hinduwoman

Written by a seriously annoyed devout Hindu:
http://www.hvk.org/articles/0201/129.html

The GOF (God of Christian Fundamentalists) is a limited god, a tribal god. A tribal god has no existence without his tribe, and is therefore a lesser god, a second-class god: one dependent on the tribute of his flock. He is afraid of losing his tribe, and is most jealous about their affections. He is a pathetic and neurotic God, whom his tribe can only fear, not love. Notice that, significantly, Christians never talk of themselves as "God-loving", only "God- fearing". This God is not worth loving, it appears, only worth fearing.
So T John's GOF, this God only of Christians, may be unhappy at anything that affects the attempts of his tribe to dominate. But then, I wonder: being a second- rate god, would this tribal GOF be able to produce earthquakes? I understand he once parted a sea, a pretty good special effect indeed, but earthquakes? Are they within his powers, this old man with a long, flowing beard?
This GOF is roughly like one of the devas, demi-gods, in Hindu mythology: like Indra, always insecure about his position, always trying to convince people to pay him obeisance. This is one of the many things that makes Christian theology unsatisfying: they have not progressed beyond this idea of a second-rate, jealous GOF. They have not figured out that beyond the many demi-gods lies a Formless, Absolute, One, that which is beyond all attributes. Their monotheism is naïve when compared with Absolute Monism.
… But what if there is a day when we discover there is indeed extra-terrestrial intelligence, and those intelligent beings are nothing like humans? Maybe they are like spiders, or cockroaches? Since they are not in the image of the Christian God, then they must have a different God. And what if, horrors, these creatures are more intelligent than humans are, and can exploit and enslave humans like we have the other animals? Then that God, the God of the spider-creatures, would be clearly a greater god than the GOF.

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Good point about christians being not Godloving but Godfearing! I will start a new thread in Gen. Rel section.

Amos

But even here all animals and plants are our equals. All living creatures are the image of God and deserve our respect because God is intelligence that has become manifest to give insight to the living. In fact, hinduwoman, we are about the only species that can show lack of intellignece and be irrational.

Jobar

In fact, hinduwoman, we are about the only species that can show lack of intellignece and be irrational.

Amos, I can tell you grew up in a city. If you had any real experience with animals, you would not say that.

And hinduwoman, I think your topic on love vs. fear would be appropriate in this forum, if you want to put it here. It definitely impacts on the arguments for Yahweh's existence. (And I have never seen the spelling 'Yewovah' before. Where does that come from?)

Phanes

I'm not so sure about the God-loving vs. God-fearing thing. There are certainly plenty of Christian fundamentalists who still do the whole hellfire and damnation routine, but there just as many "New Age Fundamentalists" who go all out on the loving God approach. My ex-roommate was a pretty fundamentalist Catholic (converted from Protestant) whose favorite cliche seemed to be "God is love." Actually, that seems to be the popular approach among practically all of the religious organizations here on campus. That may well be a college thing though.

Maybe I'm confusing the meaning of fundamentalist too. I do agree that the God of the OT is pretty darn primitive.

Amos

Animals do have intelligence and are rational at best but who are we to say that they are irrational? It is not until animals make mistakes and do not learn from them that it can be said that they are irrational. Until then, we are.

hinduwoman

Jobar, I don't know where he got the spelling from. Probably he is using a phonetic one, based on what he ehard Indian Christian pronounce.


Amos, you have not addressed the first portion of the post. God's insistence on being worshipped shows insecurity which makes him one of the lower gods.

Amos

Oh but hinduwoman, that is just protestant theology. God does not need to be worshipped. In my view Mary is the one who deserves our devotion and admiration so we may become like Jesus (after all, he's my brother, is he not?).

Was it not Moses who parted the sea with the help of Lucifer? Yes it was because God would have made them walk on top of the water in so into the promised land.