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Then just exercise your free will and choose to recognize that there is no God who cares about anything. That the Bahai is just a religious organization feeding you a line of stuff designed to keep you from recognising this, and keeping you in thrall.That about covers it and I fully agree with everything you said, but I am still mad at God for creating a world in which humans and animals suffer....
I cannot do that because I believe that God cares since it would be illogical to believe anything else, not just because I am a Baha'i. So I just have to accept that there are mysteries in this life that I do not understand and suffering is one of those mysteries. Hopefully I will understand after I die and go to the spiritual world.
Let me clarify, so you know exactly who the Baha'i God is... He is an unknowable, invisible essence. The only thing we can know about this God is what his special messengers have said about him. Then you might ask, "but all these messengers say different things about him? Is he a three-part Godhead? Is he just one and only one? Is there multiple Gods with one Supreme God? Or, is there no God at all?" God is only one, and we know this because the Baha'i prophet said so. And even though, some religions say something different, they are wrong. Their religious leaders misunderstood, misinterpreted and totally got things mixed up. I hope that makes it perfectly clear.
I don't know either. I think I said it in this thread, I have felt the presence of God... three times. Only problem is... I was believing something different each time.
The question that I have about that is, when is the age of accountability? Let's say it is ten, but it doesn't matter exactly when it is, a kid dies before they reach that age. They are innocent? But, another kid reaches that age, then dies. One day older than the other kid, but he will be judged for his many sins?
Or, believe in a religion that believes in reincarnation. Her good cats might qualify to become humans. And she might come back as a cat and have one of her ex-cat be her human owner. But no, Baha'is refuse to believe in reincarnation. It is whatever their religion says and that's it.
Then you don't have free will.
I absolutely do have free will but I choose not to do that.
Then why do you complain so much?
Do you mean when I complain about God? I complain because I am suffering and at the time I blame God because God created a world in which people like me suffer.
So nothing distinguishes [him] from the imaginary?
Funny how these gods are never DIY ─ a colossally inefficient habit considering what they're presumably trying to achieve.
I'd say only that we know the Baha'i prophet said so. As you've pointed out, one prophet is as reliable as any other.
I've never found a meaningful description / definition of a real god, such that if I found one I could tell [it] was a god. So I think they're all wrong. Wrong in the sense that they're not making accurate or even meaningful statements about objective reality.
Owning people as property is immoral, irrespective of implementation.The Bible depicts God as legalizing the ownership of people as property. Therefore, God, as depicted is immoral.
It's worse than just one particular aspect of the creatures live by eating other creatures, in that if one thing doesn't get you, another will. If not virus X, then Virus R. If not natural disaster Y, then perhaps just a fall.
If God does exist, then that there is more than meets the eye starts to become not just a possibility, but the basic reality.That only works for those of us who believe in the afterlife...
The only "get out if jail free" card God has is if there is a heaven people go to when they die.
Well, according to the text on the whole, a fairly good summary of the outcome for those that reject grace is Romans 2:6 or better Romans 2:6-16 (I'd recommend the better NIV translation for this one!), with the conditions of Romans 5:13 and Romans 4:15 -- that no one is ever held accountable for what they do not know or cannot feel in their conscience, but only for doing intentional evil to others with full awareness they are doing so (such as for instance slander (very everyday common in America in recent decades via reviling or gossip), theft, assault, etc.). So, as Romans 2:6-16 points out, God shows no favoritism at all, but is entirely fair: each is repaid good for good and harm for harm. The ultimate justice, in which on one will get away with any hidden thing. No cover up will work. Only Mercy -- which is freely given to any that simply repent. Christ came to redeem us, to help us turn.
That is true and that is what I believe, but try convincing an atheist that there is more than the material reality.
And yet you have not demonstrated that any of that is necessary to be able to love. But even if you could -which you have not - if there were an omnipotent god who did make it so that suffering is necessary for love, then that god would an immoral jerk.
There is no rational reason to accept such.
My love is better - more respectful, more responsible, more thoughtful, more useful, and more existent - than that of any proposed deity. Moreover, I don't plot the torture of those who do not love me back.
That is likely true whether any gods exists, or not.