Would you worship an evil God?
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Would you worship an evil God?
Post #1I've heard atheists such as Matt Dillahunty (whom I greatly admire) claim that if they believed in the God of the Bible, who is obviously bloodthirsty and malevolent in many cases, they would refuse to worship him. But wouldn't you do anything to avoid eternal torment? Do any of you honestly claim that you would go to Hell before bowing to an evil God? If Hell were simply a place without God, as it is often described, that would be a different matter. But assuming Hell is a place of infinite pain, who would honestly let themselves be sent there? Even if you had to sacrifice your own child, wouldn't you obey God to avoid ultimate suffering?
Post #31
King Josiah turned to the Lord with all his heart and yet God had him killed and his nation destroyed.Wootah wrote: [Replying to post 29 by postroad]
Good is that which is morally right.
(Your kings reference are lost on me right now.)
So how good does a person need to be to be considered good?
Post #32
[Replying to post 27 by Goat]
Ok - I don't know much about the war on drugs. It looks like the terminology was first used by the media in 1971, following Nixon's claim that drug abuse is "public enemy number one".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Drugs
Personally, I have not witnessed harmful effects from this movement; many kids at my high school were reprimanded or received a ticket for possession of marijuana - but I never knew anyone to go to jail for it. I do know that one of my teammates killed himself while high (on what, I don't know), because, confused, he pulled the trigger of a gun and shot his friend - and even though the bullet had not killed his friend, he turned the gun on himself. That is a case scenario, a freak accident, and certainly cannot be solved by government regulation. I'm not trying to make a point yet - just, that's the extent of my knowledge of the harmful effects of drugs, so I shared.
That being said, I've found information from multiple sources that suggests the war on drugs may be counterproductive, as you have implied. The question is, is the war on drugs really a result of worship of the Christian God? This article
http://www.lewrockwell.com/2012/03/laur ... -on-drugs/
written by a self-proclaimed "theological and cultural conservative" Christian, suggests that there are cases where "Young people go into prisons, they go in as youths and come out as hardened criminals." He clearly doesn't support the war on drugs. He goes on to say
Matthew 15:17-20 is strikingly applicable, as a "drug" could be loosely interpreted as something that goes into the mouth. Although maybe drugs are a bit worse for you than "to eat with unwashed hands", the point is that "out of the heart come evil intentions..." (emphasis mine).
Finally, I don't think anyone would argue that Christ was on the side of the government, as it was the government who tortured him to death.
I see no strong argument that Christian worship of God is somehow a root cause of the war on drugs, nor that any acts of the government are at all representative of Christian beliefs.
Ok - I don't know much about the war on drugs. It looks like the terminology was first used by the media in 1971, following Nixon's claim that drug abuse is "public enemy number one".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Drugs
Personally, I have not witnessed harmful effects from this movement; many kids at my high school were reprimanded or received a ticket for possession of marijuana - but I never knew anyone to go to jail for it. I do know that one of my teammates killed himself while high (on what, I don't know), because, confused, he pulled the trigger of a gun and shot his friend - and even though the bullet had not killed his friend, he turned the gun on himself. That is a case scenario, a freak accident, and certainly cannot be solved by government regulation. I'm not trying to make a point yet - just, that's the extent of my knowledge of the harmful effects of drugs, so I shared.
That being said, I've found information from multiple sources that suggests the war on drugs may be counterproductive, as you have implied. The question is, is the war on drugs really a result of worship of the Christian God? This article
http://www.lewrockwell.com/2012/03/laur ... -on-drugs/
written by a self-proclaimed "theological and cultural conservative" Christian, suggests that there are cases where "Young people go into prisons, they go in as youths and come out as hardened criminals." He clearly doesn't support the war on drugs. He goes on to say
That quote, I feel, is representative of the teachings of most churches I have attended, and is a central theme of the Bible. Jesus repeatedly speaks against the men of law, who obey the rules for appearances' sake (Matthew 5:20, 6:2, Luke 12:1-3). It's not about the rules, it's about the heart. Follow the rules, yes - but that's not the point. It's not about law, it's about one's core belief. A Christian would be encouraged to abstain from drugs, but not to force that abstinence on others - to evangelize instead.It is not the purpose of Christianity to change society as a whole outwardly; it is the purpose of Christianity to change men as individuals inwardly.
Matthew 15:17-20 is strikingly applicable, as a "drug" could be loosely interpreted as something that goes into the mouth. Although maybe drugs are a bit worse for you than "to eat with unwashed hands", the point is that "out of the heart come evil intentions..." (emphasis mine).
Finally, I don't think anyone would argue that Christ was on the side of the government, as it was the government who tortured him to death.
I see no strong argument that Christian worship of God is somehow a root cause of the war on drugs, nor that any acts of the government are at all representative of Christian beliefs.
Post #33
[Replying to post 26 by connermt]
My apologies - I'm not sure what you're asking, exactly. Please provide context. Whose life are we talking about? How are they living it? Then I can tell you whether said person has negatively impacted my ability to worship.
My apologies - I'm not sure what you're asking, exactly. Please provide context. Whose life are we talking about? How are they living it? Then I can tell you whether said person has negatively impacted my ability to worship.
