Lindsay's Views on Whatever: August 2011

I'm always interested in talking to people who hold different world views to me, and Raissa Nkuba (@MissRaissa) is someone I have opposing opinions to. However, I notice a lot of atheists on twitter, including myself take an interest in her tweets and have something to say about them. Raissa kindly agreed to be interviewed and I wanted to ask questions that weren't too similar to what people have asked her on Twitter. So I'd like to thank Raissa for taking the time to answer these questions, I'm sure everyone will have their own responses to the answers. I will respond but if Raissa wants to say any more I will publish that too as I aim to be respectful and fair.

1. Many Christians say that we are all responsible for ourselves in regards to giving our lives to Christ & following what the bible tells us. How does this work in regards to people with learning disabilities who have no concept of God, Jesus or the bible or come from a non-Christian family and therefore cannot be a follower of Christ?

How do you know a disable person has no concept of God? Has it been proven that a disabled person has no concept of God? No. God himself will judge such cases. When I speak I address individuals who can make conscious decisions. God himself knows how he connects with his creation and I believe he’s able to connect with a disabled person.

2. People say that God heals through prayer but I cannot help but notice nobody has ever had a regrowth of a severed leg through faith healing & most Christians would rely on doctors for medical help. If God heals why do Christians use doctors & why won't God heal amputees?

Lindsay when you decided to interview me I was expecting serious questions. These questions have been asked several times and have been answered before. God can do anything and nothing is impossible with God. But God will do it according to our faith. The reason why there are some Christians walking around with diseases is because they lack faith. God will do anything we ask him to do but we need to believe him for it.

3. The bible condones slavery, infanticide and rape as long as the victim marries the rapist afterwards. In the 21st century we see these things as atrocious but if morality comes from god and not society and people, why are we not practising these things?

The Bible doesn’t condone slavery, infanticide or rape. Morality does come from God and the morals we have today originated from Christian beliefs. Society does not decide what is moral or immoral. How can sinful beings decide the basis of morality?

4. In a Christian marriage the bible says a woman must submit to a man. Women have fought for freedom and rights why is it good for a woman to submit herself to a man when she is capable of leadership and making her own decisions? The healthiest partnerships are with people who see each other as equals & respect each other. What reason has a woman got to obey a man?

The Bible does not a say a woman must submit to a man. The Bible says a wife must submit to her husband. The Bible also tells the man to love his wife and treat her well. A woman is indeed capable of leadership but in her home her husband is the leader. 50/50 partnership in a marriage is unrealistic – one will always end up overpowering the other.

5. I have seen you tweet that nobody should divorce under any circumstances even in the case of abuse where women should pray & have faith that God will change them (please correct me if I am wrong). Do you not see how it is dangerous to give women this advice as domestic violence in many cases has led to death? Why shouldn't a woman leave an abusive husband?

I have never said that—I simply said that divorce should never be an option. I also said that Jesus said a married couple would only divorce in the case of adultery. But even in the case of adultery it’s better to forgive your spouse because the word says one cannot remarry unless their spouse dies. If one wants to remarry they must return to their former spouse – this is what the Word of God says. I would never tolerate an abusive husband neither would I ask any woman to do that.

In a case like this I would suggest separation – during the time of separation I would advise the woman to seek God’s face before deciding to take the next step. My God is a God of restoration. He can restore broken marriages.

My Response:

1. Our concept of God develops once we have been taught about God and what or who God is. Somebody who comes from say a Sikh family would have a different concept of God than someone who comes from a Christian family, what these people understand about God comes from what they learnt about God. The reason I asked about people with learning disabilities is because if somebody has difficulties in learning about most things why would they have any less difficulty in learning about God? I'm sure to fulfill the expectations that the God of the bible has for Christians that person would have to understand what those expectations are or even who/what God is in the first place. Of course I cannot say that all people with LD have no concept of God whatsoever, many do but there are many who do not and do not have the means to learn about God. I don't see any mention of people with learning disabilities in the bible so I'm therefore not sure how you can be so certain God is doing all he can for these people.

2. I don't see how these are not serious questions, they may well have been answered before but I am yet to see a satisfactory answer, I am aware that the bible calls on Christians be prepared to answer questions about their faith. If nothing is impossible with God and it's all on account of our faith then are you telling me there isn't a single amputee with strong faith? If nothing is impossible with God then why doesn't he regrow a severed limb? A much better answer is to assume he is not there. To say that people get ill due to a lack of faith is an insult to many people who live with disease, and it's only a cruel God that would subject his own people to such torture for the so-called crime of not having "enough" faith. You didn't answer the question fully, if God really can cure every disease out there, then why would you yourself visit a doctor (assume of course that you do)? Illness has nothing to do with faith, and you know what you never see? A faith healer curing polio because science cured it already!

3. I will refer you to these bible verses: Hosea 9:11-16, 1 Samuel 15:3, Judges 11:30-40, Psalms 137:8-9, 2 Kings 6:28-29, Exodus 12:29 (Infanticide) Ephesians 6:5, 1 Timothy 6:1-2, Luke 12:47-48, Leviticus 25:44-46, Exodus 21:2-6 (Slavery) Judges 21:10-24, Numbers 31:7-18, Deuteronomy 20:10-14, Deuteronomy 22:28-29 (Rape). I don't think you could honestly say that the bible doesn't condone infanticide, slavery and rape when it quite clearly happens amongst God's people in the bible and is allowed or even encouraged by God. Of course, in the 21st century in civilised society we see these things are wrong and are disgusted by such actions, the only reasonable explanation is that society has evolved to realise that to inflict pain on to others is immoral, there are many things that in the past were considered the norm (racism for example) that are now condemned by society. As human beings we all wanted to be treated well and have learnt to treat others as we wished to be treated ourselves.

4. My question refers to a Christian marriage, so I wasn't suggesting a woman submit to any random man out there. Assuming that the husband is still the man and the wife is still the woman, in the bible it is asked that a woman submit herself to a man. You say that a 50/50 partnership is unrealistic, but I have to disagree as although one person may be more dominant than the other, important decisions and input should be done on an equal basis, it's about sharing responsibilities. If as you say one does overpower the other, sometimes it can be the woman dominating the man. My understanding is that a Christian marriage is meant to be like the relationship between Christ and the church, man is like christ who head of the church (but yes, also loves the church) but woman is like the church who has to obey christ. My understanding tells me that a woman is expected to obey the man. I don't see how this can benefit every marriage as all relationships and marriages are different.

5. OK, so I understand that you didn't mean a woman shouldn't leave an abusive husband, you meant they shouldn't divorce. Now I have that cleared up I would like to say that I still cannot agree with your answer. If a man is supposed to love a woman and he beats her up and emotionally harms her does that not show that he indeed is not being loving and is breaking his vows? Surely this breaking of the contract would mean she is free to leave him? Of course, if the rule is separation but no divorce, under the rules of "no sex unless married" the woman would not be free to find someone else to settle down with and make her happy, instead she is still by law attached to her abuser. The only healthy way for a woman to deal with an abusive partner is to take the children (if there are any) and to leave and sever ties. An abused woman has every right to move on with her life, rebuild it and find someone else to be in her life. There have been many cases where women have gone back to their abusive partners wholeheartedly believing they would change only to find that they never will.

I'm sure people have their own responses to this, so I welcome any comments.

Lindsay's Views on Whatever

Wednesday 31 August 2011

An Interview With @MissRaissa Plus My Response

Some Introduction Type Thing...