thread: 2006-09-08 : Picky-choosy religion, 3 views
On 2006-09-12, sammy wrote:
I wouldn't either. I don't think He does that. I don't think He is interested in bargaining with us at all, because there's nothing to bargain with on either side: We don't have anything to offer that He doesn't already have except for our love; He does not offer anything more or less than Himself...
That doesn't solve "the problem of evil" worth a damn, of course, since it just pushes the question back a step, to why God created the universe like that (don't ask me). But at least it spares us from contorting our minds around the strange idea of God torturing us for our own good.
Which is, more or less, where you lose me. You say there's someone out there, but I can't see him. He wants me to love him, and in return he'll love me back. I suppose it's a comforting thought: that somewhere out there there's an unknowable entity that loves me. But I have a wife and a daughter and even a cat who are actually here, right now, and I know they love me, because they tell me and demonstrate it on a regular basis.
So either there is a God out there who cares about me, or there isn't. But you'd think he could, you know, call, or something. A fuckin' Hallmark card would do it, dude. And of course, I know that this goes back to whether or not you choose to believe (for me, not really so much of a choice), but to get back to my original point: trying to connect the love I feel for family to spirituality as you seem to have expressed it elsewhere runs counter to every experience I have.
As for the "strange idea of God torturing us for our own good," I'm not sure where the "strange" comes from. It comes down to us through centuries of religious literature of all stripes and colors, and is only a step removed from Job and Matthew 26:47, whatever your opinion of the latter's translation. In fact, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a Christian who believes that God has an active hand in their lives, but does not believe that he sends them tribulations to test them.
