About a deity full of love and compassion

[Skeptisch]

With the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in mind, how can anyone believe that s/he exists? What more evidence do we need before we start using a little critical thinking on the whole notion of a lovable God? Or maybe the Japanese people have not prayed enough, or maybe not to the right God?

 

[Sunstone]

What do you mean the Japanese people have not prayed to the right god? There are 10 million kami in Japan -- surely at least one of them is the right god.

 

[Sunstone]

With the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in mind, how can anyone believe that s/he exists? What more evidence do we need before we start using a little critical thinking on the whole notion of a lovable God? Or maybe the Japanese people have not prayed enough, or maybe not to the right God?

There is evil in this world.
Therefore, either the gods do not exist,
Or the gods exist but, for one reason or another, allow evil to exist too.

Here's the classic formulation of the Problem of Evil, though:

"Is God able to prevent evil, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is God neither willing nor able to prevent evil? Then why call him God?"

 

[Thief]

With the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in mind, how can anyone believe that s/he exists? What more evidence do we need before we start using a little critical thinking on the whole notion of a lovable God? Or maybe the Japanese people have not prayed enough, or maybe not to the right God?

Or maybe human life depends upon the churning of the earth.

At some point the forces at play will peak....in tight locations.
That humans happen to be living too close is God's fault?

I think He knew....from the beginning.... that being mortal....is fatal.

Put life into a churning mix of forces and people will die.

But without the chaotic upheavals the mix of chemistry won't happen.
Life won't take hold.
To keep it going...the storms must continue.
That includes turbulence of air, water, and earth.

 

[PolyHedral]

That humans happen to be living too close is God's fault?

If God is loving, God is at fault if He does nothing.

being mortal....is fatal.

:clap

But without the chaotic upheavals the mix of chemistry won't happen.
Life won't take hold.
To keep it going...the storms must continue.
That includes turbulence of air, water, and earth.

But life does not depend on geology. A lack of tectonic plates would have had very little effect on life evolving on Earth.

 

[Skeptisch]

What do you mean the Japanese people have not prayed to the right god? There are 10 million kami in Japan -- surely at least one of them is the right god.

The “kami-versions” seem to make more sense than abrahamic kind. Don’t you think?

 

[Thief]

If God is loving, God is at fault if He does nothing.

:clap

And the misconception continues....here you go.

God is God.
He gives life...He is willing to stand back and watch you die.
The love you question is yours to have for the asking.
But you're still going to die.

But life does not depend on geology. A lack of tectonic plates would have had very little effect on life evolving on Earth.

You last statement clearly shows...you're not really thinking about it.

 

[ellenjanuary]

But life does not depend on geology. A lack of tectonic plates would have had very little effect on life evolving on Earth.

Here's one: New Research: The Planet's Tectonics Triggered Human Evolution

 

[Skeptisch]

If God is loving, God is at fault if He does nothing.

:foryou:

 

[ellenjanuary]

First of all, I got no problem with people hating on religion; I do it myself. The problem I have with "evil" is mathematical. Take a yardstick, call it "eternity," and try to find the measurement of a human lifetime...

It ain't there.

 

[Skeptisch]

The OP is wondering about a loving God or Gods. Here is a bit about the one in the Old Testament.

"The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully."
Richard Dawkins

 

[Breathe]

I'm surprised nobody has said "plate tectonics" yet.

Why do you automatically assume a loving God has the power, though? Do benevolence and strength go hand in hand?

My view of God must be weird, lol.

 

[Renji]

With the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in mind, how can anyone believe that s/he exists? What more evidence do we need before we start using a little critical thinking on the whole notion of a lovable God? Or maybe the Japanese people have not prayed enough, or maybe not to the right God?

Or is it more feasible to say that Japan belongs to the countries on the pacific ring of fire and the fact that Japan oftentimes experience earthquakes, hence, the tsunami occurred?

 

[Penumbra]

First of all, I got no problem with people hating on religion; I do it myself. The problem I have with "evil" is mathematical. Take a yardstick, call it "eternity," and try to find the measurement of a human lifetime...

It ain't there.

I agree with that.

But have you heard the starfish story? I see it online a lot, and apparently it was inspired by Loren Eiseley.
Source for this particular version:
A Single Starfish by Loren Eisley - From All Creatures Animal Stories, love, compassion, hearts, souls, spirits, funny, happy, sad, relationships, people, animals, animal rights, Jewish, Christian, Lord, God, Jesus, Christ, Holy Spirit, cruelty free,

One day an old man was walking along the beach. It was low tide, and the sand was littered with thousands of stranded starfish that the water had carried in and then left behind. The man began walking very carefully so as not to step on any of the beautiful creatures. Since the animals still seemed to be alive, he considered picking some of them up and putting them back in the water, where they could resume their lives.

The man knew the starfish would die if left on the beach's dry sand but he reasoned that he could not possibly help them all, so he chose to do nothing and continued walking.

Soon afterward, the man came upon a small child on the beach who was frantically throwing one starfish after another back into the sea. The old man stopped and asked the child, "What are you doing?"
"I'm saving the starfish," the child replied.
"Why waste your time?... There are so many you can't save them all so what does is matter?" argued the man.

Without hesitation, the child picked up another starfish and tossed the starfish back into the water... "It matters to this one," the child explained.



In other words, while each life may be unimportant on the cosmic scale, it has very real significance to that being. Suffering is very real and terrible for the individual that undergoes it, regardless of whether it has any scale at all compared to the age of the universe. Each person in Japan who was seriously affected by the earthquake is suffering right now, and each of them matter.

 

[PolyHedral]

First of all, I got no problem with people hating on religion; I do it myself. The problem I have with "evil" is mathematical. Take a yardstick, call it "eternity," and try to find the measurement of a human lifetime...

It ain't there.

But then we multiply by an infinite ability to multi-task.

 

[Willamena]

With the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in mind, how can anyone believe that s/he exists?

I'm sorry, I have to say: I think that's a strange question, coming from a pantheist.

As "love" and "tsunami" are both phenomena that exist, I don't see a problem with it.

 

[ellenjanuary]

In other words, while each life may be unimportant on the cosmic scale, it has very real significance to that being. Suffering is very real and terrible for the individual that undergoes it, regardless of whether it has any scale at all compared to the age of the universe. Each person in Japan who was seriously affected by the earthquake is suffering right now, and each of them matter.

And the god of love is reflected in the compassion of the atheist.

It's not about one life being unimportant in a cosmic scale, it's about an eternal love trumping worldly misery. If this unimportant life was to be filled with misery and suffering by the turning of the wheel of fortune, it would not cause me to hate on god. Heck, the foundations of "my Gwynnies" as religious insight were forged in the fires of five solid months of a ridiculous toothache...

But I'm biased. I have been to the threshold of eternity; not only have I talked the talk, I've walked the walk. It is a measure of my compassion that others who claim to speak of "a god of love" may have walked a similar path.

And what do I know of starfish? Could be like those turtles, crawl up on the beach to lay their eggs; tossing them back into the sea could actually be breaking the cycle of life.

 

[waitasec]

You last statement clearly shows...you're not really thinking about it.

why...?
it is an obvious question...unless you agree god is not a loving god.

 

[PolyHedral]

Here's one: New Research: The Planet's Tectonics Triggered Human Evolution

OK, it might have had a lot of effect on what form life takes, but isn't God doing the magic poofing anyway?

He is willing to stand back and watch you die.

Then how is he loving?

 

[Caladan]

With the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in mind, how can anyone believe that s/he exists? What more evidence do we need before we start using a little critical thinking on the whole notion of a lovable God? Or maybe the Japanese people have not prayed enough, or maybe not to the right God?

I think we can all wise up if we read what the Hebrew scripture taught the Jews.
Their scriptures taught them that god is a terrible god and that vengeance is his. Hebrew scribes, who after seeing the foreign and strange costumes of other people asked their god to make the mountains smoke, as their scriptures document for us.
This poses a rather more mature approach to a relationship with god. namely what do you allow yourself to believe about such a god, what is it that you worship? are you worshipping a god of compassion and unconditional love which vintage new age periods have produced for you right out of a business of charlatans? do you believe that god will be concerned specifically with your own salvation in light of such dramatic events in our days, the so called modern days?
do you believe worship is of any value?

I don't know about the rest of you. but I would believe that the field of geophysics and seismographs would be much more valuable than going to service and praying to a god who has been observing your every move just in order to execute final judgement over you.