I'm going to assume this isn't just a windup and dig a believers, and respond accordingly. Please don't disappoint me, Karl...
What God do 'we' believe in?
As Carmel states, you'll find quite a variety of belief on the world scene, not just the form we were raised with as JWs. IMHO God is "in" everything as well as transcending everything. What happens to us happens to Him.
Firstly we are directed away from questioning just how God came into existance - why?
There's simply no answer because we have not yet found one. The assumption is that He precedes us, if He's our creator. All we see in the world appears to have a beginning, and yet might that not be a faulty premise? Things change from one form to another, yet are never actually destroyed, e.g. when you burn something you find light and heat released.
Then consider, if he's such a 'loving' God - where is he now? why are we paying for adam and eves mistake? where is the forgiveness?
Are you really reading the whole of human history on the basis of a single ancient short story? If you suspect the story to be faulty then why judge God on the basis of it?
People say they were 'saved' and had a very near miss with death "oh i walked away from a car accident, it was a miracle" yet on the same day 10 people (or a lot more depending where and what disaster) die.
This is a very subjective analysis, and as humans we're really good at that. To you it was important, to someone else it was meaningless, aside from being able to empathise with your feelings. The important thing is surely that it was important to YOU, part of YOUR experience. We all have such occurances, but it seems we are so busy examining the "journey" of others that we forget to look in wonder at our own. Covetousness is a terrible thing.
If he created Adam and Eve the way he did, this being the God that knows all, surely as the designer and creator he could see they would sin!?!! surely he's not so short sighted? prior to them sinning we believe they were normal human beings that knew right and wrong, but they only knew this after eating from the tree in the garden.
Again, your theory is based on an ancient short story. Did "they" even write it?
before they ate, they weren't aware of their nakedness YET GOD WAS - i dont really like the idea of being nieve and in a way, shielded from such simple things.
I don't like a lot of things, but they are real, e.g. being spied on by CCTV. Naivety come with the territory, and often doesn't improve significantly with age. We can attempt to limit it through education and experience, but there's a perverse little part of us that actually enjoys retaining a little of it, e.g. magic shows
How can a just God sit in heaven, watching the mess down here and not intervene? (or as some believe, he intervenes in some situations while CHOOSING not to get involved in others).
So God is some kind of anthropomorphised super-"human" who lollygags around on clouds all day, in your mind? Try another model, and see if the results are the same.
If Christians aren't about war, then look at the israelites and the battles they fought with GODS BACKING...
Quick history lesson for you. When was the name "Christian" first used? Before or after all those wars? Further, where do you find that they had God's backing? History is written by the victors...
If he can forgive then why not forgive Satan? Maybe he has...
Again, are you looking to your own experience, or looking wistfully at the experience of someone you've heard of called "Satan"? Why all the emphasis on someone that you've never met? Let's make it a little more pertinent - was Hitler forgiven? If you don't know the answer to that, then on what basis do you expect to know about "Satan"?
If the bible is his inspired work, then how come men compiled the books we have? These decisions weren't by God at all! They chose what they thought was suitable.
Very probably, though there's every reason to believe that God could have had a hand in it if He so wished. More importantly, to my way of thinking, what kind of effect does it have in YOUR personal experience? Do the stories you read there have a bearing on your life, or teach you something about human nature, or a framework or mental map for relating to the world around about you? IMHO it does all of that, but right now you appear to be attempting to use a spoon as a screwdriver, with the resultant sore fingers... Just my 2p
