Sep 19th, 2003, 01:36 PM
Okay, the first bad assumption coming seeminly from all corners that a god should be all-loving, meaning he likes everyone who has good moral fiber. A god could just as easily be petty and capricious, like some of the Greek gods. Maybe morals are only a part of the picture, maybe a god is partial to a certain race of people (Jews) or to a certain culture, an attitude, a level of ability. Yes, Christians say God loves and forgives everyone, but do they really know that God doesn't play favorites? If I were a god, I wouldn't like anyone who badmouthed me or said I didn't exist, though I would be somewhat fair about it. To avoid pleas of ignorance, I'd show myself to the ones that I thought were good enough for me and they could tell the rest; if they listened, I'd be charitable, and if they didn't, fuck 'em, if they were important, I would have picked them out in the first place. I might not be biased enough to only show myself to people in one place like Allah, but who says he can't be?
The second bad assumption, coming from every faith (but I'll focus on the one I'm familiar with) is that people know all about what God thinks and does. Whatever scripture says, isn't God allowed to change his mind, or to put it in a better way, are Christians so presumptuous as to know all the ins and outs of God's nature and what he can and cannot do? What's stopping God from saying "Ok you Christians, that Jesus thing was just a joke, now you're going to Hell because I don't like you."? He's God. He can do what he wants. You can point to the scripture all you want and say "But you promised! We've been taught for centuries that you're good and perfect and you love us all!" but nothing you were taught is necessarily going to stop an all-powerful deity who is beyond your understanding from saying "Tough shit, things are different now."
Therefore, God may or may not care if we believe in him; if he does, he has every right to as the creator of the universe, and it's not our place to say he's wrong.
Oh, and Brandon, it's not about getting offended or needing validation, it's about being superior and being able to do whatever you want. And if he's so immensely powerful, he can worry about the whole universe *and* what the little blue marble people are thinking (and the people on the other little blue marbles that are probably out there) at the same time.
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