(March 24, 2015 at 4:47 pm)Rekeisha Wrote: As a Christian I think it is very dangerous to pick and choose from the bible because, you are correct Mental Outlaw, the New Testament is dependent upon the Old Testament and God hasn't changed from one testament to the other. I would like to ask all of you a question. Do you not pick and choose as an atheist? You say God is evil but where are you getting your standard for what is evil? I can say something is evil because I have an absolute standard on what I base evil off of which is God and what He says about himself. So where are you getting you standard of evil from?
When told that a book is inerrant, it's natural to point out the parts that aren't. When told that god is all good, it's natural to point out when his behavior is otherwise. That's not picking and choosing, that's demonstrating that those claims are false.
I get my standard of evil from empathy, reason, and my cultural background. I decide if people are evil or not based on thier actions not what they say about themselves. Hitler had a high opinion of his own morality. Does that make him a good man? The god of the OT commits genocide regularly, accepts the sacrifice of young woman, kills babies for the sins of their fathers, and his first comandment is that he be placed above all else. So what the Bible tells me about god's actions demonstrates that god has little reason or empathy, and that the cultural background of those that made him up was brutal. The god of the NT believes that bloodletting is the only cure for sin, punishes people eternally for not believing in him, suggests people hate their families, and speaks in riddles. He's evil too, but the culture that made him up wasn't quite so brutal.
If there is a god, I want to believe that there is a god. If there is not a god, I want to believe that there is no god.
