If God has a good morality, then I would think he would care about us, in the same way that humans care about humans and other life forms. Why don't you think God should care about us?
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Does God take humanity seriously?
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If God has a good morality, then I would think he would care about us, in the same way that humans care about humans and other life forms. Why don't you think God should care about us?
Hevenly Heathen
Seeker
In my spiritual path, detachment is practiced, along with compassion. Look at most of the people around you and try to see them as all the same, caring for each of them equally. It's difficult, so if we can detach ourselves from the desires and emotions clouding our reason, we are left with people as people, all suffering is the same, all confusion equal. Compassion tempers detachment and gives a reason to be humane, to everything, not just humans.
All of the above is to illustrate that one doesn't need to care or take seriously anybody else, but even so they may still be gentle, kind people. Perhaps God is simply letting us be humans, seeing if we can overcome our weaknesses or drown in them. Either way: why should God take it personally enough to make it a bother to God what we do?
In polytheistic traditions, the gods tend to be responsible in one fashion or another for everything that happens, regardless of whether it is labeled as "bad" or "good" by humans. The gods aren't necessarily here to serve human interests. Some of them are, but some of them aren't. The "problems" that plague humanity are as much products of the gods (or gods themselves) as the "blessings" in Pagan religions. We don't have this assumption that the gods must be good, must be benevolent, etc. I have a hard time understanding theologies that do make this assumption, because it is very counterintuitive (e.g., you end up with the "problem of evil").
Pegg
Jehovah our God is One
we are experiencing the consequences of independence from Gods laws. We chose independence, and we do so daily, by ignoring Gods laws. The world we have today is a world of our own creation, we only have ourselves to blame.
Ecclesiastes 8:9 All this I have seen, and there was an applying of my heart to every work that has been done under the sun, [during] the time that man has dominated man to his injury.
He sends his prophets to inform mankind of his purpose and plan for the future and to encourage them to live by his laws and become dependent on him. If we submit to him, he will 'make our paths straight' and he will 'care for our needs'
Proverbs 3:1 My son, my law do not forget, and my commandments may your heart observe, 2 because length of days and years of life and peace will be added to you. ...5 Trust in Jehovah with all your heart and do not lean upon your own understanding. 6 In all your ways take notice of him, and he himself will make your paths straight....Fear Jehovah and turn away from bad. 8 May it become a healing to your navel and a refreshment to your bones.
Ps 37:25 A young man I used to be, I have also grown old, and yet I have not seen anyone righteous left entirely, nor his offspring looking for bread.
he has provided us with his word the bible so that anyone who 'sincerely' seeks him can find him
Luke 11:9 Accordingly I say to YOU, Keep on asking, and it will be given YOU; keep on seeking, and YOU will find; keep on knocking, and it will be opened to YOU. 10 For everyone asking receives, and everyone seeking finds, and to everyone knocking it will be opened
through Gods word he tells us that he will not allow these conditions to exist perpetually. He promises to put an end to human rule:
Daniel 2:44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite
then he promises to remove all those who do not wish to live peacefully on this earth:
Psalm 37;10 And just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more;
And you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be.
11 But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth,
And they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace
And he promises to remove sickness and death from mankind:
Revelation 21:4 And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away
There is so much that he will do for us and by the time he does, we will all come to an agreement that we need his rulership, we need his laws and we need his guidance.
james2ko
Well-Known Member
Good for you.. then start obeying Him.
Temporarily. Which is of no consequence if He's going to bring everyone back to life for a do over.
Oh I believe He has kept us away from the fire. Without His intervention, we probably would have blown ourselves up long ago.
Sure it is. That's what I told my son when He turned 18.
Be patient. He will. He wants to give mankind enough time in the experiment to eliminate the excuse, "but you didn't give us enough time to successfully try it our way".
You mean like merciful and patient.
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cablescavenger
Well-Known Member
I like Woody Allen's asessment
" But the worst that you can say about him is that basically he's an underachiever." :beach:
sojourner
Annoyingly Progressive Since 2006
The suffering that's being talked about here, though, isn't the helpful kind. There's a difference between chosen consequences and victimization. Violence is never helpful or worthy. But the work of self-giving is. And self-giving creates suffering on the part of the giver.
Is it better to care, or not? Does caring make us more active in our efforts to help others, or is it a hindrance? Of those two options, the most useful one is the one that leads to the most positive change. I don't know which one it is. Maybe its different for different people.
I have found that the problem of evil doesn't exclude the possibility of a good god. I think there are some decent arguments that could be made in favor of it. On the surface it does seem counter-intuitive, and the problem of evil is indeed a problem. Whether or not there is a good all-powerful god who has everything under control and is doing it the right way, I couldn't say. I lack the experience and the understanding to say for sure, as I think every human does.
But, for example, say we are immortal. It may be that eventually we become really bored, and want to experience a life on a world like ours, just the way it is. There are some positives to experiencing life on earth. The challenge, for one thing, which you wouldn't get in paradise, or not in the same way at least. The mystery. And other good things. So, this is one reason why I say I don't have the experience to say for sure, because until we've actually lived for a trillion years in paradise our opinions about what immortality is like are unfounded, baseless, and without any meaning really.
Starvation sucks. But theres ways around that too. The matrix comes to mind, a kind of solipsism where your in a computer simulation of some kind that God has under his control. This would make it far easier to explain things like evil and suffering.
And what if we dont agree? Is hell already prepared?
Before we master genetic engineering and fix humanity ourselves? That would be kind of funny in a way, and pitiful too on Gods part. Just to be a complete scumbag he would prevent humanity from rising above its genetic flaws and into perfection - without Gods help - so that he could say "I told you so!"
I don't think we need God. His help would be appreciated, maybe. But you know what, after all the suffering and evil that humanity has endured over the thousands and millions of years, maybe the window for allowing God to help us should be closed. Maybe God doesn't deserve to be a part of our world if hes turned his back on humanity for all those eons.
You mean like merciful and patient.
No...No I don't...
If thats all it is, then thats alright. In that case disappointment would be more appropriate haha. Maybe we can motivate God somehow lol
sojourner
Annoyingly Progressive Since 2006
You raise a very good point here. You perceive God to lack compassion or interest, and I think it's precisely because we lack compassion and interest. We are the imago Dei. We embody God in the world. We are important to God, but probably not in the way that we've been trained to think.
Most Xtians have been taught that we are the princes and princesses of creation -- that the world has been given to us to use for our purposes. That stance makes us more important than everything else around us. It has caused us to exploit our planet (and other people, who are also viewed as "less important" than we are) to the point where it can no longer sustain us.
It's that sense of entitlement that makes us less important than we really are, and causes us to become self-centered, and therefore, lack compassion.
CynthiaCypher
Well-Known Member
Am I immoral just because I am not concerned for the well being of a colony of ants in my backyard?
sojourner
Annoyingly Progressive Since 2006
Yes. Why are you more important than the ants?
I don't know. Some people would say you are, some Hindus for instance who try not to hurt any life forms at all and believe that every insect has a soul.
But, there are some big differences between the two examples. First, we are a highly evolved species. We are intelligent. We are figuring out all kinds of things about the cosmos. We can think about things like God, try to understand our experience here on earth in the grand scheme of things. We are a space-faring civilization that could potentially expand across the galaxy some day, but for the time being just in our solar system. Our range of experience is vast. An ants is not. If you were to compare what we can experience vs what God can experience, there would be a lot in common between the two. Comparing Humans to ants, not too much in common, and really nothing in common on the level of complexity.
CynthiaCypher
Well-Known Member
We are highly evolved species in comparison to what? Ants or god?
I'm sorry, but whenever I see the phrase "highly evolved" I want to take that person back to school and drill them in the science of evolutionary theory. There is no such thing as "highly evolved." That kind of language presupposes some purposeful or ultimate aim of evolution and there is no such thing. When we say that, it's our anthropocentric egomania talking.
Go read this or something for some details on why this kind of language is scientifically incorrect.
Go read this or something for some details on why this kind of language is scientifically incorrect.
You don't like it, fine. Its just a phrase. I happen to like it and I think its valid.
As far as Im concerned a species that has figured out genetic engineering and is exploring the other planets in its own solar system qualifies as highly evolved.