Do poly atheists know the Bible?

[Nikolai]

Good interpretation, Ben.

[Ben Kenobi]

My problem with Job is not about what happens to Job, but the complete disregard for the happiness of everyone surrounding Job. (From God, Job, and most people who read Job.)

Job rebukes his wife for telling Job to 'curse God and live'. So, yeah. In order to punish Job, he had to lose the things that mattered most to him. The Devil knows what he cares for most and where his heart truly lay, and was trying to tempt him into doing just that. He did despair, but he didn't quit.

[Ben Kenobi]

In this case the "forest" (eg. God's will) it's an intangible, unknowable thing. So missing it is only natural. What is tangible though is that the source telling us to believe in this intangible, unknowable thing is displaying certain types of ignorance (complete disregard for anyone who isn't a rich male) that makes me very much less inclined to view them as authorities on morality. It's like listening to Rush Limbaugh tell you to trust him about what's moral, even though he's clearly in the wrong about women, minorities and many other things.

So who is the authority on morality for you, Aeson?

[Ben Kenobi]

You aren't going to make sense out of why God makes a bet with Satan.

Why, for example, might someone test someone's love for them by doing testing boundaries? It makes sense to me what God is dong here in testing Job to see where his heart lies.

[Ben Kenobi]

You need a legitimate criticism of the notion that if a god created someone, he has the right to do whatever he wants to his creation and his creation should shut up, accept whatever is thrown at him, and not question him? Tell me again why you have a problem with abortions when the fetus clearly only exists on account of the whims of its parents, and by the logic of Job the fetus would have no right to complain (if it even could complain) about being killed?

This is a curious point. So you are saying that we can make a baby whenever we want just like someone might build something? That a child is the property of the parents? If this were so - there's no difference between killing the child inside the womb and killing the child at 5 years. It's the exact same child.

Most of us have moved on from that view that children are property of their parents.

This is not so with God. None of us would be here if God were to end reality. It is exactly the same as if we were to write a book. We are characters in the book, and destroying the book will end the lives of the characters written. As such, we are all extensions, made in the image of God.

[Ban Kenobi]

If God needs to conduct tests he's not omniscient.

[Ben Kenobi]

If God needs to conduct tests he's not omniscient.

Job itself speaks that "God knew that Job was a righteous man who loved him."

And yet, he still chose to test him, not for his need, but for the blessings of others so that they might come to understand. Again, we get back to refinement.

[Ban Kenobi]

You haven't even mentioned "refinement" yet so I don't know how you intend for "us" to "get back" to it.

[Nikolai]

He does in his original post, although using another word for it. Reading comprehension?

[Ben Kenobi]

You haven't even mentioned "refinement" yet so I don't know how you intend for "us" to "get back" to it.

Suffering, can temper and harden faith when tested, rather than weakening it.

Reading is fundamental.

[Ban Kenobi]

If God were omnipotent he could just give people stronger faith instead of needing to use suffering as a means to increasing it.

[Ben Kenobi]

If God were omnipotent he could just give people stronger faith instead of needing to use suffering as a means to increasing it.

Could God himself grant a faith so strong even he couldn't remove it?

[Ban Kenobi]

That's logically contradictory while the idea of people naturally having stronger faith isn't.

[DaShi]

The devil tricks god into letting him torture some poor soul. The devil is all like, "Damn, I hate that Job. I'd love to torture him, but I can't until he's dead. And even then he's so ****ing faithful that God will just scoop him up before I can get my claws in him. ****, how do I get a chance to make this dickr suffer? Oh, I got it! Hey God!" "Yeah?" "I got a wager for you." "Sure, derp!"

[Ban Kenobi]

God is just testing how gullible some people are, for mysterious reasons.