An alien with vast powers and intelligence came to Earth.
He gained the world’s attention by announcing that at an exact time all of the world’s religious shrines would disappear, as if evaporated, without violence or trace, leaving not even a cloud of dust or hint of residue.
He claimed not to have created the universe, but to be its oldest inhabitant, an observer who took a special interest in the Earth and its people; that he had guided the development of the world for their benefit. He offered peace, prosperity and health to all. He had but one condition, that the people of Earth would recognize him, love and worship him as their protector and benefactor.
There were some who took instant offense. He destroyed them utterly. Much of Russia and several countries in the Middle East were laid waste. Men, women, children and their possessions simply disappeared, along with half a dozen obscure and isolated tribes in Borneo, Brazil, and South East Asia.
Gardens flourished, poverty vanished, major disease and birth defects were cured. His power, wisdom, and kindness were almost universally acknowledged. He promised an eternal life of bliss after physical death.
Questions for debate:
Would you join the billions who acknowledged him as their sole lord and savior?
If not, why not?
In what ways would this alien be effectively different from the god of Abraham?
An alien with Vast Powers and Intelligence came to Earth
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An alien with Vast Powers and Intelligence came to Earth
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Re: An alien with Vast Powers and Intelligence came to Earth
Post #2Diogenes wrote: ↑Sun Sep 18, 2022 2:40 pm An alien with vast powers and intelligence came to Earth.
He gained the world’s attention by announcing that at an exact time all of the world’s religious shrines would disappear, as if evaporated, without violence or trace, leaving not even a cloud of dust or hint of residue.
He claimed not to have created the universe, but to be its oldest inhabitant, an observer who took a special interest in the Earth and its people; that he had guided the development of the world for their benefit. He offered peace, prosperity and health to all. He had but one condition, that the people of Earth would recognize him, love and worship him as their protector and benefactor.
There were some who took instant offense. He destroyed them utterly. Much of Russia and several countries in the Middle East were laid waste. Men, women, children and their possessions simply disappeared, along with half a dozen obscure and isolated tribes in Borneo, Brazil, and South East Asia.
Gardens flourished, poverty vanished, major disease and birth defects were cured. His power, wisdom, and kindness were almost universally acknowledged. He promised an eternal life of bliss after physical death.
Quite doubtful.Questions for debate:
Would you join the billions who acknowledged him as their sole lord and savior?
He would first need to answer a few challenges:If not, why not?
"Prove you guided the development of the world for our benefit"
"Why us? and what's in it for you?"
"Why do you need to be worshiped?"
"Just what is it I need to be protected and saved from, and how do I know you can do it?"
"Why us? and what's in it for you?"
"Why do you need to be worshiped?"
"Just what is it I need to be protected and saved from, and how do I know you can do it?"
His existence would not be in doubt.In what ways would this alien be effectively different from the god of Abraham?
.
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Re: An alien with Vast Powers and Intelligence came to Earth
Post #3Miles wrote: ↑Mon Sep 19, 2022 12:28 am He would first need to answer a few challenges:
"Prove you guided the development of the world for our benefit"
"Why us? and what's in it for you?"
"Why do you need to be worshiped?"
"Just what is it I need to be protected and saved from, and how do I know you can do it?"
His existence would not be in doubt.In what ways would this alien be effectively different from the god of Abraham?
.

Let us suppose this alien's claims were validated absolutely... that, unlike the God of Abraham, there was no question that what he claimed was true. Would you then bow to him? Be subservient? Acknowledge him as God? Worship him? Love him?
Millions have done the same, bowed and pledged fealty with much less evidence.
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Re: An alien with Vast Powers and Intelligence came to Earth
Post #4Why? I see no reason to acknowledge him as god. After all he's just an alien from some other world isn't he. And be subservient? Gotta have a good reason to unquestioningly obey others, and so far I don't see any. As far as worshiping him, what has he done to deserve reverence and adoration? Nothing I've seen. And loving him? How can anyone love someone who kills innocent women and children. He's no less a beast than the god of Abraham.Diogenes wrote: ↑Mon Sep 19, 2022 1:22 amMiles wrote: ↑Mon Sep 19, 2022 12:28 am He would first need to answer a few challenges:
"Prove you guided the development of the world for our benefit"
"Why us? and what's in it for you?"
"Why do you need to be worshiped?"
"Just what is it I need to be protected and saved from, and how do I know you can do it?"
His existence would not be in doubt.In what ways would this alien be effectively different from the god of Abraham?
.
Let us suppose this alien's claims were validated absolutely... that, unlike the God of Abraham, there was no question that what he claimed was true. Would you then bow to him? Be subservient? Acknowledge him as God? Worship him? Love him?
Millions also love, adore, and pledged fealty to Donald J. Trump as well. So, so much for following crowds.Millions have done the same, bowed and pledged fealty with much less evidence.
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Re: An alien with Vast Powers and Intelligence came to Earth
Post #5All of the reasons I can think of for "not" come down to some "To Serve Man" scenario. Your question seems to be that if someone seems to be everything a benevolent god ought to be, do we treat him or her as God? Sure, I do.Diogenes wrote: ↑Sun Sep 18, 2022 2:40 pmHe offered peace, prosperity and health to all. He had but one condition, that the people of Earth would recognize him, love and worship him as their protector and benefactor.
Gardens flourished, poverty vanished, major disease and birth defects were cured. His power, wisdom, and kindness were almost universally acknowledged. He promised an eternal life of bliss after physical death.
Questions for debate:
Would you join the billions who acknowledged him as their sole lord and savior?
He probably wouldn't have any problem with iron chariots, for one thing.
My pronouns are he, him, and his.
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Re: An alien with Vast Powers and Intelligence came to Earth
Post #6Miles wrote: ↑Mon Sep 19, 2022 2:21 amWhy? I see no reason to acknowledge him as god. After all he's just an alien from some other world isn't he. And be subservient? Gotta have a good reason to unquestioningly obey others, and so far I don't see any. As far as worshiping him, what has he done to deserve reverence and adoration? Nothing I've seen. And loving him? How can anyone love someone who kills innocent women and children. He's no less a beast than the god of Abraham.Diogenes wrote: ↑Mon Sep 19, 2022 1:22 amMiles wrote: ↑Mon Sep 19, 2022 12:28 am He would first need to answer a few challenges:
"Prove you guided the development of the world for our benefit"
"Why us? and what's in it for you?"
"Why do you need to be worshiped?"
"Just what is it I need to be protected and saved from, and how do I know you can do it?"
His existence would not be in doubt.In what ways would this alien be effectively different from the god of Abraham?
.
Let us suppose this alien's claims were validated absolutely... that, unlike the God of Abraham, there was no question that what he claimed was true. Would you then bow to him? Be subservient? Acknowledge him as God? Worship him? Love him?
Millions also love, adore, and pledged fealty to Donald J. Trump as well. So, so much for following crowds.Millions have done the same, bowed and pledged fealty with much less evidence.
.

And of course this is counter to the rather recent attempt at a "Gocha, Atheists!' from both the Muslims and Christians, though I'm not sure which used it first: "Even if God (Allah) himself came down, atheists would find a way to doubt and question it was God". The debunk is that if it claimed to be Allah, Christians would deny it and if it didn't claim to be Allah, Muslims would deny it; and, as we see in the post I quoted, if it was an advanced being and claimed to have been the original God of the Bible, The Abrahamics would all deny it because it wasn't what they imagined God to be.
But it reflects nicely on the Gotcha of all the religions - "Which god?" Which they all ignore after saying "There is only One God." I swear they never answer the response "Which god is that only one?" (never mind which denomination) And we know the answer anyway: "Why, the one I have Faith in, of course."
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Re: An alien with Vast Powers and Intelligence came to Earth
Post #7My new book can be read freely from here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rIkqxC ... xtqFY/view
Old version can be read from here:
http://web.archive.org/web/202212010403 ... x_eng.html
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rIkqxC ... xtqFY/view
Old version can be read from here:
http://web.archive.org/web/202212010403 ... x_eng.html
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Re: An alien with Vast Powers and Intelligence came to Earth
Post #8Exactly. Why would a God demand to be loved and worshiped?
What I find most interesting is that those who profess to love their God on the basis of faith, have trouble loving exactly the same being if he has a different name or slightly different origin. This is not surprising. It has long been my contention that mere tradition, an accident of birth, determines the god one follows.
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Re: An alien with Vast Powers and Intelligence came to Earth
Post #9Where does the Bible God demand to be worshiped?
In Bible the highest commandment is to love God. May sound bad for someone, which is why I think it is good to notice that in Bible it means this:
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. His commandments are not grievous.
1 John 5:3
So, to love Bible God, it means that we keep the other commandments. And the other commandments are in "love your neighbor as yourself", which means we don't do anything evil to others.
Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. A second likewise is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Mat. 22:37-39
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not give false testimony,” “You shall not covet,” [TR adds “You shall not give false testimony,”] and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.
Romans 13:8-10
I don't think it is said in the Bible why God wants that we love others, but I think it can be said it is because He thinks it is good. Do you disagree with Him, is it not good to love others?
My new book can be read freely from here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rIkqxC ... xtqFY/view
Old version can be read from here:
http://web.archive.org/web/202212010403 ... x_eng.html
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rIkqxC ... xtqFY/view
Old version can be read from here:
http://web.archive.org/web/202212010403 ... x_eng.html
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Re: An alien with Vast Powers and Intelligence came to Earth
Post #10[Replying to 1213 in post #9]
Psalm 81:9
You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not worship any god other than me.
It is instructive to check all the Bible entries about worshipping Gid - which is undeniably what the Faithful are enjoined to do, though it isn't so often God who says to do it, but those who claim to speak for him and thereby give themselves power.
It is remarkable how much it's about a jealous God - He is obsessed that nobody worship any other gods, Not Baal or the god of the Sidonians, not Asherah. The Bible is all about worshipping and serving the one god and no others, even as well as YHWH.
Psalm 81:9
You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not worship any god other than me.
It is instructive to check all the Bible entries about worshipping Gid - which is undeniably what the Faithful are enjoined to do, though it isn't so often God who says to do it, but those who claim to speak for him and thereby give themselves power.
It is remarkable how much it's about a jealous God - He is obsessed that nobody worship any other gods, Not Baal or the god of the Sidonians, not Asherah. The Bible is all about worshipping and serving the one god and no others, even as well as YHWH.