(December 1, 2015 at 2:04 pm)Chad32 Wrote: Discussion something of god is like discussion something of vampires. No one has ever been able to produce one, so debates on what a vampire is, what it can do, what it likes and doesn't like, and so forth don't really go anywhere conclusive. Or I guess you could say it's like talking about Vishnu, since that's a god of an older active religion. Man's religious table is all we have to talk about when it comes to gods.Interesting thoughts...
Really? I seem to have gotten a different conclusion after reading the same book. Imagine that.
I don't think of it as punishing my dad by keeping him at arm's length. I just think of it as him failing where my other family members sicceeded. It's not like I never got into an argument with my other relative, but I don't hate them.
He does seem to treat my neices better than he treats me, and also seems to want to pretend he was never abusive towards me. Not that he's ever apologized for it. Like the difference between the OT and the NT. Yahweh/Jesus never apologize for what happened in the OT. He just acts a bit nicer and hopes we won't care about the old laws now that he's changed his mind. I'm not highly impressed with either of them on this.
Unlike god when I forgive someone for doing wrong against me, I don't also tell them they need to be my indentured servant.
I can look at the world and say that modern science has made developed countries a better place than before. How many people do you personally know that have smallpox or polio? The worst places in the world are places like North Korea or Saudi Arabia. Dictatorships and theocracies. The farther we get from religion and dictators, the better off we are.
There are a lot better examples of power corrupting than the example you give. Like if I beat him half to death after giving me lip because I told him no. You have a story in the bible where Yahweh has a man killed for picking up sticks on the wrong day of the week. that's about as petty as it gets.
Religion is the only reference point we have for gods. People who search for a higher power are much more likely to pick the one from the culture surrounding them than they are to join one from a different culture. It's not that Indians are really getting signs from Vishnu, and Americans are really getting signs from Jesus. It all stems from Human culture.
Let me know when/if you actually address the points i made. I'm not looking to start a new conversation.
