Larsguy47

If God decides that everybody has a limited life and he kills everybody after that given lifetime, then it dismisses all the complaints against God for being cruel and evil and killing so many "innocent" people.

That is, it seems horrible and cruel that people are not allowed to live out their 70-80 years. People killed early in life would have died anyway, right? So all we are really talking about is the cruelty of the shortened life. But if God brings back everybody that was killed and lets them live out their 80 years or so, then no hurt, no foul.

Think about the complications of deciding the guilt of those who are to be condemned to death? How many people will have extenuating circumstances and issues of debate? LOTS!

But if God simply says, "Okay, I'm not dealing with this, I'm just going to put everybody to death after their time period is up..." then that's it. If you're lease is up in 3 days you don't have time to go to court to sue the landlord to get some new carpeting put in next month.

DEATH is only a punishment if it's permanent.

The only thing is, after everybody has been given their time and passed on, then God brings back his favorites to live forever. Which is his choice, right?

So death means nothing...if you're a friend of God. Death is a great enemy, if you're not though.

LG47

JohannGoodflag

Then, of course there are the cases of non-lethal and not-immediately-lethal agony which people suffer through, e.g. because of disease and natural disasters. Forget death; what's the excuse for the bad things that happen while people are alive, or in the process of dying, or characterizing the manner in which they die?

Not buying it for a minute, me.

His Noodly Appendage

Larsguy:

So how was Jesus' death any kind of sacrifice?

He came back to life again - so God / Jesus paid exactly nothing for our salvation, pretty much invalidating the entire concept as presented.

Smullyan-esque

It is quite refreshing to see a Christian who is willing to admit that they believe in a God who plays favorites. As an added bonus, you were also willing to come right out and say that you believe in "might makes right".

Do you ever feel bad for choosing to worship an evil creature like this?

Larsguy47

In order to have a chance for eternal life, humans had to be BORN. Born under the imperfect conditions that cause death and sickness, etc. So lives cut short or all that suffering as a result of what Satan caused, will be "forgotten" at the time of the resurrection. Of course, that amount of pain and suffering is worth it if in the end you get eternal life.

Think of it as an amputation of a gangrenous limb or operation to remove a cancerous tumor. You have a choice. You don't want anybody cutting on your body so you let the cancer take over? Or you sacrifice going under the blade to save the body as a whole? Your choice.

LG47

Larsguy47

You know what? You are SOOO perceptive! Because in the end, the psychological and legal battle between Satan and God does boil down to those fundamentals, interestingly. Those who like this God accord him respect, honor, goodness and find him deserving of love and worship. But that's not everybody. Those not seeing those qualities in God understand him through the legal and policing issues. That is, that God has a legal right to have the universe the way he wants to, because he created it in the first place. AND, if someone doesn't like it, he has the ability to enforce those rules with absolute power. Naysayers can't come in and ruin the pic-nic.

So yes, for those who understand little else, in the very end, the Might-makes-right high card always wins, especially when played with the My-way-or-Highway card.

From God's point of view, the clay doesn't dictate to the molder. Excuse me?!!! :huh: Not this week!

So if "might makes right" is what you need for your "reality check"?; then it's definitely there for you. Absolutely.

LG47

Larsguy47

You are sooo smart. On one level, of course, it wasn't much of a sacrifice. As even Genesis 3:15 notes, it amounts to a "bruise in the heel" compared to a bruise in the head. Think of it as a "legal technicality" to qualify.

Take another situation. God knows who is wicked and who is not. He knows whose faking it. But of course, he is all-powerful so people naturally to save their own necks will conform or try to impress the deity. So to get past that facade he does like we do, the unannounced "spot check." That's the story of the Good Samaritan. The rabbi and priest walk past this person on the street they don't want to deal with. But little do they know it's the king! Had they known it was the king or recognized him, they would have been sooooo exited for this opportunity to gain his favor, right? They would have bent over backwards. But because he was just a common-looking man, they ignore him. But the Good Samaritan, with truer values, helps this man out. In the end: Suprise! He turns out to be the Messiah, the King! The Good Samaritan gets the kings blessing, and the priest and rabbi who claim to be the king's servants get their walking papers.

So yes, in the end God did trick Satan. Satan was a murderous bitch (called "the woman" at Gen 3:15) from the beginning and the temptation to kill billions of potential innocent humans was just too much to resist. But God turns the tables on him/her by making it possible for those who were killed to be adopted by Christ, who dies without children and thus entitled to adopt, and thus they get saved. That is, their death is not permanent. So in the end, it's not about dying, everybody dies. God makes it a new requirement. It's becoming eligible to come back that makes all the difference.

Satan as snake-woman in Eden


Satan as snake-woman of Eden, only Satan is breathtakingly beautiful compared to this.

MORE LIKE HER DEPICTIONS AS "VENUS"/MOTHER GODDESS is more accurate:


Satan as "Venus", the beautiful "Queen of the Heavens"... got sidetracked by her own beauty.

LG47

Hamlet

What does this have to do with philosophy?

His Noodly Appendage

N/A

Therefore, the FSM created the universe.

purple_kathryn

OMFSM! You are right!! I am now totally convinced!