//My best guess is because the world is broken and God hasn't yet come to rid it of all the sin and evil within it.//

Seriously? He just hasn't got around to it yet? It's God, dude. He's meant to be omnipotent, remember? He's not bound by time in the same way us mere mortals are; He can travel in time without a TARDIS. If the world is broken today, he can fix it yesterday so it will be fine today.

It's like in Back to the Future II, where Mary & the Doc return to 1985, but it's broken because Biff got his hands on the sports almanac, so they have to go back to 1955 to stop Biff getting the almanac. By doing so, they manage to fix the broken 1985 Hill Valley.

God could do that if he wanted. He could go back to 1955 (or whenever, it doesn't matter), and stop the human race from getting the sports almanac so that the present day would be fixed - and he could do it without having to get up to 88mph. But obviously he hasn't.

Now, what does that tell you about what sort of a bastard God is? He's Biff Tannen: he prefers the broken 1985. You're worshipping Biff Tannen, dude. I don't think you've really got the point of BTTF. You're supposed to be rooting for Marty & the Doc, not bloody Biff Tannen.

Hi again, the Roman Catholic priest who asked for 10% of my father's salary was new and it was in UK after the war. About 1954. We had the collection plate of course, because some priests come from wealthy families. The collection plate pays for candles, etc. The church feeds them etc.

I do believe prayer works in some cases. What I am not sure about is visions of Our Lady or a Saint. Lourdes for example. If a good Christian was told these visions, miracles (bleeding statues) even exorcism, was the work of mentally deranged people, or attention seekers, would they still feel the same about their religion. Not Jesus, or Mohamed, but their ability to die and resurrect. Both going up to paradise or heaven, never seen again.

But prayer is in some incidences incorporating magic. Now interestingly, before the Battle of Britain, a well known Hampshire coven developed a cone of magic, and wished that the Nazis were kept away from invading Britain. It worked, and we know why. But it was a good spell, eh? I think we should thank the brave RAF pilots who gave their lives to prevent this. By the way, "The Battle of Britain movie" is on Australian Television sometime this week. At one time they had the 13th biggest air force in the world

To AJ Philips.

Not all prayers asked are answered. Or at the very least, some are answered after a long period of time. I don't know why, but I trust God in what He will do. You asked about children praying for food. If they prayed for food, believe it or not I'd expect God to answer. That said, there is a need for us to look after those in need. Mankind is not innocent of the hardships our world goes through. Blame God if you want that there is hunger, poverty, and illness, but if you don't go out to help in any of those needs, what good is your complaint? Too many people (myself included) don't do enough to meet the needs of those we can reach. If you do your part AJ, then that is a wonderful trait. Until God fixes the world though, there is always going to be more issues. Prayers are answered though. That much I know. I don't think you and I are similar in this thought. Either when you were Christian or now. But sorry if I don't have the experiences to validate your need for proof. When you say reliable evidence I assume you mean repeatable situations. It just doesn't work like that. Sorry. I highly doubt a larger sample size will give a you a solution.

Regarding doubt. I don't think doubt is a sin. Though it can harm our trust in God. The way I figure it, if you doubt someone in a way that they don't have a chance to relieve that doubt then your doubts as well as the lack of proof to resolve those doubts are of no value. This is essentially what you're position is AJ. To doubt and then criticize any answers that might come up. To be honest, I'm not impressed by your position. If you doubt God or anything else, seek an answer to see if you can find any, and give who ever you're doubting a chance to prove themselves. I've faced doubt. God is stronger then the doubts I've had.

Not that I am siding with anyone. I am a deist, not an atheist.
Agnostics are not sure. But a deist believes there is something, a spirit or power in the cosmos, but not one that is capable of interfering or controlling the human experience, but a natural order. and that is creation and evolution it naturally wants to empower. Light and love make the world go around eh?

The oldest monotheist religion is Zoroastrians, originated in Persia that I believe the Jews as we know them now, may have been influenced at one time. They have angels, the flood etc., they fled to avoid persecution by the Muslims and now are the Parsees in India. Anyway, have a relaxing Anzac day.

To Bush Bunny. The priest your dad had sounds like he was pushy with the collection plate. But I do think tithing is a good thing. Three basic reasons. One is to give back to God. Second is to support the church you go to because of it's ministry for you and your community. Third is because of the church meeting the needs of the community. For those reasons, in that order. To those that believe in God, tithing is one of the ways to show our appreciation and love back to Him. It's not the only way to show our love, but I think is it is something we can afford to do, then we should. (On that note, tithing can also a sign of trusting God to take care of our needs). For my spiritual growth at the church that I get to go to, supporting that church is worth my tithe. The last reason to tithe (in my opinion) is for the outreach programs that the church provides that are there to help others. This is the last reason because I think as a whole we Christians need to do more in the world around us. Tithing helps but I think we need to do more. That's just my opinion of course.

(Continued)

To Bush Bunny. The priest your dad had sounds like he was pushy with the collection plate. But I do think tithing is a good thing. Three basic reasons. One is to give back to God. Second is to support the church you go to because of it's ministry for you and your community. Third is because of the church meeting the needs of the community. For those reasons, in that order. To those that believe in God, tithing is one of the ways to show our appreciation and love back to Him. It's not the only way to show our love, but I think is it is something we can afford to do, then we should. (On that note, tithing can also a sign of trusting God to take care of our needs). For my spiritual growth at the church that I get to go to, supporting that church is worth my tithe. The last reason to tithe (in my opinion) is for the outreach programs that the church provides that are there to help others. This is the last reason because I think as a whole we Christians need to do more in the world around us. Tithing helps but I think we need to do more. That's just my opinion of course.