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?
Look, you got a little stabbed the other day. That's bound to make anyone a mite ornery.
Mal ,'Ariel'
Natter 46: The FIGHTIN' 46
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.
Rick - Aug 03, 2006 7:08:04 am PDT #278 of 10001
Frankenbuddha - Aug 03, 2006 7:11:14 am PDT #279 of 10001
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"
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.
Steph L. - Aug 03, 2006 7:12:11 am PDT #280 of 10001
Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe
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?
Rick - Aug 03, 2006 7:14:15 am PDT #281 of 10001
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.
tommyrot - Aug 03, 2006 7:14:39 am PDT #282 of 10001
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
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....
Steph L. - Aug 03, 2006 7:21:06 am PDT #283 of 10001
Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe
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 § - Aug 03, 2006 7:24:39 am PDT #284 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
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.
Connie Neil - Aug 03, 2006 7:25:26 am PDT #285 of 10001
brillig
Ah, this is the sort of thing that reminds me why I love this place, intelligent conversation.
Steph L. - Aug 03, 2006 7:27:57 am PDT #286 of 10001
Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe
still want to hear her viewpoint because it's so...rich?
That's one of the nicest compliments anyone has given me. Thank you!
Rick - Aug 03, 2006 7:29:42 am PDT #287 of 10001
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.
Well there were those Egyptian first-borns. And the kids in Sodom. The Blog at Slate that we were talking about has a nice crisp example today from Numbers 16, where a small group rebells against Moses and God causes the earth to swallow up the leaders and their children. And Job's kids. And . . .
Edit: 16 not 6