God: The Great Tempter

[Simon Moon]

I always thought it meant to lead us away from temptation.  Remember we're translating Greek and they didn't always put things exactly as we do in English.

Seems "God" isn't too smart, then.

Believers claim he wants us to have a relationship with him, yet he goes pretty far out of his way to make sure his word is about as far from being reliable as possible. 

He inspires his followers to wait at least 70 years, or more, to write down his word, in dead languages, sure to be susceptible to: misinterpretation, edited, have passages added, copy errors made, entire texts left out, etc.

So, not only are there thousands of Christian sects, many with major doctrinal differences (caused by these different interpretations), but the texts actually seem to look (to those of us from the outside of the belief system) very much like other ancient texts, now considered mythology.  

Seems pretty short sighted of your god.

[Rhondazvous]

Leading someone into temptation. Sure, he puts the tree where you can reach it. he just doesn't put it in your hands. Of course he'll kill you for stepping out of line, and his followers will do their best to convince you it's only your fault.

Actually, that's not true.  He doesn't kill us for stepping out of line.  He leads us to his son, who has paid the penalty for us stepping out of line.

If your god had not put the tree in the garden in the first place and deprived Adam from the knowledge that what he was doing was evil, there would be no need for god's so called son.

Think of a doctor who gives you something to make you sick, then expects you to feel grateful when he gives you something to cure the sickness he caused.

[ignoramus]

Deep down, you really didn't expect a sensible answer did you?

[Lek]

I always thought it meant to lead us away from temptation.  Remember we're translating Greek and they didn't always put things exactly as we do in English.

Seems "God" isn't too smart, then.

Believers claim he wants us to have a relationship with him, yet he goes pretty far out of his way to make sure his word is about as far from being reliable as possible. 

He inspires his followers to wait at least 70 years, or more, to write down his word, in dead languages, sure to be susceptible to: misinterpretation, edited, have passages added, copy errors made, entire texts left out, etc.

So, not only are there thousands of Christian sects, many with major doctrinal differences (caused by these different interpretations), but the texts actually seem to look (to those of us from the outside of the belief system) very much like other ancient texts, now considered mythology.  

Seems pretty short sighted of your god.

Seems that way, but it's worked rather well over time.

[Lek]

Actually, that's not true.  He doesn't kill us for stepping out of line.  He leads us to his son, who has paid the penalty for us stepping out of line.

If your god had not put the tree in the garden in the first place and deprived Adam from the knowledge that what he was doing was evil, there would be no need for god's so called son.

Think of a doctor who gives you something to make you sick, then expects you to feel grateful when he gives you something to cure the sickness he caused.

Depends on how he wants to form us to be ready for eternity.

[Rhondazvous]

And that's supposed to be better? Either way his idea of a solution to a problem is something dying.

I think it's good that Jesus died to take care of it.

I generally stay away from people who think it's good when somebody dies.

[Lek]

I think it's good that Jesus died to take care of it.

I generally stay away from people who think it's good when somebody dies.

If I give my life to save a group of people is that bad?

[Wyrd of Gawd]

Leading someone into temptation. Sure, he puts the tree where you can reach it. he just doesn't put it in your hands. Of course he'll kill you for stepping out of line, and his followers will do their best to convince you it's only your fault.

Actually, that's not true.  He doesn't kill us for stepping out of line.  He leads us to his son, who has paid the penalty for us stepping out of line.

Who pays the penalty when God succumbs to our temptations?

[Cecelia]

Seems that way, but it's worked rather well over time.

Has it?

Let's say you die, and when you die you find that it's not the God you worshiped but a different god entirely.  Vishnu, Zeus, Odin, or one of the other Pagan Gods?  At that moment, would you still feel it worked?

[brewer]

Hold the phone. In the beginning there was only god so god made everything including temptation. That later became know as satan (at least in part). so god is purposefully fucking with people and saying that's it not him/her/it, it's thsi satan character. Then god sends a a half god/halt human that when it dies only forgives the result of temptation (sin). If he/she/it wasn't a complete and total ass why didn't the death remove the cause instead of giving a cure?

Thanks Rhonda for the doc analogy.