RE: If God of Abraham is true, then why didnt he use his intelligent design to make a new
June 29, 2017 at 12:06 am
(June 28, 2017 at 3:18 am)Aliza Wrote:(June 26, 2017 at 6:35 pm)Godscreated Wrote:
Christians do believe in testing from God but not as a main reason we were created, I would think the Jews of old would believe the same. The testing would be to better our relation ship with Him.
GC
I disagree with you on this. Jews of old viewed life as being experienced for the purpose of seeking out and enjoying in pleasurable experiences. (It's an oversimplification, but it's still accurate.)
... but even if I'm discounting some obscure, off-shoot, Hellenized Jewish movement who had incorporated darker, pagan elements into their religion, and did believe that life was a "test," then those movements have long gone anyway. And even if I'm wrong about the beliefs of mainstream Jews of old, from which almost all Jews today hail, why would that even matter or need to have bearing on today's views? We live in the here and now, and Jews today see life as the pursuit in finding and indulging in enjoyable things. If it's a test, then the test is to see how much joy you cultivated during your life and not a test to determine where your "eternal soul" will end up.
Christianity and Judaism have almost nothing in common. Sadly, most people don't realize this and we get lumped in with the proselytizers and treated according to however the world views fundamentalist Christians.
The OT shows us that the Jewish people believed they were tested as individuals and as a people.
Christians myself included seek to enjoy life but for me life would be less enjoyable without God in it.
You are right the two have little in common mainly because of tradition, we do believe in the same God and this is why we are put under one umbrella.
GC
God loves those who believe and those who do not and the same goes for me, you have no choice in this matter. That puts the matter of total free will to rest.
