Problems with Belief when it comes to a Christian and Islamic God...

[gnostic]

I truly find that belief in the God of Christianity and Islam to be odd.

Both systems of belief believe that God wanted to save everyone...or at least save who want to be saved, and punish those who sin or don't believe in him. Those that are saved go to paradise and those who don't, end up in hell - the whole "afterlife" shebang.

He is supposedly all-powerful and all-knowing and eternal.

With tens or even hundreds of millions praying everyday, at different times of the days (remember, there's time zones), and with hundreds of thousands if not millions of people dying each year, then God would have to listen to all these prayers and to judge each soul after have died.

God being eternal and being outside of time and all, where do God have anything else to do, other than listening to prayers, and judging and sentencing each soul to destined afterlife?

This has to be time-consuming, not to mention a very boring job to do.

In the real world, each court, especially in big cities, have bus-loads of bus-load of cases to be heard, and they all required for each case to be reviewed and processed before any hearing, and if necessarily trials.

Don't God have better things to do with his time than judging souls or listening to prayers?

Perhaps, 1400 or 2000 years back, the world population was probably much smaller than today. But now with population heading towards 6 billion people, I don't see how God could really spend so much of his time with humans.

Both the Qur'an and bible make God out as someone who play at being personal confessor, judge and creator, and that's what make both Christianity and Islam such ridiculous religions.

What's your 2-cent about this?

 

[Quintessence]

Things I tend to keep in mind about classical monotheism:

• It makes very little sense to presume that a classical monotheist god-concept will be comprehensible to extraordinarily limited and finite human minds
• In some respects, the god-concept of classical monotheism strikes me as deliberately obtuse to evoke a sense of the numinous and emphasize our limitations as humans
• It is very important to distinguish between what people say about a deity and what the deity actually is, or to not confuse the map with the territory (honestly, this one applies beyond classical monotheism)
  • Individual worshipers of a deity are free to use whatever map of the territory they want, regardless of whether or not others like it or if it is sensible to outsiders
• I don't really care, because I'm a polytheist/pantheist/animist, not a classical monotheist, and I'll leave them to sort out their own theological conundrums

 

[Deidre]

My ''two cents'' is that the Bible is a very limited book, and one can easily get tripped up in using it as more than a guide to introducing the concept of a deity, of a triune deity. But, when one has an experience of faith, it changes everything, and the book doesn't suddenly become logical, but you no longer desire to make it fit your own logic.

 

[gnostic]

But, when one has an experience of faith, it changes everything, and the book doesn't suddenly become logical, but you no longer desire to make it fit your own logic.

Now that's sound terribly disturbing.

 

[Noa]

I know of no Christians who would describe their god in the way you have. It is difficult to have a conversation about the topic when you have presented such a specific and odd depiction.

 

[Desert Snake]

I truly find that belief in the God of Christianity and Islam to be odd.

Both systems of belief believe that God wanted to save everyone...or at least save who want to be saved, and punish those who sin or don't believe in him. Those that are saved go to paradise and those who don't, end up in hell - the whole "afterlife" shebang.

He is supposedly all-powerful and all-knowing and eternal.

With tens or even hundreds of millions praying everyday, at different times of the days (remember, there's time zones), and with hundreds of thousands if not millions of people dying each year, then God would have to listen to all these prayers and to judge each soul after have died.

God being eternal and being outside of time and all, where do God have anything else to do, other than listening to prayers, and judging and sentencing each soul to destined afterlife?

This has to be time-consuming, not to mention a very boring job to do.

In the real world, each court, especially in big cities, have bus-loads of bus-load of cases to be heard, and they all required for each case to be reviewed and processed before any hearing, and if necessarily trials.

Don't God have better things to do with his time than judging souls or listening to prayers?

Perhaps, 1400 or 2000 years back, the world population was probably much smaller than today. But now with population heading towards 6 billion people, I don't see how God could really spend so much of his time with humans.

Both the Qur'an and bible make God out as someone who play at being personal confessor, judge and creator, and that's what make both Christianity and Islam such ridiculous religions.

What's your 2-cent about this?

Couldn't you just focus on one religion at a time?

 

[Desert Snake]

Bible =/=Koran

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I truly find that belief in the God of Christianity and Islam to be odd.

Both systems of belief believe that God wanted to save everyone...or at least save who want to be saved, and punish those who sin or don't believe in him. Those that are saved go to paradise and those who don't, end up in hell - the whole "afterlife" shebang.

He is supposedly all-powerful and all-knowing and eternal.

With tens or even hundreds of millions praying everyday, at different times of the days (remember, there's time zones), and with hundreds of thousands if not millions of people dying each year, then God would have to listen to all these prayers and to judge each soul after have died.

God being eternal and being outside of time and all, where do God have anything else to do, other than listening to prayers, and judging and sentencing each soul to destined afterlife?

This has to be time-consuming, not to mention a very boring job to do.

In the real world, each court, especially in big cities, have bus-loads of bus-load of cases to be heard, and they all required for each case to be reviewed and processed before any hearing, and if necessarily trials.

Don't God have better things to do with his time than judging souls or listening to prayers?

Perhaps, 1400 or 2000 years back, the world population was probably much smaller than today. But now with population heading towards 6 billion people, I don't see how God could really spend so much of his time with humans.

Both the Qur'an and bible make God out as someone who play at being personal confessor, judge and creator, and that's what make both Christianity and Islam such ridiculous religions.

What's your 2-cent about this?

I learned that God-beliefs come from us. It's internal beliefs externalized. "God judging" is our feeling negative feelings because maybe we were not worthy enough? Maybe we can't completely understand our own selves? Maybe we don' feel love or maybe we feel imperfect? It's a psychological thing.

Likewise, the other way around with prayers. I pray just like the God-believer beside me prays. Our prayers benefit us because we find internal (and for others external-as in God) connection with the unknown. It helps us be comfortable with the unknown.Which that is what God is, personification of the unknown interacting with humans. To pray is to be in touch with ourselves, with others, and with what we cannot know so we can live in faith and be confirmed by our experiences to claim that we know what we don't know, is true.. It's tricky.

If God was actually judging and listening to prayers, we would all know this just as we know two things put together doubles regardless the language and culture we are in. It would not be based on personal experiences. It would not be subjective. We use language to express the best we can about the unknown and our interaction with life. The verbs "judging; listening; comforting" are just that, verbs/words.

I don't understand why there is such a huge issue of what other believers believe in and how they interpret their beliefs? Christians aren't reliving the inquisition, thank gosh, but then again evangalization can go a bit too far.

Regardless, beliefs come from us. That's why they are called beliefs. Facts don't need our experiences (aka our faith) to exist.

 

[Desert Snake]

I find it amazing that this thread and others like it merely confirm my Ignosticism: there are theists and atheists relative to every conception of deity.

But how does that confirm anything?

 

[Sundance]

This thread was started by an individual who doesn't accept a particular idea (the Abrahamic god) as something he believes in. As well you know, dear q konn, there are people who disagree and will sometimes, challenge him in his disbelief.

 

[Desert Snake]

This thread was started by an individual who doesn't accept a particular idea (the Abrahamic god) as something he believes in. As well you know, dear q konn, there are people who disagree and will sometimes, challenge him in his disbelief.

They didn't write Abrahamic deity, they wrote Christian and Islamic god. Is that even the same god? I don't think so. Islam considers the bible to be corrupted

 

[Deidre]

Now that's sound terribly disturbing.

If you say so.

 

[Desert Snake]

That is of no consequence. Either way, the OP considers himself a non-believer in both conceptions of deity, as do I.

It is of consequence. Obviously.

 

[Sundance]

It is of consequence. Obviously.

Would you care to explain the consequence?

 

[Desert Snake]

Would you care to explain the consequence?

It could be various reasons
/op doesn't know the topic well enough to be taking the position they are //it's an ''argument'', remember
/op is presenting a ''false'' argument as to context, making the conclusion false as well
/op is presenting an argument that is not representative of the real argument or position that they hold

etc.
It's of consequence because it is part of the argument that is being presented.

 

[George-ananda]

What's your 2-cent about this?

That you are trying to give an infinite being, only finite abilities. Not logical.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

But, when one has an experience of faith, it changes everything, and the book doesn't suddenly become logical, but you no longer desire to make it fit your own logic.

Beautiful.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Both systems of belief believe that God wanted to save everyone...or at least save who want to be saved, and punish those who sin or don't believe in him. Those that are saved go to paradise and those who don't, end up in hell - the whole "afterlife" shebang.

It really isn't that way. Muslims mainly believe that way I think, but many Christians don't. For example in Christianity you can believe, as I do, that death is final in terms of life, heaven is figurative etc. It could be argued that this is what many Christians once believed based upon existing sources (though no one can say definitely). That is within the possibility of interpretation of the existing cannon. That is absolutely impossible with the Koran. With the Koran there is absolutely no figurative heaven, and there is absolutely a physical afterlife. There is no way that Islam will ever, ever veer from that as far as I know. In Christianity, 'Salvation' is a drifting term that has drifted far over the centuries as much or more than many other terms such as 'Hell'. Therefore Christianity is a system but not a system of belief. The system of belief is brittle and fragile and a sort of trailer that Christianity has been pulling, but its not the car.

 

[Mackerni]

I believe "God" is inside everybody, except it isn't God. It comes as a combination from a subconscious intuition, moral superego, and knowledgeable wisdom. God is in you when you're born and develops throughout your entire life. The external God that Abrahamic religions talk about is fate. Fate decided when you were born and where you were born, fate controls everything that is going to happen in your life, unless you do something to change it - just like God!

Well, that's how I perceive the Christian/Islamic God, although I'm technically an atheist - so don't listen to me!

 

[Desert Snake]

Well, that's how I perceive the Christian/Islamic God, although I'm technically an atheist - so don't listen to me!

Ok.