WHY does God fail to... (page 5)

Simon

Hi Katchoo
I will check the Database to see if it's got lost somewhere. I haven't deleted it (honest).

I agree that this is an interesting subject and it has been an interesting discussion. I cannot but feel that some very important elements of this whole (what shall I call it, project? Affair? Experiment?) business are missing. I can't help but feel that if the account of the Garden of Eden is a literal account and not an analogy then there are some critical elements that have been witheld from us.
The illustration that the Society once gave about why God permitted wickedness seems absurd to me. Do ya'll remember it? It's the one about how if a neighbor accuses you of not being a good father and husband that instead of retaliating with violence it would be 'better' to let your family speak for itself in refuting the false charge. On the surface that sounds very noble but that is not what happened!
A more accurate illustration of what has happened would be instead of telling your neigbor to mind his own business or just plain ignore him, you invite him into your household instead and allow him to rape, plunder, and murder your family just to prove that you are better than him.
Like I said, some pieces of the puzzle are missing here.

Roamingfeline

A more accurate illustration of what has happened would be instead of telling your neigbor to mind his own business or just plain ignore him, you invite him into your household instead and allow him to rape, plunder, and murder your family just to prove that you are better than him.
Like I said, some pieces of the puzzle are missing here.

Great point, Frenchy!!!

Yes, the God I was taught about all these years only strikes fear of death into mankind. And something just doesn't wash. It was one of the most disturbing things, in my mind, to have to feel the God you've been taught to worship is spiteful and mean-spirited. Couple that with the blinking light of the Organization, and it makes you wonder why there are so many followers, huh?

Edited by - Roamingfeline on 12 June 2000 8:44:48

katchoo

since my other posts have disappeared (probably my comp..) I guess I will restate what I tried to say before...

This is a topic I have thought about for years... the inconsistencies in the way "God" has acted through the centuries, as portrayed in the Bible...
Ok, I am going out on a limb here. What if instead of the Bible being "God's Word" with HIM telling us what happened and why, what if the Bible was written in EXPLANATION? I mean, what if someone said for example "Oh why was there this horrible flood and only one family survived?!" And someone thought for a minute and replied "Because God was angry at the rest of the world and so destroyed all but the faithful."

No one could argue with that explanation, and over the years it could easily be accepted as divine fact. It is much easier to attribute things we don't understand to a higher power that to sheer accident.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying there isn't a God or that the Bible is all wrong, I am just saying that it's an interesting thought (to me anyway.)

--B.

Roamingfeline

Good point, Kachoo. Why do we always have to think "inside the box"? I see nothing wrong with considering an entirely different set of explanations for things being the way they are. It beats thinking that God is a vengeful, selfish, spiteful, menace, wouldn't you agree?