# Is God mad at us? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 22, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431 "2006-11-22T16:14:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/21 "2006-11-22T18:40:47Z")
[QUOTE=JohnT] You’d think that killing his son thing would’ve done the trick, but apparently not. [/QUOTE] And how about Cain killing Abel, at a time when human life would appear to be at premium? What about that? ---
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/22 "2006-11-22T18:42:00Z")
[QUOTE=JohnT] You’d think that killing his son thing would’ve done the trick, but apparently not. [/QUOTE] And how about Cain killing Abel, at a time when human life would appear to be at a premium? What about that? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/23 "2006-11-22T18:44:37Z")
I am very skeptical that Bill Nye agreed with a “God is send us messages” conclusion. Regardless, a theory that fits the evidence better is that things like Katrina are simply random events. Is there any reason to believe they are messages, besides as an attempt to fool people into thinking one speaks for God? ---
**Author:** ![Dob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Dob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dob)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/24 "2006-11-22T18:48:09Z")
If God was mad at us he wouldn’t send a Hurricane we all saw comming days ahead of time. it’s not like this thing snuck up on us or anything. We knew it was coming and could have done more, we didn’t, and people suffered for it. I dont see how this is God’s anger. the only reason Katrina was so bad is that nobody took it serious enough (even though warned they should) and those in charge didn’t do enough to evacuate those that couldn’t do it themselves. When God gets mad, I dont think we will be on the SMDB the next day talking about it! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/25 "2006-11-22T18:59:29Z")
[QUOTE=Nothing Special] He is sending us some definite warnings to start turning our act around. [/QUOTE] No, a DEFINITE warning would be “Cut this crap out or else!” written in thousand-foot-tall flaming letters in the sky. Just killing people randomly around the globe is a pretty piss-poor way of sending a message. Either he’s not very good at his job or he doesn’t give a shit. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/26 "2006-11-22T19:00:00Z")
[QUOTE=Nothing Special] Okay, but land needs fresh water in order to grow nice things that nourish and sustain us all. Would a mad God have done something so nice for us while simultaneousy doing something so mean to us? What’s up? [/QUOTE] You’re making assumptions about the origins of man and Earth and stuff. We are a fluke of the universe. Be a good person, enjoy the ride, and try to leave the world a better place than you found it. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/27 "2006-11-22T19:09:07Z")
[QUOTE=Dob] If God was mad at us he wouldn’t send a Hurricane we all saw comming days ahead of time. … the only reason Katrina was so bad is that nobody took it serious enough… [/QUOTE] It’s still possible that God was mad and sent us Brownie. ---
**Author:** ![velvetjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f9b8f/32.png) [@velvetjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velvetjones)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/28 "2006-11-22T19:09:36Z")
The idea of assigning human emotions to “god” is simply creating a diety in man’s image. We like the idea of bad things being punished and good things being rewarded because it appeals to our sense of fairness and our sense of security. There is no god. Shit happens. We’re all going to die eventually. ---
**Author:** ![the\_PC\_apeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@the\_PC\_apeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_PC_apeman)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/29 "2006-11-22T19:11:41Z")
[QUOTE=Nothing Special] Why was the topic dropped after only 2 days? [/QUOTE] Because the TV network had mined all the ratings it could out such pandering. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2006, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/30 "2006-11-22T19:15:23Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] We are a fluke of the universe. [/QUOTE] “…You have no right to be here. And whether you can hear it or not, the universe is laughing behind your back. Therefore, make peace with your god, whatever you conceive him to be-- hairy thunderer, or cosmic muffin.” That’s disturbingly relevent to the topic, actually. If God is mad at us, he’s giving us the silent treatment _and_ being passive-aggressive about it. ‘Oh, no, I don’t mind that you aren’t wearing enough hats, really I don’t. Whoops, I seem to have annihilated a small town, silly me. Did I mention I don’t mind about the hats?’ ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/31 "2006-11-22T19:21:16Z")
Surely the important thing is to decide **which** God is mad at us. We should have a look at natural disasters around the World, see who is suffering the most and check their religion. Or would this suggest there is no God? ---
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/32 "2006-11-22T20:21:46Z")
[QUOTE=glee] Or would this suggest there is no God? [/QUOTE] I think it might suggest just that. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/33 "2006-11-22T20:26:59Z")
I’m not sure it’s the gays he is pissed about. I think its more likely that its because we stopped making burned offerings. The bible must have told us a 100 times that they are “a sweet aroma unto the lord”. ---
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/34 "2006-11-22T20:46:55Z")
[QUOTE=mr. jp] I think its more likely that its because we stopped making burned offerings. The bible must have told us a 100 times that they are “a sweet aroma unto the lord”. [/QUOTE] Wait a minute. Isn’t that what we’re doing when we toss out the turkey carcass? Should we be throwing it on a bonfire? Look, I don’t want God to be scraping around a landfill any more than I want to myself, but still, when you waste food in any way, isn’t that to the glory of God? I mean, as long as one intends it to be so? ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/35 "2006-11-22T20:59:56Z")
[QUOTE=Nothing Special] And do you think that not being “hateful” toward anyone is more God-like (and hence approved of by God) than being intolerant of various practices that some of us consider disapproved of by God? [/QUOTE] I do. As Rabbi Hillel said, “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary; go and study it.” There’s a Jewish saying that the first Jewish Temple was destroyed to punish the Jews for sexual immorality, widespread murder, and idolatry, while the second Temple was destroyed to punish us for baseless hatred. The interval between the destruction of the first Temple and the building of the second was 70 years. The interval between the destruction of the second Temple and the building of the third is 1,936 years and counting. One conclusion that some of the rabbis of the Talmud draw from that is that baseless hatred is a much worse sin than sexual immorality, widespread murder, and idolatry put together. I think that means you should be very, very careful who you hate, and it would be much better not to hate anyone at all. ---
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/36 "2006-11-22T21:30:21Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] I do. As Rabbi Hillel said, “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary; go and study it.” There’s a Jewish saying that the first Jewish Temple was destroyed to punish the Jews for sexual immorality, widespread murder, and idolatry, while the second Temple was destroyed to punish us for baseless hatred. The interval between the destruction of the first Temple and the building of the second was 70 years. The interval between the destruction of the second Temple and the building of the third is 1,936 years and counting. One conclusion that some of the rabbis of the Talmud draw from that is that baseless hatred is a much worse sin than sexual immorality, widespread murder, and idolatry put together. I think that means you should be very, very careful who you hate, and it would be much better not to hate anyone at all. [/QUOTE] Well stated. Now, is this to say that Hitler was most wrong for hating the Jews, or for what he _did_ to tens of thousands of them? Is it the emotion that leads to the action (and therefore primarily to blame), or is it the action that leads to the emotion. And if the latter, wouldn’t we always be liable to become hateful to various others if we make that decision? ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/37 "2006-11-22T21:37:50Z")
[QUOTE=Nothing Special] Now, is this to say that Hitler was most wrong for hating the Jews, or for what he _did_ to tens of thousands of them? [/QUOTE] I think that’s a false dilemma- he wouldn’t have done what he did to millions of Jews, and gays, and [Roma](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porajmos), and others if he hadn’t hated them. ---
**Author:** ![Nothing\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@Nothing\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nothing_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/38 "2006-11-22T22:09:03Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] I think that’s a false dilemma- he wouldn’t have done what he did to millions of Jews, and gays, and [Roma](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porajmos), and others if he hadn’t hated them. [/QUOTE] Okay, then it’s the emotion that precedes the action. Without hatred, we don’t commit hateful acts. I supppose, then, that without love we don’t commit loving acts. But if some creep in the town sexually abused my daughter, and considered it an act of love, then where would we be? I’d be tempted to throttle the bastard, out of love for my child, no matter how the pile of garbage felt about it. If I hate his kind of behavior before it even happens, am I not a hateful person? If I react to his behavior with a sort of vengeance, am I not revealing my hatefulness? And was it my own hatefulness that caused it to happen in the first place? Is hating nothing a guarantee that nothing hateful will ever happen in your life? Then why were the Jews so abused? And blacks. And Caucasian middle-managers. Apparently, they were all hateful, each in their way. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/39 "2006-11-22T22:33:32Z")
[QUOTE=Nothing Special] Okay, then it’s the emotion that precedes the action. Without hatred, we don’t commit hateful acts. I supppose, then, that without love we don’t commit loving acts. But if some creep in the town sexually abused my daughter, and considered it an act of love, then where would we be? I’d be tempted to throttle the bastard, out of love for my child, no matter how the pile of garbage felt about it. If I hate his kind of behavior before it even happens, am I not a hateful person? If I react to his behavior with a sort of vengeance, am I not revealing my hatefulness? And was it my own hatefulness that caused it to happen in the first place? [/quote] I wouldn’t call it “baseless hatred” to hate someone who harmed your child, or anyone’s child. That’s very different from, say, hating gays- a child molester does something to someone else against their will that harms them, while a gay man who sleeps only with willing partners doesn’t do anything like that. I will admit that I don’t know why bad things like child molestation happen, but I’d be pretty sure you and your child didn’t bring it on yourselves. I don’t know why some people have a twisted understanding of what sort of thing would be a bad thing to do to others, either. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431/40 "2006-11-23T18:18:12Z")
In order for God to be mad at us… There has to be a God of some sort in the first place. And there is no evidence that one has ever existed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-mad-at-us/381431.md?page=3)