&'nd so I've been thinking..

[Arya]

*I'm not sure if this is in the right place to post this. I'm taking a stab in the dark by posting here, as my eyes can not adjust properly to the mixture of words/light colors, making it hard to see the categories and subforums.*

I've been thinking about what beliefs I'll follow for the portion/rest of my life, and so I thought about Christianity. It's very popular, which would imply that there must be a lot of logic in it, seeing as so many people follow it. So, I looked up a lot of history/origins, and questions came to mind. Questions that lean the scales towards the "logic" of Christianity, or for that matter, many other religions.

Questions like whether or not "God" is omnipotent. It's a childish example question, but it makes sense. Can God create a rock so heavy that he could not lift it ?

Or another question that came to mind. Why would a God, by anyones standards, succumb to such a petty, human emotion as jealousy?

"God is a jealous God." I've heard.

I figure I could come here and have my questions answered, as I cannot find the logic in the answers myself. Perhaps an expert could help me out.

~Arya

 

[Aino]

I think this topic could seriously get better answers at new christians or exploring christianity. Of course you'll get something here as well, but it might not be as interesting or enlightening. I'll at leas pass answering right now, though mostly because it's nearly midnight...

 

[tpk]

*I'm not sure if this is in the right place to post this. I'm taking a stab in the dark by posting here, as my eyes can not adjust properly to the mixture of words/light colors, making it hard to see the categories and subforums.*

I've been thinking about what beliefs I'll follow for the portion/rest of my life, and so I thought about Christianity. It's very popular, which would imply that there must be a lot of logic in it, seeing as so many people follow it. So, I looked up a lot of history/origins, and questions came to mind. Questions that lean the scales towards the "logic" of Christianity, or for that matter, many other religions.

Questions like whether or not "God" is omnipotent. It's a childish example question, but it makes sense. Can God create a rock so heavy that he could not lift it ?

Or another question that came to mind. Why would a God, by anyones standards, succumb to such a petty, human emotion as jealousy?

"God is a jealous God." I've heard.

I figure I could come here and have my questions answered, as I cannot find the logic in the answers myself. Perhaps an expert could help me out.

~Arya

Good questions, but I've heard them before. I'm happy to answer them, though.

To your first one, I'll let this site answer it for you: Can God Create a Rock So Heavy He Can't Lift It? - Can God Truly Be Omnipotent?

For your second one, jealousy is only a human emotion because God gave it to humans. However, I'm pretty sure God was jealous long before humans were around. Because we are created in his likeness/image (Genesis 1:27), we are given traits and characteristics that he has. So in all actuality, it's not a "petty, human emotion", but rather a God emotion which he has given to us.

Any other questions?

 

[liesje]

Hey Arya, welcome to CF

You mentioned about God being a jealous God, and jealousy being a petty human emotion. You have to remember that God is different to us. He is perfect, we are not. When it says God is a jealous God, it means he wants us to worship him and only him, he is jealous of our attention and worship of other things. There is nothing wrong with that because he is perfect, he is the only God, and he deserves all of our worship and praise. When humans feel jealousy it is a petty weakness, because they are desiring something they cannot have, and is not rightfully theirs. When God is jealous, he desires something that belongs to him fully, and there's nothing wrong with that. Hope that made sense and is helpful

 

[tpk]

Hey Arya, welcome to CF

You mentioned about God being a jealous God, and jealousy being a petty human emotion. You have to remember that God is different to us. He is perfect, we are not. When it says God is a jealous God, it means he wants us to worship him and only him, he is jealous of our attention and worship of other things. There is nothing wrong with that because he is perfect, he is the only God, and he deserves all of our worship and praise. When humans feel jealousy it is a petty weakness, because they are desiring something they cannot have, and is not rightfully theirs. When God is jealous, he desires something that belongs to him fully, and there's nothing wrong with that. Hope that made sense and is helpful

Nice way of putting it. I hadn't thought of it that way.

 

[Memento Mori]

Or another question that came to mind. Why would a God, by anyones standards, succumb to such a petty, human emotion as jealousy?

"God is a jealous God." I've heard.

Jealous is such a poor word to describe how God feels about us. In these verses, many Bibles have translated it as "zealous." A combination of the two gives a clearer idea of what is meant.

God is a jealous God because He doesn't want us to worship anyone else. "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other" (Matthew 6:24). God insists that we should not be compromising in love of Him, because He does not want to be rejected. It causes Him pain when we look to other "gods" who cannot give us the love and happiness He freely offers.

 

[BannanaFish]

For your second one, jealousy is only a human emotion because God gave it to humans.

so by this "logic" your saying like humans god is imperfect?

It boils down to this

We have all played telephone Think back to elementary school where we say "Jane has cooties pass it down" and by the time it gets to the end of the line the original message is misconstrued and altered to the point where its irrecognizable.

The bible "the word of god" has been through 4000 years of retelling and historically it has been translated several times and originates from three languages: Hebrew, Greek, Latin.

How can the "word of god" be anything but a farse as it only takes ONE mistelling to skew the entier meaning of the message

 

[Wedjat]

Firstly, welcome to CF

Secondly, it really irritates me that people assume that the reason some people are Christian is because they're raised Christian. Sure, my parents have taught me about God and brought me to church for years, but there came a point where I seriously doubted God's existence and I had to decided what I believed. I made that decision myself, not my parents. And many others have had the same thing. On the other hand there are many people who were raised Christians who have left their faith. There comes a point in everyones life where they have to decide what they believe.

As for the bit about God exhibiting petty human emotions, did you read my earlier post in this thread?

You're right. I apologize for assuming that was the case, and certainly did not mean that some people don't chose their faith. You can't deny however that that is usually how it happens.
As to your post before, yes I did read it, but I wasn't merely referring to jealousy. God exhibits many behaviors and emotions (as written in the bible) that would seem more conducive to humans than an omnipotent, omnipresent god. He makes a bet with the devil (Job), he displays anger (in pretty much every book), he shows favoritism (Genesis), he even lies to Adam and Eve about what the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil will do to them.
If those aren't decisively human characteristics, I don't know what is.

And as for not going so far as to assume to know how God thinks, why did humans write the Bible? If it was directly written by God, or inspired by him, why are there so many contradictions?

Christianity doesn't have to make sense to believe it, but we can at least agree that a lot of it doesn't make sense.

 

[secretshadows618]

so by this "logic" your saying like humans god is imperfect?

It boils down to this

We have all played telephone Think back to elementary school where we say "Jane has cooties pass it down" and by the time it gets to the end of the line the original message is misconstrued and altered to the point where its irrecognizable.

The bible "the word of god" has been through 4000 years of retelling and historically it has been translated several times and originates from three languages: Hebrew, Greek, Latin.

How can the "word of god" be anything but a farse as it only takes ONE mistelling to skew the entier meaning of the message

You do realize that back when the Bible was being hand written and translated that it was a process that took forever. It was a job that wasn't taken lightly. Every single detail was handled with care. Right down to the last period. If a person were to mess up then they were to throw it away and start over again. As for translating it, that was also done with great care. Translating and rewriting the Bible wasn't something that was taken lightly. Why don't you learn to read hebrew greek and latin before you come and state so boldly that the Bible is so horribly wrong. If you were to get more facts I think you'd be suprised and how accurate it truly is.

To the OP, you ask some great questions. I have asked myself them before too. Asking questions is great! I think everyone has done a great job in answering them. I don't really have anything to add besides to tell you to keep asking questions!

 

[Shining Beacon]

"Can God create a rock so heavy that he could not lift it ?"

No. God really is all-powerful. He created everything from the angels to the earth to the little ants. I think that the reason it's difficult for some people to believe this is because he does not lord over us and push us a around the way we humans do each other. The bible says this at Ecclesiastes 8:9. ("man has dominated man to his injury...")

Here's what I mean: It's like that kid that always beat you up in third grade. You knew how powerful he was because he demonstrated it for you everyday at lunch. How would you have reacted if you found out that your best friend, who wouldn't hurt a fly, was a wrestling champion? Since you'd never seen it, you'd probably have a hard time believing it. However, just because he does not use his power to dominate you, doesn't mean that he is powerless.

That's the difference between God and humans. He does not need to push us around to feel bigger.

"Why would a God, by anyones standards, succumb to such a petty, human emotion as jealousy?"

I'm guessing that the scripture you are referring to is Exodus 34:14.
If you look up "jealousy" in the dictionary, you will find somewhere around four definitions. (Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com)

God is indeed jealous, but not the bad kind. He is not resentful or envious. His type of jealousy is definition #3:

"vigilance in maintaining or guarding something."

Now, going back to Exodus 34:14 which says:

"For you must not prostrate yourself to another god, because Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, he is a jealous God;"

To understand what this means, let's look at the first part of this scripture. The Israelites are being warned not to worship other gods because "Jehovah" the true God is a jealous God. Does this mean that he would envy the worship received by idols? Hardly. Why envy a piece of stone?

Going back to that dictionary definition, he would however be vigilant in maintaining his peoples respect for his name. Think about it, how would you feel if your best friend tried to replace you with a rock? You'd probably be insulted before and if you ever thought of being envious of the stupid rock.
That's the kind of "jealousy" God has. He simply wants to maintain respect for his name. He'd never stoop so low as to envy anyone or anything. And really why should he? Even the most beautiful star brings him glory as the one who created it.

Well, I hope that answers your questions.