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My point, mordant, is that someone believing God is wrathful, for instance, does not necessarily mirror their personality, any more than a person who believes God is indifferent (or non-existent) must therefore be uncaring.
I would say such a person is either identifying with the wrathful deity, or afraid of it. Which is a negative way of relating to it I guess.
Personally I never related either way to that particular aspect of the fundamentalist deity concept. I had a clear conscience, and was not easily made to doubt myself. But a lot of people around me were tormented about such things.
Authoritarian religion tends to select for pleasers, people with damaged or stunted cores who fear confrontation, censure, or doubt about themselves. Also, people with fixed mindsets, who fear being exposed as less than Good Enough -- as if one can never improve or do better next time. In my case, the attraction was that of a pleaser -- someone who needed approval from authority figures, reassurance that I was doing the Right Thing. Which is an odd paradox I guess given that I did not fear god's wrath. I guess that I figured god would be better than his representatives, inherently. That he knew my innermost being, which I saw as sincere and ethical. But humans often demonstrate mistaken ideas about such things, or make rash assumptions.
Now that I think of it ... it would be critical to not assume that dysfunctional people around you trying to control you through shame would be at all like god. I understood that when I encountered such toxicity, it did not reflect my understanding of god. If I had ever thought god was like that, and that it was normal or okay to be controlling and shaming, it would have been a whole different ballgame.
I used to defend my faith often here, but when so many Christians are acting more like Caligula than Christ, I'm finding less and less to defend. I still follow Christ, and always will, but I'll no longer defend that here, because I know so many people who have been beaten and broken by other Christians, I feel the pain and frustrations in their posts, I will no longer be complicit in that.
To an extent. I have always said that there is no practical difference between an indifferent, uninvolved or non-existent god. How would you possibly tell them apart?
Eye color? Except for the indifferent one. That one is easy to identify by His disheveled appearance. He just doesn't even care anymore.
I used to defend my faith often here, but when so many Christians are acting more like Caligula than Christ, I'm finding less and less to defend. I still follow Christ, and always will, but I'll no longer defend that here, because I know so many people who have been beaten and broken by other Christians, I feel the pain and frustrations in their posts, I will no longer be complicit in that.
Based only on the general revelation of creation, it doesn't.
Why does it have to be a single creator? Because it's easier for our minds to comprehend and build an allegiance to? People used to believe in more than one God right? And what happened, it got too confusing?
Why does it have to be a single creator? Because it's easier for our minds to comprehend and build an allegiance to? People used to believe in more than one God right? And what happened, it got too confusing?
Again...based ONLY on the general revelation that we see in creation, it doesn't. The fact that the universe exists only points to the idea that there was a Creator(s).
I used to defend my faith often here, but when so many Christians are acting more like Caligula than Christ, I'm finding less and less to defend. I still follow Christ, and always will, but I'll no longer defend that here, because I know so many people who have been beaten and broken by other Christians, I feel the pain and frustrations in their posts, I will no longer be complicit in that.
I am glad that you are doing the same in your group. You know, nobody likes people that are held to notions of love, compassion, and understanding, for all people, over a personal need or t-shirt color. My brother always told me I would be great at inter affairs. I don't due party lines, I do justice and liberty for all. Nice to see a fellow on the other team.
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