BraddH said:In the end, god is not!
Jealousy is jealousy. He does not like His creatures worshiping false idols any more than (for example) men like playing second fiddle. In any case, my point still stands: He is not perfect. It is a sin for us as humans to be jealous or envious of others, but He Himself has claimed to be a jealous God. Any way you look at it, jealousy is still jealousy, regardless of if He doesn't share the same "petty, self-serving" jealousy that we do.Atom Smasher said:He doesn't have the same petty, self-serving jealousy that we humans display. He states He is a jealous God within the context of not accepting idolatry (his creatures making up their own, imaginary god).
Mankind naturally dislikes answering to a higher moral authority and therefore, in order to assuage their guilt, they make up imaginary gods that make them feel good. "gods" carved out of wood are just as insulting to God as "gods" carved out of men's imaginations.
Therefore He declares that He is a jealous God, not putting up with idolatry.
Exactly. I've made that clear several times.Danger said:You wanting my opinion on it so that you can further debate shows that you are not looking for knowledge, but moreso looking to debate.
This is a discussion/debate with people who believe in the Bible and those who do not. Therefore, do not both sides have an argument? And if so, doesn't that, by your own admission, still make it a cop-out?Danger said:You suggest using an unknown as a refutation to an argument is a cop-out. I say using the unknown to refute an argument is only a cop-out if one side is looking for an argument.
I realize that my original question rests on the premise that God's number one goal is to satisfy humanity. That's what I meant by all-loving. I even stated this in the OP, that I assumed God is all-loving and all-knowing, and that if anyone disagrees with this to bring it up... because it invalidates the question.Danger said:Like it or not, you have to recognize that your entire argument rests on the premise that God's number one goal is for humans to be perfectly happy with no problems whatsoever. You then use this assumption in an attempt to disprove God. That is one very large assumption for you to make.
I gave you a reasonable answer. Your argument is based on the presumption you know what God wants......I point this out and then you in turn want me to give a presumption based on no evidence whatsoever.
Instead of trying to disprove God (which we simply cannot do), I recommend you use this information to say "If there is a God, what is he trying to accomplish".
Who said the point was to "win". Debate is like a game. Sure, some play games to win. But others play for enjoyment and the fun of it.taiyuu_otoko said:You can go round and round for days, thinking you've "won" because the other side hasn't "proven" their point.
But casting people into Hell to be tormented forever, because they rejected God, is love?Fatal Jay said:Forcing someone to do something is not love.
Isn't that like saying the reason the mechanic destroyed his car was so that he could fix it?Eph said:Allowing evil to exist allows us as humans to continue to evolve (spiritually and morally). It is the bad in life that makes us grow. For example, most of us on this site are here for a variety of reasons: bad breakup, bad with women, etc. The good that came from it, isn't that we are now (or becoming) good with women. Its the fact that we won't allow ourselves to be disrespected, put down, taken advantage of, etc.
Keep in mind: I'm taking about the Christian God here, Yahweh. And logically speaking, basing my arguments on the Bible, I think it is possible to disprove his existence... or at best, prove that he is hypocritical and irrational. But isn't that proof for his non-existence? That he doesn't make sense? If he's a supreme being, why does he act like an infant a lot of the time when the average person would know better?Danger said:The first rules we have to understand about God, whether we believe in him or not, is to know that it is impossible to prove or disprove God. That is why it is called "faith".
Again, we're basing these arguments off of the depiction of Yahweh in the Bible, not "the" actual God or creator, if there is one. And reading the Bible, it seems pretty clear that Yahweh implies he wants what's best for humanity.Danger said:Often enough humans cannot even tell what other humans want, why would we be any more successful and saying what God wants?
That's probably the thing that turned me off Christianity years ago. The character of Yahweh does not match up to the intelligence level one would expect from a supreme being. In fact, his actions demonstrate that he's not very bright, less bright, in fact, than an average human. Thus, this thread.Danger said:The best evidence we have is in looking around us to see what is going on in the world, with the Bible being an addition to our reasoning. We must judge God's desires much like we judge women, first look at reality, and then read the book. But in the end, we have to know that we can neither prove nor disprove God.
DoubleBarrel said:It looks like this thread actually died out without being locked. Not bad. Perhaps I'll revive it and see what happens.
Keep in mind: I'm taking about the Christian God here, Yahweh. And logically speaking, basing my arguments on the Bible, I think it is possible to disprove his existence... or at best, prove that he is hypocritical and irrational. But isn't that proof for his non-existence? That he doesn't make sense? If he's a supreme being, why does he act like an infant a lot of the time when the average person would know better?
But I agree with you. If there is a god or creator, it's impossible to prove or disprove its existence -- at least at this time. Things could change in the future though; either divine intervention with the entire population of the world as its witness or concrete evidence as to how the universe actually started (if it indeed had a beginning).
Again, we're basing these arguments off of the depiction of Yahweh in the Bible, not "the" actual God or creator, if there is one. And reading the Bible, it seems pretty clear that Yahweh implies he wants what's best for humanity.
That's probably the thing that turned me off Christianity years ago. The character of Yahweh does not match up to the intelligence level one would expect from a supreme being. In fact, his actions demonstrate that he's not very bright, less bright, in fact, than an average human. Thus, this thread.
Isn't that proof of Yahweh's non-existence? How can a normal human be more intelligent or understanding than a supposedly all-knowing god? How can the created be brighter than the creator, when we can't even create life ourselves?
Doesn't that indicate that Yahweh is the creation of ancient men lacking in understanding?
Because of this, I sometimes wonder if the remaining religions will be the last ones. With technology today, it's much more difficult to fabricate stories. Inventing stories about men walking around performing miracles or a man flying up to heaven on a winged horse would never fly today.Warrior74 said:Amazing that miracles stopped happening after photography and film and UFO sightings dropped after every one [started] having a cell phone on their hip.
If you want to talk, talk to your friends. If you want a girl to like you, listen to her, ask questions, and act like you are on the edge of your seat.
Quote taken from The SoSuave Guide to Women and Dating, which you can read for FREE.
Well I'm here to tell you there is such a magic wand. Something that will make you almost completely irresistible to any woman you "point it" at. Something guaranteed to fill your life with love, romance, and excitement.
Quote taken from The SoSuave Guide to Women and Dating, which you can read for FREE.
Well I'm here to tell you there is such a magic wand. Something that will make you almost completely irresistible to any woman you "point it" at. Something guaranteed to fill your life with love, romance, and excitement.
Quote taken from The SoSuave Guide to Women and Dating, which you can read for FREE.