Passover

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[–]LtGreenCo 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (6 children)

I don't know the first quote kinda sounds like God speaking.

"I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come."

God himself may not have written that passage but he certainly created the guy who did write it. Which means if that's not a direct quote from God then his holy book is at least partially full of lies, which doesn't seem like something God would tolerate with his holy book.

[–]fschmidt 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

Well this part is actually true and doesn't imply omniscience. What God says in the Old Testament are basically universal laws ethics comparable to universal laws of science. This isn't knowing everything, it is just knowing what can be verified with inductive reasoning based on history.

[–]LtGreenCo 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

Even without the omniscience argument, I'd still argue that God is a bit morally dubious for punishing humans for simply doing what he knowingly gave them the capability to do, and in the environment he created and the parameters he set up. It doesn't seem ethical or fair to, for example, create a species, give it raging hormones and high libidos, and then judge them harshly when that particular mechanic goes beyond the boundaries you set, (e.g. rape, adultery, homosexuality, etc.) regardless of the fact that not every individual of said species is aware of said boundaries, save for the fortunate ones who were made aware from the correct books and preachings, as a result of being born into or converting to the right religion.

[–]fschmidt 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

This criticism depends on God being sentient, and I personally don't view God as being sentient. God is personified in the Old Testament only as a means of explanation, but God actually represents the aggregate universal forces of nature. You can read more here.

[–]LtGreenCo 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I'll concede that a non-sentient god sounds more likely because it aligns more with reality. But then I'd have to wonder what's the point in devoting any effort to that theory other than as a philosophical thought experiment purely for entertainment. Other than that it is of no practical use to me to think of gravity or electromagnetism or higgs fields or whatever as a god/gods to be worshipped or thankful for or even acknowledged.

But as much as I argue against faith, I still have some respect for it in the sense that some people do need it for stability/purpose/meaning, and I would never deny anybody their right to believe those things as long as the metaphysical portion of said beliefs stay metaphysical and don't become real actions that cause real harm or suffering.

[–]fschmidt 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

The concept of God has several practical applications. First it supports the idea that there are consistent forces of nature that are within the domain of science. For example the forces of history are consistent but the scientific method doesn't apply because of time scale and other factors. But this encourages a study of history looking for patterns. And while correlation isn't causation, it is still much better than nothing and it makes sense to avoid behaviors common to decline culture and to support behavior common to rising cultures. Of course the cliff notes for this is scripture itself which identifies which behaviors are good and bad.

Another benefit to the concept of God is that it helps one get along with the only people left in the West who aren't scum deserving death. And this is basically traditional Anabaptists and conservative Muslims. Since I believe in God (based on my definition), I can get along with these people. And since all other people in the West are revolting scum, there is no point for me to associate with them.

[–]Vulptex 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

That's "the god of this world", not "the father".