# Believing In God While Hating Him **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 1, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942 "2010-05-01T03:44:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/101 "2010-05-02T00:45:26Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Freedom or death, bitchez… Fifth Column! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/102 "2010-05-02T00:46:14Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Oh snap they had cars?! Sure, but even back then, they lived in the only country in the area without oil. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/103 "2010-05-02T00:49:19Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Tanks. Yer welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/104 "2010-05-02T00:56:18Z")
> [@pedescribe](#): > > You know, all this talk of resistance action would make a good book or three. This time, throw out all the alternate universe fantasy, narrow it down–here, now, devil, demons, angels, god. From the point of view of the sinners. Left Behind, but from the opposite perspective. > > I’d read it. [You can.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheSalvationWar) Tis a good read. Back on the subject at hand—even if God is omniscient and omnipotent, that might not guarantee that he knows he’s going to _win._ He might be like Doctor Manhattan and seemingly _aware_ of the future, but somehow unable to affect it’s outcome. Whether or not that has to do with the nature of fate, the space-time continuum, or his own self-delusions is yet another debate. I think Paradise Lost touched on something like this, actually; I really need to get back to reading it… ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/105 "2010-05-02T01:34:05Z")
To answer the questions asked: 1. I would be delighted that the God I believe in exists. Well I already believe in Him but truly seeing Him would be an even better experience though I’d have great regret for the unsaved people. 2. If a different God turned out to be true (I don’t believe in this even 0.0000000000000000000000000000…0000001% but for the situation’s sake…) I would be unhappy but what happens next depends on which deity it is… ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/106 "2010-05-02T02:41:55Z")
Kali ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/107 "2010-05-02T02:59:01Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Kali He’d look for the Sankara Stones, of course. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/108 "2010-05-02T03:14:41Z")
I want to take the same question as Curtis’ in another direction. However, it’s different enough to justify a new thread. I’ll post here when I have it sorted out. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/109 "2010-05-02T06:58:15Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > I want to take the same question as Curtis’ in another direction. However, it’s different enough to justify a new thread. I’ll post here when I have it sorted out. Here it is. I started writing it, took a nap, & then came back to it. **Believing in God While Hating Him With a Twist** > **[Believing in God While Hating Him With A Twist](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=561684)** > > In this thread http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=561614 , Curtis LeMay asked Here I will ask the same question with a major change- Yes, the God in question is Yahweh of the Hebrew Bible, Who is also the Triune God of the... ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/110 "2010-05-03T17:14:24Z")
Presented with the christian diety, I’d curse and cry and scream in terror, and also rail against him, because I’d be screwed already and it wouldn’t matter. The rule of thumb as best I can tell is that if you see God then the time to choose your side is passed. (Seeing Jesus is different, but knowing Jesus exists is hardly the same as knowing God does.) So there would be no point in resisting, no pointing in praising - time is up and all over except for the screaming. So I would pray - but not for forgiveness or salvation; I’d pray that the old jews were right and that hell is annihilation (unless you’re the serpent), rather than eternal torment. And failing that I’d pray that it would be possible for the agony to snap my mind and turn me into an insensate twitching mass, unable to properly experience the suffering thereafter. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/111 "2010-05-03T17:22:16Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > truly seeing Him would be an even better experience though I’d have great regret for the unsaved people. Here you’ve implied that knowledge of the fate of the unsaved in some way mars the perfection of communion with God. Why should it be so? If God sees fit to take joy in their torment, shouldn’t you too? ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/112 "2010-05-03T17:34:13Z")
God is a drill sergeant, and basic training never ends. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/113 "2010-05-03T17:43:34Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > 1. If a different God turned out to be true (I don’t believe in this even 0.0000000000000000000000000000…0000001% but for the situation’s sake…) I would be unhappy but what happens next depends on which deity it is… It’s Bacchus. Bend over. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/114 "2010-05-03T17:48:16Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > It’s Bacchus. Bend over. Eh, I don’t think he’d do that much [damage](http://image32.webshots.com/33/6/52/88/269565288UMwmjo_ph.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/115 "2010-05-03T18:05:40Z")
Give him a break, it’s cold on top of Mount Olympus. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/116 "2010-05-12T05:00:43Z")
wouldn’t in revealing himself totally negate the purpose of heaven? every single murderer, child molester, and tax evader would naturally fully believe in JC and get a lifetime funpass to paradise, and then there goes the neighborhood. talk about white flight… ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/117 "2010-05-12T05:27:04Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > So supposing the God of traditional hellfire and brimstone theology existed how would you react to Him? For starters, I’d ask what he needs with a starship. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/118 "2010-05-12T11:56:01Z")
I think the odds on any god existing being the Christian god is somewhere between nil and none. Christians coopted the Hebrew god and changed him to suit themselves. Whether any god exists is one question, whether he/she/it is omnipotent is another. If the god isn’t omnipotent, I really don’t have any feelings about he/she/it. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/119 "2010-05-12T13:53:21Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > I suspect that many people on this board such as _Der Trihs_ > would hate the God of traditional Christian theology even if His existence was proven. So supposing the God of traditional hellfire and brimstone theology existed how would you react to Him? What’s the “God of traditional Christian theology”? Is it the omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient and benevolent one we’re supposed to believe in, or the mean, petty and curiously short-sighted one described in the Bible? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942/120 "2010-05-12T14:07:28Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > To answer the questions asked: > > 1. I would be delighted that the God I believe in exists. Well I already believe in Him but truly seeing Him would be an even better experience though I’d have great regret for the unsaved people. > > 2. If a different God turned out to be true (I don’t believe in this even 0.0000000000000000000000000000…0000001% but for the situation’s sake…) I would be unhappy but what happens next depends on which deity it is… It must be awesome to have everything figured out at age 14. Kudos to you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believing-in-god-while-hating-him/537942.md?page=7)