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In my personal opinion ONLY, without purporting or attempting to speak for any other individual or group:
If there is an omnicient, omnipotent and ominipresent entity, regardless of the name by which He or She is known, the problems we experience stem directly from the inevitable human errors, omissions and mistranslations of His or Her words/intentions.
I think that the mission with which we have all been charged is to interpret and follow His or Her wishes and desires as we understand them. Since we are all different, and since each is likely to develop his or her own considerations/reflections/thoughts/decisions, there will be considerable differences in our conclusions and actions.
That's the long way around to say that, again in my own opinion, WHAT we do is more important than the details of HOW we do it.
It is all about choices that one makes ,rather to follow God or to worship idols,God allows us to make those choices,He has shown His power as one reads in the Bible to leave no doubt that there is none greater than Him.
But don't you see the very problem with this statement? There have been books written about all sorts of gods. Has not Allah shown his power then? It's all right there in the Koran. Has not Zeus? It's all there in their myths.
Does the Muslim have no doubt as to Allah's power? Did not the Roman's have no doubt as to Jupiter's power? Doesn't the Hindu firmly believe in the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva? AND are not all these beliefs based upon written/oral stories and personal anecdotes?
Why in the world should I or anyone else believe the words of the Bible over the Koran? Why should a Christian's anecdotes concerning experiences with a deity carry anymore weight with me than those of a Hindu? What if my experiences with what a I perceive to be a power (callit deity if you will) are vastly different than those you have? What about people who have had no spiritual experiences whatsoever?
I know...I know...you will tell me that those are demons misleading everyone who isn't a Christian. Save your breath. Heard it all before. But in the end, I cannot help but continue to think that all the world's faiths are simply cultural contructs to explain the Unseen and Unknown. Since to me that is the case, I will stick to my traditions.
I'm not much of a religious person, so maybe some of you here could help me out with this. I'm wondering, why would the Christian God allow people to worship other gods? Wouldn't He have wanted to set people straight from the get-go instead of allowing them to be misled into worshiping other gods?
I understand that Jesus was sent to deliver God's message to the people, but I guess I'm also wondering why He waited so long to send Jesus.
He didn't wait so long to send prophets prior to Jesus. Other messangers and prophets delivered God message centuries before him !
He didn't wait so long to send prophets prior to Jesus. Other messangers and prophets delivered God message centuries before him !
Well before Christ there were the Ten Commandments, which God is said to have handed down to Moses on Mount Sinai. Among them is Thou shalt have no other gods before me
Recall that there are three (count 'em, three!) versions of the Ten Commandments. Though quite similar, they are not identical. This includes the wording of the Commandments, including this one.
In my personal opinion ONLY, without purporting or attempting to speak for any other individual or group:
If there is an omnicient, omnipotent and ominipresent entity, regardless of the name by which He or She is known, the problems we experience stem directly from the inevitable human errors, omissions and mistranslations of His or Her words/intentions.
I think that the mission with which we have all been charged is to interpret and follow His or Her wishes and desires as we understand them. Since we are all different, and since each is likely to develop his or her own considerations/reflections/thoughts/decisions, there will be considerable differences in our conclusions and actions.
That's the long way around to say that, again in my own opinion, WHAT we do is more important than the details of HOW we do it.
Clear as mud, right?
-- Nighteyes
Clear as crystal. "If there is an omnicient, omnipotent and ominipresent entity,"
IF. If not then your your post is without foundation or force. Is there? Even the common feelings of a presence are open to question.
Any assumptions about the gender, wishes and desires of this posulated entity are even more open to question. Thus the problems we experience are nothing to do with this postulated entity and are entirely down to us to solve and they are not going to be solved by disagreements about what this postulated entity supposedly wants, especially as it seems to reflect the wishes and desires of the postulants and changes to suit the changed wishes of the postulants.
So in answer to IF, in my personal opinion without speaking for any group, is that, on all evidence, all these gods are created by man in their own image to suit themselves and recreated when it suits them.
The sooner we stop this bolstering of our own opinions by one of the many invisible authority figure and try, with ears open to the views of others, to solve our problems, the better.
Probably because all Gods are One in the same, but the problem lies in the inability people have to relate, understand and accept things which are different, due to cultural interpretation and language barriers.
Perhaps?
If all gods are one and the same, then why would the judeo-christian god for example, command us not to worship other gods?
I'm not much of a religious person, so maybe some of you here could help me out with this. I'm wondering, why would the Christian God allow people to worship other gods? Wouldn't He have wanted to set people straight from the get-go instead of allowing them to be misled into worshiping other gods?
I understand that Jesus was sent to deliver God's message to the people, but I guess I'm also wondering why He waited so long to send Jesus.
I don't think it's supposed to make sense. The gospels, the bible, and such are stories intended to impart a special mix of hope/fear that helps keep people dependent on the system of religion. So, these conundrums you mention are purposeful - they add to the mystery and keep people coming back for more.
Well before Christ there were the Ten Commandments, which God is said to have handed down to Moses on Mount Sinai. Among them is Thou shalt have no other gods before me
Recall that there are three (count 'em, three!) versions of the Ten Commandments. Though quite similar, they are not identical. This includes the wording of the Commandments, including this one.
Does this contradict that
Quote:
Other messangers and prophets delivered God message centuries before him !
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"If there is an omnicient, omnipotent and ominipresent entity,"
