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3. But the best job I found was in Dennis Prager’s new book, “The Rational Bible.”
“…a Creator of the universe…. nothing preexisted Genesis 1:1. … only God can create from nothing.
3. But the best job I found was in Dennis Prager’s new book, “The Rational Bible.”
“…a Creator of the universe…. nothing preexisted Genesis 1:1. … only God can create from nothing.
…everything—with the exception of God—has a beginning. Prior to God’s creating, there was nothing. That includes time.
So what did this God do for all that eternity before He created anything? Just sit there in the dark, pulling His pud?
1. Ineluctably, political discussions touch on some relationship to God…as in:
"It is a great irony of communism that those who did not believe in God believed that godlike knowledge could be concentrated at a central point. It was believed that government could be omnipotent and omniscient. And in order to justify the idea that all lives should be determined by a single plan, the concomitant tendency of communist regimes was to deify the leader- whether Lenin, Stalin, Mao, or Kim Il-sung."
Tom Bethell, "The Noblest Triumph," p. 144
But, do Stalin, or Mao, or even the one Liberals called God, Obama, have the necessary defining characteristics?
2. Looking up the definition… “the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe”
Definition of GOD
But that’s not enough.
“An ancient proverb teaches, “To spare the ravening leopard is an act of injustice to the sheep.” That is why the Rabbis spoke of mercy and justice as the two necessary attributes of God—and therefore of a decent society.”
Dennis Prager
And I found this on the board:
“Omnipotence means all-powerful. Monotheistic theologians regard God as having supreme power. This means God can do what he wants. It means he is not subject to physical limitations like man is. Being omnipotent, God has power over wind, water, gravity, physics, etc. God's power is infinite, or limitless."
Still not enough for what is generally accepted as that definition.
Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees"). Hieronymus Bosch, in the painting 'The Seven Deadly Sins'
"The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things" is a painting that has traditionally been attributed to Hieronymus Bosch, …
Four small circles, detailing the four last things — "Death of the Sinner", "Judgment", "Hell" and "Glory" — surround a larger circle in which the seven deadly sins are depicted: wrath at the bottom, then (proceeding clockwise) envy, greed, gluttony, sloth, extravagance (later replaced with lust), and pride, in scenes from life rather than in allegorical representations of the sins.
At the centre of the large circle, which is said to represent the eye of God, is a "pupil" in which Christ can be seen emerging from his tomb. Below this image is the Latin inscription Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees").”
Hieronymus Bosch «The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things» around 1500, Museo del Prado, Madrid
See the painting here: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things - Wikipedia
All-seeing is an essential element in the definition of God, as it reminds believers that what they do, good or evil, will not go unnoticed.
But….there is more….
Christians derive three principal disciplines from the Scriptures:
- Theology, or matters of God;
- Eschatology, or matters of last things;
- Soteriology, or matters of resurrection (or salvation).
They should be beyond eschatology, as that's what the New Testament is, and discussing/debating soteriology, as its implications within eschatology are what impact them. And they should even understand soteriology by and by (and protology, or matters of first things, which is closely linked to it).
They need not fully comprehend God, though, because they can't, except for certain attributes of His that they can glean from the Scriptures, which PC captures well, IMO. The gamut of His attributes appear to run in two general directions. The people under Torah related quite differently to God than the post-Torah saints do. They related to an angry God while the saints relate to a forgiving God. Under Torah, they worshiped idols. For the last 2,000 years, the saints have worshiped only Him.
I think that's the first place to even begin to understand God.
1. Ineluctably, political discussions touch on some relationship to God…as in:
"It is a great irony of communism that those who did not believe in God believed that godlike knowledge could be concentrated at a central point. It was believed that government could be omnipotent and omniscient. And in order to justify the idea that all lives should be determined by a single plan, the concomitant tendency of communist regimes was to deify the leader- whether Lenin, Stalin, Mao, or Kim Il-sung."
Tom Bethell, "The Noblest Triumph," p. 144
But, do Stalin, or Mao, or even the one Liberals called God, Obama, have the necessary defining characteristics?
2. Looking up the definition… “the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe”
Definition of GOD
But that’s not enough.
“An ancient proverb teaches, “To spare the ravening leopard is an act of injustice to the sheep.” That is why the Rabbis spoke of mercy and justice as the two necessary attributes of God—and therefore of a decent society.”
Dennis Prager
And I found this on the board:
“Omnipotence means all-powerful. Monotheistic theologians regard God as having supreme power. This means God can do what he wants. It means he is not subject to physical limitations like man is. Being omnipotent, God has power over wind, water, gravity, physics, etc. God's power is infinite, or limitless."
Still not enough for what is generally accepted as that definition.
Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees"). Hieronymus Bosch, in the painting 'The Seven Deadly Sins'
"The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things" is a painting that has traditionally been attributed to Hieronymus Bosch, …
Four small circles, detailing the four last things — "Death of the Sinner", "Judgment", "Hell" and "Glory" — surround a larger circle in which the seven deadly sins are depicted: wrath at the bottom, then (proceeding clockwise) envy, greed, gluttony, sloth, extravagance (later replaced with lust), and pride, in scenes from life rather than in allegorical representations of the sins.
At the centre of the large circle, which is said to represent the eye of God, is a "pupil" in which Christ can be seen emerging from his tomb. Below this image is the Latin inscription Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees").”
Hieronymus Bosch «The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things» around 1500, Museo del Prado, Madrid
See the painting here: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things - Wikipedia
All-seeing is an essential element in the definition of God, as it reminds believers that what they do, good or evil, will not go unnoticed.
But….there is more….
as you say......your god will notice how evil you are.
3. But the best job I found was in Dennis Prager’s new book, “The Rational Bible.”
“…a Creator of the universe…. nothing preexisted Genesis 1:1. … only God can create from nothing.
So what did this God do for all that eternity before He created anything? Just sit there in the dark, pulling His pud?
This is where contemporary Christians fall short in their soteriology. They believe that God threatened a biological death if man were to forsake him. If God threatened death on the day that Adam ate the fruit, then changed His mind, then He is a weak and compliant God. And that is not so.Christians derive three principal disciplines from the Scriptures:
- Theology, or matters of God;
- Eschatology, or matters of last things;
- Soteriology, or matters of resurrection (or salvation).
They should be beyond eschatology, as that's what the New Testament is, and discussing/debating soteriology, as its implications within eschatology are what impact them. And they should even understand soteriology by and by (and protology, or matters of first things, which is closely linked to it).
They need not fully comprehend God, though, because they can't, except for certain attributes of His that they can glean from the Scriptures, which PC captures well, IMO. The gamut of His attributes appear to run in two general directions. The people under Torah related quite differently to God than the post-Torah saints do. They related to an angry God while the saints relate to a forgiving God. Under Torah, they worshiped idols. For the last 2,000 years, the saints have worshiped only Him.
I think that's the first place to even begin to understand God.
Nay, nay.....It appears that the Jewish view, the Old Testament view, is a thoughtful God.
Consider His threat of 'death on that day' when they eat the forbidden fruit.
He then reduces it to parole....
In Genesis 32 Jacob wrestles with God.....that shoulda' been Pay per View!!
In a later post I will include what their view of God sees as his aim for his creations.....free will based on intelligence, rather than abject conformity to His wishes.
There's no anger there....there's understanding.
Christians derive three principal disciplines from the Scriptures:
- Theology, or matters of God;
- Eschatology, or matters of last things;
- Soteriology, or matters of resurrection (or salvation).
They should be beyond eschatology, as that's what the New Testament is, and discussing/debating soteriology, as its implications within eschatology are what impact them. And they should even understand soteriology by and by (and protology, or matters of first things, which is closely linked to it).
They need not fully comprehend God, though, because they can't, except for certain attributes of His that they can glean from the Scriptures, which PC captures well, IMO. The gamut of His attributes appear to run in two general directions. The people under Torah related quite differently to God than the post-Torah saints do. They related to an angry God while the saints relate to a forgiving God. Under Torah, they worshiped idols. For the last 2,000 years, the saints have worshiped only Him.
I think that's the first place to even begin to understand God.
Nay, nay.....It appears that the Jewish view, the Old Testament view, is a thoughtful God.
Consider His threat of 'death on that day' when they eat the forbidden fruit.
He then reduces it to parole....
In Genesis 32 Jacob wrestles with God.....that shoulda' been Pay per View!!
In a later post I will include what their view of God sees as his aim for his creations.....free will based on intelligence, rather than abject conformity to His wishes.
There's no anger there....there's understanding.
Krauthammer was a jew, and he had been in a WC ever since he college and he studied the Talmud.
Who can say what God is??
WC ? water closet?
Wheelchair, now can you say what God is?
Seems you don't care to opine.....
There are two camps, with very different responsibilities for describing God.....and one may be consistent with your complaint about
Krauthammer being in a wheelchair.
8. There is another side to the view that the universe must have had a Creator….and that those with faith name that Creator, God. But, part of the description of God requires that he be just and merciful….beneficent.
Ok, then, says the atheist…if I grant that a creator must exist, and that he is beneficent… how come there is murder, torture, disease, earthquakes....people in wheelchairs…..where is the beneficence in that???
A good point.
Rick Perry said, "I don't know that there's any human being that has the ability to interpret what God and his final decision-making is going to be. That's what the faith says. I understand, and my caveat there is that an all-knowing God certainly transcends my personal ability to make that judgment black and white."
Obama, answering a variation of the question, said: “… whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity … is above my pay grade.”
Milton Steinberg said “The believer in God has to account for the existence of unjust suffering; the atheist has to account for the existence of everything else.”
Now…where is the atheist’s explanation for the universe, for life, self-awareness, emotions, art or music?
Krauthammer was a jew, and he had been in a WC ever since he college and he studied the Talmud.
Who can say what God is??
WC ? water closet?
Wheelchair, now can you say what God is?
Seems you don't care to opine.....
There are two camps, with very different responsibilities for describing God.....and one may be consistent with your complaint about
Krauthammer being in a wheelchair.
8. There is another side to the view that the universe must have had a Creator….and that those with faith name that Creator, God. But, part of the description of God requires that he be just and merciful….beneficent.
Ok, then, says the atheist…if I grant that a creator must exist, and that he is beneficent… how come there is murder, torture, disease, earthquakes....people in wheelchairs…..where is the beneficence in that???
A good point.
Rick Perry said, "I don't know that there's any human being that has the ability to interpret what God and his final decision-making is going to be. That's what the faith says. I understand, and my caveat there is that an all-knowing God certainly transcends my personal ability to make that judgment black and white."
Obama, answering a variation of the question, said: “… whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity … is above my pay grade.”
Milton Steinberg said “The believer in God has to account for the existence of unjust suffering; the atheist has to account for the existence of everything else.”
Now…where is the atheist’s explanation for the universe, for life, self-awareness, emotions, art or music?
Evolution. No God, or gods, or the devil. But evil exists.
God is LOVE. This is stated in the Bible.1. Ineluctably, political discussions touch on some relationship to God…as in:
"It is a great irony of communism that those who did not believe in God believed that godlike knowledge could be concentrated at a central point. It was believed that government could be omnipotent and omniscient. And in order to justify the idea that all lives should be determined by a single plan, the concomitant tendency of communist regimes was to deify the leader- whether Lenin, Stalin, Mao, or Kim Il-sung."
Tom Bethell, "The Noblest Triumph," p. 144
But, do Stalin, or Mao, or even the one Liberals called God, Obama, have the necessary defining characteristics?
2. Looking up the definition… “the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe”
Definition of GOD
But that’s not enough.
“An ancient proverb teaches, “To spare the ravening leopard is an act of injustice to the sheep.” That is why the Rabbis spoke of mercy and justice as the two necessary attributes of God—and therefore of a decent society.”
Dennis Prager
And I found this on the board:
“Omnipotence means all-powerful. Monotheistic theologians regard God as having supreme power. This means God can do what he wants. It means he is not subject to physical limitations like man is. Being omnipotent, God has power over wind, water, gravity, physics, etc. God's power is infinite, or limitless."
Still not enough for what is generally accepted as that definition.
Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees"). Hieronymus Bosch, in the painting 'The Seven Deadly Sins'
"The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things" is a painting that has traditionally been attributed to Hieronymus Bosch, …
Four small circles, detailing the four last things — "Death of the Sinner", "Judgment", "Hell" and "Glory" — surround a larger circle in which the seven deadly sins are depicted: wrath at the bottom, then (proceeding clockwise) envy, greed, gluttony, sloth, extravagance (later replaced with lust), and pride, in scenes from life rather than in allegorical representations of the sins.
At the centre of the large circle, which is said to represent the eye of God, is a "pupil" in which Christ can be seen emerging from his tomb. Below this image is the Latin inscription Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees").”
Hieronymus Bosch «The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things» around 1500, Museo del Prado, Madrid
See the painting here: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things - Wikipedia
All-seeing is an essential element in the definition of God, as it reminds believers that what they do, good or evil, will not go unnoticed.
But….there is more….
God is LOVE. This is stated in the Bible.1. Ineluctably, political discussions touch on some relationship to God…as in:
"It is a great irony of communism that those who did not believe in God believed that godlike knowledge could be concentrated at a central point. It was believed that government could be omnipotent and omniscient. And in order to justify the idea that all lives should be determined by a single plan, the concomitant tendency of communist regimes was to deify the leader- whether Lenin, Stalin, Mao, or Kim Il-sung."
Tom Bethell, "The Noblest Triumph," p. 144
But, do Stalin, or Mao, or even the one Liberals called God, Obama, have the necessary defining characteristics?
2. Looking up the definition… “the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe”
Definition of GOD
But that’s not enough.
“An ancient proverb teaches, “To spare the ravening leopard is an act of injustice to the sheep.” That is why the Rabbis spoke of mercy and justice as the two necessary attributes of God—and therefore of a decent society.”
Dennis Prager
And I found this on the board:
“Omnipotence means all-powerful. Monotheistic theologians regard God as having supreme power. This means God can do what he wants. It means he is not subject to physical limitations like man is. Being omnipotent, God has power over wind, water, gravity, physics, etc. God's power is infinite, or limitless."
Still not enough for what is generally accepted as that definition.
Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees"). Hieronymus Bosch, in the painting 'The Seven Deadly Sins'
"The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things" is a painting that has traditionally been attributed to Hieronymus Bosch, …
Four small circles, detailing the four last things — "Death of the Sinner", "Judgment", "Hell" and "Glory" — surround a larger circle in which the seven deadly sins are depicted: wrath at the bottom, then (proceeding clockwise) envy, greed, gluttony, sloth, extravagance (later replaced with lust), and pride, in scenes from life rather than in allegorical representations of the sins.
At the centre of the large circle, which is said to represent the eye of God, is a "pupil" in which Christ can be seen emerging from his tomb. Below this image is the Latin inscription Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees").”
Hieronymus Bosch «The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things» around 1500, Museo del Prado, Madrid
See the painting here: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things - Wikipedia
All-seeing is an essential element in the definition of God, as it reminds believers that what they do, good or evil, will not go unnoticed.
But….there is more….
And everything else you mentioned in your opening post to this thread.God is LOVE. This is stated in the Bible.1. Ineluctably, political discussions touch on some relationship to God…as in:
"It is a great irony of communism that those who did not believe in God believed that godlike knowledge could be concentrated at a central point. It was believed that government could be omnipotent and omniscient. And in order to justify the idea that all lives should be determined by a single plan, the concomitant tendency of communist regimes was to deify the leader- whether Lenin, Stalin, Mao, or Kim Il-sung."
Tom Bethell, "The Noblest Triumph," p. 144
But, do Stalin, or Mao, or even the one Liberals called God, Obama, have the necessary defining characteristics?
2. Looking up the definition… “the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe”
Definition of GOD
But that’s not enough.
“An ancient proverb teaches, “To spare the ravening leopard is an act of injustice to the sheep.” That is why the Rabbis spoke of mercy and justice as the two necessary attributes of God—and therefore of a decent society.”
Dennis Prager
And I found this on the board:
“Omnipotence means all-powerful. Monotheistic theologians regard God as having supreme power. This means God can do what he wants. It means he is not subject to physical limitations like man is. Being omnipotent, God has power over wind, water, gravity, physics, etc. God's power is infinite, or limitless."
Still not enough for what is generally accepted as that definition.
Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees"). Hieronymus Bosch, in the painting 'The Seven Deadly Sins'
"The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things" is a painting that has traditionally been attributed to Hieronymus Bosch, …
Four small circles, detailing the four last things — "Death of the Sinner", "Judgment", "Hell" and "Glory" — surround a larger circle in which the seven deadly sins are depicted: wrath at the bottom, then (proceeding clockwise) envy, greed, gluttony, sloth, extravagance (later replaced with lust), and pride, in scenes from life rather than in allegorical representations of the sins.
At the centre of the large circle, which is said to represent the eye of God, is a "pupil" in which Christ can be seen emerging from his tomb. Below this image is the Latin inscription Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees").”
Hieronymus Bosch «The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things» around 1500, Museo del Prado, Madrid
See the painting here: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things - Wikipedia
All-seeing is an essential element in the definition of God, as it reminds believers that what they do, good or evil, will not go unnoticed.
But….there is more….
Not enough.....
What else?
Well, all religions say basically the same thing................there is a Creator, that what we do in this life affects what happens next, there is something better and something worse, based on how we live this life.
All have some kind of Golden Rule in them.
Me? I think of God as some large multifaceted being, and each religion is a reflection of just one of His facets.
Well, all religions say basically the same thing................there is a Creator, that what we do in this life affects what happens next, there is something better and something worse, based on how we live this life.
All have some kind of Golden Rule in them.
Me? I think of God as some large multifaceted being, and each religion is a reflection of just one of His facets.