RE: Free will and the necessary evil
November 11, 2022 at 1:35 pm
(This post was last modified: November 11, 2022 at 1:47 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
Not sure if that was directed at me or the OP. If it was for me, I'd say I agree - that the relationship between free will, suffering, and the eternality of god's wrath is not obvious, not just from the question - but in general - and that peoples changing ideas about all of this demonstrate as much even if we limit ourselves to the demographics of the faithful alone.
Outside of that demo, these things are not only not obvious - but some positions on the matter are abhorrent and a barrier to assumption. In some cases so abhorrent that it's the cause of a person moving from the one demo to the other. So, clearly, this is a problem that christianity (and many other religions, really) need to solve if the belief sets are to have any chance at a future. If only to stem the loss, to say nothing of the perpetual growth required to maintain in the face of a zero sum conversion game between sympathetic belief sets and demos.
The theological field is littered with an endless procession of dead gods. The christian god is not immune to this, and, in the wider view of things, is a baby at risk of blipping out before it fully matures. There are gods which we're still aware of, still know the names of, and which people still believe in, that are three times older (or more) than the christian god. So...it can be done, but, for the most part, that's not the way that history has panned out for the majority of gods. What do we think christianity or christians can or might do, in order that their god doesn't suffer the fate of so many others?
(and just to make things simpler, I'm aware that there are things in the above that a believing person might want to object to on the groundsa of their faith - like the idea that their god can die - but keep in mind that I'm speaking from the pov as a person who does not believe and describing the situation for the movements and religions - so, there's no need to bicker about that - as a god may be eternal, but..if so, then it's possible for a god to be perpetually existent and forgotten, alone and un-worshipped, due to the failure of it's religion to persist in the face of changing susceptibility, mores, and beliefs in societies at large)
Outside of that demo, these things are not only not obvious - but some positions on the matter are abhorrent and a barrier to assumption. In some cases so abhorrent that it's the cause of a person moving from the one demo to the other. So, clearly, this is a problem that christianity (and many other religions, really) need to solve if the belief sets are to have any chance at a future. If only to stem the loss, to say nothing of the perpetual growth required to maintain in the face of a zero sum conversion game between sympathetic belief sets and demos.
The theological field is littered with an endless procession of dead gods. The christian god is not immune to this, and, in the wider view of things, is a baby at risk of blipping out before it fully matures. There are gods which we're still aware of, still know the names of, and which people still believe in, that are three times older (or more) than the christian god. So...it can be done, but, for the most part, that's not the way that history has panned out for the majority of gods. What do we think christianity or christians can or might do, in order that their god doesn't suffer the fate of so many others?
(and just to make things simpler, I'm aware that there are things in the above that a believing person might want to object to on the groundsa of their faith - like the idea that their god can die - but keep in mind that I'm speaking from the pov as a person who does not believe and describing the situation for the movements and religions - so, there's no need to bicker about that - as a god may be eternal, but..if so, then it's possible for a god to be perpetually existent and forgotten, alone and un-worshipped, due to the failure of it's religion to persist in the face of changing susceptibility, mores, and beliefs in societies at large)
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
