AKJ,
We have all suffered great indignities from LIES. You've shared a bit of your own personal hell on other threads, I'll not repeat them here, but we all have similar experiences. My dear cousin recently died, no one even called me. My aunt we visited regularly in a nursing home, was in hospice for 3 weeks dying. No one let us know so that we could say goodbye. These are minor sufferings compared to the many that have died due to lies like blood issues, suicides from believing that they are "acquitted" of sin at death, imprisoned for false biblical exegesis on military/government service etc... not to mention all the other living hells due to other lies.
Recently a global hoax called Climategate was nearly perpetrated on the whole planet to steal money from regular folks. Scientists flat out lied.
Not discounting your own personal suffering, suffering is a fact of life. We can't do anything about that.
We can however choose how we are going to deal with suffering. We can choose to be a victim, or we can chose victory over suffering through Christ:
Phil. 3: Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Christians have made friends with suffering. It is a brotherhood of suffering. Our blood-covenant that we enter into requires it as when we die. We conqueor and defeat suffering just like Christ did. And, are generally quite happy to do so. It feels good to be a victor rather than a victum. This is not an illusion. There is great peace in the way of the cross.
Jesus spent his 33 year career contributing to the peace of others. On that you apparently agree. But do you also believe his assertions that he was the Alpha and Omega Himself like he said in Revelation? And "God manifest in the flesh" in another place? How can you reconcile the apparent non-involvment of the Father you perceive with the tender compassion of the Son....healing the sick, being kind to the outcasts etc.
The historical facts show that we are not good. We DO NOT want God. We do not want to trust in him that he knows best and that things will work out OK. The final piece of evidence to this charge that God has levied against us was acted out up on Calvary Hill when Jew and Gentile, friend and foe forsake him...all left him. We are not good.
Now, if I happened upon a person injured, who wanted to kill me....I might just as well leave him alone. Do you understand the logic in this? However, if I thought he might be rehabilitated and that he might not want to kill me...I might help him. Either way, I am under NO moral obligation to help an enemy who seeks my death.
MAN DOES NOT WANT GOD. However, God has shown kindness to his enemies. He makes the sun shine and the rain come upon all. He has also provided, at great cost to himself, a way to rehabilitate his ememies if they want it ...... through the re-birth where man is given a new spirit. This is not a metaphor...it is very real. "He is a new creation".
We expect 'God's children' to act, not passively pass by and ignore. Why should God not act? Yet he doesn't.
True. God's children are under obligation to show mercy to others because (1) we are just as guilty as the next person and (2) God has shown mercy to us. God is under no such obligation.
On your 2nd charge, God has acted, you just refuse to recognize it. Should not the God of the universe also be the Judge? God judged man as depraved when we killed him. Also, those that put faith in him take advantage of His offer to take our punishment due us in our place, from the cross. Contrary to not acting as you assert....that is the ultimate act of kindness.
When children are far better than the Father - I can't find any good reason to claim him as Father.
Again, God is not your Father. He wasn't your father when you worked for the Watchtower, he wasn't your father when you left, he is not your father now, he NEVER WAS YOUR FATHER, or anyone elses for that matter from birth. You are not good, neither am I or is anyone else. We are God's enemy by nature. The sooner you get that, the sooner you'll be able to allow God to lift you out of your pit of despair, by giving you a new nature....One that is more agreeable to Him, to you, and to everyone else.
