by greendawn 21 Replies latest jw friends
Supposing that you were in God's position how would you deal with the basic issue of good and evil in the world, how would you deal with that part of mankind that refuse to stop hurting and harming their fellow humans and how would you finally extinguish evil and suffering?
Remember some people accuse God of being too soft and tolerent with evil doers while others accuse him of being too harsh and merciless. A delicate balance is called for.
Abolish religion and anybody that practiced after that would be zapped. I would send bolts of lightning to destroy religious buildings and then after that anybody who committed murder would be insatntly executed. People would soon get the point and stop hurting one another
That probably means mankind has to relinquish its free will. It's a tradeoff.
Let Mob Rule. Anarchy. The human race would soon take care of itself.
The intrinsic moral values would rise to the surface, and the greater community would not tolerate evil acts.
t
I would introduce a new gene, a gene which causes humans to have more empathy, not that I believe everybody would need it because I think on the whole humans are quite decent
how would you deal with the basic issue of good and evil in the world
This pre-supposes that God can do anything, but I don't think that is what the Bible teaches. There seems scriptural evidence that God allows things without intending them. They are necessary evils to achieve a greater purpose. God is love, and love cannot exist unless it expresses itself in relation to an 'other'. As for good and evil, evil follows from rejecting love-ly ways through free will. But without such free will, unless we could choose to reject, then acceptance of love would mean nothing at all. If your partner had no choice but to return your love, then that love would be worthless.
To create a universe that can evolve conscious beings perhaps requires both destructive and creative elements as a necessity. I don't believe that God can do anything, but hey, who among us understands what is involved in being God and creating a universe?
I think it a mistake to think of God as a person or a being (but as humans we find it the easiest way to try to understand him/it. And a human mistake to think of a kind of super being that can do absolutely anything.
I agree, anarchy with an intelligent race is the best form of living. But most folks will need to be reasonable and intelligent to do that eh. and Jaffacake, I do not consider choosing god's side or being wrong all that free. That's presupposed outcomes that has no evidence to support it.e In your reality our free will is limited because everything we do is either for God or against God. That's two variables, but in reality there are an endless amount of variables. This free will by God is hogwash. God wouldn't be benevolent and omnipotent if he couldn't do everything, he isn't much of a God imo. And if we don't think of God as a being or with human aspects, why did the bible do so?
To be honest I would shout as loud as I could from heaven, telling EVERYONE to shut up and listen, then I would explain everything so there would be no misunderstanding, no interpretation and if ppl wanted to be good and serve God then they would. Properly the way he wants, if not then they will be sent packing with devil.
All this ridiculous speculation on who has the right religion is crazy. It has nothing to do with Justice, love or faith.For goodness sake if your up there God TELL US Why all this ridiculous cloak and diggers stuff.
Daunt,
In your reality our free will is limited because everything we do is either for God or against God.
Perhaps I have not been able to express my thoughts clearly. I don't disagree with you, in terms of endless variables, but the question asked about good and evil, and I agree there are endless choices.
This free will by God is hogwash
Do you have free will or do you not? What is the source of your free will? Whatever your answer, that is what I labeled as 'God. You may wish to call it nature or something.
God wouldn't be benevolent and omnipotent if he couldn't do everything, he isn't much of a God imo.
But the Bible doesn't say God is omnipotent. Your definition of a God seems to be there should be nothing that he could not do. If there is any limitation whatsoever, then this God seems a disappointment. I think the prevalence of such views is part of what is wrong with religions. And as for why the Bible describes God as a he, as if a being, how else would people from the bronze age onwards record their understanding of the universe and the forces of nature?
The Bible is a diverse mix of myths, history, laws, proverbs, hymns, stories, dreams, visions, prophecies, letters and allegories. It should not be taken literally. To understand the deeper scriptural meanings we could do worsr than getting a good Bible commentary and following the principles of interpretation.
You've made good points jaffacake, however there's too many assumptions when you use god in such a subjective way as that. The process of evolution is "God" then, but most people's idea of God overshadows your claim that god is whatever started free will. And me personally, I don't care much for a God that makes mistakes and blames other entities that he created. Me saying he is omnipotent comes mainly from the people i associate with (JWs) so sorry if it's a little skewed.
