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No responsible parent would allow their children to be alone with a dangerous person, nor would they torture their children for a small act of disobedience.
That point was the final realization that what I had believed for decades could not possibly be true. There is NOTHING that my earthly children could do that would make me torture them for one minute, let alone an eternity. My love for my children is supposedly tiny in comparison to God's perfect love for mankind. Yet this perfectly loving God chooses to torment the majority of his creation for all eternity???
I know, I know, some will say God is soooo merciful because we ALL deserve hell, and that it's our own fault if we don't accept his free gift blah blah blah. No! There is no room for torment in love. PERIOD. As a flawed, human parent, I figured out kind, loving, effective ways to discipline my children when they were disobedient. Are you really going to try to preach that a perfect God has to resort to eternal torment??? Such a "God" is evil, and anyone who believes that eternal torment is ever appropriate or acceptable, is evil too.
Havoc, misery and destruction happen on the word (world) primarily due to the following:
Accidents, natural disasters, etc- we are in the wrong place at the wrong time-Ecclesiastes 9:11
Man dominates man to his own injury-Ecclesiastes 8:9
Satan rules the earth not God-1 John 5:19
If God wants us to love our neighbor and pray for our enemy and yet we cheat, steal, get involved in drunken brawls, engage in risky behavior and develop hepatitis, cancer, murder, maim, get involved in social and political controversies of the day, etc that's not God's fault. There's a saying, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." That's how many are. The teachings and wisdom in the Gospel or Greek Christian Scriptures is free to anyone who is willing to make proper application but most just don't want to hear it let alone apply it in their lives.
The vast majority of people I know are loving, prayerful people. They do not "cheat, steal, get involved in drunken brawls," etc.
If "God" is omnipotent, then yep, everything that happens is indeed his fault.
I'll play the omniscience card here. Tests of patience and ability to know the will of God are pointless.
It's time to duel!
I'm going to counter that card with my Trap card: Infinite Possibilities.
The fact of omniscience is that it has the ability to see all possibilities available, at all places, and all branches of those possible choices. But humans do have free will. It is possible for God to have made two (or more) plans, or he would not have set this situation up as though it were a choice.
I'm going to counter that card with my Trap card: Infinite Possibilities.
The fact of omniscience is that it has the ability to see all possibilities available, at all places, and all branches of those possible choices. But humans do have free will. It is possible for God to have made two (or more) plans, or he would not have set this situation up as though it were a choice.
But the Bible doesn't claim that "God's omniscience" allows him to "see all possibilities" (even if omniscience could be defined that way, which I disagree with anyway). The Bible speaks of God as knowing everything in certain terms, such as "I know the plans I have for you."
The vast majority of people I know are loving, prayerful people. They do not "cheat, steal, get involved in drunken brawls," etc.
If "God" is omnipotent, then yep, everything that happens is indeed his fault.
That's great. We have the freedom to choose but we aren't free from the consequences of our choices both good and bad. I think that's what people miss when they want to blame God when things go wrong. However, I do understand that even some Christians believe in predestination and that somehow every tragedy or catastrophe that occurs is part of some grand plan. Many Christians, including myself, reject such thinking.
God is omnipotent but it's unfounded to believe that "everything that happens is indeed his fault." The Bible teaches we are made in Gods "image" meaning we share some qualities. If we as humans have the power to achieve certain outcomes but decide not to exercise that power why would we expect that God, an omnipotent being, can't manage to do the same.
Proverbs 34:10: "So listen to me, you men of understanding:It is unthinkable for the true God to act wickedly,For the Almighty to do wrong!"
James 1:13: "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone..."
However, I do understand that even some Christians believe in predestination and that somehow every tragedy or catastrophe that occurs is part of some grand plan. Many Christians, including myself, reject such thinking.
Why do you reject it? It's what your Bible says.
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God is omnipotent but it's unfounded to believe that "everything that happens is indeed his fault."
Well he must be. That's the problem with being omnimax you see...you are responsible for everything.
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If we as humans have the power to achieve certain outcomes but decide not to exercise that power why would we expect that God, an omnipotent being, can't manage to do the same.
If Yahweh expects us to behave in a certain manner, why should we not expect him to do the same?
That point was the final realization that what I had believed for decades could not possibly be true. There is NOTHING that my earthly children could do that would make me torture them for one minute, let alone an eternity. My love for my children is supposedly tiny in comparison to God's perfect love for mankind. Yet this perfectly loving God chooses to torment the majority of his creation for all eternity???
I know, I know, some will say God is soooo merciful because we ALL deserve hell, and that it's our own fault if we don't accept his free gift blah blah blah. No! There is no room for torment in love. PERIOD. As a flawed, human parent, I figured out kind, loving, effective ways to discipline my children when they were disobedient. Are you really going to try to preach that a perfect God has to resort to eternal torment??? Such a "God" is evil, and anyone who believes that eternal torment is ever appropriate or acceptable, is evil too.
There are so many reasons why I am not a Christian. The God of the Bible is NOT in my opinion a good parental figure. Why in the world is this character the Devil allowed to even roam about influencing all people, including the very young? Why were the "very innocent" Adam and Eve exposed to this so called "Tree of Knowledge" and "cunning serpent". Is there anything in that story that resembles what any good parent would allow to EXIST in their child's environment with limited knowledge. The stories in Genesis alone are enough to keep me from believing most of the whole Christian story as being based in reality of any form of common sense. Discuss.
I am not sure what is there to discuss?
You researched bible and found out that it doesn't talk to your heart.
What's next? You can either continue your research of finding the true God (as per the call from your own heart) in the comparitive religion by researching, reading and analyzing the Torah Quran Gita or whatever else is out there that claims to be a holy text OR!! You can say, since I rejected bible, I will jump straight into Atheism.
Criticizing what's in the bible is one thing but taking a personal journey to look for the signs of God is another.
You may not find it convincing what's in the bible, but there are others who did.
We all have made our personal choices of faith, and in the end, we will be responsible for our choices.
We all have made our personal choices of faith,....
That's certainly nothing to be proud of.
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