Is the Biblical GOD really as some atheists argue?

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Is the Biblical GOD really as some atheists argue?

Post #1

Post by William »

This is a question going out to any people who - in their own ways follow after the biblical idea of GOD.

Recently I made a protest about an atheists attitude in relation to their interpretation of the biblical GOD.

The atheist claimed Christians were mindless slaves to a jealous God who lusts to rule over humans and demand that they worship and obey him

[Link To That Post]

My protest basically went along the lines that this was too sweeping a statement in which to base any honest argument on based upon the actual evidence both in the bible and from the behavior of people who call themselves Christians and have individual understandings as to what 'a jealous god' means, or what 'worship' means or whether the GOD actually 'lusts' for what the atheist accuses him of.

As can be read, my argument - as far as I am concern - is pretty solid on this, so I am putting it out there to those who specifically call themselves 'Christians' as to how you each see the GOD of the bible, why you see him that way and whether you believe there is any truth in the atheists claim, as sweeping as it is.

Q: Do you think you are a mindless slave to the biblical GOD?
(If not, then why not?)

Q: Do you think the bible GOD is a jealous GOD in the sense of the negative (being possessive for example) and if not (or if so) please say why you think this, as in, what do you understand it to mean.

Q: Do you think the biblical god 'lusts to rule over humans'?

Q: Do you think the biblical god demands that you worship and obey him?

Q: What do you personally see as 'worshiping GOD' and in what way do you feel that you have to obey him and why do you think that form of obedience is important?


Basically I would like as many answers as possible that a good indication of the overall Christian point of view might be better understood in relation to the biblical idea of GOD and how that might differ from the atheists claims regarding the nature of that god in relation to individual Christians as they interact with him in their own way.

I do not self identify as being a Christian myself, but as can be seen in my post [linked] , I personally do not and cannot see how the God of the Bible can be so grossly misrepresented (as I feel the atheist has done, and as I often see atheists doing) based on either the overall evidence in the bible itself as well as based on the overall evidence of Christian behavior in the world generally speaking.
Not to say that I am suggesting that people calling themselves 'Christians' cannot behave badly, but that behaving badly does not necessarily mean that they are being good Christians or reflecting a good witness to the biblical GOD.


Thank you.

:)

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Re: Is the Biblical GOD really as some atheists argue?

Post #2

Post by OnceConvinced »

As you haven't any bites yet, I will answer from what I believed as a Christian before I lost my faith.
Q: Do you think you are a mindless slave to the biblical GOD?
(If not, then why not?)
No. I voluntarily chose to follow him and be his servant. I wanted to help spread his message and help others join the family of god as fellow servants. I wanted to help those servants, less experienced than myself, at becoming better servants.
Q: Do you think the bible GOD is a jealous GOD in the sense of the negative (being possessive for example) and if not (or if so) please say why you think this, as in, what do you understand it to mean.
It's hard to move away from the negative stereotype. There is no doubt God becomes angry if you worship other gods (as seen throughout the bible). Even Jesus said the only way to God is through him.

But just because it may be seen as a sin for humans does not necessarily mean its a sin when it comes to God. He has justifiable reasons for being jealous (unlike us humans) and does not want us to be lured into following false gods. It's all out of love.
Q: Do you think the biblical god 'lusts to rule over humans'?
I wouldn't say lusts to rule. He could create anything he likes and rule over it if he wishes to. I would say that he desires a relationship us. However, he is more like a father, so thus expects us to submit to his authority as any father would. He knows what is best for us.
Q: Do you think the biblical god demands that you worship and obey him?
There is definitely a requirement there, although if we are true Christians, we should DESIRE to worship and obey him. No true Christian feels as if they are under any duress when it comes to this.
Q: What do you personally see as 'worshiping GOD' and in what way do you feel that you have to obey him and why do you think that form of obedience is important?
Worshipping is more than just singing praises and putting God on a pedestal. Worshipping is anything you do that is devoted to him. It could be as simple as drawing a picture. As long as it focussed on god, it is worship.

Any time you talk about the goodness of God and his blessings that too is a form of worship. Prayer is a form of worshipping. Listening to him is a form of worship, even if its through reading the bible. Any form of devotion to god... even working for him... is a form of worship.

As for obedience, if we truly love God we will want to worship and obey him. We will want to follow his lead and his example. After all, why would we worship a being and then do the opposite of what he would want? That wouldn't be very good worship now, would it? It would not show sincerity in our love and adoration for him.

Society and its morals evolve and will continue to evolve. The bible however remains the same and just requires more and more apologetics and claims of "metaphors" and "symbolism" to justify it.

Prayer is like rubbing an old bottle and hoping that a genie will pop out and grant you three wishes.

There is much about this world that is mind boggling and impressive, but I see no need whatsoever to put it down to magical super powered beings.


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Re: Is the Biblical GOD really as some atheists argue?

Post #3

Post by William »

OnceConvinced wrote: As you haven't any bites yet, I will answer from what I believed as a Christian before I lost my faith.
Q: Do you think you are a mindless slave to the biblical GOD?
(If not, then why not?)
No. I voluntarily chose to follow him and be his servant. I wanted to help spread his message and help others join the family of god as fellow servants. I wanted to help those servants, less experienced than myself, at becoming better servants.
Q: Do you think the bible GOD is a jealous GOD in the sense of the negative (being possessive for example) and if not (or if so) please say why you think this, as in, what do you understand it to mean.
It's hard to move away from the negative stereotype. There is no doubt God becomes angry if you worship other gods (as seen throughout the bible). Even Jesus said the only way to God is through him.

But just because it may be seen as a sin for humans does not necessarily mean its a sin when it comes to God. He has justifiable reasons for being jealous (unlike us humans) and does not want us to be lured into following false gods. It's all out of love.
Q: Do you think the biblical god 'lusts to rule over humans'?
I wouldn't say lusts to rule. He could create anything he likes and rule over it if he wishes to. I would say that he desires a relationship us. However, he is more like a father, so thus expects us to submit to his authority as any father would. He knows what is best for us.
Q: Do you think the biblical god demands that you worship and obey him?
There is definitely a requirement there, although if we are true Christians, we should DESIRE to worship and obey him. No true Christian feels as if they are under any duress when it comes to this.
Q: What do you personally see as 'worshiping GOD' and in what way do you feel that you have to obey him and why do you think that form of obedience is important?
Worshipping is more than just singing praises and putting God on a pedestal. Worshipping is anything you do that is devoted to him. It could be as simple as drawing a picture. As long as it focussed on god, it is worship.

Any time you talk about the goodness of God and his blessings that too is a form of worship. Prayer is a form of worshipping. Listening to him is a form of worship, even if its through reading the bible. Any form of devotion to god... even working for him... is a form of worship.

As for obedience, if we truly love God we will want to worship and obey him. We will want to follow his lead and his example. After all, why would we worship a being and then do the opposite of what he would want? That wouldn't be very good worship now, would it? It would not show sincerity in our love and adoration for him.
Thank for the feedback OnceConvinced

Q: Did you lose your faith because you came to the conclusion that Christians were mindless slaves to a jealous God who lusts to rule over humans and demand that they worship and obey him?

IF
"No"
THEN
Would you like to share WHY you lost your faith? (or link me to that data if you already have it online.)

Cheers

W

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Re: Is the Biblical GOD really as some atheists argue?

Post #4

Post by Divine Insight »

William wrote: Q: Do you think you are a mindless slave to the biblical GOD?
(If not, then why not?)
Even Jesus refused to be a mindless slave to the Biblical God.

The first think you need to understand is that Jesus is NOT the Biblical God. Yahweh is the Biblical God. So those who love and follow Jesus are refusing to obey the Biblical God just as much as Jesus was.

You need to realize that the Biblical God commanded men to stone adulterers to death. Jesus refused to do that.

You need to realize that the Biblical God commanded that we must seek an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and put the evil ones away from our midst. And that we take no pity on them. Jesus refused to obey that directive and instead taught people to turn the other cheek and to not resist evil.

Jesus was actually far more in line with the teachings of Buddha and refused to be a mindless slave to the Biblical God.

Jesus was a rebel who rebelled against the Biblical God and was ultimately crucified for his blaspheme against that God.

So many Christians most likely feel that to follow the teachings of Jesus is to obey God, but nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus clearly rejected the commandments of the Biblical God.
William wrote: Q: Do you think the bible GOD is a jealous GOD in the sense of the negative (being possessive for example) and if not (or if so) please say why you think this, as in, what do you understand it to mean.
Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.

Exodus 34:14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.


I also see this as a blatant contradiction if this religion is held up as being monotheistic (meaning that there is only one God). If there is only one God why is this God so jealous of other Gods that don't even exist? :-k

You need to realize that when I speak to Biblical issues I speak to them in the context of their self-contradictory absurdities.
William wrote: Q: Do you think the biblical god 'lusts to rule over humans'?
Well, it's pretty clear that if you don't do as he says he'll condemn you to death at the very least and everlasting punishment in some horrible hell at the worse.

And he clearly demands absolute obedience.

If we were talking about a human dictator here we would most likely conclude that this dictator lusts to rule over his subjects, or at least has some other agenda which requires this same situation.
William wrote: Q: Do you think the biblical god demands that you worship and obey him?
Lest he kill you or do worse, yes.
William wrote: Q: What do you personally see as 'worshiping GOD' and in what way do you feel that you have to obey him and why do you think that form of obedience is important?
Would it matter what I personally think?

I don't see anything in the Bible that suggests that I could even remotely qualify as being in harmony with this God unless I do precisely as he demands.

I do often point to Luke 6:37 as a quote attributed to Jesus that would allow me to be in harmony with the Biblical God with no need to acknowledge him, worship him, or anything along those lines.

Luke 6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.

This would just be me being me. No need to obey or acknowledge any authoritarian Godhead.

However, two things to note here: Jesus is not the Biblical God. And most Christians refuse to allow this verse to stand as truth anyway. They demand that if I am not acknowledging Jesus as "The Christ" and the Son of God, then I'd be damned no matter what, see John 3:18.

Christians also hold that every knee shall bow and ever tongue shall confess that Jesus is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings.

That sure sounds like it's going far beyond merely being in agreement with the moral values of Jesus.

If I am in harmony with the moral values of Jesus why can I not merely stand beside him as his moral equal? Why would I need to bow down on my knee and confess that he is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings if he isn't lusting to rule over me? :-k

These things are part and parcel to Christianity.

Any Christian who cares to argue that there is no need for me to bow down and worship Jesus or Yahweh or to even recognize them as being any sort of authoritarian dictator, Lord, or King is more than welcome to try to make that case.

In fact, for a Christian to attempt to make that argument they would also then need to confess that can't be important to believe in Christ, Yahweh, or Christianity at all.

Why would I need to believe any of that, if I can be in harmony with God by just having the same moral values?

I should be able to be a Buddhist, a Wiccan, or even an Atheist for that matter with absolutely no problem.

There would be no need for me to recognize Christianity or their Christ at all.
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Re: Is the Biblical GOD really as some atheists argue?

Post #5

Post by William »

Divine Insight wrote:
William wrote: Q: Do you think you are a mindless slave to the biblical GOD?
(If not, then why not?)
Even Jesus refused to be a mindless slave to the Biblical God.

The first think you need to understand is that Jesus is NOT the Biblical God. Yahweh is the Biblical God. So those who love and follow Jesus are refusing to obey the Biblical God just as much as Jesus was.

You need to realize that the Biblical God commanded men to stone adulterers to death. Jesus refused to do that.

You need to realize that the Biblical God commanded that we must seek an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and put the evil ones away from our midst. And that we take no pity on them. Jesus refused to obey that directive and instead taught people to turn the other cheek and to not resist evil.

Jesus was actually far more in line with the teachings of Buddha and refused to be a mindless slave to the Biblical God.

Jesus was a rebel who rebelled against the Biblical God and was ultimately crucified for his blaspheme against that God.

So many Christians most likely feel that to follow the teachings of Jesus is to obey God, but nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus clearly rejected the commandments of the Biblical God.
This is a question going out to any people who - in their own ways follow after the biblical idea of GOD. Your answer is from another position of opinion.


William wrote: Q: Do you think the bible GOD is a jealous GOD in the sense of the negative (being possessive for example) and if not (or if so) please say why you think this, as in, what do you understand it to mean.
Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.

Exodus 34:14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.


I also see this as a blatant contradiction if this religion is held up as being monotheistic (meaning that there is only one God). If there is only one God why is this God so jealous of other Gods that don't even exist? :-k

You need to realize that when I speak to Biblical issues I speak to them in the context of their self-contradictory absurdities.
This is a question going out to any people who - in their own ways follow after the biblical idea of GOD. You need to realize that in that context, your answers here are off topic and irrelevent for that.
William wrote: Q: Do you think the biblical god 'lusts to rule over humans'?
Well, it's pretty clear that if you don't do as he says he'll condemn you to death at the very least and everlasting punishment in some horrible hell at the worse.

And he clearly demands absolute obedience.

If we were talking about a human dictator here we would most likely conclude that this dictator lusts to rule over his subjects, or at least has some other agenda which requires this same situation.
This is a question going out to any people who - in their own ways follow after the biblical idea of GOD. You comment above is off topic.
William wrote: Q: Do you think the biblical god demands that you worship and obey him?
Lest he kill you or do worse, yes.
This is a question going out to any people who - in their own ways follow after the biblical idea of GOD. You comment above is off topic.

William wrote: Q: What do you personally see as 'worshiping GOD' and in what way do you feel that you have to obey him and why do you think that form of obedience is important?
Would it matter what I personally think?
In the context of the OP saying "This is a question going out to any people who - in their own ways follow after the biblical idea of GOD."...no, it does not matter what you personally think about that.

Perhaps you can do as OnceConvinced did and answer from a position of once having experienced having faith in that idea of GOD and what that was like for you at the time, and frame your answers accordingly.

If you have had no such experience, then this thread isn't really for you to express your opinion about the biblical idea of GOD in.

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Re: Is the Biblical GOD really as some atheists argue?

Post #6

Post by Divine Insight »

William wrote: Perhaps you can do as OnceConvinced did and answer from a position of once having experienced having faith in that idea of GOD and what that was like for you at the time, and frame your answers accordingly.

If you have had no such experience, then this thread isn't really for you to express your opinion about the biblical idea of GOD in.
That is my position.

I was born and raised into Christianity. I had accepted Christ as my savior. Even during that time I fully recognized that Christ was "letting me off the hook" from any need to obey the laws of Yahweh. I could see that as a Christian. :D

Even as a Christian I had no desire to stone any sinners to death. Even as a Christian it was my position that if the Almighty God wants sinners to die he can just strike them dead in whatever magical fashion he so chooses. Why ask me to do his dirty work for him?

Christ was actually in agreement with me and condoning my rebellion against the Biblical God. :D

Of course, like many Christians I felt that there must be some mistake. Surely Christ wouldn't be rebelling against the Father God, therefore there must be some explanation for why it was wrong to think that the original God had commanded men to stone sinners to death in the first place.

In fact, I was determined to learn the TRUTH so that I could teach the TRUE word of God to everyone, especially to many Christians who were clearly confused.

Let's face it, there can be no doubt that Christians are extremely confused. That's a given. Even Christians have no choice but to own up to this fact. Just look around at how many disagreeing Christian denominations and sects there are. Not the least of which is the major disagreements between Catholicism and Protestantism.

This has nothing to do with my personal opinions. This is a FACT of the Christendom. There is no denying this for even the most devout of Christians.


As a Christian I was determined to discover the TRUTH of the Bible. And so I looked into it as a Christian. And what I discovered is that the Bible cannot be true as it is written. This isn't just my opinion. Just look around and you'll see Christian theologians and apologists from all the different Christian sects and denominations trying to make sense of this nonsensical religious canon.

And none of them are succeeding in even convincing each other.

As far as I'm concerned I'm still a "Christian" to this very day. I'm simply a Christian who has come to realize that the whole religion was never anything more than a cultural scam. Period.

As a Christian I had been scammed. I hold my parents, and other elders responsible for this since they are the ones who raised me from birth telling me that this religion makes some sort of sense, when it fact it does not.

Just because I've discovered that it's all a scam doesn't change the fact that I am a Christian (i.e. I am a victim of the scam)

I'm just an "Enlightened Christian" now fully aware that I had indeed been scammed by an ancient religion that has never made any sense.

To dismiss me as being "Not a Christian" is quite frankly absurd.
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Re: Is the Biblical GOD really as some atheists argue?

Post #7

Post by OnceConvinced »

William wrote:
Q: Did you lose your faith because you came to the conclusion that Christians were mindless slaves to a jealous God who lusts to rule over humans and demand that they worship and obey him?
No, I can't say that I did. I don't think of Christians as mindless slaves. I did however start to realise that the god of the bible wasn't as nice as I was led to believe. I had made a lot of justifications for a lot of his behaviour. But there is way more to my road to atheism than that. :)

William wrote: IF
"No"
THEN
Would you like to share WHY you lost your faith? (or link me to that data if you already have it online.)
My brief story can be read here:

My brief story

I can send you a longer version if you wish, which has more detail in my reasoning.

Society and its morals evolve and will continue to evolve. The bible however remains the same and just requires more and more apologetics and claims of "metaphors" and "symbolism" to justify it.

Prayer is like rubbing an old bottle and hoping that a genie will pop out and grant you three wishes.

There is much about this world that is mind boggling and impressive, but I see no need whatsoever to put it down to magical super powered beings.


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Re: Is the Biblical GOD really as some atheists argue?

Post #8

Post by William »

[Replying to post 6 by Divine Insight]
To dismiss me as being "Not a Christian" is quite frankly absurd.
Well now I don't have to. Before I did. Your habit of explaining yourself after the fact is what is, frankly, mostly what is absurd.

I mentioned the same (Your habit of explaining yourself after the fact)in this post. [linky]



All the same, The questions were asked of people (not necessarily those one's who call themselves 'Christians' like you are doing) who - in their own ways follow after the biblical idea of GOD.

Q: Do you follow after the biblical idea of GOD?

By your words, it appears that you do not, and have never done so, or if you have done so, you will need to answer those questions from the framwork of your experience at that time BEFORE you decided not to, just as OnceConvinced did.

Otherwise, as already stated, you are imposing your opinions (and beliefs) where they were not asked for.

Q: Do (did) you think you are (were) a mindless slave to the biblical GOD?
(If not, then why not?)

Q: Do (did) you think the bible GOD is (was) a jealous GOD in the sense of the negative (being possessive for example) and if not (or if so) please say why you think this, as in, what do (did) you understand it to mean.

Q: Do (did) you think the biblical god 'lusts to rule over humans'?

Q: Do (did) you think the biblical god demands (demanded) that you worship and obey him?

Q: What do (did) you personally see as 'worshiping GOD' and in what way do you feel that you have (had) to obey him and why do you think that form of obedience is (was) important?

Now as can be seen, I have made the effort and given you the benefit of the doubt here, by rephrasing the questions to suit you as a past believer in this GOD, related to WHEN YOU WERE A BELIEVER IN THIS IDEA OF GOD. (not after you stopped being a believer in this idea of GOD)

Perhaps read how OnceConvinced answered the questions, intelligently and in line with the OP request and therein follow the example, and answer the questions.

Or;

Leave your opinion out of this thread.

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Re: Is the Biblical GOD really as some atheists argue?

Post #9

Post by Divine Insight »

William wrote: Q: Do you follow after the biblical idea of GOD?

By your words, it appears that you do not, and have never done so, or if you have done so, you will need to answer those questions from the framwork of your experience at that time BEFORE you decided not to, just as OnceConvinced did.

Otherwise, as already stated, you are imposing your opinions (and beliefs) where they were not asked for.
Well, that's a huge question for debate right there is it not?

Who do Christians consider to be "God"?

Most of them seem to think that following Jesus is the same as following "God". So they treat Jesus as "God".

My views were only slightly different from that. I accepted that Jesus was the "Son of God", and therefore Jesus must surely speak for God. So there's hardly any difference between Jesus and God in this latter view as well.

However, upon looking into the situation further I came to realize that Jesus cannot be the "God" of Old Testament, nor could Jesus be the SON of that God.

In fact, this then led me to believe that maybe Jesus was actually referring to a different "God" entirely as being his "Father"?

So I even considered that scenario. And at that point you could argue that I'm moving extremely far away from any sense of orthodox Christianity. And I would agree!

In fact, I would argue this ultimately doesn't even make any sense, because Jesus is quoted too often referring to the stories associated with the Hebrew Biblical God specifically. Not to mention the fact that the Gospels have Jesus being the purposeful virgin-born Son of that specific God.

But yeah, back when I was a "Christian" I was considering all these different possibilities. And realizing at the same time that if the "Father God" of Jesus was not the God described in the Hebrew Old Testament then it makes no sense in calling Jesus "The Christ" as it was implied by the Christian Gospel rumors.

In short, I realized that to even try to make out like Jesus was a miraculous virgin born "Son of God" where the God in question wasn't the God described in the Old Testament is never going to hold water.

What might hold water however is to recognize that Jesus was actually a mystic-minded Jew who tried to bring the moral higher ground of Mahayana Buddhism into his home religion. This makes far more sense on many levels:

1. Everything that Jesus taught is far more in harmony with the teaching of Buddhism than it is with the teachings of the OT.
2. There would be no need to hold up the idea that Jesus was the virgin-born demigod Son of Yahweh
3. Yet at the same time this would explain why Jesus tried to incorporate his teachings with what the Jews had traditionally believed.

In fact, I'm convinced that an explanation along these lines makes far more sense.

The problem here is that Jesus then becomes just a mortal man who is voicing his opinions, especially in terms of things like there being an afterlife available to those who believe in what he believes.

I mean, by the time we get to this point it's not longer a religion about the "Son of God" who was sent to earth to be the sacrificial lamb for the salvation of men.

And, by the way, the idea that Jesus was the sacrificial lamb of God given specifically for the purpose of paying for the sins of men was precisely what I was taught to believe as a Christian.

So that's certainly not something that would be unique to my opinion either.

I mean there are entire Christian Songs written to express this view, for example, "The Old Rugged Cross".

And this then requires that this is a religion about penal substitution. Yet another extremely troubling theological ideal if one stops to think about it in any depth.

These things can't be shrugged off as nothing more than the misguided opinions of someone who doesn't like Christianity.

Is Jesus the "Sacrificial Lamb" of God or not? :-k

If so, why is an omnipotent God sacrificing anything? Who has such power over God to demand such an extreme sacrifice?

And the idea that he's making this sacrifice to himself become lunacy.

And if Jesus is not the "Sacrificial Lamb of God", then why do so many Christian sects teach that he is? :-k

After all, that's what I was taught when I was a Christian. Jesus died to pay for my sins and make my salvation possible.

That's the idea that needs to be justified if Christianity is to remain viable.

This isn't just the random opinion of a non-Christian who doesn't understand Christianity.
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Re: Is the Biblical GOD really as some atheists argue?

Post #10

Post by William »

As a past believer in this GOD, related to WHEN YOU WERE A BELIEVER IN THIS IDEA OF GOD. (not after you stopped being a believer in this idea of GOD)

Perhaps read how OnceConvinced answered the questions, intelligently and in line with the OP request and therein follow the example, and answer the questions.

Or;

Leave your opinion out of this thread.
Can you please quote each question as you answer them so as to help the reader understand better.

Thanks

Q: Do (did) you think you are (were) a mindless slave to the biblical GOD?
(If not, then why not?)

Q: Do (did) you think the bible GOD is (was) a jealous GOD in the sense of the negative (being possessive for example) and if not (or if so) please say why you think this, as in, what do (did) you understand it to mean.

Q: Do (did) you think the biblical god 'lusts to rule over humans'?

Q: Do (did) you think the biblical god demands (demanded) that you worship and obey him?

Q: What do (did) you personally see as 'worshiping GOD' and in what way do you feel that you have (had) to obey him and why do you think that form of obedience is (was) important?

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