Does 'Goddidit' constitute an explanation?

[Doveaman]

Would Christians here hack people to pieces with a sword if their God told them to do it? Would you kill people for your God?

If I felt that God would ask me to do this, I would not be a Christian. But because I know He never will ask me to do this, I am a Christian.

There are some things God will never ask a Christian to do, and slaughtering others is one of them. So your question doesn’t really apply to Christians.

Is there anything Christians here wouldn’t do if their God told them to do it?

Well, being human, sometimes I fall short in my 'efforts' to always obey God, but I always strive to obey God because I trust Him.

Where do you draw the line?

There is no line to draw. I strive to do everything He ask me to. Seriously!

But, being human, sometimes I fall short in my 'efforts' to always obey God, but I always strive to obey God because I trust Him.

When would you disobey your God?

When I’m preoccupied with other stuff, or when I’m distracted by other stuff, or when I’m misled by other stuff. Because, being human, sometimes I fall short in my 'efforts' to always obey God. But I always strive to obey God because I trust Him.

All you have to do is answer the questions to show that it would be wrong to think that Christians today would kill people if their God told them to do it.

Based on everything that God has taught us by His Living Word and in His written word, it would be wrong for Him to then ask us to slaughter others. He would be going against His own Word and word, such as turning the other cheek. And God does not and can not go against Himself - Mark 3:24-26:

"If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand."

And if God opposes himself and is divided, He cannot stand.

 

[Doveaman]

I don't suppose they'd be Christians for much longer if they did, right?

Or maybe they were never Christians in the first place.

Is it possible for a Christian to read a story in the Bible and think, "How was that OK for God to do??" Does that compromise their faith?

Yes.

Faith never ask if it's "OK" for God to do anything. Faith may ask, "How could God do that", but faith always knows that it's "OK" for Him to do it.

 

[CoderHead]

There are some things God will never ask a Christian to do, and slaughtering others is one of them.

He commanded plenty of people to do it in the Old Testament, why wouldn't He do it now? What's with the dual nature?

 

[Tzaousios]

He commanded plenty of people to do it in the Old Testament, why wouldn't He do it now? What's with the dual nature?

You as "why wouldn't he" as if you are groping for some kind of evidence to pin on Christians to make seem like they would want to commit mass killings in the present.

God would not do this because it does not line up with the new covenant which Christ and later Paul described. Also, Christians are commanded to go out and make disciples of all nations, not kill people of all nations.

Also, CoderHead, please see my reply to your comments in post #377.

 

[Doveaman]

And what of those who have earnestly sought Him and not found? How do you account for them?

They were probably looking in the wrong corner, which happens often. This would explain the other religions.

Many people seek truth but don't know where to look or how to look, so they end up in the wrong corner.

And how does God communicate with you, via your heart? So your heart will tell you if what your heart is telling you is consistent with what your heart tells you? It must be, because God clearly tells you not to try and use your brains to understand Him or His Word.

God communicates with me through His own Spiritual Heart, and not through my carnal heart. My heart is deceitful. His isn't.

As it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"— but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit - 1 Cor 2:9-10.

 

[Nathan Poe]

You as "why wouldn't he" as if you are groping for some kind of evidence to pin on Christians to make seem like they would want to commit mass killings in the present.

The point is that they would do whatever God told them to do -- or at the very least, whatever they thought he was telling them to do.

And He has ordered mass killings in the past.

God would not do this because it does not line up with the new covenant which Christ and later Paul described.

Which only applies until a newer covenant comes along -- and before you say it won't, keep in mind that's probably what the people under the old covenant thought as well.

Also, Christians are commanded to go out and make disciples of all nations, not kill people of all nations.

Whittling down the populations would make that task a whole lot easier, wouldn't it? Besides, it's not as though God's above a show of force to get His way.

 

[AV1611VET]

The point is that they would do whatever God told them to do -- or at the very least, whatever they thought he was telling them to do.

Would you help build an atom bomb if you were ordered to?

 

[Nathan Poe]

Would you help build an atom bomb if you were ordered to?

Ordered by whom?

 

[CoderHead]

You as "why wouldn't he" as if you are groping for some kind of evidence to pin on Christians to make seem like they would want to commit mass killings in the present.

You misunderstood my statement. I'm not saying that present-day Christians would ever want to commit mass killings. I would hope that none of them would. What I'm saying is that you can't rule out God commanding anybody to do this or that since He has a track record of doing just that.

They were probably looking in the wrong corner, which happens often. This would explain the other religions.

It doesn't explain other religions! If God is truth and I'm seeking truth then I should find God, not Odin. God promises, "seek and ye shall find." But you're saying that if I seek, but not in exactly the precise way God wants me to seek, then I'm going to find some other deity? That's utter nonsense!

Either God is truth and He reveals Himself to those who seek Him, or God is just a concept not unlike any other deity in the world and is sufficiently abstract as to be easily overlooked. Which is it?

 

[Doveaman]

He commanded plenty of people to do it in the Old Testament, why wouldn't He do it now? What's with the dual nature?

Justice and Mercy.

Law and Grace.

The Law demands justice. Grace shows mercy.

Before Christ's first advent, there was the justice of Law.

After Christ's first advent, there is the mercy of Grace.

After Christ' second advent there will be the justice of Law on those who reject the mercy of Grace.

 

[sandwiches]

Justice and Mercy.

Law and Grace.

The Law demands justice. Grace shows mercy.

Before Christ's first advent, there was the justice of Law.

After Christ's first advent, there is the mercy of Grace.

After Christ' second advent there will be justice of Law on those who reject mercy of Grace.

There will be eternal punishment for those who reject his infinite love and mercy. The more I read about this, the more I am reminded of why I couldn't be a Christian anymore, all those years ago.

 

[CoderHead]

By "dual nature" I was pretty much insinuating "contradiction." I know you guys have answers as to why God punishes us for eternity just because we remain exactly as He created us (human nature), but none of them make me want to worship Him for being so loving and merciful. Honestly.

 

[Tzaousios]

By "dual nature" I was pretty much insinuating "contradiction." I know you guys have answers as to why God punishes us for eternity just because we remain exactly as He created us (human nature), but none of them make me want to worship Him for being so loving and merciful. Honestly.

Are you going to answer my post #377? It appears you like to make hit-and-run criticisms without engaging the specifics of what people post.

 

[CoderHead]

Are you going to answer my post #377? It appears you like to make hit-and-run criticisms without engaging the specifics of what people post.

I thought I did. What, specifically, were you asking?

 

[3sigma]

By “disgust” and “condemned” does this mean those Christians disapproved of what God did?

That’s interesting. I thought that some Christians here had disapproved of what your God did in the flood, but they may have been disapproving of genocide or slaughter in general. Unfortunately, I can’t check those responses because they were in the Genocide thread that has since been deleted by the moderators. Now that I check the posts that still exist in the subsequent Genocide thread, I find that the poster didn’t actually disapprove of your God’s actions, but instead appears to be [post=53554230]claiming[/post] your God never slaughtered people or commanded its followers to slaughter people so, apparently, the Biblical stories of this must have been fabricated. In other words, it isn’t your God that was wrong, but the [post=53702639]Bible[/post].

Maybe you are right. Maybe there are no Christians here who express outrage and disgust at the thought that your God would slaughter children and command others to do the same.

There are some things God will never ask a Christian to do, and slaughtering others is one of them. So your question doesn’t really apply to Christians.

You are evading the question. The Bible claims that your God has already slaughtered people itself and commanded its followers to do the same—many times—unless, perhaps, you think the stories in the Bible are untrue. There is plenty of precedent to show that this is exactly what your God tells its followers to do so the questions do apply specifically to Christians. Would you kill people if your God told you to do it? Is there anything you wouldn’t do if your God told you to do it?

The Bible claims your God told Abraham to kill his only son and Abraham was willing to do it so how far are you willing to go for your God? Would you be willing to kill your only son if your God told you to do it? The Bible claims your God commanded that children who curse their parents should be put to death. Would you put your children to death if they cursed you, as your God commands? The Bible claims that Jephthah killed his only child to keep a vow he made to your God in return for your God helping him slaughter the people in twenty cities. Would you kill your only child to keep a vow to your God?

 

[Nathan Poe]

Justice and Mercy.

Law and Grace.

The Law demands justice. Grace shows mercy.

Before Christ's first advent, there was the justice of Law.

After Christ's first advent, there is the mercy of Grace.

After Christ' second advent there will be the justice of Law on those who reject the mercy of Grace.

But what about peanut butter? What good is Law or grace IF YOU DON'T HAVE PEANUT BUTTER?!?!

 

[LifeToTheFullest!]

But what about peanut butter? What good is Law or grace IF YOU DON'T HAVE PEANUT BUTTER?!?!

As long as it's organic real (not this partially hydrogentated Juffy crap), I'm in.

 

[Gracchus]

Justice and Mercy.

Law and Grace.

The Law demands justice. Grace shows mercy.

Before Christ's first advent, there was the justice of Law.

After Christ's first advent, there is the mercy of Grace.

After Christ' second advent there will be the justice of Law on those who reject the mercy of Grace.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."
There you have it. Justice and mercy without contradiction! And it is, (supposedly) right out of the mouth of the (supposed) infallible authority.
Not one thing at one time and another thing at another time. Both together!

 

[Tzaousios]

No, but I’d like to know whether they would. Would Christians here kill people if their God told them to do it? Would you kill people if your God told you to do it?

How and why would I answer for other people? Either way, God would not ask Christians to do this because it is not consistent with the new covenant and the universal command which God the Son issued.

Your God’s followers in the Old Testament couldn’t technically be called Christians because it was before Christ, but it is the same immutable God that Christians follow today, isn’t it? Aren’t God and Jesus supposedly one and the same in some vague sense?

"Vague sense." Yeah, that shows how much effort you have put into trying to understand historical Christian theology. It also reveals even more starkly your sole purpose: to denigrate the faith of Christians and malign the name of their God.

You may have stated that calling your God’s slaughter of entire nations and cultures wasn’t genocide, but that doesn’t make it true. However, I have no idea why you keep harping that it is anachronistic. Are trying to claim that if it happened before the word ‘genocide’ was coined then the systematic destruction of national and cultural groups wasn’t genocide?

I did not just "call" it that. If you recall, although I do not know why you would want to do so, I explained why.

Also, it seems you do not know the definition of "anachronistic" and how it is employed as a descriptive term in historical discussions. Apparently your Merrian-Webster's dictionary only works when you want to use it to denigrate the faith of Christians and malign the name of their God.

At any rate, I also explained what I meant by anachronistic. However, it seems your selective reading method and perhaps some cognitive dissonance got in the way of noticing that.

I said ‘some’ Christians for the simple reason that there are Christians here who have reacted to the stories of slaughter in the Old Testament with disgust and who have condemned them. I applaud and commend them for their reasonable attitude and behaviour.

Please. You do not commend them in any way, shape, or form. They are still stupid country bumpkins who believe in fantasies and shun the enlightened, self-congratulatory ways of the empirical atheist. According to your presuppositions, nothing is truely commendable when it comes from Christians unless it is a full scale recantation of their beliefs. Any plaudits or approval you might condescend to give are only temporary smokescreens.

I asked how you would feel about it if your wife and children had been hacked to pieces by some mob claiming their God told them to do it. You didn’t answer that question. I asked if you would do the same yourself. You evaded that question as well. Please stop evading questions.

I did not evade the question. It appears you did not like the answer and your razor sharp logic skills did not afford you an immediate reply. Can it not cope with the ramifications of Koran-believing, radical Islam and the difference there is between that and Bible-believing Christianity?

They weren’t rhetorical questions. I directed them specifically to you and made it plain why I was asking them.

They are indeed rhetorical questions and your purpose in throwing them up has been played out many times in practice despite whatever protestations you might trumpet.

 

[Tzaousios]

I thought I did. What, specifically, were you asking?

What do you mean "what was I asking"? You took the time to call me ignorant and bigoted in your post #375. Why can't you also take the time to address my reply to your pejorative labeling in my post #377?