(February 25, 2016 at 1:08 pm)TheRocketSurgeon Wrote:
He didn't need to "make a way"; he needed to forgive us for being literally unable to obey his rules. Instead, what he did was offer a vicarious sacrifice of blood-magic (of himself) in order to atone for the infractions against the rules he made (himself), and in order to "cash in" that atonement, one must submit to the will of this deity-- which just happens to consist of a lot of the weird prejudices and world-views common in the ancient Near East, among a particular people in Canaan.
How this isn't the most obvious priest-con-game on the planet baffles me. Listening to you Christers prattling on about the "love of God" and then listing all the things God expects of you (and me!) is a bit like watching the movie The Invention of Lying, where everyone just automatically believes everything Ricky Gervais says.
Paul uses the word "agape", which means "selfless love, one that demands no repayment" (according to the translators at BibleHub), and yet those of us outside your little (big) cult can clearly see that there are numerous strings attached... apparently, including sacrificing your ability to actually understand what humans have discovered since the invention of the Scientific Method in favor of the priest-writings of Bronze/Iron Age sheepherder-warrior-priests.
Let me know if I am wrong about your world view, I am basing it off a discussion we had last year about the function of the world, but you don't think the world to have a way it ought to work. So your judgment on this "false god" you created doesn't matter, because there is no right or wrong. What matters is only that which people agree upon in your part of the world, at this current time and date. If tomorrow society believes differently then your world view may change with it. Right? Yet, if you want to use the Bible to form a proper view of God then let's look at all of it.
But if you try an use the Bible to support your view, or even use it to counter my beliefs, the you must use all of it; not simply picking and choosing bits and pieces (particularly as stand alones, outside the contexts of what came before it in its own pages)...
He creates everything for Himself (as He is the creator) and made them in a way where they would glorify Him, as creator, He is the only thing worth praising/worshiping/obeying. Then mankind rejects His provision and believes the lie that they could be their own god. They lived without shame or pain in harmony with the world and each other. Yet, they would rather believe a lie than live under the protection of God. This throws mankind into sin. This causes one son to murder the other out of envy. Then others begin to collect women as if they were trophies. People are so evil that God is done with them and decides to flood the earth. Yet, He shows mercy to 8 people because He made a promise to Adam and Eve that He would send someone to defeat evil. The flood doesn't show how evil God is but how depraved man is. No one is worth saving, out of all the people on the earth the only reason He saved the family of 8 is because of His mercy. This is known because when that family got off the boat they sinned. So God tells man to disperse and fill the earth, but they don't they build a tower to their own glory. So, God makes them disperse by confusing their languages. After this He picks a man in order to make him into a nation so that He might bless the world through Him/them. He frees that nation out of slavery from an evil King who would rather call himself god then submit to God. The nation He saves hates Him and complains constantly although God saved them from slavery and provides their needs and even is among them. So after wandering for 40yrs, because they would rather have that then to trust God to give them the land He promised. He does bring their children into the land. So what do they do. They disobey and follow after other gods and do their own thing, which result in evil and depravity. So after they receive a good prophet they ask for a king again wanting man to rule them instead of God. They have one bad king after another because people are evil. Yet, God keeps his promises. Even in exile, which is one of his promises for them if they disobeyed, he brings them back and defeats their enemies. So do they act right? No. They become self righteous and religions thinking they can earn their way to God. They would be the very people who would crucify the one they claim to serve. Yet, through all of this God has been giving promises about sending a messiah who will cover their sins. As well as promising to remove their heart of stone and giving them a new heart. He does do this when he sends Jesus who is a perfect man because He is God. He didn't come to condemn but to save. Man deserves nothing but just punishment from God but He instead makes a way for us to want to obey Him and love Him. He makes it possible for us to know him as well as be like him in behavior and thought. That we may be free from evil and dwell in His glory forever living as we are supposed to. He shows His enemies love, mercy, and grace so that they might repent from their sins, and believe in His promises,anoints them with His Spirit, adopting them as His Children.But if you are going to refuse Him and lie to yourself about His nature you will receive the full weight of it. He is a just and Holy God and He doesn't waiver. I am going to be honest with you, I wouldn't wish this on anyone. I unfortunately do not have the ability to fully make this clear to you how unimaginable His wrath will be.
You can roll your eyes, you can call me crazy, you can say I belong to a cult but the truth isone day you must face Him and the question is: will you have to pay for your transgressions against Him by drinking the cup of judgment, or will you rest in His arms because He granted you true life through your faith and obedience?
This is TRUTH: God will crush out your evil; with the depths of His love, or with the cup of His wrath