Is Yahweh a model God for today?

[Thomas123]

The older I get, the smarter my father seems to get. Tim Russert

I will debate on this thread, both the benefits and the necessity for us as a species on this earth to commit to a God based on the model that is the Hebrew God, Yahweh. We need Yahweh!

I welcome all contributions to this very broad subject.

Is Yahweh a model God for today?

[Thomas123]

William: What if we regarded the Planet Earth as a Living Intelligent Self Aware Creative Entity...do you think if we regarded these things as gifts from our planet , would we respect them more?
If not, why do you think having some kind of old testament idea of a God, would do the trick?

Thank You for your questions, William.
My sincerest answer to your question,is that it simply would not work.
Planet Earth is on Netflix every day, plastic bottles are shown on Tropical Shores every day on Sky. It has induced no effective response. Neither will it. You could say the same about habitats and eco systems globally. A godless agenda has not worked. I sincerely feel that it requires a higher love, a spirituality to effect real change. A journey under the guidance of the creator God Yahweh.

[Thomas123]

[Replying to post 58 by bluegreenearth]

Buddhism teaches that suffering is inevitable and must, therefore, be welcomed in when it arrives at the front door.

...............
Maybe that was the place where I stumbled, for another day, Thank You!

[bluegreenearth]

William: What if we regarded the Planet Earth as a Living Intelligent Self Aware Creative Entity...do you think if we regarded these things as gifts from our planet , would we respect them more?
If not, why do you think having some kind of old testament idea of a God, would do the trick?

Thank You for your questions, William.
My sincerest answer to your question,is that it simply would not work.
Planet Earth is on Netflix every day, plastic bottles are shown on Tropical Shores every day on Sky. It has induced no effective response. Neither will it. You could say the same about habitats and eco systems globally. A godless agenda has not worked. I sincerely feel that it requires a higher love, a spirituality to effect real change. A journey under the guidance of the creator God Yahweh.

OR...

"I approach this whole matter because of my interest in the Chinese and Japanese philosophy of nature, wherein there is not this sense of hostility between the human organism and its environment, but rather a sense of being one with it and collaborating with it. And thus its been my particular interest to see in what way this Far Eastern attitude to nature"based originally on the philosophy of Taoism"is applicable in a technological civilization." - Alan Watts

[Athetotheist]

[Replying to post 56 by Athetotheist]

You said in your post #35 that "Yahweh consistently demands absolute loyalty". How can even a god demand anything consistent if his message changes with the dispositions of those delivering it?

I will answer this new question. The messengers of Yahweh, in the Old Testament, be they Abraham, David, Moses, etc, are consistently fearful in their approach to Yahweh. Their dispositions possess a dreaded reverence consistent with being in the court of an all powerful Lord. It is easy in this atmosphere for Yahweh to insist on undivided loyalty and worship.

Should people living today have to live in fear of being put to death for not believing in Yahweh?

Or do you believe that Yahweh never really ordered this and that it was just a misunderstanding of the people in that time? If he didn't command that people be put to death for following other gods, though the Bible says he did, maybe he never said he was the only god to begin with. If one Bible statement about Yahweh can be questioned, so can the other.

[William]

[Replying to post 61 by ]

William: What if we regarded the Planet Earth as a Living Intelligent Self Aware Creative Entity...do you think if we regarded these things as gifts from our planet , would we respect them more?
If not, why do you think having some kind of old testament idea of a God, would do the trick?

Thomas Mc Donald: Thank You for your questions, William.

William: Part of the process Thomas. Thank you for creating an opportunity for me to ask these questions.

Thomas Mc Donald: My sincerest answer to your question,is that it simply would not work.
Planet Earth is on Netflix every day, plastic bottles are shown on Tropical Shores every day on Sky. It has induced no effective response. Neither will it. You could say the same about habitats and eco systems globally. A godless agenda has not worked.

William: What I wrote was "What if we regarded the Planet Earth as a Living Intelligent Self Aware Creative Entity" - in other words - a "God" Thomas.
Your answer seems to have ignored that, as clearly I was not speaking of the 'what if' as any godless agenda.

Thomas Mc Donald: I sincerely feel that it requires a higher love, a spirituality to effect real change.

William: Do you not think that if we regarded the Planet Earth as a Living Intelligent Self Aware Creative Entity" - in other words - a "God" that this process would have to require a higher love, and spirituality to effect real change ?

Thomas Mc Donald: A journey under the guidance of the creator God Yahweh.

William: Which brings me to the other question I asked you.
"If not, why do you think having some kind of old testament idea of a God, would do the trick?"

Can you answer that Thomas?

[Thomas123]

[Replying to post 65 by William]

the Planet Earth as a Living Intelligent Self Aware Creative Entity" ", is for all intensive purposes, a God,

The Planet Earth as a Living Intelligent Self Aware Creative Entity" - in other words - a "God". I think that it is not a God that I could follow personally. It is not a God that would be in any way effective. You might find it difficult to apply your adjectives to our world and the surrounding cosmos. Pure respect and reverence for our earth has long disappeared in the human way.
I repeat my reservations about this 'God',you flag up'by saying that it has not and will not work! I want a God fit for purpose here and I propose Yahweh from the Old Testament as a real and sustaining spiritual overlord.
I feel that you consider things deeply, William, and I ask you to critique the Job snippet I offered here along with the first half of Psalm 19 to see if the depiction of our existence is ,in any way different to the god you use here as an example. I would also include the first few lines of Genesis just as a sample. The use of the natural world as a way to Yahweh is quite beautiful in parts of the jesus writings,with the flowers and the birds of the air and all that...even foxes have holes.Thank You

[Thomas123]

I wish to further promote the motion here that Yahweh worship is relevant and necessary in our world today.

We live in a world of false Gods akin to the world described in the Testaments. Yahweh has been shown to be effective in these situations by displaying a complete intolerance of competition. This is clearly stated in the Commandments.

For at least the last 2000 years, money has been the false god of choice. Some people equate this god with personal greed but I feel it is more than that.People derive great pleasure from commerce and much good has been done by busy working people. Money is, however, a false God. The Jesus writings tell us that this prophet figure of Yahweh saw the juggernaut of commerce coming. He handled Roman coinage and he scattered the altars of this false God in the Temple courtyard.

Money and commerce, the vast majority of which is unnecessary, has desecrated the works of Yahweh in the world. This false God looks like it will totally consume us unless we turn to a more powerful alternative.

I welcome all considerations on this matter.

[Athetotheist]

I wish to further promote the motion here that Yahweh worship is relevant and necessary in our world today.

We live in a world of false Gods akin to the world described in the Testaments. Yahweh has been shown to be effective in these situations by displaying a complete intolerance of competition. This is clearly stated in the Commandments.

For at least the last 2000 years, money has been the false god of choice. Some people equate this god with personal greed but I feel it is more than that.People derive great pleasure from commerce and much good has been done by busy working people. Money is, however, a false God. The Jesus writings tell us that this prophet figure of Yahweh saw the juggernaut of commerce coming. He handled Roman coinage and he scattered the altars of this false God in the Temple courtyard.

Money and commerce, the vast majority of which is unnecessary, has desecrated the works of Yahweh in the world. This false God looks like it will totally consume us unless we turn to a more powerful alternative.

I welcome all considerations on this matter.

You get no argument from me about money being a false god. In fact, it seems to me that market economics as a whole qualifies as a religious cult, considering the fanatical level of devotion given to it.

As to your comment that "Yahweh has been shown to be effective in these situations by displaying a complete intolerance of competition", I think this indicates that you believe the best deity to be an authoritarian one. A complete intolerance of competition is a dreadful position when a god takes it to the point of imposing a death sentence on mortals who violate it and commands the mortals who follow him to carry that sentence out. Is that really a good way to order a society? How does true Godhood require a deity to be a death-dealing tyrant?

[Tcg]

My sincerest answer to your question,is that it simply would not work.
Planet Earth is on Netflix every day, plastic bottles are shown on Tropical Shores every day on Sky. It has induced no effective response. Neither will it.

The existence of these 15 organizations formed to help protect our oceans contradicts your claim:

1. Ocean Conservancy
2. Surfrider Foundation
3. Oceana
4. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
5. Take 3
6. Green Peace
7. The 5 Gyres Institute
8. Oceanic Preservation Society
9. The Environmental Defense Fund
10. RicOBarrys Dolphin Project
11. Pretoma
12. Natural Resources Defense Council
13. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
14. Blue Frontier Campaign
15. Bahamas Plastic Movement

For details visit: https://www.marineinsight.com/environme ... ve-oceans/

None, as far as I know, are based on Yahweh or the teachings humans have created about him.


Tcg

[Thomas123]

I regard this response to a disaster as incomplete and as such it is doomed to failure
. If any of these organisations are being funded by pollution heavy businesses then their effort degenerates further into tokenism. Unless the vast majority of humans develop a spiritual and religious gratitude for the creation gift that is their world this thing will become a death by a thousand cuts. We need to contextualize our plight and our pressing needs from within the all encompassing spirituality of Yahweh, the Creator God