God's character

[Mr Olefemi]

I have been reading some of the things which have been said about god.Things about him being vengeful and angry and always punishing and killing and doing unfair things.What a shame,and I blame the bible and the people who wrote it,not to mention the pastors and other religious leaders who give this impression.
This is why I stay away from church unless it has a good reputation.I will walk out of a church if the priest begins talking about smiting and punishing,but it doesn't happen much because I am careful where I go and I only go where I trust the person giving the talk.
It is odd for me to say this as a christian but to get a good impression of god's character it is not a good idea to read most of the bible.It is best to just hear what Jesus said,and still you have to be careful because the bible was written by men with their own ideas and plans.
The truth is that god's character is nothing except loving.He made the entire universe and he has no reason to punish people just because they didn't hear about him.Your ideas about who god is are based on lies and this is why I understand your feelings about him and why you can't believe that he could exist if that is what he is like.
If you don't want to believe in god that is not a bad thing at all but let us at least be clear about the god that we are talking about.

[theVOID]

I don't give a shit what this character Jesus said, not only can you not prove that he was the son of God, you can't even prove he existed at all.

Also, his personality is not the reason i don't think he exists, it is the complete lack of evidence and logical necessity. I don't believe in any God, not just the evil thug described in the bible. God could be described a cuddly loving being and i still won't believe it - It's all talk, no substance.

And what gives you the authority to proclaim that the bible is full of lies about this character? How do you know that your interpretation, or more accurately, your dismissal of 90% of the bible, is justified?

Oh, and if you think the bible was written by men imposing their own ideas, then how can you be sure that Jesus isn't the lie? Perhaps the evil asshole God is the real deal and your hippy-Jew Jesus was made up to make Asshole God look better.

[chasm]

I have been reading some of the things which have been said about god.Things about him being vengeful and angry and always punishing and killing and doing unfair things.What a shame,and I blame the bible and the people who wrote it,not to mention the pastors and other religious leaders who give this impression.

So? The point is that he DOES BAD THINGS. Even if you don't believe in the Bible, how can you believe in God and not think he DOESN'T DO BAD THINGS? Please enlighten me.

There is still death. There is still famine. There are still diseases. There is still murder and rape. There are still BAD THINGS in the world. And if you believe in God, he does these bad things, correct?

This is why I stay away from church unless it has a good reputation.I will walk out of a church if the priest begins talking about smiting and punishing,but it doesn't happen much because I am careful where I go and I only go where I trust the person giving the talk.

Good for you. Do you want a pat on the back? (Sarcasm...)

It is odd for me to say this as a christian but to get a good impression of god's character it is not a good idea to read most of the bible.It is best to just hear what Jesus said,and still you have to be careful because the bible was written by men with their own ideas and plans.

So how do you know those same men didn't make up God since they wrote the Bible? And one more thing: How do YOU know what Jesus said?

The truth is that god's character is nothing except loving.He made the entire universe and he has no reason to punish people just because they didn't hear about him.Your ideas about who god is are based on lies and this is why I understand your feelings about him and why you can't believe that he could exist if that is what he is like.

Your ideas of God are based on the lies of 12 men who scribbled this shit on stones in the middle of the desert.

If you don't want to believe in god that is not a bad thing at all but let us at least be clear about the god that we are talking about.

Yes, lets. We are talking about the invisible, vindictive sky daddy that doesn't provide proof of his existence, right?

[Mr Olefemi]

Let's be calm about this,please.The only point I am making is that god has a very bad image and that I understand why.I am sure it wasn't like this at the start.

[theVOID]

Let's be calm about this,please.The only point I am making is that god has a very bad image and that I understand why.I am sure it wasn't like this at the start.

Yeah, because if he's real he has allowed untold millions of innocent children to suffer and die from disease. You should know this better than most, considering where you live.

How can you possibly respect such an asshole?

[Rhage]

He has no reason to punish people?

Oh really? Then why does hell supposedly exist?

Or is that the godbot version of a high priced spa? Because it sure as shit sounds like punishment to me.

[Mr Olefemi]

I am talking about the stories in the bible where god tells people to make sacrifices,that kind of thing.Hell is for those who knowingly act in evil ways.

[Rhage]

I am talking about the stories in the bible where god tells people to make sacrifices,that kind of thing.Hell is for those who knowingly act in evil ways.

What version of the buybull are you using? Because the version I read says that hell is for unbelievers, not those who "knowingly act in evil ways."

And don't even get me started on how "evil" and the perception thereof is purely subjective.

[Mr Olefemi]

I have already explained that I don't trust most of the bible so those stories to me are untrue about god.

[Quest of knowledge]

I have been reading some of the things which have been said about god.Things about him being vengeful and angry and always punishing and killing and doing unfair things.What a shame,and I blame the bible and the people who wrote it,not to mention the pastors and other religious leaders who give this impression.
This is why I stay away from church unless it has a good reputation.I will walk out of a church if the priest begins talking about smiting and punishing,but it doesn't happen much because I am careful where I go and I only go where I trust the person giving the talk.
It is odd for me to say this as a christian but to get a good impression of god's character it is not a good idea to read most of the bible.It is best to just hear what Jesus said,and still you have to be careful because the bible was written by men with their own ideas and plans.
The truth is that god's character is nothing except loving.He made the entire universe and he has no reason to punish people just because they didn't hear about him.Your ideas about who god is are based on lies and this is why I understand your feelings about him and why you can't believe that he could exist if that is what he is like.
If you don't want to believe in god that is not a bad thing at all but let us at least be clear about the god that we are talking about.

You appear to have a good heart and wish for some higher power that is going to be kind to you. I agree with you that the Christian image of God is that of a psychotic, capricious man who is perfect and yet made imperfect people and then punishes them viciously for being imperfect. It appears you have some unmet psychological needs for acceptance and forgiveness (less punitive god), as well as protection (need a god). Perhaps those needs compel you to create your own beliefs. I see nothing wrong with that as long as you accept them for what they are - beliefs.

When you attempt to rationalize those beliefs, there appear to be a number of contradictions in your statement. Regardless of your Christian denomination or the message from the pulpit, the fundamental belief of Christianity is that those that accept and live by a certain (albeit contradictory and unattainable) code of conduct will survive an eternal punishment. All the others will be eternally punished.

Christians accept the circular argument that the Bible is the word of God because the Bible says it. You seem to deny that fundamental Christian belief and say that you have a better version of God and, yet you consider yourself a Christian.

If you believe that your version of God is better than the Christian version why not start your own religion rather than attend churches attended by people who would most likely disagree with you regarding your views of the Bible?

The Christian definition of belief is accepting without proof. Thomas/Saint Thomas (whichever you prefer) was criticized for not believing without proof. Therefore, if you believe in Christianity, it is by Christian definition an acceptance of “facts” without proof!