The idea of god and the teachings of religion are superstitious and show discrimination and cruelty

Again, a very excellent argument with very excellent points. And thank you for the compliment. People need to face facts with these coming days. Science has grow ever more prominent. It would be foolish to deny it. If one is to live peacefully, one needs to bypass their naturally violent nature and think on all scales, look at things from all points. I would say I am honored that you compliment me, but there is a saying. "No person should be honored for doing what is expected." I got that from Halo. Now, you have again raised some interesting points. You want to know who decided that Jesus is using Hyperbole's instead of talking literal. You have trouble understanding why cruel and harsh passages are sugar coated and the nice ones are taken as they are written. Very excellent point, and allow me to explain, but this is more how I personally feel. It may not help you, but it may shed more light as to why I aspire to these passages. The Bible was written in such a savage time. Some people feel the world is just as savage as it was then. I disagree. Because back then, the world needed a jump-start to inspire people to create the world we have today, a world where we could be more civilized, to live with each other in peace. Then, Jesus came along, changed the world. Some of his passages are deemed immoral because of how they sound. But the true magic magic of the Bible is that anyone can interpret from it what they feel is right. I believe that God handed down his words in ways that people as individuals interpret from it. He is giving us yet another example of free will. You can take these double meanings with passages and take them literally, or you can broaden them into something better. As I said before, everything has a meaning, if if that meaning is nothing. Confusing yes, but let me try to explain further. Why this Bible works is that everyone can here something different within these pages. Some people don;t like want they see, some people do. But why is that? And why does that make the Bible such a good tool for doing good? No matter what the outcome, the Bible creates good. Now bare with me on this. You look at this passage as saying you hate your family, and you take it upon yourself to love your family evermore. I look at it as a test, so I still love my family very much, but I also contribute to God as well. It's confusing I know, I wish could better explain it, but to answer your question on who deems these hyperbole's? We do, or we do not. It's the choice you see. We can deem it literal or not. I deem it not, and ultimately, good comes out of it either way. On the homosexuality note, I use the same system as before. I deem it not a sin, but choice. The main point is God wants us to choose. So many choices, sexuality being one. Perhaps Paul did not like gay people, perhaps he was just stating offenders. I can only hope it was the latter, as I choose to believe that. I agree with your observation. Thousands of gods, millions even, have been invented over time. What makes this one so special? I believe in this God because, well, he actually fulfills what he sets out to do. Change the World. For better or for Worse, Real or not, God was God in every aspect. He changed how we think, how we live, how we see others. Even if you do not believe in him, he still influences you, like this very debate, influenced by Him. He is the singe most influential thing in our world, and Jesus runs a close second. And that, I believe, is a very worthy accomplishment, enough for him to be worshiped. I agree, sometimes, things take a turn for the worse when God is involved, like the Holocaust. Such misery as we have ever known. But I will answer your question as to why the majority of the world still remains religious, even in the face of unspeakable horror. Perhaps, God still does send help, just not in the way we expect. It's not through Fireballs, lightning being hurtled from the heavens above, it's through us. We can change, we can choose. Sometimes we make the wrong choice, but there will always be those ready to combat it. To set things right. In fact, the Holocaust, the World Wars, the Nuclear Bombings, are proof that we can change. We can choose to continue those vile ways, or we can choose to look to the past ad build a better future for generations to come. God, real or not, works through us, and I think in this sense, he really is real. He is inside all of our hearts, and we can make the choice that set things right. Out of misery, we can make happiness. Out of the thorns and thistles we shall become roses. Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." I agree, why aren't miracles being carried out today? But you don't have to look far. We live in a world of miracles, it just depends how you look at it! Modern medicines that save lives that back then couldn't be saved, Cars, Television, Internet. I find this very debate a miracle. Who would have thought thousands of years ago that the whole world would be connected with just a screen and a few codes? Don't you see? We are the miracle. We can do them, you just need the incentive. Sure, you may not consider them divine, but that doesn't make them any less miraculous. And now your final word. Now, Jesus stated himself that he speaks in parables and hyperbole's. If the man himself told us that it is not to be taken literally, then that is okay with me. Let me explain that passage again, the one with the secrets of the heavens and all that. Yes it is easy to link metaphors to something like the Bible or really anything. But see here, this is what it means. here is the passage after it. Jesus answered them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Matt. 13:11-13 Jesus did not explain his parables to the crowd. He did not explain the spiritual meaning. At first, this may seem unfair, after all, how could they understand if they didn't know? But notice his important comment. Those who have had some will receive more, and those with none will receive none. To further explain, as that seems unfair, I will tell you what it means. Jesus had been ministering up to 3 years at that point, and people didn't fully believe in him yet. When they listened, they only heard the words, when they thought, the only thought about what he was saying and not what it meant. Jesus said this after he told the story of the Seed. In this story, a seed was thrown on the side of the road. Those who did not understand were spiritually deaf and were not accepted into heaven. Those who did were. So in Jesus's comment, we learn that whoever has some of Him inside them will be given more, and those who do not have Him will be given nothing. So you see here? This is why Jesus speaks in Parables. It is a test for people to see if they are spiritually up to par, to see if they see the meaning of all things, and not just the words he was speaking. So you see? We have a choice to see or hear what is really being said. And here I shall wait your argument. I hope you will take what I have said into account. It s, as I have said already so many times before, your choice to really "see" what I am trying to convey. Good luck.