(February 16, 2010 at 2:05 pm)Watson Wrote: No, there is no moment in the Bible where God is as evil or immoral. There could, perhaps, be moments where God is portrayed in that sense and so comes away from a particular story looking quite nasty, but upon closer inspection, and with the right eye, there is a much more simple answer to be given.
The ends justify the means. Job was a good guy, so obviously he deserved to have all his shit taken away and his family killed because God wanted to prove something to Satan. It's ok, he got all his shit back later on, so it was cool.
By that merit, I can run over your dog, then set him on fire in front of you, but then redeem myself by getting you a dog that doesn't pee on the couch as much.
The "right eye" just means you dismiss the things that you don't like, or interpret it in a way that doesn't show God as a murdering and jealous tyrant.
(February 16, 2010 at 2:05 pm)Watson Wrote: I've yet to read that story, or passage, so I can't comment on what it might mean. Not yet. But I wont shy away from it once I get there, because I know there are some things that look very hard to swallow- at first glance.
If at first it don't fit - rationalize. It works for every other religious person.
(February 16, 2010 at 2:05 pm)Watson Wrote: Oh, come on, you know what I mean. Your parents conceived you, gave birth to you, but it is because of God that you weren't born into a complete blank void.
I'll just let you know right here I have no idea what you're talking about.
(February 16, 2010 at 2:05 pm)Watson Wrote: I do't recall ever saying God liked stonings or sacrifices? Excuse me? I don't know about you but the more I look around and see how much of a life we've been given and see all the amazing, wonderful things there are to connect to and explore, I get the idea that someone must have loved us alot to give all of this to us.
God gets a hard on for stoning and sacrificing the wicked. Check out the Old Testament, brah.
When you say "given", do you mean in your privileged, western culture? How about the babies born into literal shit, and have a 20% survival rate? How about all the disease and famine in the world? Was that given to us by someone who hated us? Why would a loving God allow this to his children?
When I look at the world through a more relistic perspective, I realize we are the collective products of our surroundings and actions, coupled with chance. I don't need God to complete this equation, and the world is just as much, if not MORE wonderous and awe-inspiring without such an assumption.
Think about it. Wouldn't it be liberating to know that the only one looking after you is yourself? And that you ultimately control what actions you take in life, free of any supernatural influence?
That you could have a brain and USE IT without having God or Satan control and influence your thoughts?
That would be sa-weeeet.
