Could you imagine being an ancient Israelite, and
putting babies, pregnant women, and children to the sword because God ordered it!?
Could you imagine going up to terrified , innocent, screaming children, and thrusting your sword/spear into them?
I
wouldn't even feel like a man anymore I would feel so low!
The God of the Bible is simply very sick!
Even Genghis Khan adopted orphans in the enemy cities he conquered and welcomed POWS into his military to be officers even. It wasn't total scorched earth policies!
I'm so glad I haven't caused a tiny fraction of .01% of the pain and suffering God is responsible!
God sometimes didn't command total exterminations. He occasionally sanctioned taking traumatized virgins (whose family just got violently killed), as sex slaves, condemning them to a lifetime of humiliation and agony!
I'm sorry, running your sword through pregnant women, babies, and children, even in obedience to God, and taking traumatized virgins as sex slaves, is disgusting and disturbing crimes against humanity NO MATTER HOW YOU INTERPRET IT!!!
I think it's extremely sad and wrong that particular God cannot be overthrown, replaced by someone compassionate/generous, and put him on trial for his war crimes, and extreme stinginess in managing graces and exercising omnipotence!
I'm trying to respect this God, as I believe it adds to the powers of my prayers, (and pleases some of the violently raped and murdered girls and suicides I bless and pray for), but
when you are dealing with the ugliest war criminal, and greatest cause of misery, disasters, death, destruction, sorrow, and agony in our world, what the hell is there that deserves respect??
Put the greatest criminal there ever was on trial!!!
Blame is one of the petty things mankind holds dear. Perhaps, one should discard Blame in search for Understanding instead.
I have found no holy book and no religion that really understands God at all. If you Blame and Condemn other's image of God, would not that just be another form of Hate?
Instead of valuing and spreading so many petty things, would not a better course be to Discover what the Real Truth about God is then help to correct the mistaken image and beliefs? No one gets hurt that way.
A Being capable of creating the universe and all this has to be very very smart. Perhaps, there are things you are missing. Widen that narrow view. God hides nothing. It stares us all in the face.
If your goal is to have it made with no challenges or troubles, the world might look like a mess to you. If you did have such a dream world, how would you really be? Accomplished? Intelligent? Wise? Strong? Capable? Able to stand on your own two feet? I think not!! Would a world like you desire really be the best for anyone having to depend on God to create it since you would never understand how to create it for yourself or others?
WE all have the power to Choose what we deem important. We can choose to see Doom and Gloom and everything bad Or we can choose to see the entire picture. We can value the goodness above all else then nurture and spread that among the people of the world regardless of what happens.
You see, so much rests in our own little hands. Choose and learn what the best choices really are?
Much will be learned through the bad choices. No one gets good without them. On the other hand, do we really have to value them above the good choices? Aren't bad choices really an excuse people use to justify valuing and spreading all the petty things mankind holds so dear? Will those petty things really prove to be the Best choice??
Since a Being capable of creating us and the Universe is so very intelligent, one must reach and stretch to Understand. Merely Feeling toward Understanding could never supply the Real Answers.
Everything about this world along with the people factor adds up perfectly. It might look like a mess to so many, however so much information lives beyond the mere surface and a desire to have it made.
AS I look upon this world I see a MASTERPIECE!! The dynamics of God's system along with all the variables with so many people in a multilevel classroom are simply Amazing.
Yes, Intelligence exists far beyond that of mankind. We are but mere ants.
Question God? Make Judgment calls on God's actions?? You bet!!! To question is the start on the journey to Discovery. QUESTION EVERYTHING!! On the other hand, instead of hating, condemning or blaming anyone or others, I say work at understanding how it really does add up. Like I said. It stares us all in the face!! God hides nothing!!
It has always been in your hands. It has always been within your reach!!
That's what I see. It's very clear!!