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Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Religion / How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? (2038 Views)
If God Is Truly A Merciful God / Eternal Torment and a Merciful GOD - Goshen and Co, feedback needed / Though The Doors Of My Rapture Flight Are Closed, Iam Still A Merciful God (2) (3) (4)
How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by justhappy: 6:50pm On Aug 27, 2011 |
[b]I was walking down the streets of Lagos today and as I looked around it became quite clear that the God of the Bible is not loving or merciful at all. As one looks at the poverty and suffering, one must ask why a merciful and loving God would watch his "children" suffer. For an all powerful and all knowing God there is no need for this, for he is all powerful he could stop anything any time he wants. Those who say that the current natural disasters are done by God as a sign of the end times also show that this God is not loving or merciful. Why would he need to kill people, cause harm and destruction because he is arriving? It makes no sense. If God created everything, he also created and could destroy/put an end to, suffering, the devil, evil, pain, hunger, disease etc. He can because he is all merciful and all loving, all powerful, and all knowing. But he does not. So how then is he merciful and loving? God created the world. He created sin. He created the devil. He created it all. Why would a loving father create children a certain way, knowing they would have certain desires and then punish them for acting on these desires. Why not just create a perfect world. Some of you will argue he did but Adam and Eve ruined it. God created the tree of knowledge and Adam and Eve and the snake. He knew what would happen. So, the adam and eve story makes no sense. The ultimate sign of God's lack of mercy and loving is Jesus dying on the cross. Many of you are parents. You would never, if you were all powerful and all knowing, put your child on a cross to suffer for something that he did not do. And suffer in such a horrible way. Why would a merciful and loving God do this? Why would he need to? And then punish those with wrath who do not believe. He created us, and knew some would not believe, because it is something that for the most part makes no sense to believe. So for there to be such wrath, is not loving or merciful. There are many who continue to wear a badge of suffering as a sign that God loves them and is testing them. People stay in horrible marriages to people they do not love because they believe God will reward them for the suffering and does not like divorce. Why would a merciful God not like divorce if the person is an an unhealthy situation. There are many men and women being abused right now because they believe God wants them to be. Not loving and merciful at all. The bottom line is that if there is a God of the Bible who is loving and merciful he has an interesting way of showing it. Look around. At all that is going on in this world. Everything in it was created by this God. Including the famine, disease, and despair. That is not loving and merciful at all. The Bible also offers many examples of how this God is not loving or merciful: Christians continually make statements about the nature of God as loving with the assumption that it is a common truth. I argue that the bible makes a very strong case against this assumption. Yes there are statements in the bible proposing that God is love, but there are far more examples of the behavior of God being horrific for humans, many times innocent children. For my first example I would like to introduce the story of the great flood in Genesis 6-7. God being, all knowing, was shocked to find out that man kind had grown violent since he punished Cain for murdering his brother. So he decided to hit the reset button on the great PlayStation in the sky and start over by flooding the earth. In doing so, he murdered countless babies and children, who's only sin was being born in the world God failed to protect. A loving God would have effectively interacted with mankind to lead them into a more moral lifestyle, not destroyed them all and left Noah and his family to start the cycle of violence over again. An all knowing, loving God clearly would have saved the innocents, and at least ensured that future generations spawned by Noah and his kin were well aware of his will. Instead, he remains conspicuously absent, until Abraham comes along, and the world is once again sinful. Example 2. Pharaoh's hardened heart. In the story of the Exodus of the Israelites in Exodus 7-11 God tells Moses to go to Pharaoh and ask him politely to give up his property (the bible is clear about slaves being property), effectively ridding his country of most of the labor that drives the economy and keeps Egypt in prosperity and dominance from surrounding entities. With slave labor Egyptian men were available as fighting agents and soldiers, effectively doubling the martial force of Egypt at the time. Not surprisingly Pharaoh was not really keen on the idea of diluting his country's economy, so turned sour on the idea. Of course that's not exactly how the story goes. In Exodus 7 God makes it clear to Moses and Aaron, prior to sending them to Pharaoh that he will actively harden Pharaoh's heart, in order to create signs and wonders that will convince the Egyptian people that he is a Powerful God. So, being true to his word, God sends various plagues to annoy the Egyptians, and every time Pharaoh is convinced that God is the one behind the fiery hail, or 3 day darkness and repents, God comes along and actively hardens his heart. There are times in the text when another Hebrew word is used, which explains when Pharaoh simply doesn't believe that the plague was a result of God, in those times it states, Pharaoh's heart was hard, or he hardened his own heart. God only steps in when Pharaoh is convinced and about to repent. Yikes. The story of course culminates in God slaughtering all the first born son's of Egypt, once again innocent children pay for God's need for recognition and the Egyptian people to believe that he is so great. A loving God may have been a little less interactive in both hardening Pharaoh's heart, and in slaughtering children to make a point. Pharaoh of course is heart broken and finally, God stops hardening his heart and he lets the Israelites go. Thank goodness God's appetite for destruction was satiated and he didn't have a go at the Egyptian women. A loving God would never harm women, Which Brings us to my 3rd example. Numbers 31. A horrific story of genocide and slavery. This accounts starts with God telling Moses "Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people." Apparently the Israelite men had been seduced by the Midianite woman and were bumping ugly in tents, to the point where Aaron's great Grandson had to take a spear and run a couple through. God had sent a plague to ravage the Israelites because we all know he doesn't like unmarried heathens and his chosen people touching each others goodies. So God had had enough of the intermingling and false God worship and told Moses to kill the lot of them. The Israelites kill all the men and bring the captive women and children back to Moses. Who is quite up set, because God was clear that he wanted all of them killed. So he orders that the captive mothers and boys be murdered and the virgin girls be divides as spoils of war. Yikes. Clearly not the actions of a loving God, especially when considering Moses' wife was a Midianite, and her father had joined the Israelite camp with promises of protection. God doesn't abide with other cultural influences, to the point of murdering mothers and sons, and enslaving little girls. At this point, a very distinctive picture of the nature of this loving God is starting to appear, don't worry it is confirmed time and time again throughout scripture, and yes even into the New testament and finally culminates with God torturing all those who practice free will for eternity, but I am jumping ahead.[/b] 1 Like |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by Kay17: 7:46pm On Aug 27, 2011 |
U are suffering from symtoms of doubt. But its good! |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by chowbaby: 9:03pm On Aug 27, 2011 |
The poster is not suffering from anything. He or she is quite clear and makes the strongest point for why a belief in a bible based God is foolish. Kudos to Justhappy for this post! |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by Nobody: 9:30pm On Aug 27, 2011 |
There is a consequence for every action. The combined action of selfish, greedy, hateful and godless people is the main cause of human suffering. GOD has tried to guide people in the right direction even sending his own son to die for their sins , and yet they remain hardened ingrates and remain lost in their pitiful condition. Truly sad !! |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by gameaddict(m): 11:02pm On Aug 27, 2011 |
Many people make the mistake of accepting what people tell them about God without thinking for themselves. If you know God then you know that half of what you think about him are what other men have suggested. Know God. Make your decision on who God is. If you see HIM as merciful or otherwise then so be it. Some see Hitler as the kindest man alive. Others do not. I know this is different but this comes down to you. Define merciful. Define a perfect world. Define God. Envision scenarios. Try thinking about what you haven't considered. Do you know everything surrounding the supernatural aside popular opinion? What if 90% of what you think is wrong? What if our opinions of Him are wrong? If He did all you think should be done, Do you think you would exist? Have you considered the infinite nature of the God Man relationship? Of the very notion of supernatural existence? Most of us see things from the human perspective. That is why we cannot yet fathom life. When you can consider life from the point of view of the ant, then, maybe you will find and know God. |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by gameaddict(m): 11:14pm On Aug 27, 2011 |
When people say God is all powerful and can do all things, they confuse 99% of the christian population because they cannot really explain what they mean. Regarding the sacrifice made by Christ, Most people think because God is all powerful, he should be able to say people are forgiven and it would be so. This may be correct after all when you sin against someone, they can forgive you. But when you sin against yourself or your nature, When you alter your existence, Who forgives you? Yourself? When you cannot even control your supernatural being? What if there are powers and natures we haven't considered? What if the sacrifice was made to save us from ourselves? From supernatural forces ( I don't mean beings but just existing forces) that we haven't considered. What if it was the sacrifice that made us humans again and not something else supernaturally? |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by justhappy: 11:40pm On Aug 27, 2011 |
When will we become tired of playing the what if game? The things that you propose about supernatural, I do not know about. I am just saying that the God of the Bible is not merciful or loving based on the evidence that has been given. The evidence that is in the world and in the Bible. |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by gameaddict(m): 12:00am On Aug 28, 2011 |
okay boss! You say evidence based on the bible. What makes you think assessing what is written in isolation helps your case? I ask you to consider things that were also not written in order to understand what is written. |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by thehomer: 12:09am On Aug 28, 2011 |
frosbel: So this is the best an omnipotent, omnipresent and benevolent entity could do? |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by justhappy: 7:36am On Aug 28, 2011 |
@gameaddict Your argument does not make sense. What you are saying is equivalent to someone who is being abused saying something like how do I not know that this abuse is for my greater good. It is silly, and a way to protect the abuser. The only difference here is that the abuser here is a fictitious God. Therefore, people are too scared to question it because they fear the wrath of this "loving God". If you took God out of it and just said a man has done all the things that the God of the bible has supposedly done we would all be appalled. The evidence is clear. The God of the bible is cruel and not loving and merciful as many claim. Whatever you want to tell yourself so you do not have to think about this is up to you. |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by mabell: 10:47am On Aug 28, 2011 |
justhappy: firstly, God never created sin. sin came into this world as a result of man's disobedience (Adam) Ro 5:17a For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; secondly,God still remains merciful. due to His nature,after sin came in, God sent Jesus to die for the world john 3:16 For God had such love for the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever has faith in him may not come to destruction but have eternal life. Ro 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. when God created man, he gave him the right to choose but He also advised on which kind of life man should choose De 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: (KJV) |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by kimond101: 10:52am On Aug 28, 2011 |
God is the most-merciful and the most-loving. He does whatever he wills by his command and everything is decreed by him 'alone' only if we knew. A little example is the air we breath which indicates his intense love toward us with no partiality cause he never asks for anything from us in return except that we worship him and even though we commit sin everytime he doesn't say because of that he would stop giving us oxygen to live for he is the most-merciful only if we knew. The Bible was sent down to the messanger of God, Jesus (May the peace and blessing of God be with him) by Almighty God but it got corrupted with time that is why there are different versions with contradictions in it. With all due respect and no insult intended to the Christians, @justhappy try buying the Holy Quran which was sent down to the messanger of God, Mohammed (May the peace and blessing of God be with him) and try reading the English translation of the arabic revelation and everything would be clear to you by God's grace . Any mistake in this answer is from me and the all wisdom belongs to Allah,the most-wise. Salam. |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by mazaje(m): 11:33am On Aug 28, 2011 |
frosbel: Sure. . . . The combined action of selfish, greedy, hateful and godless people is the main cause of human suffering. Ok. . .lets see how the people that love and obey your God acted in the bible. . . . Lets see how your merciful and loving God told his chosen people to unleash evil and suffering unto others. . . They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul; and everyone who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. (2 Chronicles 15:12-13) Suppose you hear in one of the towns the LORD your God is giving you that some worthless rabble among you have led their fellow citizens astray by encouraging them to worship foreign gods. In such cases, you must examine the facts carefully. If you find it is true and can prove that such a detestable act has occurred among you, you must attack that town and completely destroy all its inhabitants, as well as all the livestock. Then you must pile all the plunder in the middle of the street and burn it. Put the entire town to the torch as a burnt offering to the LORD your God. That town must remain a ruin forever; it may never be rebuilt. Keep none of the plunder that has been set apart for destruction. Then the LORD will turn from his fierce anger and be merciful to you. He will have compassion on you and make you a great nation, just as he solemnly promised your ancestors. "The LORD your God will be merciful only if you obey him and keep all the commands I am giving you today, doing what is pleasing to him." (Deuteronomy 13:13-19) Suppose a man or woman among you, in one of your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, has done evil in the sight of the LORD your God and has violated the covenant by serving other gods or by worshiping the sun, the moon, or any of the forces of heaven, which I have strictly forbidden. When you hear about it, investigate the matter thoroughly. If it is true that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, then that man or woman must be taken to the gates of the town and stoned to death. (Deuteronomy 17:2-5) "Then I heard the LORD say to the other men, "Follow him through the city and kill everyone whose forehead is not marked. Show no mercy; have no pity! Kill them all – old and young, girls and women and little children. But do not touch anyone with the mark. Begin your task right here at the Temple." So they began by killing the seventy leaders. "Defile the Temple!" the LORD commanded. "Fill its courtyards with the bodies of those you kill! Go!" So they went throughout the city and did as they were told." (Ezekiel 9:5-7) Cursed be he who does the Lords work remissly, cursed he who holds back his sword from blood. (Jeremiah 48:10) While the Israelites were camped at Acacia, some of the men defiled themselves by sleeping with the local Moabite women. These women invited them to attend sacrifices to their gods, and soon the Israelites were feasting with them and worshiping the gods of Moab. Before long Israel was joining in the worship of Baal of Peor, causing the LORD's anger to blaze against his people. The LORD issued the following command to Moses: "Seize all the ringleaders and execute them before the LORD in broad daylight, so his fierce anger will turn away from the people of Israel." So Moses ordered Israel's judges to execute everyone who had joined in worshiping Baal of Peor. Just then one of the Israelite men brought a Midianite woman into the camp, right before the eyes of Moses and all the people, as they were weeping at the entrance of the Tabernacle. When Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest saw this, he jumped up and left the assembly. Then he took a spear and rushed after the man into his tent. Phinehas thrust the spear all the way through the man's body and into the woman's stomach. So the plague against the Israelites was stopped, but not before 24,000 people had died. (Numbers 25:1-9) Here we have your God telling people to kill others and sacrifice them as burnt offering unto him. . . .We have your God telling people to kill others because they worship other Gods. . . How is your God better than Allah? Read the koran you will never see Allah telling people to kill innocent women and children but what do we have in the bible? We have your God telling people to kill innocent children. . . . Yet you will still open your mouth and say that such a God is merciful. . .Merciful means treating people better than they deserve. . . .Your God is not merciful, he is even worse that the Allah you love to hate. . . GOD has tried to guide people in the right direction even sending his own son to die for their sins , and yet they remain hardened ingrates and remain lost in their pitiful condition. Read the bible half of it is filled with violence and blood shed and most of the killings and evil were commanded by your God, so what the hell are you talking about? Truly sad !! Truly sad that you worship such a deity and say that he is merciful or good. . , |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by gameaddict(m): 12:43pm On Aug 28, 2011 |
@Justhappy: You can not understand if you don't want to understand. That is life. Okay, your position is that the God of the bible is not what people say he is. All I'm saying is that you as well as those who think he is merciful should consider other factors before making decisions. I tried writing my previous posts on a neutral ground though I had to compromise when it came to talking about the sacrifice and other issues. You don't have to turn it into an insult. Believe what you want. If the gospel of judas is what suits your life, accept it and stop disturbing others with your doubts. No one is forcing God on you. Those who do don't know God. |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by HISchild: 2:56pm On Aug 28, 2011 |
people, this world is, and has been under the curse of sin since the fall of man. Adam, in whose loins all humanity was, rebelled against GOD (the sin of disobedience is as rebellion is as witchcraft in the eyes of Holy GOD - 1 Samuel 15:23) - "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." - Romans 8:22 we are all born in sin and go on sinning -"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" -Romans 5:12 and GOD's perfect law declares - "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die." - Ezekiel 18:4 & “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of GOD;” - Rom 3:23. "See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand." - Deuteronomy 32:39 mankind is inherently wicked, but for the grace and mercy of The Lord JESUS CHRIST, and continues inhumanity to man, greatly increasing sorrow and misery in this world - "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" - Jeremiah 17:9. "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:" - Matthew 15:19. "Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions." - Ecclesiastes 7:29 we must bear in mind, with our very finite minds, when considering The infinite, all-powerful, omniscient GOD that "The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works." - Psalm 145:17 "He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." - Deuteronomy 32:4 GOD is a good, great GOD who takes no pleasure in wickedness or in the death of the wicked - "For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye." - Ezekiel 18:32, "For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee." - Psalm 5:4 We have no idea, though some, of the sort of sin against GOD that goes on daily in this world, yet, GOD is patient and long suffering - "But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth." - Psalm 86:1. "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." - Matthew 5:44-46 Considering that all human beings and this world have been under the curse of sin, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" - Romans 3:10 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." - Isaiah 64:6 we should thank GOD earnestly, fearing before HIM, that HE offers many, many a way of escape from HIS righteous wrath for sin and death through HIMSELF, in the person of our Lord JESUS CHRIST - "For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of GOD [is] eternal life through JESUS CHRIST our Lord.” - Rom 6:23 , and you see what The Lord JESUS CHRIST (actually, we cannot fully appreciate) had to endure in order to release anyone from the curse / righteous wrath of GOD - "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." -Isaiah 53:3-5 'I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels." -Psalm 22:14 So, The Lord GOD, who did not have to save the souls of any, is kind and wonderful beyond our comprehension. “The Lord [is] gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, And of great mercy.” - Psalm 145:8 - "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." - John 15:13-14 But/and HE is the GOD of justice and must punish sin. "Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne." - Psalm 97:2 ---- Re: the wicked nations that were practicing wicked works which GOD commanded the nation of Israel not to follow (e.g., idol worship, homosexuality, beastiality, etc), HE drove out / removed, as is HIS sovereign right and good pleasure to do via whatever means that HE decrees. "Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee." - Deuteronomy 9:4 "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him." - 2 Samuel 22:31 |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by chowbaby: 6:55pm On Aug 28, 2011 |
@Hischild you are clearly brainwashed. If someone abusing and hurting you is a sign of love, I would be curious to see what your relationships are like. You probably are the type that does not get along with your own family and when your name is mentioned no one really has anything good to say about you. Therefore, a person like you would find a ruthless and cruel God to be merciful and kind because he is made in YOUR image and likeness as you are made in his. Whatever God a person chooses to believe in is usually closely associated with the type of person that individual is in real life. So, I would beg to argue that you yourself have done some very cruel things to people but consider yourself kind. Fundamentalist, extremist Christians are some of the meanest people around, lacking compassion. When natural disasters happen instead of speaking about those who are impacted doing well, they rejoice in the destruction and death stating that their God is coming. This is actually quite odd and wicked. If everyone was annihilated in this world and you were sent up to be with your Jesus, you would be so overjoyed. You are not a kind and compassionate person, but rather one with a sick and evil heart who gains satisfaction from the pain of others as long as you benefit. In summary, you are a reflection of the God that you think exists. A wrathful and punishing God. Look at your own life and I am sure you will see how this is true. Your fruit in your postings (talk of doom and gloom) are quite a clear example of this. You are not intelligent enough to look at the deeper message of the person who posted initially and are too afraid of your "merciful" God to think for yourself. What kind of mental prison is this to live in? The poster's message is that all you have said in your response, your great ability to cut and paste without thinking, all of that was created by and could be stopped by God. God knew what Adam would do, because he created him, he is all knowing, so why set Adam up like that. That is not loving. Furthermore, if mankind is inherently wicked, that means that this perfect God created an imperfect thing, and is causing us to suffer for his mistake. That is not loving or merciful at all. It is like knowing your child likes to put his finger in a socket and placing his carriage right in front of the socket, then punishing him for putting his finger in it. And then after putting his finger in the socket we should beg our parents for mercy and thank them for forgiveness when they put us there? It makes no sense, but you cannot think that complex, so continue to cut and paste like a zombie. 2 Likes |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by Nobody: 7:03pm On Aug 28, 2011 |
have thehomer and mazaje answered sexkillz's questions? They would rather come here where they can continue their tradition of "asking questions". ![]() At OP, consequences for actions are things that no one ever talks about today. We just expect some magic fairy to come and make everything all good leaving us with no sense of responsibility. |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by justhappy: 7:13pm On Aug 28, 2011 |
@davidylan Actually, consequences for action is exactly what we are talking about. That is what there is, cause and effect. There is not some all mighty God looking down on us controlling things. We are responsible for our actions, our selves, and each other. Once we realize that we can make stop hoping that an external force will come in and do magic tricks. This does not take away from the fact that the God of the Bible if not merciful or loving based on the facts that have been presented. |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by thehomer: 8:16pm On Aug 28, 2011 |
davidylan: As you probably know, I answer questions that I'm asked if they're relevant and I ask questions that are relevant. If you think my question is not relevant, you're free to point it out. |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by mazaje(m): 9:03pm On Aug 28, 2011 |
davidylan: Sexkillz asked if I know what the origin of life is and my simple answer is I don't know. . .The FACT is neither I, you or sexkillz knows the origin of life, the thing I will not do is accept the BASELESS opinions and mythology of men that has no evidence or reality to back it up but needs the faith cake. . . At OP, consequences for actions are things that no one ever talks about today. We just expect some magic fairy to come and make everything all good leaving us with no sense of responsibility. Actually according to the magical fairy tale you believe in and advocate,things are supposed to be good if only people believe in your version of fairy tale, no?. . .The question OP's question remains is your God as portrayed in the bible merciful and God? The answer is NO. . .He is not. . .A simple look at the OT says your God is even worse than the Allah you love to hate. . . At least Allah did not command people to kill others including innocent babies and sacrifice them as a burnt offering unto him. . . |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by Nobody: 9:27pm On Aug 28, 2011 |
mazaje: You cant have it both ways. If you dont know the origin of life how they can you beat your chest and say you are certain that the bible is mythology? you cant be sure now can you? |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by mazaje(m): 9:39pm On Aug 28, 2011 |
davidylan: I might not be able to know that materials that are used in making a 10 dollar note but I surely know that it is not completely made up of diamond. . .The biblical origin of was written by ancient humans who do NOT know what they are talking about, the stories were just made out of thin air and as such the stories HAVE NO evidence what ever it back it up, and their stories have been shown to be FALSE. . . . Christians themselves are now relegating the creation accounts in the bible to the realm of allegory. . .The biblical creation story is no better than any other creation story out there. . .I wonder why you discard all the others and hold unto that of the bible when all are the same i.e assumptions of ancient men who do not know anything that they were saying. . . . |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by Nobody: 9:51pm On Aug 28, 2011 |
mazaje: bad analogy. you know a 10 dollar note isnt completely made of diamond because you have actually seen and touched one. So your conclusion is drawn from at least some form of empirical evidence based on look and feel of a REAL note you have seen. Have you proved that God doesnt exist to any certain degree? Beyond not having his home address, exactly how do you know the biblical creation is a myth? |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by mazaje(m): 10:01pm On Aug 28, 2011 |
davidylan: I can see the earth and I live in it. . .I can use what I see around to judge the claims written in the bible to see if they are true or not. . . Have you proved that God doesnt exist to any certain degree? Beyond not having his home address, exactly how do you know the biblical creation is a myth? I don't need to prove that any God exist because all Gods are man made. . .The belief in Gods is what exist not the Gods themselves. . . .The biblical creation account does NOT agree with observable reality. . . |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by Nobody: 10:11pm On Aug 28, 2011 |
lol mazaje and david. the other thread isnt locked now, make una go back there else i will ban u both 15 hrs each for derailing this thread ![]() |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by Nobody: 10:21pm On Aug 28, 2011 |
toba: that is mazaje for you oh my brother. ![]() mazaje: But you said the bible was written by man . . . assuming they were wrong but God still exists, what is your proof of his non-existence? this is an extremely tenuous argument you are putting up bro. mazaje: How do you know this? evidence pls. |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by tikinclock: 10:26pm On Aug 28, 2011 |
The ultimate sign of God's lack of mercy and loving is Jesus dying on the cross. If it is true that Jesus was with God then He God and Jesus knew that what we humans call death is merely the changing of a shirt. It was impossible for Jesus to die. The priests and pastors and bishops have for centuries been lying to us. Guys open your eyes to the truth. Read Jeremiah 8:8. Everything in the bible is not the truth. Everything in the bible is not from God. What! you say, "We are wise, we do have his directions" -- when lo, your scribes have written them wrong, and falsified them? Jer 8:8 You keep saying, "We are wise, because we have the teachings of the LORD." But actually, those who explain the Scriptures have written lies with their pens. Jer 8:8 How can you say, "We are wise, since we have Yahweh's Law?" Look how it has been falsified by the lying pens of the scribes! Jer 8:8 Fact. Jesus never died on the cross!!! |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by thehomer: 10:57pm On Aug 28, 2011 |
davidylan: One doesn't have to know the origin of life to determine that the Bible belongs more to the class of mythology. Just think about animals talking to you, zombies wandering round cities etc. |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by HISchild: 8:55am On Aug 29, 2011 |
@chowbaby "Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God." - Romans 9:19-26 you simply ignored everything i stated, by GOD's grace, re: GOD's wonderful SELF sacrifice in the person of our Lord JESUS CHRIST and gospel of salvation, in order to save many undeserving sinners from wrath. The Lord GOD that i know, by HIS mercy and grace and love, is as HE says, and as i have experienced, “The Lord [is] gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, And of great mercy.” - pss 145:8 "For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of GOD [is] eternal life through JESUS CHRIST our Lord.” - Rom 6:23 |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by chowbaby: 3:18pm On Aug 29, 2011 |
@Hischild No, you ignore everything that is said to you. Any thing that makes any sense you throw away and quote useless scripture. According to you, your God will be giving some kind of wrath against sin. That is not loving or merciful. Because he created us, created our sin nature as you state, created our desires, placed the items here for us to sin with, created doubt, created unbelief, created all bad things. So, what is he punishing us for? What are we begging him for? He knew what would happen since he is all knowing. The real world is too much of a scary place for you, so you can hide in your belief of some merciful entity that you have to beg and plead with. But, reality is always so much better than fantasy. |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by nodogma: 1:38pm On Aug 30, 2011 |
There is no way that one can look at the attrocities in this world and think there is a merciful, loving God. People are suffering beyond belief. Babies are dying of famine, disease, and in wars. The poverty and pain in Africa alone would let one stop thinking of any merciful and loving God. No lights, no electricity, no jobs, what kind of mercy is this? I hope parents on this board who have children do not treat them like this. When they ask for your help I hope you give it. I hope you do not find pleasure in withholding from them what you know you are capable of providing for them. There is no way that one can look at this world and see any form of mercy. Because one reads a book, the bible, and is feared into submission, does not show mercy it shows fear. One is not changed, one is just too afraid of the wrath of their God. This is not mercy or love. 1 Like |
Re: How Can We Call Him A Loving And Merciful God, When He Clearly Is Not? by baby4u2(f): 5:39pm On Aug 30, 2011 |
@Justhappy, is the question really does God exist. Because you think He sees all that is happening and is doing nothing. I really dont like going back and forth on religion thread so I stay out of it. However I just want you to know that God is still merciful and kind to those that know Him and love Him. The true fact is that there is an answer, but I dont think it may satisfy you because you have already come to a conclusion. This was not how God intended man to leave. It was not His plan or design. I will not go on because I dont want to confuse you in anyway, but Give God the benefit of that doubt you feel that he does care, and those who call out to Him, he will answer them. I would like to personally chat with you, if you have time. Stay happy, and dont doubt God, but believe that one day all these suffering will come to an end. |
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