The god of the old testament has . . . . issues

[Proteus_MST]

Re: Re: The god of the old testament has . . . . issues

Originally posted by The diplomat

We get angry when we see social injuctice around us, don't we? Imagine how the creator of the universe would feel seeing his creation murdering, raping, oppressing ethnic groups, etc...

The fact is that sometimes violence is the only way to stop injustice.

The problem is, that he supports tribes which aren´t different and commit the same injustices as other tribes of that time.
He often acts like the USA during Gulfwar I with Saddam, just overlooking the crimes "his people" commit, as, they may be bastards, but they are my bastards

For example you´ll find certain passages which state that Abrahan possessed slaves and that god knew and tolerated it.
Or when Abrahams wife Sara didn´t get pregnant with the long expected heir to Abraham, he took (with Saras consent) another woman to bear a shild for him.
She gave birth to a boy. But as Sara some time thereafter finally got pregnant and also gave birth to a boy, Abraham dfrove the second wife out into the wilderness with just some water.

Throughout Moses it doesn´t sound like gods chosen people were very nice people

Originally posted by The diplomat
Because while God has the power to force us to live His way, He also gives us free will. So, God wants us to live His way but He will not force us.

God simply wants people to recognize the fact that He is the only God and creator of the universe. If you knew that you were the only true God and you saw humans praying to wooden idols, wouldn't you want them to stop praying to inanimate objects and turn to you, the true God?

Also, remember that these other religions engaged in horrific practices like infant sacrifices. So, people were killing their babies to some piece of wood that they thought would bring them a good crop. Doesn't it make sense that God would want people to turn away from such horrific and false practices?

Does still look like he tolerates human sacrifices, like the sacrifice of the daughter of Jephta in Judges XI: 30-40

[Sava]

Religion is stupid. Throw rocks at it.







Hmmm... I just had a thought (which is strange, I know...) but bear with me...

would it be cool if someone made a game where all the world's religious mythical figures had like a deathmatch? FPS style!

you could pick between the different characters... and it would not be politically correct in any way at all...

of course, there would have to be some balance so that everyone could be included... and maybe, some historically relevant figures could be included just for kicks...

The cool thing is, there are so many awesome characters in the different religions to choose from... and they have so many awesome powers!

I mean, there are the usuals... like the old testament God... Jesus... Zeus... Allah (who some say is the same God, but he could be a different flavor God... or maybe, just like a high level character who you don't get to be...)

How about the all powerful gods are non playable... or at least, unlockable.

At first, let's say, you can only be lesser gods and maybe mortals.

I need your guys' help to come up with a list. And what powers should people have too... remember we need balance for gameplay's sake.

(I'm half-serious here)

This could be a good game... it has potential

this thread is really just troll-bait anyways, at least we can do something productive with it

[The diplomat]

Originally posted by Sava
would it be cool if someone made a game where all the world's religious mythical figures had like a deathmatch? FPS style!

Why not just play a god-game like Black and White? or Age of Mythology? Or the city builder Zeus?

[General Ludd]

I bet jesus bunny hops.

[Arrian]

Populous! You get to Smite and everything!

I only ever played the original, but it had a certain something.

-Arrian

[Sava]

Originally posted by The diplomat


Why not just play a god-game like Black and White? or Age of Mythology? Or the city builder Zeus?

no... I want all the mythological religious characters...

and it must be a FPS

and not only do I want to not be politically correct, but I think I want to offend people

[Sava]

Originally posted by General Ludd
I bet jesus bunny hops.

and aimbot

HAX

[Sava]

I mean, COME ON... think of how much Kali would PWN...



look at that!!

that's like, I don't even know how many primary melee weapons, plus the bow and arrow...

that is some scary stuff right there

[Arrian]

aneeshm, check this out:

http://www.slate.com/id/2141050/

In short, a liberal, mostly secular Jew reads the Old Testament and writes blog entries about it. It's good fun.

-Arrian

[aneeshm]

Originally posted by Geronimo

If you can manage it, read the bible cover to cover. not only will you gain insight on Christianity but you will actually have a better understanding of the bible than many christians who have only read it piecemeal and had it delivered to them in sermons complete with a prepackaged spin on everything in it. After that I'd read through the koran as well (if you haven't already).

I've realised that this is the only way to actually understand the roots of a religion . I plan to do exactly this . If there is something else I have to read in order to understand Christainity or Islam , I'd request the forumers to tell me .

A small doubt - is the King James Version of the Bible authentic enough for a student like me ?

Originally posted by Geronimo

I have not read any of the vedas or any of the other texts that were important to Hinduism. Do you think I would gain any insight into modern Hinduism by reading those? I suppose it would be my agnostic duty to add those to my list of religious texts I've read if they still have religious relevance.

Hinduism , because it allowed dissenting thought to flourish , has become too complex to be understood by just reading one text . Hinduism has evolved very far from its Vedic roots . To understand Hinduism , I recommend reading , in order :

1) The Vedas ( with the commentary of the Brahmanas is you need it )
2) The Upanishads
3) The Puranas
4) The Ramayana and The Mahabharata if you want to know the Hindu view of the history which shaped itself
6) The Book "Indian Philosophy : Volume Two" by Dr. Sarvapellai Radhakrishnan ( it deals with the six later Hindu schools of thought , the ones whose influence is most relevant today )

[Kontiki]

Re: Re: Re: Re: The god of the old testament has . . . . issues

Originally posted by The diplomat


Are you saying that God does not have the right to punish evil because He gave us the free will to do evil? God did not make us do evil. Free will means that we are responsible for our actions. And since we are responsible for our actions, we deserve the consequences when we do evil.

Should we not punish criminals because they had the free will to commit the crime?

No, I'm saying you have a pretty rediculous definition of "not forcing" something. Generally, if you're not forcing something, you're not the one dealing out the consequences along with the choice. If your boss says "I'm not forcing you to attend this meeting, but I'll fire and blacklist you if you don't go", there's some rather strong implied coersion, wouldn't you say?

And it's precisely because of this that your criminal analogy fails. Society isn't the granter of free will, and absolutely does expect you to act a certain way.

[DinoDoc]

One thing I've never really understood about these types of threads as they appear here. If it is a thread that is asking a real question, wouldn't you be more likely to get a serious and thought out answer by posting it to a Christian themed forum? On the other hand if the thread is meant to be a thinnly vieled troll, wouldn't it be more entertaining to post it to a more Christian themed forum?

[General Ludd]

If it's meant to be a circle jerk, however...

[DinoDoc]

Good point.

[aneeshm]

Just to be clear - I have no with to belittle anybody's god , but some things cannot be overlooked , specially when the Bible actually emphasizes them . And why the hatred for Baal ( and his unfortunate priests , who were routinely massacred ) ?