Is there a God?

[Neutraligon]

How so?

I never claimed God was perfect. In fact, he kind of wasn't, at least in the Old Testament.

Sorry let me change that, Marx was not the omni-god described by many Christians.

[Jedi Council]

Whether god exists or not the interpretations of the bible are certainly interesting. That being said, considering there are so many interpretations God does seem to have an issue with getting his message across, almost as if the god doesn't exist.

Well, I mean, so did Marx, and I'm 95% sure he was a real guy.

Maybe that's because we have his photograph, and many independent attestation that he did in fact exist.

[Neutraligon]

Also, guess heaven either does not exist, or is a bad thing. Finally, apparently Adam and Eve did not have free will before they ate the fruit since they had no suffering.

They did have free will. They created suffering using their free will.

That contradicts your earlier claim. If they had free will and where able to live in a place without suffering then removing suffering from the world would have no effect on your free will, yet you claimed it would.

[Atheris]

Well, I mean, so did Marx, and I'm 95% sure he was a real guy.

Maybe that's because we have his photograph, and many independent attestation that he did in fact exist.

That's... not the point I was trying to make, but go off, I guess.

[Sundiata]

How so?

I never claimed God was perfect. In fact, he kind of wasn't, at least in the Old Testament.

God has always been perfect, even when acting in his capacity as the Father.

[Neanderthaland]

"and appeared to many people."

Read your Bible.

Not all people, I've read my bible. It was a largely isolated incident. However remarkable.

Careful now, it's a sin to lie.

Nothing in the Bible suggests that it was a "largely isolated incident." The only qualifiers the Bible gives about scale are "many." It says this twice. Both about the number of people who were risen, and the number of witnesses.

You should feel ashamed for misrepresenting the Bible.

[Jedi Council]

Maybe that's because we have his photograph, and many independent attestation that he did in fact exist.

That's... not the point I was trying to make, but go off, I guess.

Well the point you were trying to make was fairly silly.

[Atheris]

I never claimed God was perfect. In fact, he kind of wasn't, at least in the Old Testament.

God has always been perfect, even when acting in his capacity as the Father.

If God was a sentient being, which it is assumed that he is, then I don't see how it's possible for the Lord to be perfect. The Lord was prone to extreme anger and overreaction at times, just like human beings.

[Jedi Council]

I never claimed God was perfect. In fact, he kind of wasn't, at least in the Old Testament.

God has always been perfect, even when acting in his capacity as the Father.

If your Father is repeatedly committing genocide, perhaps you need to sue for emancipation

[Sundiata]

Not all people, I've read my bible. It was a largely isolated incident. However remarkable.

Careful now, it's a sin to lie.

Nothing in the Bible suggests that it was a "largely isolated incident." The only qualifiers the Bible gives about scale are "many." It says this twice. Both about the number of people who were risen, and the number of witnesses.

You should feel ashamed for misrepresenting the Bible.

This clearly was an isolated incident unique to Jerusalem. The scale "many" is not arbitrary.

[Neanderthaland]

I didn't ask him to remove all suffering. I asked him to remove the suffering of caterpillars. Which is totally irrelevant to the human experience, and clearly not necessary for humans to have free will.

I don't have an explanation for the caterpillars themselves. It is the result of human actions, but that doesn't seem just either.

It is not the result of human actions. It couldn't possibly be. Humans don't have the capability to produce parasitic wasps.

But even if we were to assume that humans could be responsible (we're not), why doesn't God, out of mercy, remedy this? Is he not able?

[Genivaria]

Also, guess heaven either does not exist, or is a bad thing. Finally, apparently Adam and Eve did not have free will before they ate the fruit since they had no suffering.

They did have free will. They created suffering using their free will.

I would love to know how Adam and Eve's 'free will' created suffering for caterpillars of all things.

[Neanderthaland]

Careful now, it's a sin to lie.

Nothing in the Bible suggests that it was a "largely isolated incident." The only qualifiers the Bible gives about scale are "many." It says this twice. Both about the number of people who were risen, and the number of witnesses.

You should feel ashamed for misrepresenting the Bible.

This clearly was an isolated incident unique to Jerusalem. The scale "many" is not arbitrary.

Jerusalem is a big city, with lots of people who could read and write. And this is the sort of event that, if remarkable, would have been written down by someone.

No one did.

[Estanglia]

I don't know if there is a God. There are so many different interpretations, and none of them have any particularly strong evidence behind them to me, that picking one to say "yep this is the God that exists" would be pointless and foolish.

Whether god exists or not the interpretations of the bible are certainly interesting. That being said, considering there are so many interpretations God does seem to have an issue with getting his message across, almost as if the god doesn't exist.

The issue with the message is not God's, it's ours.

If your message can be so muddled that there's several major different interpretations of your message, plus god knows how many smaller interpretations there are, plus a significant chunk of humanity that doesn't believe any of these interpretations, either humanity is supremely incapable of understanding the message, or God's message is not clear enough.

Either way, some clarifying from God wouldn't hurt.

[Sundiata]

God has always been perfect, even when acting in his capacity as the Father.

If your Father is repeatedly committing genocide, perhaps you need to sue for emancipation

False equivalency, God directly causing life to cease is not the same as when a human being kills or murders.

[Atheris]

That's... not the point I was trying to make, but go off, I guess.

Well the point you were trying to make was fairly silly.

That the interpretation of important political and cultural manifestos changes over time?

[Nevertopia]

Without using religious dogma, can one even claim that God exists? If so, which God is it?

[Neutraligon]

Well the point you were trying to make was fairly silly.

That the interpretation of important political and cultural manifestos changes over time?

Which should not happen if certain interpretations of the bible are true (like the one where god is perfect).

[Jedi Council]

If your Father is repeatedly committing genocide, perhaps you need to sue for emancipation

False equivalency, God directly causing life to cease is not the same as when a human being kills or murders.

Yes, yes it is.

[Neutraligon]

If your Father is repeatedly committing genocide, perhaps you need to sue for emancipation

False equivalency, God directly causing life to cease is not the same as when a human being kills or murders.

I see no difference between the 2.

[Sundiata]

This clearly was an isolated incident unique to Jerusalem. The scale "many" is not arbitrary.

Jerusalem is a big city, with lots of people who could read and write. And this is the sort of event that, if remarkable, would have been written down by someone.

No one did.

Not necessarily, there is much about Christ's life that was documented and much that wasn't. Fortunately for us, we have what we have. Also, literacy was hardly high.

[Necroghastia]

I never claimed God was perfect. In fact, he kind of wasn't, at least in the Old Testament.

God has always been perfect, even when acting in his capacity as the Father.

So, it is "perfect" to be jealous and kill children?

[Tea Chuggers]

Hey, mod, since you're still here and all is there a way I can unfollow this topic so it doesn't show up on my ego search? BTW, necroghastia, 60% of trans women are lesbians, it's pretty much the default; only 15% are straight. No need to have both in your flag IMO.

[Neanderthaland]

Jerusalem is a big city, with lots of people who could read and write. And this is the sort of event that, if remarkable, would have been written down by someone.

No one did.

Not necessarily, there is much about Christ's life that was documented and much that wasn't.

This has nothing to do with Christ's life. This is an occurrence that every day people with no connection to Christ would have noticed. The Romans would have noticed. The Greeks would have noticed. And everyone would have talked about.

Fortunately for us, we have what we have. Also, literacy was hardly high.

This would be more convincing if Jerusalem wasn't the heart of literate Judaism, and a Roman provincial capital with many literate officials and bureaucrats. It's estimated by Josephus that there were 6000 literate Pharisees in the city at the time. Josephus also compiled a history of the region at the time, and it seems like a very peculiar detail for him to have missed.

[Neutraligon]

Hey, mod, since you're still here and all is there a way I can unfollow this topic so it doesn't show up on my ego search? BTW, necroghastia, 60% of trans women are lesbians, it's pretty much the default; only 15% are straight. No need to have both in your flag IMO.

As far as I am aware there is no way to remove them.