slack to start with. God is not affected by what we think He should do or be like, but He does care enough to respond to us when we are willing to open the door for Him. I honestly believe that you would have a huge impact if you were a believer. I've never been so compelled to respond to a RUclips video! I think that this one ended up being a lot longer than the one they deleted.

You talking to me? You talking to me? I’m the only one here! 😊

If the punishment of hell is like a continuum, then the bible should have made that clear. The God that I believe in the probability of, has a continuum; reward and punishment are proportional to the level of good or evil the person has lived. I think you are basically saying that you believe in Christianity because it works for you emotionally in a profound way. I can’t do that. I want to know what is the actual objective truth about religion. And my conclusion is that a general God not tied to any particular religion (and all the baggage that comes with it), makes more sense. Too many profound immoralities in Christianity. I never feel separation from God in the sense that He is angry with me, but I do feel His hiddenness. Wish it were different, more evidence of God, but I figure that is reality. God only gives us soft evidence. I think that if I am a good person, and if there is a God, He loves me. But, I cannot be sure God exists, and that’s the way it is. I guess I’m more stoic, and individualistic, than you. Jesus says we can walk on water, will have anything we pray for granted, that the world would end in his generation. All not true. He was a religious extremist in my opinion.

​@@2994485 Hey Mr. Jako, thank you for your response. There is a saying that the Red Sea didn't part until the Israelites stepped into the water. I have seen plenty of material evidence in my life that I could share but please allow me to share just one instance. When my oldest daughter was a little girl she got impetigo on her feet and legs and it got out of control. She was at risk of terrible scarring and medicine was not helping. It was bad. One Saturday I knew that I had to pray and I did sincerely pray and gave this situation over to God. Long story short, in about an hour it was a lot better and by the end of the day, it was gone without any scars. I write incidents like this down and could go on and on about them but simply wanted to share one example with you of how there are times of closeness to God and evidence of His hand in our lives. And it doesn't take a miracle to know He is near, it just takes an openness and willingness to hear from Him. That hiddenness that you mentioned, I sense that too and it drives me to search for Him. (By watching your videos it seems that you are searching as well, just try asking Him to reveal Himself to you and then give Him a chance.) As far as your last paragraph, missionaries see greater miracles than walking on water on a regular basis but you won't see them on CNN! When Jesus said ask for whatever you want He said "In my name". He didn't mean like magic, He meant in the context of God's will. About the Matthew passage, there is another saying "Never read a Bible verse". Please read at least back to verse 32 and it will make a lot more sense. You said in the first sentence that "The bible should have made that clear". There is an old Chinese proverb that says "Two-thirds of what we see is behind our eyes." Try reading it without inserting what you think. (Not trying to be disrespectful here!) I openly admit that my worldview affects how I read the Bible as well, but I try very hard to see from that 1/3 and be completely open to letting go of any personal preconceptions. Lastly, I don't think that it is soft evidence as you mentioned, I think that there is a constant, constant, constant, heart desire to come back to Him. This is how we are made, and there is no real satisfaction in life until we come to the One who gave His life for us. As you already know, there are some unique things about Jesus compared to the leaders of religions. (Notice that nowhere in the Bible did Jesus say that He was starting a religion called Christianity.)You said He was a religious extremist, but the religious people in Jerusalem would have said that He was not religious at all. I don't care what any Christian says, Orthodox, Catholic, or Protestant, Jesus was more concerned about loving God, loving one another, (sacrificial love), grace, mercy, and forgiveness than he was about religion. (I am a Christian but the religious aspects mean little in comparison to a relationship with Him.) He said a lot against the religious people but He also wept over them before they killed Him. Then while He was dying He forgave them. Wishing you the best sir! And, please at least let me know if you read this (I'm worried that you won't see it because it's been about 3 days and I'm just now responding.) -Robbie

​ @2994485 Okay RUclips police, I'm making a copy of this one! Hi again Mr. Jako, I have no idea why my comments were emailed to you. I'm going to try to remember what I can from the post that vanished. In it I wrote about a miracle that my daughter and I had witnessed and how greater miracles happen today than walking on the water. Missionaries talk about these things but you would never hear about them on CNN (or Fox or MSNBC or virtually any news outlet). And I'm definitely not talking about the "miracles" that televangelists talk about in order to get people's money. If you wanted to read some cool miracles, even cooler than walking on water, you could read Tramp for the Lord by Corrie Ten Boom, Evidence not Seen by Darlene Rose, or the story of Prince Kaboo who was rescued by a "flash of light" that told him to run that made his ropes fall off while being beaten almost to death in Liberia. He came to America to learn more about Jesus but became more like a missionary here. (www.taylor.edu/about/samuel-morris) I made the point that Jesus never said anything about starting a religion called Christianity and He really didn't get along with the religious people. He did weep over them the week before they killed Him and He also forgave them as they were killing Him. I said that there is a silly but true quote "Never read a Bible verse" and that we Christians make a big mistake by not understanding the context. The passage in Matthew about that generation not passing makes a lot more sense when you read the verses above it. There is another quote "Seventy-five percent of what we see is behind our own eyes" (Chinese Proverb). I acknowledge that my worldview affects the way I perceive things, however in realizing this I always try to stay teachable with an open mind. I know that a lot of what is said in the name of Christ is not good (or true) but I'm also careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. So, my point here is this: If some people took all of your words, selected the highlights, and put them into a book (The Book of Mr Jako), and then even after 2000 years of analyzing your words, I don't think it would be fair for someone to take a few of the comments that you made (remember, completely different culture) and made subjective beliefs about you based on that (by reading one verse over here and another verse over there). If someone made a book about you or me it would be better if the people in a different time and culture stood back and understood the full message of our words as a whole by reading the whole thing. And if the Bible made perfect sense all the time it would be harder to believe because that wouldn't be normal. Also, I've read some of your comments about the Old Testament. People had completely messed up everything back then, mostly forgetting about God. He was graciously making way for Messiah to come. We as people have been given a lot more influence than we realize. We have a tendency to really screw things up, but He always has a path to redemption. I had made the point that in watching some of your videos it seems like you really want to know the truth and you mentioned the "hiddeness of God". (Please allow me one more quote!) The Red Sea didn't part until they stepped into the water. I'm afraid that you may be "zoomed in" so closely on certain passages that you are missing the overall context. I agree that there are bad things in Christianity (just like when Jesus was on Earth there were bad things happening in Judaism as well). But again, Jesus didn't come to start a religion. There are too many unexplainable unique things about Jesus to simply write Him off as a religious extremist. And, even though you don't know me and it means very little, I can confirm that He is very present when we ask Him for things. You said something about asking Him for whatever we want and He'd give it to us ("will have anything we pray for granted"). He was talking about it being in the context of being in His Father's will, not like a magic genie. (I'm pretty sure you already knew that though!) The Bible wasn't designed like a standard operating procedure from the police department. I would try being completely honest with Him and tell Him that you would be willing to believe in Jesus but you are having a difficult time with some of the things in the Bible. He is faithful to give us a nudge. Like I mentioned in another post, it's like untying a knot, you have to give it a little slack to start with. God is not affected by what we think He should do or be like, but He does care enough to respond to us when we are willing to open the door for Him. I honestly believe that you would have a huge impact if you were a believer. I've never been so compelled to respond to a RUclips video!

Yeah, I think you’re right. Yet whatever passage Christians get the idea of universalism from, some Christians believe in universalism.

Too busy, but will note her name down.

@@2994485 Thanks! I couldn't help but to comment especially when I heard that your father passed away due to an aortic aneurysm. He both seemed and looked like he was a very nice man. I'm 43 and have the same thing, it's hereditary in my case. Yearly ultra-sounds, blood pressure pills, etc. Best wishes from Macce

No, I didn’t delete anything. What you wrote is still there, including the very long one. If you posted something more, I didn’t get them. Post them again, at the TOP, like this one, because sometimes it’s hard to find posts that are down below under other people’s threads.

@@2994485 OK I will:)