Bunyip

I beleive in God, But the whole bible is correct and God is just thing has me tottaly confused. For example it was God himself that killed all those innocent children in Sodom and in the great flood. Now he either judged them because of the sins of there parents which to me is not ver Just or loving, or he removed there Free Will which I have been told by many preists God would never do.


Then lets look at Job, God had a bet with Satan:devil1: that Job couldnt be turned to the dark side. Jobs children where killed with Gods blessing , How is that ok? Then the bible says it is ok because Job got New Children and new wealth etc.

WHAT ABOUT THE OLD CHILDREN?

just a few examples of how God doesn't look to loving and just

CreamFilledGiraffe

Seems to me that you understand it quite well.

Bunyip

So God really is a mass murder then?

mopc

God-believers can always justify that since God was the one who gave those children sould and a life to begin with, he has the right to withdraw it from them, and if they are innocent their soul will live forever in pure bliss in heaven, so a bit of suffering and an untimely death on Earth are very minor. They died to show humanity a lesson and thus for God's grand purpose, besides they will be rewarded with eternal paradise.

That's the "beauty" of magical thinking - no matter what happens, you can always justify things, you can always fit God into anything.

Bunyip

Ya but it goes directly against the principle of Free Will, God can give and take Free Will when ever it suits. A bit different to what most religions preach

David B

No.

However the fictional god of the old testament is a fictional mass murderer

And the god of revelation doesn't sound very friendly, either.

But I'd argue that existence is one of the necessary attributes of a mass murderer, and plausible, compelling, evidence of the god of the bible's existence, past or present, is conspicuous by its absence.

David B

Bunyip

Thank you David, But basicly you are saying you dont beleive in a biblical God?


Is there any people that beleive the bible to be correct able to explain it to me please?

Asha'man

At least in the Old Testament, God is completely uninterested in Free Will. Free Will is a modern excuse for God acting exactly like an imaginary creature.

Read the story of Moses 'negotiating' with Pharaoh in Exodus. The Pharaoh gives in around the 6th plague, but God 'hardens his heart' and makes Pharaoh change his mind. God does this repeatedly, with the apparent goal of reaching the 10th plague where God gets to walk the streets of Egypt personally killing all the firstborn.

Clearly, free will has taken a back seat to the plan. In fact, it appears that God's goal was never to free the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery, but to create fear and death of massive proportions. The slavery of the Hebrews was nothing but a flimsy pretext for God's blood lust.

Lugubert

Every now and then, I'm reminded of the fact that I read the Bible from cover to cover in the days when I was a Christian, and I can't remember how I managed to rationalize away those stories. Add to the list for example Elisha's bear and the joy of dashing the little ones against the stones.

I now find some consolation in that it's just fables, including the genocide and assorted instances of bloodshed during the supposed Israelitic invasion of Canaan.

Paul2

Faith is easiest when you don't think about it.