by SweetBabyCheezits 87 Replies latest jw friends
You knwo I love you guys, I really do.
Love you, too, man. Nothing personal in any of this. I may snarl about the god concept but I wish there were a giant, huggable padre in the sky, holding my golden ticket. I just can't reconcile conflicting ideas anymore.
Enemies is one possible interpretation of the greek word echthros, another would be opposers, hostiles, those hating (god in this case), but Paul used enemy to make it clear that when we oppose and go agaisnt God, we shoudl veiw what we are doing as being enemies of God.
And wraith can also be read as anger, judgment, indignation and an expression of a punishment, but wraaith under the context of what Paul was trying to express is just fine.
Those that go against God will face his anger, but one should realise that going against God meant, it mena going against all that God was and for Paul that was hope, faith, love, compassion and more.
If god is the great scientist, and he is love and justice to the superlative degree, why does he allow extreme suffering and psychological stress for participants who were thrust into this "experiment". Why does this trip the ethics-alarm among puny, imperfect humans but not god?
A valid point, and if humans created God, why not creat one with a solution to this problem, one that we, as humans, lowly as we are, can come up with?
I don't think the universe is God's experiment, I certaibly HOPE it isn't, that would be a cruel and pathetic God indeed.
I don't have an answer to your questions as to why God permits suffering, not an answer that is biblical or that will do justice to your moral outrage and I wish I did, truly.
So you accept that bad things simple happen, correct? and that there is nothing to be done about, such is life, correct?
Psac that is addressed completely by the epicurean riddle posted earlier in the thread. Noone (not Epicurus nor SBC) is saying God caused any of it. Acknowledging that he is not the cause, however, does nothing to excuse his inaction.
“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent. (If nothing can be done about evil in the world (even natural disasters), God is not all powerful.)
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent. (If he could do something about evil, but opts not to, then he is evil and malicious towards the human race.)
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil? (If he's able and willing to help us, evil should not exist.)
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?” (If he is neither able nor willing, he does not deserve his title.)
the bible is a progressive revelation of God and God's will
Now where have I heard that before? Hmmm....let me see.
Well hopefully we can have a conversation about the meaning without being greek scholars with a thesaurus.
I disagree that Paul in any way suggests that "enemy of God" is merely someone who is directly opposing him. A reading of Romans chapter 5 suggests that all mankind were enemies of God before the propitiation took place. As it states we are all saved from God's wrath through Jesus. This would hardly apply to people who are directly opposing Jesus.
Now where have I heard that before? Hmmm....let me see.
Where do you think they got it from?
Its not really "new light" in that way, look at death for example, it goes from a person being dead and not knowing anything, to life after death in Sheol, to the spirit returning to God, to life after life after death- the bodly ressurection.
“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent. (If nothing can be done about evil in the world (even natural disasters), God is not all powerful.)
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent. (If he could do something about evil, but opts not to, then he is evil and malicious towards the human race.)
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil? (If he's able and willing to help us, evil should not exist.)
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?”
(If he is neither able nor willing, he does not deserve his title.)
Evil is an other issue, evil is a human trait, it has nothing to do with naturla disaters or nature.
Here's another interesting man-made law that makes me doubt an omnipotent, benevolent god.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty_to_rescue
Circumstances in which a party can be held liable for failing to come to the rescue of another party in peril include...
What kind of father watches while his child suffers even though he is empowered to end it?
I've gotta break off here for a while and may not be on until later tonight. You gentlemen keep it real! (and gentlewomen)
