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If *good* and *evil*were just words we could simply dismiss their existence. But they are not just words. Whatever brings a benefit (material, physical, emotional, or spiritual) to another is good, whereas whatever brings harm to another is evil. Another way to look at this is to see that whatever comes from God is good, whereas whatever comes from Satan is evil.
So... please explain the flood so the Christian god doesn't look horrible.
Only on the surface. The ultimate source of goodness is God, whereas the ultimate source of evil is Satan. Trying to escape this reality does not serve any purpose other than deluding ourselves.Those are two very different definitions.
I think you've missed the point of this threadProve to me that the Christian God is evil based on the Flood.
I think you've missed the point of this threadProve to me that the Christian God is evil based on the Flood.
I actually don't see many Christians that view YHWH negatively. Perhaps it would make people uncomfortable if they thought they were worshipping an evil or even just neutral being rather than a good one?all those examples take rigorous spiritual work and searching to understand. this is why so many Christians have a shoddy view of God - they simply don't know how to be properly religious.
Have you ever read other religious texts that aren't monotheistic? Zeus has a defined personality, rivalries, and even preferred forms that retain a degree of consistency. Some of the Norse gods have their entire existence laid out in the mythology, from birth to death (they aren't immortal). With Hindu gods, it can span multiple universe cycles developing personality and events, intertwined with the thoughts of observers as well as those directly involved. By comparison, YHWH is pretty darn vague.spiritual knowledge is something that must abide by its own particular disciplines. the bible is cool because it shows religious life which constitutes an interaction of both man and God. it shows both mans perceptions of God and hides mysteries in the oft darkened narratives.
I think part of the reason quite a few people are Christian is because they don't think too much about the bible and what it says.'contemplation' is one of the most fundamental rules of the Christian faith. this is not something that every christian or atheist does and so of course they have an ignorance of how to properly understand the bible. and the very discipline of spiritually understanding the bible opens your eyes to a part of reality that you never saw before but you exist in all the time.
So it claims, and light doesn't have a moral stance. As much as plants need it to grow, so too do they need the break darkness provides (many do, anyways). Also, creating life is a morally neutral act, with nothing inherently good or bad about it. Your statement is vacuous.God is good because he is light.
Light doesn't do anything inherently good. It just exists.this is a thing of reality rather than abstract concepts. light is good because of what it does but it needs something to shine on otherwise it can't show itself.
Oh, reality is full of so much messed up crap you can't attribute to human creation. Have you looked at a lamprey? Or various other parasites, diseases. You can try to say those are punishments for the fall, but they're still things YHWH created, right? You must also recall that nearly all forms of enjoyment are viewed as sinful one way or another if you take the bible literally. Observing the world around me is not convincing, and even if I lived in an absolute utopia right now, that wouldn't negate the fact that YHWH has, as stated in the bible, destroyed entire cities just because it had a negative opinion of the people there. I wonder if, with the passages stating god is good removed, if a person reading the bible for the first time would ever conclude said being was good?that is just a law of reality. since God made reality we know him through reality by contemplation and we learn for ourselves that God is good.
Great for you, on a personal level, I suppose. Why you would ever think that would be convincing to anyone else is beyond me, though.we find a richer reality and taste of it dully, both the cruder and the better parts of it. in experiencing various evil spirits and then experiencing good spirits I see that God is good.
Since many in this forum believe that God is good: how do you prove that God is good?Let me ask this question, since many in this forum believe that God is evil: how do you prove that God is evil?
since you said that to me I decided to watch this video which explains it:So... please explain the flood so the Christian god doesn't look horrible.
-_- well, when you view the story as entirely symbolic rather than a direct depiction of an event, then it no longer is YHWH literally wiping out nearly all life on the planet with a flood, now is it? However, the worst thing this deity does is punish people for not believing it exists and worshipping it, the former not even being a fully conscious choice. I know, because I have been seeking belief for 8 years, and have yet to attain it.since you said that to me I decided to watch this video which explains it:
but since most can't be bothered to watch a 1+ hour video explaining parts of it I will put a few screenshots that partially explain in a condensed format.
No, I don´t. I just have to explain to you what I mean when saying "good" and "bad", then compare your god concept to those standards, and look at the result.So we come back to the basic question of this thread: what is good, and what is evil? You see, in order to prove your judgments about God you'd first have to prove what good and evil are.
You are working from the premise that "good/evil" are non-human concepts out there that need to be understood. This premise isn´t shared and needs substantiation.Then you could apply them to God. That's why this question is so important, and that's why my answer is that we simply can't know what good and evil are: we need someone in a position to know what they are to tell us.
Unfortunately, in order to determine/identify whether a certain being is supreme, you would first have to have criteria for good/evil, to begin with.And the only one in that position is the Supreme Being himself.
Based on whose standards for good/evil do you want this to be proven?I think you've missed the point of this threadProve to me that the Christian God is evil based on the Flood.
However, the worst thing this deity does is punish people for not believing it exists and worshipping it, the former not even being a fully conscious choice. I know, because I have been seeking belief for 8 years, and have yet to attain it.
atheist don't have any criteria for what is good other than themselves because they don't believe that they are in Gods image. so to me this would seem to leave a huge crack in how one would exist in reality, one that is so huge that if you really and deeply did not believe in God as he is, you would destroy and ruin everything because that is what the lack of God is since God is the criteria for all good and truthful things.
the psychological aspects of the atheist who does not believe in eternal destiny boggles my mind because I don't see any value in this world if it is not significant.
how do atheist cope with existing for no reason at all and what kind of person do they become because of such beliefs?
And theists have no other criteria than themselves when ascribing moral notions to a God. So I guess you don´t get around subjectivity of your beliefs by postulating a deity.what I guess i'm trying to say is that atheist don't have any criteria for what is good other than themselves because they don't believe that they are in Gods image.
But that´s you. Apparently you have different standards for "significance" than I do.the psychological aspects of the atheist who does not believe in eternal destiny boggles my mind because I don't see any value in this world if it is not significant.
I am aware of the reasons why I exist, thank you.how do atheist cope with existing for no reason at all and what kind of person do they become because of such beliefs?
I´m not under that risk because I don´t perceive the hard facts of reality as being discomforting in a metaphysical way.no one should believe God exist just because they think they need some form of comfort from the hard facts of reality that atheist believe in.
And theists have no other criteria than themselves when ascribing moral notions to a God. So I guess you don´t get around subjectivity of your beliefs by postulating a deity.
yes this would be true if in fact no God showed me anything.
That's your opinion of good and evil. Apparently it's not God's. You still haven't proven anything, only stated an opinion.But I didn't say evil, I said horrible...
Drowning toddlers is, to me, horrible. Which is demonstrably true.
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