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To: Romulus
In all sincerity, it is not my intent to "shoot down" your God.

I simply want to understand what I see as clear rational inconsistencies and irreconcilable paradoxes in the God described by the Old Testament.

I know it causes some people discomfort. And I know that the response to discomfort is all too often a "lashing out" at the source of the discomfort. But the inconsistencies and the paradoxes remain despite the lashing out.

God specifies and defines morality. And yet the actions attributed to God in the Old Testament are often in diametric opposition to the moral code specified. So either God is immoral (a paradoxical impossibility)... Or those who scribed the Bible attributed actions to God, which were not God's.

To be honest, I favor the latter explanation. If God exists, I can scarcely imagine that such a benevolent, wondrous, and loving omnipotent being, would be at all concerned with humans groveling in fear at his almighty feet. And under no circumstances would such a God be prone to insane fits of destructive jealous rage.

These are human qualities (and not exactly admirable ones at that).

461 posted on 01/04/2002 5:40:15 AM PST by OWK
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To: OWK
It is, at times, perplexing to see God's justice and righteous judge nature displayed in the Old Testament writings as the same aspects of the God of the New Testament. However, Jesus explained that (under the fulfilled law of the New Testament), ALL judgement was ascribed to Him (Jesus) and that God would not judge people anymore. John Ch. 5 V. 22 "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:"

Plainly speaking, God's judgement of the wicked is performed by self-judgement. We have the Word before us which is primarily: 1. To love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and 2. To love others as we love ourselves.
We are only given the capacity to judge ourselves relative to that word...
Az

477 posted on 01/04/2002 6:17:11 AM PST by azhenfud
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