Does God have to play by rules?

[edens]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukYdCihee8A&list=UUkMhHJniwJzW3DjUxozPnQA


Watching this story It makes curious.

Why couldn't God (creator?) change the path or the minds of the bombers before the event unfolded? Take them out before they got to the school?

Why could only angels come in to protect the children?

Was there a deeper reason for this to happen? Perhaps influencing a future role in the lives of the children? Or of someone who had watched this story?


It really makes me think there are certain rules he must play by and almost seems like a game of sorts.

 

[Paradoxum]

A good person would save peoples lives if they easily could, wouldn't they? But God doesn't? Maybe there is no good God?

Just giving my opinion.

 

[juvenissun]

Watching this story It makes curious.

Why couldn't God (creator?) change the path or the minds of the bombers before the event unfolded? Take them out before they got to the school?

Why could only angels come in to protect the children?

Was there a deeper reason for this to happen? Perhaps influencing a future role in the lives of the children? Or of someone who had watched this story?


It really makes me think there are certain rules he must play by and almost seems like a game of sorts.

You do not call those "rules". It is more true to call them "purposes".
God does not have to play by rules. But God is "faithful" (means everyone of His words counts). Whatever God does, there is a purpose for it.

 

[Mediaeval]

"Deliverance from death is not near so great as persuading men to despise death." St John Chrysostom

 

[DogmaHunter]

You do not call those "rules". It is more true to call them "purposes".
God does not have to play by rules. But God is "faithful" (means everyone of His words counts). Whatever God does, there is a purpose for it.

Emphasis mine.

The bolded part is one of those things that I genuinly can't stand about theism.

It's such a cop-out. It's some sort of appeal to ignorance akin to "god has a plan" and "god works in mysterious ways".

You don't know if there is some purpose for it, you just assume it is the case. And you do it for your piece of mind, not because you have actual valid reasons to do so.

A child dies horrible: "god has a plan"
A terrorist kills thosuands: "god works in mysterious ways"
Some ancient tribe commits genocide and claims to be ordered by god to do so: "god has a plan"


It's a pretty sick excuse for horrible things.

 

[Emmy]

Dear edens. God is giving us free will, we can do what we choose, and the choices are always our own. God gave us His Commandments to choose from,
either that, or go our own way. If we choose to follow God`s Commandments and do God`s Will, God will be pleased and give us His Blessings. If however,
we choose to ignore God`s Will and follow our own will, we have to pay consequences. We are warned about that in Galatians 6: 7-8: " we will reap what we have sown." God gives us His Eternal Law, and we have to accept all fitting consequences, Don`t you agree that is a fair and God-Worthy way to adhere to God`s " Rules" i.e. consequences? God`s Commandments tell us what to do ( for our own good) and if we follow them we get Blessings from God, and if we ignore or go a more self-pleasing way, we automatically pay our direct due. God is fair and gives us right choices to choose from, but if we ignore God`s Loving Commandments, we simply pay consequences:
sometimes very sad and strict ones.
The Bible tells us to " Repent, and also to be Born Again." God wants us to shed our selfish and unloving character, and accept to Love God with all our hearts, with all our souls, and with all our minds, and to love our neighbour
as we love OURSELVES. We might stumble and forget at times, but then we ask God to forgive us, and carry on loving and caring. Love is very catching,
and we will find that people will treat us the same as we treat people.
God is Love, and God is a fair and righteous Judge, God will always treat us as we deserve to be treated. I say this with love, edens. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[Deidre32]

If a god exists, maybe he/it just let's life play out? The notion that "God" is benevolent is largely based on the NT.

I believe in karma, basically we reap what sow. And sometimes we unfortunately reap what others in authority over us (government, etc) sow.

 

[DogmaHunter]

Dear edens. God is giving us free will, we can do what we choose, and the choices are always our own. God gave us His Commandments to choose from, either that, or go our own way. If we choose to follow God`s Commandments and do God`s Will, God will be pleased and give us His Blessings. If however, we choose to ignore God`s Will and follow our own will, we have to pay consequences.

Then we don't have a free choice. The whole idea of a free choice kind of falls apart once it is said that choice 1 results in infinite reward and choice 2 in infinite punishment.

If a guy is holding a gun to my head and asks me for my wallet, then I don't have a "free choice" to hand over my wallet. Yes, I can "choose" not to give my wallet, but then I'll die from a bullet in the brain. I wouldn't call that a "free choice". A "free choice" is deciding if I'll have a steak or pork chops for dinner.

Don`t you agree that is a fair and God-Worthy way to adhere to God`s " Rules" i.e. consequences?

No "fair" system gives infinite punishment for finite crimes. I say "crimes", but in christian theology, it's worse then that. Because it's not even about committing crimes (or not). It's about believing one thing or the other thing.

It doesn't even matter what you do or think.

If you have 2 people that are held in captivity and strapped to a bed from birth till death and have 1 believe the bible story and the other not, then the first gets infinite reward while the latter gets infinite punishment.

This is the opposite of "fair" and "justice".

God`s Commandments tell us what to do ( for our own good) and if we follow them we get Blessings from God, and if we ignore or go a more self-pleasing way, we automatically pay our direct due

Sounds like a mafia Don, to be honest.

God is fair

Infinite punishment for finite crimes is not "fair".
Infinite punishment for believing a certain thing (or rather: not) is the opposite of "fair".

and gives us right choices to choose from

Yes, while at virtual gunpoint with infinite consequences. Some "choice".

The Bible tells us to " Repent, and also to be Born Again." God wants us to shed our selfish and unloving character, and accept to Love God with all our hearts, with all our souls, and with all our minds, and to love our neighbour as we love OURSELVES.

Sounds very petty, self-involved, egocentric, narcistic, ...
These are not nice character properties.

We might stumble and forget at times, but then we ask God to forgive us, and carry on loving and caring. Love is very catching,
and we will find that people will treat us the same as we treat people.
God is Love, and God is a fair and righteous Judge, God will always treat us as we deserve to be treated. I say this with love, edens. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

There's nothing "just" or "fair" or "loving" about handing out infinite punishment for the "crime" of not being loved or believed in.

Only spoiled brats think like that. And mafia Dons.

 

[Colter]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukYdCihee8A&list=UUkMhHJniwJzW3DjUxozPnQA


Watching this story It makes curious.

Why couldn't God (creator?) change the path or the minds of the bombers before the event unfolded? Take them out before they got to the school?

Why could only angels come in to protect the children?

Was there a deeper reason for this to happen? Perhaps influencing a future role in the lives of the children? Or of someone who had watched this story?


It really makes me think there are certain rules he must play by and almost seems like a game of sorts.

Yes, God cannot do the ungodlike thing. God cannot create square circles. What most Atheist are really saying is that they do in fact have a God concept, it's just that the God concepts of various religions and viewpoints don't measure up to their ideal of what a God should be. They think God should be running the universe very differently than the way its going, therefore there must not be a Universal Father.

In reality, many of the problems that we experience in the world today are the result of the long term repercussions of the Lucifer rebellion. Lucifer was also a rebel who fell in love with his own brilliance, his own God concepts, his own ideas about how the universe should be run.

Often times children unfairly suffer the repercussions of the actions of their parents. I trust the Fathers plan for life, cosmic evolution and the rehabilitation of our fallen world. This planet and this life is not mans permanent residence, don't build a home on it.

 

[juvenissun]

Emphasis mine.

The bolded part is one of those things that I genuinly can't stand about theism.

It's such a cop-out. It's some sort of appeal to ignorance akin to "god has a plan" and "god works in mysterious ways".

You don't know if there is some purpose for it, you just assume it is the case. And you do it for your piece of mind, not because you have actual valid reasons to do so.

A child dies horrible: "god has a plan"
A terrorist kills thosuands: "god works in mysterious ways"
Some ancient tribe commits genocide and claims to be ordered by god to do so: "god has a plan"


It's a pretty sick excuse for horrible things.

You are over excited.

What you should really do is to ask: What is or are the purposes?

Asking question instead of making emotional or silly comment is always a much better response.

If you care to humble yourself and describe an action of God, I might consider to explain to you what the purpose could be in associate with that action. My explanation on anything is always logically sound.

 

[keith99]

While the video does not flat out lie it seems to create a very false impression.

Or am I the only one who thinks the video indicates that David and Doris Young were killed in the blast?