Perhaps looking at where people fail all the time isn’t the best place to start. Maybe look at those, who driven by their faith have done amazing things for their fellow man.
If you are looking for man’s perfection, you will never find it. You need to look at the theology behind the faith and what we are called to do, not just where we have failed to do it. If you look at people, you will never be able to reconcile it, we fail more than we succeed. We are imperfect as can be. Doesn’t mean the teaching is bad, just means the execution is difficult. But when we do succeed, we do great things.[/quote]
I wouldn’t disagree with this. What about all the success that non believers have made. Non-believers have done some amazing things for people. It isn’t as if belief makes you a good or bad person. HUMANS can do horrible things and HUMANS can do great things. I’m focused on doing great things while I’m alive on this earth. I don’t believe I have a second chance or later shot at life.
I have looked at what you are “called” to do and kudos if you can do it. It’s hard not to look at the failures when the failures are so numerous throughout history.
[/quote]
History is a categorical list of human failure punctuated by brief stints of success. Believe it or not, the majority of both is not religious in nature.
When we do one thing and say another, we call it hypocracy. [/quote]
Not necessarily. Hopefully parents demand their children refrain from a number of things they, as adults, do.
My God isn’t my peer in the sky. The authority and obedience is a one way street. It is infinitely more pronounced than seen in a child/parents relationship. It is infinitely more lop-sided. For all the distance between the parasites in a termite’s gut compared to a man, I am far, far more removed from the awesomeness that is an omnipresent/omniscient Creator. A gnat is infinitely closer to me, than I am to God, and I wouldn’t think twice about swatting it. I am shocked that mercy is extended to me/us at all.
If we do get those superior AI’s by 2050, pray they’re even remotely as merciful to us gnats.
[/quote]
Haha, nice except if you are Christian, you are supposed believe we were made in Gods image, not a gnats. Richard Dawkins believes we are more like gnats than God.
Funnier thing to me is, if you believe in the Garden of Eden story, you must also believe that it was Satan, not God that gave us real sentience.
Another thing, if Satan was Gods perfect angel. God really fucked up, and that would mean God isn’t perfect.
Some other things. If God isn’t the standard of goodness then he is no different than say Satan doing a bunch of evil shit but asking you do act in accordance with arbitrary rules. Which you should follow out of fear, or love, it really doesn’t matter just as long as you follow the rules… Sound all good to you? God is defined as ALL GOOD, Omniscient, and omnipotent. The most important part of that trifecta is the ALL GOOD part.
Satan was supposed to be endowed with all of the greatest virtues as well as free will. So there is an explanation for why God’s perfect angel turned out that way… Free will and jealousy of the one thing better than himself. This is what the coveting sin is about imo.
This is another reason why I preach doing good for the sake of good. It’s a better sort of good than doing good out of fear, or doing good in hopes of a reward. Goodness is the reward in itself. [/quote]
It would be cool if you got your theology right. That’s what you think Christians believe, but it’s not correct.[/quote]
Our sentience and awareness, as well as form is the traditional way of understanding what it means to be made in Gods image actually. It’s not what I think, it’s what I know about the majority. We are also closer to God in that we have material bodies as well as an immaterial aspect in the form of our souls. Remember tradition states that animals have no souls and don’t go to heaven. This one bugged the shit out of me as a kid as well. Had a big problem with my pets not being up there.
God shares with man authority over animals and plants, essentially they were put here for us to exploit according to your holy books. But what do I know. I was only born and raised Catholic. I asked a lot of questions and struggled with my faith for as long as I can remember. I was baptized, had a first holy communion, took confirmation classes, went to sunday school as a kid and studied Philosophy of religion as an adult. I’ve had a lot of insecurity about faith and lack of faith in my life which is why these topics still interest me.
If what I have to say doesn’t sit well it’s fine. I struggled with some of the same stuff as well when I was faithful. Some stuff needs to be understood as allegory. It’s impossible to treat he bible in a rigid way without God coming out muddy one way or another. Just a heads up on that.
When we do one thing and say another, we call it hypocracy. [/quote]
Not necessarily. Hopefully parents demand their children refrain from a number of things they, as adults, do.
My God isn’t my peer in the sky. The authority and obedience is a one way street. It is infinitely more pronounced than seen in a child/parents relationship. It is infinitely more lop-sided. For all the distance between the parasites in a termite’s gut compared to a man, I am far, far more removed from the awesomeness that is an omnipresent/omniscient Creator. A gnat is infinitely closer to me, than I am to God, and I wouldn’t think twice about swatting it. I am shocked that mercy is extended to me/us at all.
If we do get those superior AI’s by 2050, pray they’re even remotely as merciful to us gnats.
[/quote]
Haha, nice except if you are Christian, you are supposed believe we were made in Gods image, not a gnats. Richard Dawkins believes we are more like gnats than God.
Funnier thing to me is, if you believe in the Garden of Eden story, you must also believe that it was Satan, not God that gave us real sentience.
Another thing, if Satan was Gods perfect angel. God really fucked up, and that would mean God isn’t perfect.
Some other things. If God isn’t the standard of goodness then he is no different than say Satan doing a bunch of evil shit but asking you do act in accordance with arbitrary rules. Which you should follow out of fear, or love, it really doesn’t matter just as long as you follow the rules… Sound all good to you? God is defined as ALL GOOD, Omniscient, and omnipotent. The most important part of that trifecta is the ALL GOOD part.
Satan was supposed to be endowed with all of the greatest virtues as well as free will. So there is an explanation for why God’s perfect angel turned out that way… Free will and jealousy of the one thing better than himself. This is what the coveting sin is about imo.
This is another reason why I preach doing good for the sake of good. It’s a better sort of good than doing good out of fear, or doing good in hopes of a reward. Goodness is the reward in itself. [/quote]
It would be cool if you got your theology right. That’s what you think Christians believe, but it’s not correct.[/quote]
Our sentience and awareness, as well as form is the traditional way of understanding what it means to be made in Gods image actually. It’s not what I think, it’s what I know about the majority. We are also closer to God in that we have material bodies as well as an immaterial aspect in the form of our souls. Remember tradition states that animals have no souls and don’t go to heaven. This one bugged the shit out of me as a kid as well. Had a big problem with my pets not being up there.
[/quote]
That’s odd theology as well as kinda random. How’d you get from man in God’s image to animal souls.
I am sure like a fat juicy steak as much as I do. I don’t know where you get your understanding of church teaching on animals, it’s not correct.
It’s not that it doesn’t sit well, it doesn’t fit well with actual teachings.
And of course the Bible is not all literal. There are many books with different context, meaning, purpose and intended audience. Some of it is allegorical, some of it is historical, some of it is poetic, some of it is symbolic, some of it is prophetic and yes some of it is literal. It’s not one way or another, its many ways and it’s meant to be.