The Immorality of God - Slavery in the Old Testament

[drfuzzy]

You keep forgetting athrok, our position is that he's fictional.

He's not real.

We're only entertaining your beliefs that he is real, and the consequences for you on your own beliefs.

I don't think you're at all interested in honest debate, so I'm not going to waste any more time.

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I have not forgotten the majority view of the forum membership. 

However, you seem to be missing the point:  Many atheists argue that God is a moral monster unworthy of worship, etc. Dawkins said it. Hitchens said it. Cecelia repeats it every chance she gets.  

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 But here's the thing, rob, and there's really no getting around this: when you begin to examine these issues objectively and one at a time, it becomes clear that the predominant characterization of God in the Bible - OT and NT alike - is love.

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 And why can't you and Cecelia and others get this message? Well, imagine you are standing in an electronics store showroom. Dozens of televisions, stereo systems and portable CD players are blaring different stations and CD's at full volume. Can you actually appreciate the fidelity of any of the speakers when they are all on at once? The Internet (and this forum) are like that, rob.

You have to turn off all the cacophony of noise and focus on listening to one speaker at a time. Filling your head with the thoughts of mighty intellects such as Minimalist and dyresand and rhythm will not accomplish much for you. You've heard their songs so many times you know the words by heart.

But there are other voices that are singing a different tune. Have you noticed? Do you care?

So, who are you listening to, rob?   

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You have got to be freakin' kidding.  That woman-despising, genocidal war god who will even torture one of the most obedient and worshipful of his followers to prove a point to Satan is LOVE?  The god who screwed up creating the human race and had to kill 'em all and start over is LOVE?  (Thankfully, the flood didn't happen.)  The god who supposedly sends plagues and murders newborns, to prove a point to a king (when in the same story it claims that god can influence that king's thoughts) - and then goes on to gleefully destroy the king's entire army, is LOVE?  (Thankfully, the Exodus didn't happen.) The god who orders his little scruffy desert tribe to commit theft, genocide, and rape of a people because they worship other gods, is LOVE?  (Other gods that he names in some verses and claims don't exist in others.) This god of love who won't even show himself to any of the millions of other people and nations at that time - - only to a tiny tribe inhabiting a county-sized scrap of land - - because, obviously, a war god needs other people to kill.  Have you even READ that book?  I'm thankful every day that Yahweh never existed.  He was a complete psychopath - made even worse if you do think of this monster as all-knowing and all-powerful.  (shudder)