This was one of the dealbreakers for me when I discovered that religion was a lie. This had to be made up by people. If a god existed and was enough of a dick to pull the “you’re all sinful and going to hell unless you worship me” thing, then he/she/it wasn’t worth worshiping in the first place. It turns out that if you pay the priests/ministers/shamans enough, then they will intercede for you and voila - god loves your ass again. Until next Sunday, at least.
What a scam.
I can give my perspective on this, though I’m not religious myself.
For Christians that believe in a literal hell, they usually tacitly accept that god is evil. They’d never admit it directly, the most you’d get is that god is a “jealous god” or whatever, but the phrase “god-fearing” exists for a reason.
However, they don’t resent god’s rule because god’s responsible for all the beauty and wonder in the world (whereas anything ugly in the world…is probably our fault). He’s like a beautiful force of nature.
Hence they can love god and be shit-scared of him at the same time.
But what about their atheist friends and relatives who are going to hell? I suspect the majority of fundies are not sure at all about who god will choose or condemn, including their own fate.
So they put in lots of church time, but there’s nothing to make them worry about atheists friends specifically.
Kind of like Mussolini. You didn’t want to be on his bad side, but he did make the trains run on time.
I didn’t say" scripture said there were 600+ commandments" I once heard a Rabbi state that, I had only heard of ten.
Regardless of how many. or how few, it was still some human who stated that they came from God, and people believe that human. and if God wrote any number of commandments on some rocks upon a mountain, they were broken By a Man called Moses when the people were worshipping a golden calf! 600+ would be a heavy stone to carry!!
The number is not as important as saying God did something that a human just claimed he did!! NO different than stating that God sent an angel to Muhammad to write a book.
Monavis: “I don’t see how a supreme being who created beings with flaws would then punish them because of their flaws.”
(as described and told in the Old Testament):
GOD DONT LIKE YOU!
GOD DONT LIKE ANY OF US–HE CERTAINLY DOES NOT LOVE US!
GOD IS ANTI-HUMAN!
GOD did not get along with the first two people on earth!
GOD recklessly, negligently or on purpose caused a jealousy in one of the next two people which resulted in the first murder!
GOD began a series of natural events that would cause a flood so great it would surprisingly catch everyone unprepared–they would all die!
after being persuaded “all” was too many, God chose possibly the worst type fellow, and certainly the father of all scourge since. noah was a chronic drunk who failed to save his son from banishment and eternal curse–bcz he saw noah passed out drunk–without clothes on. drunks do this still today–they wind up in the street or in a motel room without clothes and blame the first person they see.
relying on firsthand accounts, God ordered the destruction of Sodom and Gonorrhea.
In a marvelously (almost whimsical) narration, God is persuaded to allow one man to slip out, or one family. Either God did not require background checks or the process had not been sought, this being the first to show a need for such checks—as, the next biblical “hero” was hardly heroic.
This man was known to have lots of things. Around town he was simply called “Lot.” His wife would be the origin of the dilemma that women complain they don’t get much, if any from their husbands.
If there were four more inscrutable people in either of those two towns, we would doubt it, as these four went from zero to 60 mules in less than an hour and had them packed, causing a parallel line of suspicion and curiosity among their neighbors, as the four dashed out of town, being tipped off by the Angels.
The family Lots were able to gather a good distance even though they did not have much advance notice. Though they did not know how soon the devastation would begin, prudently the Lot family all agreed not to waste time spreading the word, to those who cared for them; others who had been friends, possibly family—one was too many—time was essential—they ran…
To Lot, it was still worth it, though his wife did not survive. The two daughters were safe and far from those towns where many a night Lot nervously pondered the chastity of the dears.
As he thought about it, Lot reached for his favorite sangria–he was joyous: they were beyond the harm that befell the others, their lives no longer threatened. Lot drank like it was 999, joyful he could go on a binge, not having to stay sober and watchful over the girls.
Did Lot or the girls ever feel remorseful for not trying to save one soul other than themselves, I cannot remember. But this story did instill and further warn for all time the risks of DOPE-DRINKING, as I submit there can be few other cork-snapping moments that could cause a father to stay inebriated to the degree Lot took it.
And what can be said about the morals of the two girls he raised, as without the temptation from any nearby people to entice them, the two girls suddenly became intensely horny --a reverse aphrodisiac, rarely if ever again recorded.
It is just more of the same with God, no inquiries, no references check, criminal record not checked.
Is it possible a decent, true family-man, could indulge himself two nights and take to bed a daughter each night—and claim he was unawares? Or could those two girls convince any gym teacher they were worried the planet would be barren, and win a pass for doing daddy?
One might find it suspicious that the wife did not survive but the wine did.
Take any biblical story, the heroes are all the bad side of the two possibilities. Possibly the worst was the lead man—of course!
Moses.
Another time though