Why does the God of the Bible command us to love him?
by sabastious 50 Replies latest jw friends
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tec
For instance this idea that the Jews kept abandoning God and get all of this flack about not doing so and so is a little off the mark.
So no abandonment issues in the Torah? No wandering the desert, or incorporation of other gods/goddesses/temples for some of the tribes? I think the Israelites abandoned God at times, in the same way that Christians abandon Christ, and therefore, God at times. (such as holy wars, burning heretics, etc.)
Tammy
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THE GLADIATOR
The god of the bible appears to commands us to love him because the Jewish scribes and the church of Rome decided to portray him that way.
The Greeks and Romans had more than 300 gods, goddesses and demigods with differing dispositions. (Nothing to do with Demi-Moore by the way) Other religious traditions have different ideas of what a god should be and what he requires of us.
Perhaps we should individually decide what we expect a god to be and live accordingly. If we think a god would be violet and judgemental we are likely to become angry and treat others the way we think a god would. If we think that a god would be loving and kind, then we should strive to live that way.
A god may or may not exist. What is certain, is that we do exist and are responsible for our own actions.
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AGuest
Even in the odd accounts of the Gospels you have Jesus showing up at Sabbath Readings, if everyone was so bad and negligent why are the Jews at every Sabbath Reading Jesus shows up at, he walks in and there everyone is already sitting around, curious no?
Attendance at a meeting/reading does not a... well, faithful, loyal, righteous, non-hypocritical, one make, dear designs (peace to you!). That's like saying JWs (amd others) who show up for sermons, meetings, assemblies, and field service aren't liars (GB and that ilk), hypocrites (most of the leaders), and misled (all, excluding the leaders). Sure you wanna say that?
If we think a god would be violent and judgemental we are likely to become angry and treat others the way we think a god would. If we think that a god would be loving and kind, then we should strive to live that way.
Funny, thing, dear Glad (peace to you, as well, and thank you for those thoughts!)... my Lord just said to me, "The truth, child, is that it's the other way around." He then went on to explain that if we are angry and, in our hearts, violent and judgmental, we CAN'T perceive a God that is anything but. That is why "reading Moses" can stand in the way of our sight. Moses is full of "thou shalts" and "thou shalt nots"... and what happens if one does or doesn't, including death. Through Moses, we see death. Which is anathema and causes us fear... and thus, anger... and thus, judgment, even violence.
If, however, WE are loving and kind... which includes being slow to anger and merciful, even forgiving... which is what the entire Law of Moses hangs on... we won't perceive God as anything but. Because God is abundant in loving kindness, slow to anger, and merciful. He is love and it is through love... of Him... which is borne out through love... of His Son, our neighbor, our brother, strangers, and even our enemies... that we can hear... and "see"... that Son. And then, though him, God. He said that that is why Cain was... and the Body of Christ are... told to let anger alone. Because it can be a means for preventing "the glorious good news, that IS Christ... from shining through."
Now, I realize some will find some "issue" with what I just shared, but it's good enough for me. If hearing and seeing God and Christ requires nothing more of me than love... even of my enemies... then I'm game. I mean, it's not like I'm asked to sacrifice my body... or my child's... you know? MY blood doesn't have to be spilled. One already spilled his... for me.
Again, I bid you peace!
A slave of Christ,
SA
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Nickolas
Because he doesn't deserve it. This Almighty Lowlife Scumbag wants us to love him, yet he doesn't want us to ever have a reason to. Rather, he wants to give us every reason to HATE him, yet demand under death and/or hell threats that we love him anyways. Hopefully, this will not work--and all the more so with the Internet exposing this Almighty Lowlife Scumbag as being nothing more than a Baghead.
Hey, WTWiz, don't sugar coat it. Tell us how you really feel. (sorry, an old cliché, but it seems appropriate). It comes across almost as if you believe He exists, which is counterintuitive, since you're just gonna piss Him off and He'll just squash you like a bug but only after He gives you cancer of the rectum, blnds you, cripples you, covers your body with sores, makes all your hair fall out, commands you to kill your children and sends a plague of locusts to your local Piggly Wiggly to devour your favourite cookies. You shouldn't mess with Jehovah that way. You don't want to get Him ticked.
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THE GLADIATOR
AGuest ... my Lord just said to me, "The truth, child, is that it's the other way around."
Which ever way around we put it we come back to the same choice. We can live by the sword or live by love. Whether we credit our our-self or our god - the result, in this world, is the same. As for the next world, I 'll have to wait and see what my gods have planned.
Peace to you - on this wonderful Saturday evening in the UK.
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designs
Tec, Shelby-
Sometimes its like talking to my old JW friends to hell with history or facts you've got the vision of how things were in your heads and that's all that matters. Remember all of the history, science, and theology we learned at the KH only to find out with some real study how different things were, well our Western perceptions of ancient and modern Judaism are kind of like that....
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Nickolas
Answer to the question: Love is the most difficult emotion to generate spontaneously and to manifest a reasonable facimile of it requires intense focus and strict adherence to the conditions of His love for you. It comes down to compliance. The incentive/disincentive to love/not love Him is an extreme form of psychological manipulation and control crafted by the human architects of this desert faith.
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tec
Designs - I just asked you a question. Is it or is it not in there that the Israelites abandoned the ways they had been taught by God, through Moses, from time to time? And a couple of times I've brought up what Psac said about a Jewish scholar and researcher, saying that Saul/Paul did have an authentic view of what some of the sects of Judaism believed, particularly the Pharisees. Though he would later have incorporated and taught things afterward, according to the new understanding given him.
I'm sure that even you said there were different views running about back then.
Tammy
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Curtains
I honestly don't have a problem with these verses. A loving deity wants the best for his creations and wants to teach them how to enhance and maximise their lives. Whats wrong with that? Also the command to love God is described as the first and greatest commandment. So if creatures want to be great this command will make them so.