Infinity Lover

Note the marks 1, 2, and 3...

1)God is something you have to believe in. And there's a whole range of disagreeing (or even war-waging) religious groups. Religion unites, and uniting IS dividing!
LOVE BINDS.... GOD DIVIDES. Spot the difference.
I'm sorry you couldn't comment on the possible offence unbelievers might take to God being referred to as love, same as you might take offence to 'the lords name' being used in vain.

2)eternal punishment? Somehow the new commandment "that ye love one another the way I loved you" doesn't sound like such good advise anymore. I think I'll just stick to loving others the way I think I should. The hatred and hunger for vengeance stops where I begin! How do you like that one?

3)Considering how many people can behave like barbarious devils 'in the defense of their beliefs', I'd say Mother Theresa was such a good person regardless of her beliefs, rather than because of.

Thx for sharing your insights, and I hope you don't mind my counterarguments

raistlinjones

Umm...what exactly was that quote from Matthew supposed to show? This is what I got out of it:

The only positive thing I could get was that God is saying "when you see people that need help, you should help them". And that's cool. Not sure that proves "God is love" though. I say the same thing - does that mean that "raistlinjones is love"?

Of course, right after that God shows that he's definitely not love. He says "since you didn't help the beggars, eternal hell for you". Wow, thanks God, that's so loving!!

Also note that God is all powerful, so if he thought the beggars really needed help, he'd give them some food. Since he didn't, that shows that he's pretty much completely not compassionate. Also, according to his own rules, he should probably go to Hell.

Infinity Lover

And be an atheist! If his believers don't get to believe in themselves, neither should he.


[ September 02, 2002: Message edited by: Infinity Lover ]</p>

raistlinjones

C'mon, you're being stupid. Unless I'm way mislead on Christian ideas, they use Father there in the same way they do with a priest. He's a role model that looks out for them and protects them, not a literal father.

The "name in vain" thing is actually kind of lame now, and I don't really know why they keep it. The reason it was so important not to say the name of the lord was because there was a lot of power in the name. It sounds strange, but it helps to know that God speaks Hebrew, and he spoke Hebrew when he said "let there be LIGHT". They believe that the words themselves have quite a bit of power inherent in them. Many jews today, in fact, will never use Hebrew for everyday speaking, only for reading the Bible.

Anyway, the point is, even for Christians, when you speak the name of the lord, he takes notice. It's like you're making him look at you. So it's kind of irresponsible to make him look just because a pop-up window appeared.

Love, on the other hand, has none of these things associated with it. I can say "love" all day and nothing untoward will happen.

Infinity Lover

Taking that into consideration; 'in vain' is pretty much the only way in which 'the name of the lord' can be uttered.

As far as being untruthfull to yourself or others, when it comes to love, or using the word in ways that strip it of it's meaning, goes.

I wouldn't say that's completely void of consequences.

Amen-Moses

Originally posted by Absolute Infinity:
Isn't it offensive to 'non-believers' to hear that God is love?

Nope, ridiculous maybe but not offensive.

The'concept of God, is that he's a higher power, making us lower in relation. Is that love?

No.

According to the story of the fall of man, he PUNISHED us with mortality, because there's something WRONG with us. Is that love?

No.

The world's divided into disagreeing religious groups. Isn't love supposed to bind us?

Yep.

Isn't saying God is love, using a precious word in vain? Isn't that the same as cursing?

What's wrong with cursing?

I live to honour life, to honour love.
LOVE is love Goddamn it! May it please be okay for me to say that?

Course it is, mind you, what is your definition of "love"?

Amen-Moses

Infinity Lover

See the fourth post on this thread.

Amos

Love is opposite to love in the same way Agape is opposite eros. Love is subjective, non-protective, not selfish, not jealous, Love is life serving and has no opposite other than in love which is an extraction of Love. Love, as in eros is selfish, protective, pleasure seeking, jealous, is not life serving and has an opposite in hate to make both hate and eros (love) opposite to Love.

Love is the essence of life to make Life the manifestation of Love and Lord God the manifestation of God on earth. This distinction is clear in Gen.1 and 2. We are "Lord God" in our animal identity and "like god" (from Gen.3) in our human identity and it is in this human identity that we are isolated from God and must therefore extract love from Love in effort to quench our feelings (pains) of alienation.

Love is precious only outside of Eden because of our alienation from God. It is probably good that we "live to honour life" and that we "honour love" but does that not already mean that we must extract love and are neither live nor love (Lord God nor God) but that both love and life are somewhat removed from our present human mode of existence?

The term "falling in love" is coined to indicate that instead of retuning to Lord God (our inner man) we seek to find our comfort outside of Eden wherein we as humans are temporal and mortal. Outside of Eden we "fall in love" and together we create, procreate and cocreate according to our immage extracted from of Eden (science is extracted from omniscience, power from omnipotence, love from Love, life from Life and, in the end, even the light of common day is extracted from the Celesital Light to make the sun shine brighter on our happy days).

If we are mortal and temporal outside of Eden we must be immortal and eternal inside of Eden (from "you will die") and this might just mean that must assign a different meaning to the words immortal and eternal.

Infinity Lover

Thx for your insights Amos.

Considering you speak in terms of "...we must therefore..." I hope you don't mind, that I for one am inclined to adapt a figurative interpretation, rather than acknowledge absolute authority here .

(I do think the story of 'the fall of man' poses an interresting reflection of human nature, but one I see as a poetic/metaphorical one)

The issue I was trying to adress on this thread, was that it might be offensive to 'atheists', to hear that "God is love" (considering they'd strenuously beg to differ), same as blasphemy or cursing would be offensive to theists.

It's not so much a matter of agreeing or disagreeing, but rather of theists being equally considerate to atheists feelings, as they'd expect atheists to be considerate to their life's conviction.

Or simply put, if it's rude for an atheist to say Goddamnit, shouldn't it also be rude for a theist to proclaim God to be love?

It's one of those double standard things.

Marcel.

Keith Russell

Greetings:

Why should I be 'offended' if someone thinks that 'God' exists, and is 'love'?

Should I be offended that little kids think that Santa (rather than parents) bring presents?

Keith.