njlauren
Posts: 1577
Joined: 10/1/2011 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Kirata quote:
ORIGINAL: Phydeauxquote:
ORIGINAL: Kirataquote:
ORIGINAL: Phydeaux I didn't want to get into the logical possibilities of a god that is both good and evil. Do you think those logical possibilities exist? They absolutely exist. Heh. Alright, I'll rephrase the question. What are the logical possibilities that would allow for a deity that is both good and evil while being simultaneously worthy of esteem and devotion? That last part is important, because otherwise religion is just a euphemism for ass-kissing. K. The answer to that lies in the realm that God is not the puppet master/all powerful/all knowing theistic God as he was portrayed by men. The idea that God wants evil or allows it to me is a false premise, it assumes that everything is under God's control, and I don't buy that. Yeah, the OT is full of it, but that was written by a group with a specific viewpoint, one that most modern Jews would shudder at. People accuse me of hating the Catholic Church, which is probably true of the Vatican, but there are wise and wonderful people in that church that get it. PBS on Frontline did a program called "Faith and Doubt after 9/11" (that is an incredible program), and they had this wise old priest who reminded me of the actor Joss Acklend (he played the Russian Ambassador in "Hunt for Red October"), and he said that 9/11 wasn't an act of God, despite what the evangelical moron chorus said, he said that wasn't God, God neither allowed it or wanted it. Rather, he said God was in the reaction to it, the firefighters losing their lives trying to save people, those who helped others, some who lost their lives staying with others who couldn't get out....and even in the poor souls at the windows, whose last act was to link arms and jump......he got it. The priest at a funeral of a Friend when asking why she died, said God didn't will it, it was not God's will, God wants us to live, and she died because God can't change the rules of nature and of being mortal....they get it. The theistic, all controlling 'God of Comfort and security' is a safety blanket people cling to, if something bad happens it has to be God's will, if evil happens it has to be God's doing, because otherwise, that means God cannot do all, isn't in control of everything, and that is scary. God in those people eyes is like a parent to a small child, all knowing, omnipotent, safe..funny part is, when we grow up and realize our parents are human, it is no longer scary, and if you take God for what it is, rather than a safety blanket, it isn't scary either, you learn to accept reality,much the same way Atheists do or people who are Buddhist and the like.
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