Grizzly

Booty - I'm afraid we must agree to disagree here. The solution is not free. In order to accept this gift, we must forgo what is most precious - our gift of reason. Because, on its face, the whole thing doesn't make sense. Why does an All-Loving God want us to worship him so badly that he is willing to have us tortured if we don't? Why does an All-Loving God allow people to be born inot this world knowing full well who will be "saved" and who won't?

And probably the biggest question of all, if God loves us so much and is so concerned about our well being, WHY DOESN'T HE COME DOWN HERE AND TELL US HIMSELF? And don't give me a line about how he sent his son. That was 2000 years ago, in only one place on earth. Why doesn't he appear to each of us and explain what the rules are? He's an All-Powerful God Who LOVES Us so much that he can't take a couple of minutes out of his eternal life to tell everyone?

As for me, I choose the only story that makes sense. No God. Just stories.

Booty

Be glad to. Hell is the one where you will not find me, don't bother looking.

Of course I would rather not even think of what you will find. I might say drop me a postcard, but actually I believe I would be too busy to read it. Oh well, you probably will be too busy to send it as well.

So you are the Leader of the Pack here? Is it an edifying role? Does it fulfill your inner needs?

Indifference

whew... just got finished catching up... by the way booty, orange is not the opposite of green. If we're talking pigments, it is merely the color that combines with green to make black. In other words, together they reflect no light. If we're talking light waves, orange is not the opposite of green either. It is only a wave with a different frequency.

also,in saying that there cannot exist good without bad, you confine your god to physical restraints. i thought that was a big no no... i thought he exists outside the physical world.

WWSD

We do not pray to the same god if you beleive in the divinity of Jesus Christ. Thus we cannot agree on issues of theology. It is unfortunate. Perhaps if you read the Qu'ran what I say will be made more clear.

Booty

Grizzly, once again thank you for the reasonable discourse. I offer you this, there does exist reason. Love cannot be mandated. It must be voluntary, of your own volition or it is simply not love. God neither seeks nor wants robots, so we are given free choice.

Yes the alternative is harsh, but I truly and sincerely believe that Heaven is every bit a glorious as Hell is horrible.

Does He know who will be saved before birth? I honestly do not know, ask Him is my only answer. As I have repeated, there always will be points of the Divine that are beyond the understanding of mortals. Once again another language problem as well. Just as a common base in faith is needed for in depth discussion, a common base in divinity would be required for me to expand further on the actions of God. While I have an intimate relation with God, I do not dare presume to the divine, therefor that base does not exist.


Grizzly,

Could it be that He has a different time schedule than we do? He did send His Son 2000 years ago to be sure. And His Son did commission us, His followers, to go forth to all nations preaching in His name, spreading the Gospel.

I know I am not God, far from it. But I am telling you of Him as He instructed me. His Holy Spirit fills me and helps me with the words. So could it be that God has not forgotten you as you seem to think?

Not Prince Hamlet

I can just see the title for a new book: "God is My Thesaurus".

Booty

Ahh... But it is quite the opposite of Green within a different cultural basis than that which you are apparently accustomed to. It even appears on the opposite end of a flag from the Green separated by a band of white.

And you hereby make my point about the necessity of a cultural basis to understand one another even when a supposed common language is involved. The flag I refer to is the flag of the Republic of Ireland. Designed and given to the Irish by the French it signifies the Republicans with the Green and the Unionists with the Orange. The White signifies the hope of peace between them with the long term hope of eventual unification.

I do believe you should know enough of the troubles to understand why from a different cultural base, but with a common language, I do maintain Orange is the opposite of Green.

Booty

And would that book be the writing you left us to do?

Indifference

This retreat into agnosticism will win you no ground.

And what points have you shown us that we CAN understand? You offer us unconditional love, but then change the stipulations for reciept redering it conditional.

You say he is omni this and omni that when all along all he is is omni-incompetant. If I had all those omnis, i could work wonders with this universe. but then maybe His definition of omni is quite different then mine...

So there's that agnosticism again. In order to know him, you must believe. In order to believe you must realize that you cannot know him.

[ April 20, 2002: Message edited by: Indifference ]</p>

Not Prince Hamlet

Let "God" = "orange"
Let "something that exists" = "green"

Therefore, by Booty's own argument (proof by Irish flag??) God is the opposite of something that exists, ergo, God does not exist.



Jeff