Why love God?

by joelbear 50 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  TR

  Why love God?

  No reason to, that I can see.

  TR

  I hold it to be the inalienable right of anybody to go to hell in his own way.
  --Robert Frost, 1935
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  Larsguy

  God offers eternal life to those who would really enjoy it and those who love this particular God will particularly love it since they have proven they would have chosen this god even if it meant their death.

  Allowing many others who don't particularly like the way God is doing things to die is sort of euthanesia; he's allowing them a way out of what they might consider a boring and unhappy life. So the lake of fire was created to kindly put them out of their misery.

  So either way, all life wins. You get embraced by either God and live forever or you get lovinging embraced by the lake of fire so that you do not suffer trying to live a boring life pretending to be happy when you really aren't.

  It's a win-win situation no matter what, the way I see it.

  L.G.
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  Double Edge

  SmWick: I think God's love is totally unconditional. By our actions, I believe we can keep God from blessing us, but we can never keep Him from loving us. you quote John 15:10 "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love..." I read that different than you... I don't think He's saying if you don't keep my commandments I won't love you...that's ridiculous...Jesus's actions throughout the new testament prove otherwise...just look at the way he treated people...almost every one were commandment breakers.

  I equate John 15:10 to something like... I you eat right and work out you shall be healthy... your ability 'to do' increases. I think the key words in that scripture are 'shall abide'... meaning your ability to have faith, the ability to tap in to that power is there...when we don't keep the commandments, our ability diminishes and so does the sustaining power. IMHO
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  NameWithheld

  when you stop and consider the creation, the universe, and all the wonderful positive things that make up life itself (I know, it's hard)...when you do that and exercise just the tiniest bit of faith that Someone bigger than yourself, your friends or mankind in general reallycares about you and you journey in this life ... then the question will be easily answered.

  Hmmm. Well as I see it, 'god' created a world where you eat or be eaten. Where you dominate or be dominated. Looking at the animal kingdom alone you see a very vicious life cycle. I think if 'god' were all lovy-dovey 'he' might have created a bit tamer world ...
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  Smoldering Wick

  Allowing many others who don't particularly like the way God is doing things to die is sort of euthanesia; he's allowing them a way out of what they might consider a boring and unhappy life. So the lake of fire was created to kindly put them out of their misery.

  I'm sorry, this just seems ridiculous to me. God created me with total freedom of thought and choice. But, if I use my freedom of thought to choose NOT to think just like God...then... He will "Allow" me to die in a kind way by throwing me into a lake of fire?

  Why give us the freedom of thought in the first place? If God knows "even the embryo of me," why allow me to be born if my thoughts will be different from "the way God does things." The "kind" thing to do would be to NOT "allow" those people who will think differently than Him to live at all.

  This is like a parent telling his child...as long as you think and be exactly like me, I will let you live. If you grow up and have your own thoughts I will stab you and kill you...But,it will be with the smallest knife I can find so it won't be so painful.
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  Smoldering Wick

  SmWick: I think God's love is totally unconditional.

  Double Edge, this is what I would like to believe. However, religion does not sell God that way.

  I did a search for "Unconditional Love" on the Watchtower CD. What I came up with was interesting. The only thing "unconditional" that the Watchtower mentions is a person's dedication to God, not His love for that person.
  

  Watchtower 96 6/15 7 Loving Jehovah involves our devotion, worship, and an unconditional dedication to him. (Deuteronomy 4:24)

  Watchtower 95 3/1 18 - The Israelites would not have fallen into such grievous errors if they had remembered that their dedication to Jehovah was unconditional.

  The Watchtower did point out that out of love, God gave us life and the earth...but, that this "GIFT" was not unconditional.

  Watchtower 95 10/15 9 In an expression of his great love, Jehovah gave his earthly children life and provided them with a marvelous place to live in-a beautiful paradise. Yet, this wonderful gift was not unconditional.

  I was please to note that there was a reference about "unconditional love" and it's benefits..however, the only creatures the Watchtower mentions as possessing this quality were dogs.

  Awake! 82 3/22 24 - Dogs give love-unconditional love. They ask for attention, and when someone responds, they give love and security and warmth in return, with no strings attached." Some psychiatrists resist pet therapy, Calabro says. "They say, 'Here we are, spending 10 or 15 years in school learning all about psychiatry and drugs, and all these people do is bring a dog in and look what happens. There's got to be more to it than that!'"
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  Double Edge

  NAMEWITHELD: your quote .."Hmmm. Well as I see it, 'god' created a world where you eat or be eaten. Where you dominate or be dominated. Looking at the animal kingdom alone you see a very vicious life cycle. FIRST OF ALL, GOD CREATED A DIFFERENT WORLD THAN THE ONE YOU DISCRIBED ABOVE...JUST LEAVE IT TO MANKIND TO REARRANGE IT AND SCREW IT UP. SECONDLY, IF THIS WORLD WAS LIKE THE ANIMAL KINGDOM WHERE THE STRONG RULED, MANKIND WOULD HAVE KILLED ITSELF OUT OF EXISTANCE CENTURIES AGO. THROUGHOUT HISTORY THE MIGHTY AND EVIL HAVE FALLEN... THERE ARE DOZENS AND DOZENS OF EXAMPLES....JUST WHEN THE PENDULUM SWINGS AS FAR AS IT CAN, "SOMEONE" ALWAYS BRINGS IT BACK...AND THAT'S AN UNDENIABLE FACT (By the way, I'm not screaming with the CAPS, I just don't know how to distinguish from others quotes).
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  Double Edge

  SmWick: Your Quote: "Double Edge, this is what I would like to believe. However, religion does not sell God that way."

  Who cares what religion "sells". Truth is Truth and will speak to those who will take the time to 'listen'. Besides, that is such a broad stroke of a statement, not all religion 'sells' God that way. Also, why even refer to the Watchtower CD...that's like Columbus following the maps of a world that's flat....what's the point.
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  Smoldering Wick

  what's the point

  The point is...(since you didn't catch it) is that my love for God hinges on my belief in God...and my belief in God was based on the WT Org's teachings of God for 33 years.
  

  Who cares what religion "sells"

  You're right I don't.

  (By the way, I'm not screaming with the CAPS, I just don't know how to distinguish from others quotes).

  Using caps is considered "screaming" online. Try using the help feature "Use Forum Code in your message" while you are typing your post. See Below:

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  "God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." ~Voltaire
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  SixofNine

  DoubleEdge, you speak with great and seemingly uncompromising authority. Where does it come from?