(March 13, 2013 at 9:43 pm)whateverist Wrote: Do you have any idea what your god wants for you?
Yes absolutely. We know this through a variety of means.
From revelations, we know that God mainly wants us to love and to be loved, and that above all God desires we join him in heaven (which just means "with God") to enjoy happiness for all eternity.
Or if revelations are not your thing, then it is easy to determine purpose from earthly things too:
For example, I am a man. My body produces sperm which is to fertilise womans eggs. Rationally then, God desires me to be a father and to experience the love, happiness, reponsiiblity and contentment which that brings.
You could say I dont need to be a father, and your right I dont, but God desires that I be, or at least try to be. God doesnt include spurious features in his creations, and more than a car maker include spurious features in theirs.
And given the best place for kids is to be raised by their biological mum and dad, then logically God desires that I should also be a husband (for the same reasons - love, happiness etc).
(March 13, 2013 at 9:43 pm)whateverist Wrote: Does He wish you to do the good you perceive and to grow in your capacity to perceive what is important and what is best? Or does He wish for you to follow His rules?
These are not mutually exclusive - in fact, they are the same thing.
Rather than "rules", you should see Christian values as "ideals".
Think of it like going to university. At university, the lecturers want you to follow the rules they teach you (rules about physics, maths, french, whatever).
They dont want you to sit and waste everybodys time by making up your own rules - after all, for a rule to be of any use, we must have the same rule in common.
(March 13, 2013 at 9:43 pm)whateverist Wrote: I cannot and never could imagine a God who wants only sycophantic rule followers. Of what possible value would that be to such a one?
Your question here is absurd.
Imagine applying it to the secular law of the land.
We dont call law abiding citizens "sycophantic rule followers" - rather, we respect them, admire them and see them as pillars of society.
We dont query what is the point of abiding by the law, we instinctively know it is the right thing to do.
It is (should be) no different with Gods moral laws, which only reflect reality, at the end of the day.
