Is God Really Good?

[ether-ore]

In Abrahmic Thelogy, scripture shows how the world was MADE and humans MADE in Yahweh's image.

So according to Abrahamic Theology humans where created. Since in Abrahamic Theology humans where made by Yahweh then that means that he did give humans free will and he could have made humans in a way that allowed them to progress to a better state on their own.

Yes, physical bodies were made in God's image for our spirits to inhabit. There is no contradiction here.

 

[Seeker of Ka]

Yes, physical bodies were made in God's image for our spirits to inhabit. There is no contradiction here.

So therefore you are saying that the Phsyical Body which is rudimentary and imperfect was made in Yahweh's images while the supposably immortal spirit that can ascend to a greater state was not?

 

[ether-ore]

So therefore you are saying that the Phsyical Body which is rudimentary and imperfect was made in Yahweh's images while the supposably immortal spirit that can ascend to a greater state was not?

Yes, but the thing is that because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, we will be resurrected just as He was, and our physical bodies will then be immortal and depending on whether or not we repented and kept God's commandments, we may have eternal life as well. I'm saying that we as eternal beings are going through stages of development and progression because of God's love. But, during this progression, God will not violate our agency. What happens to us after mortality is over depends on what we do here.

 

[Madhuri]

That's not a bad idea. The big problem though is the bible was written in ancient times, and as far as I know there is no modernized bible that takes out human sacrifices, stoning, and the like. If there were I might consider reading the old bible and new bible back to back.

Have you considered learning about other religions? Christianity is only a couple thousand years old. It is a relatively young religion compared with many existing religions.

 

[Gharib]

Your argument (OP) is no better than saying that peanuts are evil because some people have allergic reactions to them which could prove fatal to some.

God has given us free will and the freedom to do good and bad. Those who do bad will be punished for that and those who have bad done to them will be compensated for it.

The trials that God sends us range from personal to global, so we see all kinds of hardships and calamities.

 

[viole]

As an atheist many assume that my biggest beef with god is that I don't think he is real. While that has some truth to it, for me, it is just as important if not more so to acknowledge that if god were real, I would think he was a jerk.

And to me that's actually a more tangible thing to argue against theists then the position of him being real or not. In the bible god caused a flood that killed thousands of people, he tested Abraham to kill his son Issac, he takes away everything from Job just to prove a point to Satan.

If god is so good, why didn't he save his chosen people from the holocaust? If god is so good why do life forms have to ingest other life forms to survive? To paraphrase Schopenhauer, compare the feeling of satisfaction of the predator to the agony of the prey. If our species is "so special" to be the only ones to associate with god why are so many animals equipped to kill us in a second notice?

It's these questions that I find to be more interesting then the classic scenarios of, "You can't prove god exists" and the contrasting "You can't prove he doesn't exist."

I don't think He is good because of the problem of evil.
I don't think He is evil because of the problem of good.

Ergo, He is neither good nor evil. Apophatic theology, I guess

Ciao

- viole

 

[Akivah]

Wait... you think that a story where God commands human sacrifice is meant to express that God forbids human sacrifice?

How can it be a commandment when G-d stopped Abraham from doing it?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

How can it be a commandment when G-d stopped Abraham from doing it?

Because he commanded it?

"God said, 'Take your son—your only son, whom you love, Isaac—and go to the land of Moriah! Offer him up there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will indicate to you.'"

... according to the story, anyhow.

Do you think that this was someone else just pretending to be God?

 

[ether-ore]

So therefore you are saying that the Phsyical Body which is rudimentary and imperfect was made in Yahweh's images while the supposably immortal spirit that can ascend to a greater state was not?

I must make a correction to my last response to you for purposes of clarification. What I believe is that there was a time where we existed from all eternity and before God made us His spirit children wherein he gave us His appearance and then we came to inhabit physical bodies which were made in His image.
After this life is over, at some point in the future, we will be resurrected where our spirits and physical bodies will be reunited in immortality; then to be judged according to our works in mortality to determine our eternal status in some sphere of existence.

 

[McDoogins]

Have you considered learning about other religions? Christianity is only a couple thousand years old. It is a relatively young religion compared with many existing religions.

I've looked into Confucianism a little bit. It's alright.

 

[Seeker of Ka]

I must make a correction to my last response to you for purposes of clarification. What I believe is that there was a time where we existed from all eternity and before God made us His spirit children wherein he gave us His appearance and then we came to inhabit physical bodies which were made in His image.
After this life is over, at some point in the future, we will be resurrected where our spirits and physical bodies will be reunited in immortality; then to be judged according to our works in mortality to determine our eternal status in some sphere of existence.

So then humans where created and thus did have a begining, it is just that Human Bodies and Himan Souls where made seperatly.

 

[Seeker of Ka]

I've looked into Confucianism a little bit. It's alright.

Most Eastern Relgions are what we call Philospohies in the West. Confusioninism does not seem to have any theistic concepts so it would make sense that an Aethiest could accept it.

 

[ether-ore]

So then humans where created and thus did have a begining, it is just that Human Bodies and Himan Souls where made seperatly.

In LDS theology, a soul is the spirit and body combined. We have always existed. As to our previous form, I don't really know. The term used to identify that part of us that has always existed without beginning, is "Intelligence". At some point God made us His spirit children and we took on His image and form as spirits. Then, God provided this further opportunity for us to gain physical bodies which are also in His image.

 

[Akivah]

Because he commanded it?

"God said, 'Take your son—your only son, whom you love, Isaac—and go to the land of Moriah! Offer him up there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will indicate to you.'"

... according to the story, anyhow.

And 10 verses later, an angel of G-d said "Do not stretch forth your hand to the lad, nor do the slightest thing to him, for now I know that you are a G-d fearing man, and you did not withhold your son, your only one, from Me."

Do you normally only read one sentence from a story to make conclusions?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

And 10 verses later, an angel of G-d said "Do not stretch forth your hand to the lad, nor do the slightest thing to him, for now I know that you are a G-d fearing man, and you did not withhold your son, your only one, from Me."

Do you normally only read one sentence from a story to make conclusions?

Giving one command and then an opposite command does not mean the first command was not a command.

 

[InsaneChaote]

We both know that he is not real.

But I know that if he was real that he would not be worth worshipping becuase of his evil,

I wouldn't worship him becuase he is a coward who doesn't fight for himself, Satan for the win!

I would not go that far, he seems pretty bad as well.

So what!! Wouldn't we want to live our life with power and freedom than do that pathetic excuse of "living" those christians, jews, and muslims waste their lives with?

 

[Akivah]

Giving one command and then an opposite command does not mean the first command was not a command.

It does show your ignorance of the text. There obviously isn't a commandment from G-d for everyone to kill their sons. Therefore the obvious conclusion is that your understanding of the text is incorrect.

 

[A Vestigial Mote]

I've argued recently in other threads that, if He exists, God's actions are at least "correct" regardless what any of the other beings of the universe think about them. That is - they are correct by definition, because He is God - infinitely capable and knowing, etc. He basically defines "correct".

However, that is entirely different from God being "beneficial" to any particular being. And so, any "good" God supposedly does is completely relative to an individual experiencing whatever it is. Take for instance a claim I heard recently that, upon exiting the grocery store, a Christian friend of mine witnessed the rain halt at exactly the moment they personally walked out the door. This made them happy, and they thanked God for it. However, not as lucky were the 100-200 people who walked out of the store before this person, who were showered with rain unabashedly - and statistically, a percentage of those people were also believers, and a percentage of those believers probably would rather not have been drenched that day.

Personally, I feel it completely warranted to hold to a certain ignorance (as in, a propensity to ignore) of God if you find that belief in Him is in no way beneficial or valuable - which is exactly what I have found. The believers I meet offer me no real understanding of the benefits to be had via a relationship with their deity, and the universe as it stands offers no manifestations of "good" (as it relates to myself) that are uniquely attributable to a supreme power.

If spending my time in reverence to a supposed "God" produces no good for me, then why waste that time?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

It does show your ignorance of the text. There obviously isn't a commandment from G-d for everyone to kill their sons. Therefore the obvious conclusion is that your understanding of the text is incorrect.

Maybe you should try reading for comprehension. Where do you think I said that God commanded this for everyone?

 

[McDoogins]

It would be interesting if you could take away promises of afterlives in peoples religions that have them, and see if those people still believed in their religions without their reward.

This is of course only relating to religions that claim there is an afterlife.