Well, since you decided to type it anyway, what are you referring to?
I don’t know if it’s a matter of hypocrisy – rather morality. Would you cheerfully stuff ovens with Jews if you lived in Nazi Germany just to save yourself? Everybody hopes that they wouldn’t. Defying an unjust God is an extension of this. If you really believe, as I do, that eternal punishment in Hell is an evil act and is completely unjust, would you support it just because you don’t want to end up there? If God is a tyrant and you can’t possibly win, does that mean that you shouldn’t fight at all?
It’s very simple to look at the God of the Bible (particularly the wrathful, vengeance-taking bits) and, as an outsider, see that God as evil. Is it better, then, to worship this God, or to point out that having children torn apart by bears because they disrespect their elders is, well, not OK, and risk damnation?
They may ‘tend’ to be religious – just as people in general tend to be religious, because religion is pervasive. Religious people in no way have the only claims to martyrdom, though.
Paragraph 1 asks the question what do I do to follow God—that being the stated alternative to an eternity of torment. Paragraph 2 is general and unfocused blather. In paragraph 3 our author is struck by the idea that the OP doesn’t know any more than anyone else and has no direct line to the Deity. It is a rhetorical device. Perry Mason used it with great effectiveness.
You know, I tend to agree with Mr Visible on this issue. I do believe in God and see His characteristics and His will for humans as in line with what I’ve defined elsewhere and choose not to repeat here. But the concept of god that seems to be held by some outspoken conservative individuals, who permitted the World Trade Center’s destruction because He was offended by gays and liberals, etc., who seems to think that killing innocent children is morally right provided that they sassed a prophet or committed the unforgiveable sin of being born Babylonian or Amelekite, and who created a world with internal evidence pointing to a 12-billion-year-old universe and a 4.6-billion-year-old planet during a six-day work week 6006 years ago this October, and demands you believe a couple of dozen Bible verses written in myth style rather than the evidence of thousands of scientific studies – no, I don’t think he’s worthy of worship.
It really is the end of the world.
But, the question remains, Polycarp… what do you think of the term Goddo the Enforcer? I was quite proud of that one, myself…
Amused. (At the Pizza Parlor offenders against the rules of the board are dealt with by Uncle Guido.;))
I believe in God. I believe that after the death of my physical body I will be Judged. I hope that I will be judged on my actions and intentions. I recognize that I do not deserve paradise because of my intrinsically selfish nature. A Judgement of damnation based upon my failure to be empathic or compassionate is to be expected. I would have no quarrel with that, and would not ask for an appeal.
However, if “Form of Worship” is 75% of my final grade, I am ready to go to Perdition with the 99.9% of humanity who did not happen to belong to the “correct” sect, church, or cult. (As every sect, church or cult has had sincere members who really believe that they are approaching God the right way, I have no objective means of finding the correct variety before Judgement. I have to rely on my subjective feeling of which approach is right for me.)
Once in Hell, I will do my damndest to assist Satan in his attempts to overthrow the capricious criminal God.
It depends. I wouldn’t worship the god of the freaky fundies, because if the god you worship is evil it should follow that satan is good- if the fundie god were somehow proven to exist I would be a satanist.
As it stands in the real world, I doubt that the god of any religion exists, so I don’t worship any.
I am saying: look, if this God exists that I would call evil but is otherwise the fundie god, then I would instantly recognize that God couldn’t be evil, but I was mistaken in my conception of morality, and I would in turn attempt to worship this being as it saw fit.
I would not turn away when the time came that I faced the ultimate truth just so I could stick my tongue out (literally or metaphorically). Some feel they are taking a stand on principle, whereas I feel I am admitting a very grave mistake I made.
God couldn’t be evil, erislover? Seems to me like an omnipotent being that can’t be bothered to help out with plagues, famines and wars in His name practically defines evil.
To you. But what did you know?—you didn’t even believe in God!
Actually, an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnievil theistic deity is fine. It just yields to the age-old theological conundrum of the Problem of Good.
Or leads to, rather. Freudian typo.
[freaky fundie checking in]
FWIW he loses in the end.
[/freaky fundie checking out]
Says you, Dreamer. But isn’t the Bible hopelessly partisan? Really, can you name one good thing it says about Satan?
“We fought against the empire of heaven. We were–that I will not deny–vanquished in that conflict: Yet the great intention was not lacking in nobility. Something or other gave them victory; to us remains the glory of a dauntless daring. And even if my troop fell thence vanquished, yet to have attempted a lofty enterprise is still a trophy.” --From La Strage degli Innocenti by Giambattista Marino
Since we seem to be straying once again into the “God is evil” debate, I’ve opened a thread on the subject: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=131146
Hmmmm…a case of “better to rule in hell than serve in heaven”?
If God is exactly like the one fundamentalists worship I’ll say well that’s it for me. You might as well have Chick’s Giant faceless Godtm tell me “Depart from me Ye Cursed into the everlasting fire…” .:eek:
(by the way in Chick’s universe can’t God strike up any conversation or his he stuck in Depart from me/ Welcome to Heaven mode for all eternity)
Personally I can’t abide the idea that I could spend time in Heaven with a Hitler who repented at the last minute while a Ghandi burns in the old lake of fire for being a Hindu. I can’t see an omnipotent all powerful thing being so petty as to who worships him and how.:rolleyes:
But what do I know?
How about this.
I’m a strong believer in personal responsibility. I refuse to allow an innocent person to be punished in my place. If what I have done in my life is so horrible that I must suffer for eternity in hell-fire for it, then so be it. Accepting Christ’s death in payment for my sins seems morally equivalent to allowing an innocent person to be executed for a murder I committed.
To the OP’s question “Would you choose…” the answer is, yes. The schoolyard bully tells the littlest kid in class, “kiss my shoe or I’ll kick the hell out of you.” That’s a choice, too. I was the littlest kid in my class from kindergarten through high school (I grew a little after high school). I faced a lot of bullies in those thirteen years. I took my lumps. I couldn’t prevent it. But I never kissed anyone’s shoe. The Cosmic Bully will get no more cooperation from me than the terrestrial ones did. Screw 'em all. And screw Him, too.
If the god you speak of is real, he’s not worthy of worship. If he’s omniscient he already knows my thoughts, so a profession of acceptance would do no good. I’m doomed to become either worm food or a giant pork rind. Que sera sera.