Why does God get angry?

Tricky · Nov 28, 2006

Marc L said:
Unless she decides to date a Marine. Then we may have problems....

You want her to be rotten to the Corps?

(Yeah, I know, I've used it before, but it's like a Tourette's Syndrome thing.)

TheAntiLuddite · Nov 28, 2006

kurious_kathy said:
I have said this on other threads but maybe it deserves to be said again. How would you feel if your child chose to rebel against you and love the things you hate?

Behold the voice of dogma. You'll hear this false dichotomy repeated again and again in Christian circles: to wit, either you accept Christian doctrine or you're an evil person on par with serial killers and child molesters and worthy of death, an equation which is patently absurd.

Speaking of omnipotence, here's my prediction. Kathy will respond with an inane comment about "original sin" and/or Romans 3:23 - "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Incidentally, one of the mental conflicts that caused Dan Barker of the Freedom From Religion Foundation to finally break from Christianity after nineteen years was this very idea: that humans, while falliable and imperfect but basically "good" as the term is most commonly used, are deserving of eternal, hellish torment for a finite "sin". I heard a debate where he posed this question to his opponent who was finally forced to admit that, yes, according to scripture, Barker was an apostate destined for hell.

Oh, and remember, the jailer is an omnipotent deity who, having forseen everything, still condemns a large portion of its thinking, feeling creation to some benighted hell, which it also created. This is a loving god? Let's put this into perspective, since this hostile doctrine is nauseating and I'm tired of it masquerading as righteousness:

Here we have Joe, a regular guy, dealing with the pressures of modern life that we all face. He is not perfect, but he strives to be kind and considerate--not to appease some vain, jealous deity and avoid the horrors of hell--but because he understands the value of harmony and realizes that everyone has a better life if humans pitch in and help one another; after all, we are all we have in this existence. Joe does occasionally lie, he has uncharitable thoughts about others while driving or after an argument, and once he stole five dollars from the snack fund at work. Despite a loving sexual relationship, he will sometimes view porn and mastubate, fulfilling a purely physical need. He does not cheat on his taxes, he has two kids and a wife whom he loves dearly and supports faithfully, and he contributes at least 10% of his income to charities. All in all, Joe is a typical human being who, while having little control over his mortal circumstances and environment, lives his life as closely aligned with his personal moral code as possible and does not deliberately seek to infringe negatively upon the lives of others. But wait, what's this?

Oh dear.

He hasn't said the magic words.

Therefore, this man Joe--not a Hitler, not a Stalin--just average Joe who has never killed, nor raped, nor maimed, nor tortured, nor commited any atrocity against any fellow human (he hasn't even kicked his dog), is destined for an excruciating, nightmarish eternity in hell...

...for being human.

Anyone who says that fundamentalist Judeo-Christian religions are "loving" religions respectful of humanity is either brainwashed or, quite frankly, a hate-filled moron.

Now that's a false dichotomy I can agree with.

Darth Rotor · Nov 28, 2006

OP said:
Why does God get angry?

Because He can.

This of course presumes that what "we" see as anger is in fact anger, rather than something else that looks like anger to "us," but isn't.

DR

Marc L · Nov 28, 2006

Darth Rotor said:
Because He can.

This of course presumes that what "we" see as anger is in fact anger, rather than something else that looks like anger to "us," but isn't.

DR

Anacoluthon64 · Nov 28, 2006

Darth Rotor said:
This of course presumes that what "we" see as anger is in fact anger, rather than something else that looks like anger to "us," but isn't.

Oh, I see. So the Dahmeresque sprees of murder and mayhem related in the OT are just dispassionate excursions into corrective discipline.

I'm very comforted by that thought.

'Luthon64

Darth Rotor · Nov 28, 2006

Anacoluthon64 said:
Oh, I see. So the Dahmeresque sprees of murder and mayhem related in the OT are just dispassionate excursions into corrective discipline.

I'm very comforted by that thought.

'Luthon64

Huh? God put the bodies in a refrigerator? Where is that in the Scripture? :boggled:

I don't see how one could derive comfort from Divine anger. I don't think comfort would be its intent. Its effect, presuming Marc L's point to be valid -- inerrant divine dictation -- would tend to suck at the local level.

I don't know about you, but being turned into a pillar of salt isn't my idea of a walk in the desert.

DR

wollery · Nov 29, 2006

Darth Rotor said:
Huh? God put the bodies in a refrigerator? Where is that in the Scripture?

I don't see how one could derive comfort from Divine anger. I don't think comfort would be its intent. Its effect, presuming Marc L's point to be valid -- inerrant divine dictation -- would tend to suck at the local level.

I don't know about you, but being turned into a pillar of salt isn't my idea of a walk in the desert.

DR

Hmm, we need a whoosh smiley.

Anacoluthon64 was being sarcastic.

kurious_kathy · Nov 29, 2006

Darth Rotor said:
Because He can.

This of course presumes that what "we" see as anger is in fact anger, rather than something else that looks like anger to "us," but isn't.

DR

There is such a thing as righteous anger you know, and God is righteous so why shouldn't He get mad when people have plenty of chances to repent but they don't!

thaiboxerken · Nov 29, 2006

You can't convince kathy that her god is a murderer, rapist or that he does wrong.. this is because she holds onto the dogma that her god is infallible and righteous. Her god, if it existed, could come down to earth, kill all the first born children of an entire race, laugh about it and eat the mothers and she would find no fault in that god. It sounds insane to have that kind of a belief, because it is.

Paulhoff · Nov 29, 2006

kurious_kathy said:
There is such a thing as righteous anger you know, and God is righteous so why shouldn't He get mad when people have plenty of chances to repent but they don't!

That is like saying that a parent can beat and or kill their child because the child had plenty of chances not to lie. That is just so much BS.

Your so-called god makes imperfect beings, knows that they will act imperfect and then like a child that doesn’t get it’s own way, gets mad and punishes them. Like I have said many times before, you have a very childless god KK.

Paul

No matter what you so-called god does, you have an out for it. My father must love me because he beats me so well.

Marquis de Carabas · Nov 29, 2006

Jesus still wets the bed.

senorpogo · Nov 29, 2006

Polaris said:
Here's a quote-laden page of Mark Twain's Secret War with God. The OP is more or less gone over thoroughly. It's sadly too short, but anything by Twain is worth reading:

http://ffrf.org/fttoday/2001/may01/sloan.html

Thanks for the link. I never really read much of Twain. Never really cared for him, but the more I read about his personal life, the more interested I get. I'll have to give him a second chance. I personally like the quote about the O.T. God being the biggest murderer in history.

All the men, all the beasts, all the boys, all the babies, all the women and all the girls, except those that have not been deflowered. What this insane Father requires is blood and misery; he is indifferent as to who furnishes it.

I especially like the inclusion of the exemption of those girls who haven't been deflowered. I believe that's Moses in Numbers.

senorpogo · Nov 29, 2006

kurious_kathy said:
I have said this on other threads but maybe it deserves to be said again. How would you feel if your child chose to rebel against you and love the things you hate?

I'd love them just the same.

You're the biking riding bear of the religion and philosophy section. Entertaining for a short while, but ultimately a played out, boring single trick.

hgc · Nov 29, 2006

God is made in man's image, which explains all his attributes.

Paulhoff · Nov 29, 2006

hgc said:
God is made in man's image, which explains all his attributes.

Geeeee, you think.

Paul

Of course you think, god is in man's image with all the faults.

Darth Rotor · Nov 29, 2006

Marquis de Carabas said:
Jesus still wets the bed.

Well, since one could conclude that the Trinity all share the same bed, do you blame Him?

DR

Tanstaafl · Nov 29, 2006

Good one, DR.

Marc L · Nov 30, 2006

Paulhoff said:
Like I have said many times before, you have a very childless god KK.

He's pretty childish, too

Marc

kurious_kathy · Nov 30, 2006

senorpogo said:
I'd love them just the same.

Your right, and He does. God doesn't ever quit loving us, we just blow it by choosing other things over him.
I myself just about 25 months ago learned I have to turn my will over to His will for my life. (On my own I am unable, and I know it.) The blessings are in the obedience to Him, not the willful rebellion.

As the musician Sting wrote in his song years ago, "If I Ever Lose MY Faith In You." You could say I was a lost girl in a lost world, but now I know the truth and won't ever quit believing in the One true God!

Orangutan · Nov 30, 2006

Has anybody noticed the similarity between God and abusive partners?

I can't shake the image of a God in a wife-beater with humanity cowering in the corner with a blodied lip and mascara smeared from tears of pain and humiliation.

God: Aww come on baby, you know I love you, You just make me so angry sometimes.

Why does God get angry?

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