Listen to him, folks-his cites are the voices in his head.
I don’t hear voices in my head, kinda wish I did.
If there are many gods, and people create their own gods, then why shouldn’t some people follow a god that punishes the wicked? This thread has made it abundantly clear that the “ideal god” varies tremendously from person to person. While my ideal god would be utterly detached from human affairs, I see at least as much value in a god that punishes evil as I do in one that punishes no one.
With all these gods running around, do they ever get in each other’s way?
Yes, it would appear that way. But bad choices and bad actions are their own punishment. Sometimes called the law of attraction, this “law” assures that no one gets away with anything. We who watch may think they do but we can’t see the turmoil of their lives including future lives. So God has no reason to punish because of the way the universe is set up.
As always people may follow any God they choose to follow. Most just follow the Gods of their parents until they are able to break out of the mind set and really start learning and growing. They usually go from believing in some God then become disillusioned and atheistic. Later as their knowledge grows they will pick another God, over and over again until they know which one they will believe in and follow forever.
Nah, heaven is enormous
I admire your doggedness and imagination.
Thanks, I needed that.
Yes, but Earth isn’t. Surely some of these gods have conflicting interests when it comes to ultimate goals and the methods used to acheive them. Is there a heirarchy when it comes to these gods, or is it every god for her/him/itself?
[quote=“lekatt, post:245, topic:653643”]
Yes, it would appear that way. But bad choices and bad actions are their own punishment. Sometimes called the law of attraction, this “law” assures that no one gets away with anything. We who watch may think they do but we can’t see the turmoil of their lives including future lives. So God has no reason to punish because of the way the universe is set up.
Hold on, now. Earlier you wrote that your god:
Do I now understand you to mean that this god does, in fact, interfere with our choices, judges us, and harms us, by establishing this law you speak of that ensures that evil people pay for their transgressions? It seems meaningless to say that “God has no reason to punish because of the way the universe is set up”, unless it was not god who set it up that way. Is that the case?
What of the people who are perfectly happy with a vengeful, angry god, and feel no need to break out of that view? Are they mistaken in their beliefs? Is their god just as real as yours?
[quote=“Human_Action, post:250, topic:653643”]
It is like I said: God does not punish or interfere with us but He does try to guide us if we are open to this guidance.
The one who punishes is the one who does the bad deed. God does not interfere.
If you remember the prodigal son story, it says more than appears on the surface.
The son takes his fortune and goes to town. There he does everything wrong, he gambles. he falls into the wrong crowds and learns to do bad things. Soon he is broke and his “friends” deny him. So he becomes homeless and works for a pig farmer who allows him to eat with the pigs.
He remembers his Father and goes to Him to ask for a job as servant. But his Father sees him coming and cooks a grand feast and clothes him with the finest for His son has returned home.
I can’t decide for others only myself.
Ok, this is perplexing. Are you basing this on a Transcendentalist idea that man is inherently good, and only corrupted by society, or what? Because the world has plenty of evil people who never punish themselves, or even consider themselves evil.
To me, the parable is about love and compassion being more important than merit and good conduct. Is that what you’re referring to?
Which god are you referring to in the above sentence? Your god? His god? Every god? The REAL god? Are they all supposed to follow a certain set of guidlines?
Yes mankind is inherently good, created in the image of God whom is inherently good.
I think what you miss is that the action is the punishment. If you harm others you will be harmed, live by the sword, die by the sword. smoke and get cancer, you bring into your life what you put out. whatsoever you sow, so shall you reap. It works everytime. The law of attraction.
Yes, love and compassion is worth more than merit and good conduct. Because it leads to peace, knowledge and understanding. It is one of those things you have to try in order to prove.
I am referring here to the God I believe in, I can’t say about others.
So it is totally possible that his god could be of the punishing type, and that when you speak of what “God” can, does and will do you are referring only to your personal deity and what she/he/it can and will do to/for you? Does your god have any dominance over me if I don’t “believe in” it?
I don’t believe any God has dominance over you, you have free will. My God is a role model for me, and I try to be like Him. The law of attraction works for everyone at all times. I have no idea where it came from but I am grateful for it. If I help others I receive help, if I am compassionate I receive compassion, etc.
So all gods do follow some basic rules. Are there any other rules that pertain to all the gods?
I disagree with that notion rather sharply, but will table it in the interests of a theological focus, per the OP.
I’m reading two different ideas here. “The action is the punishment” suggests that evil actions harm the actor internally, that evil is punished by some internal suffering or spiritual corruption. But your examples focus on the idea of external effects, like a violent person dying violently, which god/the universe causes to occur in response to the actions of the person. The first is arguable, I suppose, though not if make any effort to evaluate it honestly: evil people are not all miserable. The individual, biological urge for self-preservation causes each person to value their lives and happiness more than others’. This enables a breathtaking amount of evil to be rationalized as being necessary, and it troubleth them no more.
The second, though is clearly not true. If you’re seriously suggesting that the evil that people do in life is symmetrically punished in life, I’ll toss out some names: Pol Pot. Idi Amin. Fidel Castro. Shiro Ishii.
As above, I reject this doctrine, but will table this for now.
Did your god create me in his image if I don’t believe it exists? If I believe in another god than yours, which one create me?