Twitter is taking Joel Osteen to the woodshed. Here are some of my faves.

[anneboleyn]

116. I stopped believing when I realized that there is no "all-loving god" who "saves" the suffering

And that this god supposedly loves and protects the "most blessed" -- the poor, the sick, children, the vulnerable members of society. I think it's painfully obvious that this isn't the case. Yes, I have a graduate degree, and over the years I have heard every tortured argument well-educated theologically-minded Christians from various traditions (Catholics and some Protestants) have developed over the past 1500 years or so to explain why a supposedly all-loving and all-knowing god allows hideous, agonizing suffering that is not justifiable IN ANY WAY (they will cry "free will!" -- this doesn't cut it -- sorry -- also doesn't explain the suffering of those who are not capable of exercising free will -- the mentally ill, children and babies, and animals -- who are not considered moral agents in Christian belief.

Other religious traditions have different explanations -- as in Hinduism for example "god" (Shiva for example) has a destructive side as well as a creative, all-loving side). Obviously the god of Judaism works in a different way as does Allah and other traditions such as Buddhism, which regards suffering as an inherent part of human existence.

But I lost any belief in the Christian god as I got older the reality of human suffering opened my eyes.