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13 Responses to "QotD: Religion"

1. | Reply Chris Burkhardt
   Posted 01 May 2004 at 3:38pm #
   

   I would agree. How would anyone find such a god without seeking? Then anyone who does believe in such a god must be condemned by that god for the very act of seeking the god they believe in. So yeah, it's better to not bother with gods like that 🙂

   Proverbs 15:14

2. | Reply Becky
   Posted 01 May 2004 at 3:52pm #
   

   I guess my response is that the true God IS the truth, and therefore inherently would support truth-seeking. On a practical level, off of the top of my head I can't think of any major religions or sects that would disagree with that statement, as they all believe their version of God to be identical to Truth. On the other hand, if you replaced "god" with "belief system" or even "church"... well, there are obviously lots of those that don't encourage independent thinking, and I would certainly agree that that's not a great road to go down.

3. | Reply dan
   Posted 01 May 2004 at 5:21pm #
   

   How could anyone disagree? I agree!

4. | Reply Art
   Posted 01 May 2004 at 5:22pm #
   

   Your statement implies a paradox, assuming you're talking about the standard judeo-moslem-christian monogod, known for his boundless power and knowledge, blah blah.

   If your god is not powerful enough to compel you to obey or to believe, what use is he -- finding good parking spots and picking the right numbers on your lottery tickets?

   I believe that this "mold religion to my own ends" trend is just post-deist nonsense. You don't really believe in god, if you believe that relationship is subject to bargaining.

5. | Reply Grayson
   Posted 01 May 2004 at 6:13pm #
   

   So, are we really talking about (G/g)od or religion? I don't think God would have a problem with science or reason. Hell, the first scientists were religious individuals that reasoned in order to better serve and glorify God. It was the church that often had a problem with this. To date, God has not smote (smitted? smitten? Past tense of "smite") a scientists, although many churches have excommunicated, vilified, and destroyed many scientists. I think the statement would read better (for me, at least) if you replaced "god" with "religion."

6. | Reply Robin
   Posted 01 May 2004 at 9:37pm #
   

   If you look for evidence of God or God's will in the world we live in, you might conclude that whatever God there is isn't especially nice. We might believe in that God, not because It deserves it, but rather to cover our own ass.

7. | Reply Jon
   Posted 01 May 2004 at 10:12pm #
   

   I prefer the question: if a God be omnipotent, omnipresent, and compassionate at the same time, why is there any suffering at all?

8. | Reply Gabe
   Posted 01 May 2004 at 11:16pm #
   

   What people fail to understand is this: God gave people free will. God wants to see what we are going wo do with our time on this plane of existence. There is suffering because God lets us create it. Basically, God is playing the ultimate version of The Simsâ„¢ with his people controlling their own destiny.

   I believe that it fits in with Erik's question: God wants us to seek truth. He wants us to seek him out in his many forms, be it science, religion (take your pic), art, et al. If God controlled us and made sure we were all happy then what would be the point?

   The way I see it is this: God doesn't tell you what to do. What God does is create forks in the road, and it's you who decides which route you take. That's just my opinion...

9. | Reply Matt Henderson
   Posted 02 May 2004 at 10:35am #
   

   When considering these types of questions, I'm reminded of something that C.S. Lewis said: That man's chances of truly comprehending God are about the same as a painting's chances of compehending the landscape of which it is a reflection.

10. | Reply Micheal Jones
    Posted 02 May 2004 at 10:42am #
    

    What God are you referencing however?

    The Christian God is one of two gods for people. The head of the religious organizations that condemn and molest our children (basically the perversion of the Christian faith. Best example is the Crusades.)

    The other God is the one that people are getting to know outside of the legalist churches. It's a messy subject, but I do agree with your statement. Any God that condemns me for seeking the truth is not my God. My God wants me to seek the truth.

    Jon - In the right perspective everything makes sense. If they had not died, you would not be where you are. Or something like that. If 6 million Jews had not died, Israel would not have come about when it did. (Sure the Balfour Declaration said it would be made, but not when. And that was made in 1917. Israel came around in 1948.)

    Erik - We want PulpFiction 🙂

11. | Reply Jared White
    Posted 02 May 2004 at 1:13pm #
    

    Interesting discussion. I'm glad the discourse has been polite and thoughtful -- so often trolls take over and start flaming everyone (on both sides of the fence).

    My take on this (from a Christian point-of-view anyway) is that first of all you need to separate God from the "Church". The fact is that the TRUE church is simply the body of believers in Jesus Christ. They can be part of any organized church or on their own (like me). It's the unfortunate truth that, while churches have done many wonderful things for the past centuries, they've also been responsible for many horrible things. But that's true of anything human. Look at what the British did to the Aborigines in the name of "evolutionary science".

    So, looking at God based on what He says about Himself in the Bible, we see Someone that glorifies in the truth. Abraham questioned God and reasoned with God a number of times. But, in the end, he obeyed God and was blessed. He was blessed for seeking the truth, not condemned for it. When the Israelites were following God, their nation was blessed and was fruitful and there was joy and peace in the land. But when they turned away from God, then all kinds of awful things happened (usually resulting in them being conquered by their enemies). You'd think they'd have figured this out the first time. 😉 But no, they kept turning away from God over and over again. But, He would always forgive them over and over again when they followed Him once again.

    So the answer is: I certainly don't follow a god that condemns those that seek the truth. Far form it. I wonder who does??

    Cheers,

    Jared

    P. S. As for the "why does God allow suffering" question, another question should be asked. "Why does God allow free will?" or, more importantly, "why does God allow sin?" I think you'll find that if you study God's word, it becomes clear that suffering is caused by man's sin and was not and will not be part of God's ultimate plan for mankind. Most suffering (apart from deceases, which is an aspect of the Curse) is caused by evil men. Do you blame God for the evil deeds of men? No, not logically. You could only blame God for allowing men to be evil in the first place -- but again that brings up to the topic of free will. If you remove the capacity to do evil, then you remove the ability to have free will. A conundrum indeed, is it not?

12. | Reply islamicate
    Posted 03 May 2004 at 9:05am #
    

    Question

    I went to Dawnsinger's site today. Followed one of his links to Radio Free Blogistan. For those of you who don't know, most of the islamicate collective are Apple fans, and we've been considering voting Sam I Am off the

13. | Reply anthonywong
    Posted 25 May 2004 at 5:22am #
    

    why does god allow suffering.

    what is one man's suffering is another man's opportunity to realise his strength. so 'suffering' is only the subjective judgement of an individual. call it something else,for eg experienceing , or living , dont think of it as suffering , and there will be no suffering.

    imagine the worse thing that can happen, think of it not as suffering but as living and experienceing , and ur whole perception of ur life is one long joy. for this u have to look on ur physical body and all the ailments it is subject to as temporary. in other words u need to believe in a immortal soul.