'A Hole in the World'
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
God's nature in the OT -- which is exactly the same as his nature in the NT -- is both merciful *and* just.
Did I mention all of the dead children, killed because of their relatives or their rulers or just because they live down the street from some jerk? How is this just?
Free will means free will for everyone. God can't give free will to some people but not to others. Shitty people do shitty things.
God is infinite; I think it's safe to say that he has an infinite number of ways that he can work out with a given person how that person spends eternity.
Well, I suspect that when I die my consciousness will cease to exist forever, but hey - if there's a God who wants to grant me eternal life that could be cool....
I don't really relish the idea of eternal life. It sounds sort of boring to me. But then, I'm hard to please.
Free will means free will for everyone. God can't give free will to some people but not to others. Shitty people do shitty things.
What does this have to do with murdering children?
He doesn't just punish those who deserve it, he punishes their families, thier children, their whole communities, sometimes. And his punishments are, to my mortal mind, often both extreme and arbitrary.
I will say that He does come off a bit better than the members Greco-Roman pantheons, who seem to have interpersonal relationships and personalities that wouldn't seem out of place in your average night-time soap. Let's not even get started on how they tend to treat the lowly mortals.
Free will means free will for everyone. God can't give free will to some people but not to others. Shitty people do shitty things.
What does this have to do with murdering children?
Are you talking about God not intervening when people commit murder, or are you talking about God himself smiting a city/tribe/whatever?
Are you talking about God not intervening when people commit murder, or are you talking about God himself smiting a city/tribe/whatever?
I'm talking about God the murderer.
I don't really relish the idea of eternal life. It sounds sort of boring to me. But then, I'm hard to please.
For me, eternal life = "think of all the cool stuff I could learn." Like maybe God would give us a starship so me and Einstein and Ray Bradbury could travel from galaxy to galaxy... I could probably kill off a few billion years that way....
Are you talking about God not intervening when people commit murder, or are you talking about God himself smiting a city/tribe/whatever?
I'm talking about God the murderer.
And what specific instances are you thinking of? I can answer your question a lot better if I know what you're referring to instead of a general comment.
ita, did you watch last night's Hustle yet?
No, not yet. I've just started.
I find this religious discussion completely fascinating, and hope no one gets upset by it. I am supremely areligious myself most of the time, and am fascinated by people like Steph who articulate what I just don't get. I mean, if I saw what Steph saw, I'd be Christian myself. I don't, obviously, but still want to hear her viewpoint because it's so...rich? I think that's the sensation I'm feeling.