Followers of God: Questions I need answered

I have a few questions for you religious zealots out there. I would like to learn more about why you believe something that, to me, seems absolutely absurd. I'm sure you will have some clever answer you can spout out in response to these questions, but I would like to hear them. I would like to make it clear the "Faith" is NOT an acceptable answer to any of these questions.

1. What is the purpose of life according to God?

2. Why does God allow all of the horrors we see on Earth, from murder to slavery to rape, to continue?

3. If humans were created in God's image, does that not make God a rapist/murderer/child molester/slave owner/etc.?

4. To confirm his existence, Why doesn't God pop his head in every generation or so and say "Hey people of Earth, just wanted to let you know that I am your God and you should do what I say."

5. Why is the idea of God rational to you, but not the idea of evolution, which is scientifically verifiable?

6. Do you not feel that the idea of God is extremely disempowering to humans?

7. Finally, Why did God create the Devil?


As a person who was not raised with religion, it's hard for me to grasp most of these concepts from a logical perspective. Please feel free to attempt to answer any or all of these questions. Thanks!

I am not a follower of "God" but it seems to me that by posting these questions you already know the answer. Anyway, take a look at this video:
WARNING: Graphic Images not for the faint of heart or minors:

Disclaimer: I'm a theist but not of the Abrahamic faiths. I have minor biblical scholar and scriptural skills. Also I am not a scientific/legal or medical expert in any field. Beware of my Contagious Memes! & watch out that you don't get cut on my Occams razor.All of this is my personal conjecture and should not be considered the absolute or most definitive state of things as they really are. Use this information at your own risk! I accept no liability if your ideology comes crashing down around you with accompanying consequences!

Explanation: My Goddess is Achlys. She is a Keres in Greek Mythology.

1] To Suffer! [ Buddah was correct!]

2] See answer to question 1 above!

3] Yes absolutely!

4] She has with me!

5] Both are rational. I'm fully into science and fully agree with evolution etc but I'm also an avid Intelligent Design believer and I have the science to back it up! RE: Paul Davis and his book on "SuperForce". Note: The universe IS 13.7 billion yrs old and the Big Bang DID occur.

6] Depends on who is in charge but yes as she's a capricious harpy who lords it over me I have to comply with the answer to question 1.

7] She didn't. But if she did it would be to enforce the answer to question 1.

Personal Disclosure: I assume you were seeking answers from those of the Abrahamic Faiths and I unfortunately can't help you if that is the case but I offer my answers as a comparison of a Non Abrahamic faiths POV. Flagged!

[edit on 16-7-2009 by OmegaLogos]

There are some things that have not been revealed to us yet, like the origin of God and the Angels. God did not create the Devil as you put it. The Devil was called Lucifer and was the left hand man while Jesus was the right. Lucifer was the most beautiful angel according to the Bible which clearly shows all angels were not created equal. God decided to make a creature in His image and informed His angels of his decision. This did not sit well with Lucifer because we were given freewill and started a rebellion in heaven and a third of the angels followed Lucifer. They lost that conflict and were kicked out of heaven and came to earth. Since then the struggle has not been between God and Lucifer, but Lucifer and man AND God and man. God does not ignore what goes on here, we have freewill and one of the perks is the ability to ask Him for help and there are times He does and times He doesnt. Depends on who asks and what kind of life they live. Mankind has always abandoned God and when crap happens mankind(cont)


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always runs to God and begs for help and after He helps He is instantly forgotten. Over time mankind has evolved to become ungrateful and very demanding. What would you do if your child spent its whole life doing this to you? Has nothing to do with the ability to do the things He can but the reasons as to why He should do those things. Innocent people suffer, yes, and the guilty appear to be the ones who are favored in Gods eyes, but this is not the end, this short period of time we call Life is a prelude of things to come. The innocent and followers of God have no rewards here on earth, we do have blessings depending on how you live Life, and the guilty and nonbelievers enjoy what they think are their rewards now because since they do not believe in God or the afterlife then you have to get all you can now before Life is over. It is easy to say God is just toying with mankind, but it is mankind who is responsible for evil in the world, not God and not Lucifer. Freewill means NO ONE controls you.(cont)


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Not God and not Lucifer. For every action there is a reaction. Karma. You reap what you sow. This is the basis of Life. Everything you do has a consequence whether it happens here or in the hereafter. Just as God has followers, so does Lucifer. Lucifer hides himself as well, because if he made himself known then everyone would realize that God exists as well. Instead Lucifer works in hidden movements. All through this Life Lucifers followers have infiltrated the Church and given the Church and religious movements a bad name. Anything to keep people from following God and anything to cause followers to turn away. The Church was not designed to house followers and babysit them but was supposed to be a training camp for new followers. Once the new followers were taught what they need to know they were supposed to branch out and join the other followers who were spreading the Gospel. But since the Church became a profitable business the Church became a breeding ground of corruption and disinfo and (cont)


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the Church evolved into what you see today. There a few Churches that still follow God but overall the Church is destroying God a little bit at a time. Before Jesus people who followed God offered up sacrifices to God for atonement of their sins. Basically they were asking for forgiveness for any mistakes they made and God honored the sacrifices from the ones who were sincere. God sent Jesus to be the last sacrifice. Once Jesus was sacrificed mankind only had to pray and ask forgiveness instead of killing animals. Jesus made it clear as to how we are supposed to live our lives. Nothing He said can be considered anti-human. He was all about peace amongst men and caring for one another, looking out for your others, helping those in need, not to be a judge of man but instead to overlook a persons faults since EVERYONE has faults. Jesus taught mankind how to live a perfect life and how to enjoy Life. And the reward for living Life the way God sees fit will be received at the end of this Life. (cont)


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The sacrifices we now have to make are the things that hold us back. Keep your mind free of thoughts that have no positive benefits, deny yourself pleasure to help people out, say no to the 7 sins, and give up some time to tell God thanks. As for me personally, I do not pick at the Bible and try to reason out the unexplained or illogical or the previous acts of God. I read the book of Proverbs and the teachings of Christ in the 4 Gospels: Matthew Mark Luke John. I do read other books of the Bible also, but I do not spend all my time reading It trying to decipher what the End of Time will be and when. If you spend all your time looking into the future, how can you enjoy the present? Being a follower of God is not an easy task, but it really is not that hard either. If someone ever says they tried and did not see the benefits, they simply did not try hard enough. Anyone who wants to study the Bible needs to read a more up to date translation. King James is dead and so is his language. Thats all for me.


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reply to post by Gigliorononomicon


I will give it a go, I will try to answer from the bible

1. What is the purpose of life according to God?

Answer
Genesis 1 verses 27&28

27So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.

The purpose of life was for the human family to expand the paradise from Eden into the whole earth, and fill it with other humans, and be good caretakers of this planet. Something our original ancestors really messed up, but God's purpose for this planet hasn't changed, but it was delayed.

2. Why does God allow all of the horrors we see on Earth, from murder to slavery to rape, to continue?

I very good question harder to answer from the bible but the only place that sort of talks about this issue is in the book of Job.

Job 1

1THERE WAS a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who [reverently] feared God and abstained from and shunned evil [because it was wrong].... 6Now there was a day when the sons (the angels) of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (the adversary and accuser) also came among them.
7And the Lord said to Satan, From where did you come? Then Satan answered the Lord, From going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down on it.
8And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who [reverently] fears God and abstains from and shuns evil [because it is wrong]?
9Then Satan answered the Lord, Does Job [reverently] fear God for nothing?
10Have You not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have conferred prosperity and happiness upon him in the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
11But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to Your face.
12And the Lord said to Satan (the adversary and the accuser), Behold, all that he has is in your power, only upon the man himself put not forth your hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord....

Job 2
1AGAIN THERE was a day when the sons of God [the angels] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (the adversary and the accuser) came also among them to present himself before the Lord.
2And the Lord said to Satan, From where do you come? And Satan (the adversary and the accuser) answered the Lord, From going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down on it.
3And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who [reverently] fears God and abstains from and shuns all evil [because it is wrong]? And still he holds fast his integrity, although you moved Me against him to destroy him without cause.
4Then Satan answered the Lord, Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has will he give for his life.
5But put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse and renounce You to Your face.
6And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.
7So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with loathsome and painful sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
8And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself, and he sat [down] among the ashes.
9Then his wife said to him, Do you still hold fast your blameless uprightness? Renounce God and die!

First Satan challenged God that if things go good for humans then they will serve you, but allow their lives to be miserable and they will abandon you. God already knew the answer to this challenge, the angels and demons however did not. Only one thing would answer this question for good and all eternity, so it could never be raised again. Time, that included multiple generations, if one generation was a failure maybe the next one would succeed or vice versa.

Second, Satan asserted that man should be given absolute freedom to rule himself as he see's fit, that this would work better than Theocracy. Again time was needed to see if man could indeed rule himself better than God would.

Third, time was needed for man to develop the technological advancement so that the whole world could benefit from it without greed if they choose to take that path.

This whole time of human tests have ended in failure, Satan has been proven a liar and slanderer to all. According to the bible this time of testing is very close to being finished. It is like a painful operation parents allow their child to go through when they know it will permanently solve their physical ailment.

3. If humans were created in God's image, does that not make God a rapist/murderer/child molester/slave owner/etc.?

No. Free will tied to sin with Satan and his Demons causing havoc in the background is a recipe for the possibility of evil within human society.

4. To confirm his existence, Why doesn't God pop his head in every generation or so and say "Hey people of Earth, just wanted to let you know that I am your God and you should do what I say."

He has the bible for that, and Jesus who channeled his power when he walked the earth.

5. Why is the idea of God rational to you, but not the idea of evolution, which is scientifically verifiable?

I have studied this from the DNA to the beginning of the Universe, evolution continues to be only a theory that has many variables within itself. And so many holes that it makes swiss cheese look solid, you didn't want to talk about faith, but those that believe in evolution have faith in this theory, that is a fact.

6. Do you not feel that the idea of God is extremely disempowering to humans?

No, that is was Satan's idea. And it has failed.

7. Finally, Why did God create the Devil?

He didn't, he created a perfect spirit creature million of years before the earth and man was created. Once that spirit creature saw man and the worship they were giving God, he wanted that, he wanted to control the earth too, instead of suppressing those wrong desires he acted on them, and when he did, he created a new evil being within himself, thus Satan the Devil came into existence millions of years AFTER his actual creation by God.
Freedom of choice to do evil was always a possibility.

Originally posted by Gigliorononomicon

2. Why does God allow all of the horrors we see on Earth, from murder to slavery to rape, to continue?

3. If humans were created in God's image, does that not make God a rapist/murderer/child molester/slave owner/etc.?

#2. Good question, I'd like to know too. As a Christian, I've read the reason from the Bible but I still need a better answer. It's not easy or logical in reality. Too much evil in the environment clouds the mind until you lose all concept of love, what hope is left, especially for innocent, young children???

#3. According to the Bible(Since we're talking about God anyway), our human genes/DNA has been corrupted eons ago. God sought to destroy us all in the Flood to purify this planet of 'evil flesh'. Probably some this flesh survived and pro-created to this day. Most of humanity as it looks.

#2 again could be repelled if at young age, we are all taught that the moment we are born to this world, we are automatically warriors fighting for our freedom(of the spirit and mind) against evil. But sadly, no, we are born prince and princesses

[edit on 17-7-2009 by ahnggk]

reply to post by Gigliorononomicon

6. Do you not feel that the idea of God is extremely disempowering to humans?

No. It lends a dignity and a value to being a human, that we were made in God's image.
God loves us, but God is rescuing souls from the destruction coming on this world. Suffering continues but not for much longer. Once the last person who will be saved, is saved, this will all end.
Evil is allowed to continue so that the indignation against the perpetrators is full, then His wrath will be unquenchable against those who do evil.


[edit on 17-7-2009 by jmdewey60]

Originally posted by jmdewey60
Evil is allowed to continue so that the indignation against the perpetrators if full, then His wrath will be unquenchable against those who do evil.

Yeah but evil is highly contagious especially if started at a young age. I know that the punishment for those who start evil is bigger, unfortunately, victims who turned evil will be punished too.

You know everything makes sense if you treat humanity as a whole (mind, body, and soul) as insignificant to the affairs of the Universe. And that everything we do is meaningless.

If you ask me what justice is, I would answer with my very finite mind - complete destruction of the whole Universe and reality.

1. What is the purpose of life according to God?

after adam an eve were created, god commanded them

gen 1:[28] And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

gen 2:[15] And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

this is why we find such small things enjoyable in life

eccl 2:[24] There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.

this was the purpose of mankind. god actually promises to restore that purpose.

rev 21:[3] And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
[4] And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

2. Why does God allow all of the horrors we see on Earth, from murder to slavery to rape, to continue?

the short answer is that satan is the god of this world.

2 cor 4:[4] In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

1 john 5:19 We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

the second reason we suffer is because of imperfection. because of adam and eve's sin, we are imperfect. as such..

eccl 8:[9] All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.

its not hard to see this point. how many people suffer from corrupt governments, or even from bad decisions we make in our own life

that explains the suffering, so the question is, why is the world effectively satans? well there was a challenge raised. not only a challenge, but an accusation..

gen 3:[2] And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
[3] But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
[4] And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
[5] For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

satan was in effect calling god a liar. adam and eve had never encountered a lie before. was god holding something good back from the first humans?

god could have destroyed then immediately but satan raised several accusations thast had to be proven wrong first.

when talking about job, satan put out another claim

job 2:[4] And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
[5] But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.

satan believed that humans would not worship god out of love. this is not something that could be debated. its something that had to be proven.

after all, if satan is wrong, then what better way to show to all creation that he was wrong by letting him try....

there is an illustration in a publication that i liked, im just going to quote from it

Imagine that a teacher is telling his students how to solve a difficult problem. A clever but rebellious student claims that the teacher’s way of solving the problem is wrong. Implying that the teacher is not capable, this rebel insists that he knows a much better way to solve the problem. Some students think that he is right, and they also become rebellious. What should the teacher do? If he throws the rebels out of the class, what will be the effect on the other students? Will they not believe that their fellow student and those who joined him are right? All the other students in the class might lose respect for the teacher, thinking that he is afraid of being proved wrong. But suppose that the teacher allows the rebel to show the class how he would solve the problem.

unfortunately, this means that suffering has to be permitted for a period of time. but it helps to know that this suffering is temporary. (rev 21:3,4)

3. If humans were created in God's image, does that not make God a rapist/murderer/child molester/slave owner/etc.?

i made mention in the last question that because of adam and eve we are imperfect. so i figured here is a good place to explain this.

first, perfection means without sin. we know this because jesus was refered to a "perfect" (heb 5:9) and he was sinless (heb 4:15)

we are also to abtain perfection through christ (heb 6:1)

so adam and eve were created sinless. perfect. basically the way god wanted them to be.

gen 1:[31] And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

but god did not make robots. we were designed to experience life and enjoy it and learn from it, not just to do tasks. along with this way of living comes freewill.

in gen 3 adam and eve made a desicion regarding thier life. they decided to believe the serpent. as a consequence, they cut themselves from god.

this not only meant that they and thier offspring would grow old and die

rom 5:[12] Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

but this also means that imperfection would lead to less than desirable attributes in our personality

1 john 3:[7] Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
[8] He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

james 3:[14] But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
[15] This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
[16] For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
[17] But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
[18] And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

so yes, man was made in god's image, before they sinned.

4. To confirm his existence, Why doesn't God pop his head in every generation or so and say "Hey people of Earth, just wanted to let you know that I am your God and you should do what I say."

because he doesnt need to

romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

when i look at life on this planet, i see unmistakable evidence of design. the same way that you upon stumbling on a house in the woods would never doubt that someone built it.

as for "you should do what i say"... what do you do when there is something important to remember? you write it down right?

well we have the bible

5. Why is the idea of God rational to you, but not the idea of evolution, which is scientifically verifiable?

because macro evolution is not verifiable. and anyone who looks at the fossil record with an open and unbiased mind can see that.

the fossils never smoothly transition. just look at the "evolution" of the horse, there are so many varieties and changes that scientist arent completely sure what order to put the specimens in.

im not going to turn this thread into an evolution debate. all im saying is that some things are being assumed, and passed off as fact.

6. Do you not feel that the idea of God is extremely disempowering to humans?

im not sure exactly what you mean by "disempowering". can you clarify?

7. Finally, Why did God create the Devil?

because the devil had potential for good like everyone else. he was originally a "son of god"

unfortunatly, the devil chose to use his freewill for more selfish means, much like adam and eve chose to use thier freewill to believe the devil.

Originally posted by Gigliorononomicon
1. What is the purpose of life according to God?

Experiencing things for the first time. The father is all knowing, has no time and nothing ever changes, and knows all possibilities. In the perspective of the father, the universe is a static picture.

In order to have this experience, it must be a limited perspective. Think of it like a movie film. If you stretch the movie film from end to end and all at once, that is like the perspective of the father. In order to have the experience of the movie with "time" and change, you must take on a limited perspective and view the film 1 frame at a time. But as all possibilities exist, it's more like a choose your own adventure book(free will, rather than a linear directors cut).

This is the father/son relationship. In truth, what is really "you"(likely not what you think is you) is the father. But you are in the son perspective currently in order to have this experience. This individual and limited perspective is your "soul" within the father.

2. Why does God allow all of the horrors we see on Earth, from murder to slavery to rape, to continue?

We are currently in a stage/state of learning. How do you understand the difference between hot and cold? Only because you have experienced both. And so now we are learning good from evil. I know the ride is scary, but it is just a ride. I can tell you not to fear it, and that you are silly for fearing it, but of course that's not going to make it stop from scaring you, anymore than knowing it's a scary movie on TV doesn't give you a bit of a fright.

But when you realize you don't really die when the body dies, then it's not as scary to die. It's just a matter of what happens before that point. This isn't something you can really accept from me, you should really find out on your own and seek the understanding. I think Mark Twain said it best here - "I'm not afraid of dieing, I just don't want to be there when it happens".

3. If humans were created in God's image, does that not make God a rapist/murderer/child molester/slave owner/etc.?

It is your consciousness/soul that is being talked about there. And while one might can say that is true, as the father is technically within those who do such things, it's not actually true. Because the difference between the father and son is perspective in the first place, and the father is greater than any single or even the sum of us. So it is the sons of god in their limited perspectives who do those things.

4. To confirm his existence, Why doesn't God pop his head in every generation or so and say "Hey people of Earth, just wanted to let you know that I am your God and you should do what I say."

If you love something, you will set it free. If it loves you, then it will come back. The father is found within, not a sky fairy, not an alien, not in the physical at all. Within. You really have to seek within yourself to find the father. What does that mean? Know thyself. Before you can even think of coming to terms with the father, you must first know yourself, what you are and so forth.

Ask questions. Question everything right down to the basics of reality and perceptions. This is how you seek. This is how you knock on doors to have them opened for you. The kingdom of heaven and the father is within, and the doors to them are found within. The path/church(real church, not religion) is built on wisdom and understanding.

5. Why is the idea of God rational to you, but not the idea of evolution, which is scientifically verifiable?

I have no problems with evolution, except the same problem I have with science in general. And that is they completely ignore consciousness in the mix. What is flesh is flesh, and what is spirit is spirit. There are 2 realms here. Science is great in the realm of creation/universe. Action and reaction. Repeatable in a lab over and over. Great stuff, we ride in cars instead of walking.

However. Science is unable to deal with consciousness/spirit. This is the realm of understanding, reason and free will(choice). Once choice enters into the equation, Science fundamentally breaks down. Because the very act of choice means the repeatable over and over is out the window. The universe has no free will, and so it acts and reactions. But when one can understand, reason and make a choice. This is the realm of philosophy. It is beyond logic, it is that which creates logic.

6. Do you not feel that the idea of God is extremely disempowering to humans?

No. But I use too. I'm not someone who was brainwashed into things. I was 30 years old when I meet the father. Disliked religion, still do. I learned all that I know from the father, and then after that I seen Jesus saying everything I learned. Which literally blew my mind because I had read the exact same verses before and they didn't mean anything to me. Now it's such a profound truth I just can't ignore it and not love it. I'm not a Christian and I don't even think Jesus will have a very good opinion of them in general, except to bless them because they do not understand.

7. Finally, Why did God create the Devil?

No sympathy for the devil? Rather than hate, one should pity. What a heavy burden it must be to be that which plays the role for the lesson, the cold for the hot, that which tastes bad to give understanding of what it is to taste good. In the Hindu religion, the angels and demons hug after each age. I don't think it is something I can do or handle.

As a person who was not raised with religion, it's hard for me to grasp most of these concepts from a logical perspective. Please feel free to attempt to answer any or all of these questions. Thanks!

The church and religion teaches acceptance rather than understanding. As Jesus says, you need to look at their fruits(actions) to see the truth.

For example. Who are the modern day Pharisees? Can you see them? Well, all you need to do is look at what the Pharisees did in the time of Jesus, and what their function is. And then look in the modern day times and see who does those functions now. This is understanding.

You will find all the things Jesus dealt with still exists in the modern day world. Money Changers = bankers and so forth. A rose by any other name still smells the same. Look at their fruits/action and you will see the pharisees and that what you know of religion is from them.

I started a thread... check it out, it may answer some of your questions

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I have good answers for these questions but I am at work right now. I'll hit you back later.

reply to post by ahnggk

Yeah but evil is highly contagious especially if started at a young age. I know that the punishment for those who start evil is bigger, unfortunately, victims who turned evil will be punished too.

"contagious" may be a good way of putting it.
Jesus knows the majority of people are like sheep. The ones that lead them astray are the most guilty and will be rightfully punished. If you are a sheep at all, there is hope because Jesus calls you his own. At the low end of what could be considered as punishment, is the abolishment of self. In practical terms, you cease to exist, as in eternal death. What this means in spiritual terms is something to be seen in the future. You do want to be you, though, so do not assume that it makes no difference.
If you listen to Coast to Coast, you might notice them occasionally discussing "life extension". One of the schemes is to upload all your memories into a robot and live forever. For some reason, they do not pick out the fallacy in this. Your soul is dead and there is no way to bring it back. You could have something that has your memories, but it can never be you. God can bring back your soul and it really will be you but only if you is good. Sounds really simplistic, but this is how we have to live, by acting as if it is true, even if it might not be technically spot on, the results will be the same as if it was.

You know everything makes sense if you treat humanity as a whole (mind, body, and soul) as insignificant to the affairs of the Universe. And that everything we do is meaningless.

Part of the deception of this world is not knowing how very important every individual is. Not in that we, by ourselves, make a difference so much it the wide view of things but in our own sphere of influence, and in the eyes of the ones looking on, from outside this world, we are very important.

If you ask me what justice is, I would answer with my very finite mind - complete destruction of the whole Universe and reality.

The end of this world system will be justice. Remaking the world without sin and evil. Being able to live our lives without fear.


[edit on 19-7-2009 by jmdewey60]

1. What is the purpose of life according to God?

Originally, man was created to care for the earth and advance in the knowledge of God. God gave us dominion over everything on earth which is why we are created "in His image." He wants us to be in His family... the family of God. Our goal as christians today is to live by the examples of Jesus Christ and love one another. Another good way of explaining the purpose of life, or our place in this world is to read the "beautitudes" in Matthew 5. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven, etc."

2. Why does God allow all of the horrors we see on Earth, from murder to slavery to rape, to continue?

God allows free will in hopes that He finds people who do the right thing by HIS standards. Murder, slavery, rape, etc are all things caused by our willingness to put God second in our lives, or not even allow Him in our lives. When this happens, Satan takes over and persuades people to do bad things in hopes of discouraging the masses of "believers" with questions like "Why is God letting this happen?" Don't doubt God. This temporary life will come to an end and those who suffered in this life will surely have their reward when Christ returns.

3. If humans were created in God's image, does that not make God a rapist/murderer/child molester/slave owner/etc.?

I answered this in the first question. Being in God's image is not Him inheriting our attributes. When God created man, man was perfect and without blemish. This was the image of God. But a more metaphoric view is that God created us to be a sort of "god" on earth by giving us dominion over all of the earth and it's resources. Satan is the creator of sin and it is he who decieved the perfect humans, Adam and Eve, creating the first of imperfection and undoing what God did through free will.

4. To confirm his existence, Why doesn't God pop his head in every generation or so and say "Hey people of Earth, just wanted to let you know that I am your God and you should do what I say."

He did this with Israel. When He spoke to the Israelites in the desert, they trembled with fear and begged Moses to pass the messages of God to them in fear that they would die from hearing the voice of God (Jesus... Word of God). God was pleased that this kind of respect was given to Him so from that time forth, He sent prophets to pass down His warnings and prophecies. The later generations would not take the advice of these prophets from Isaiah to Malachi and so God cut Himself out of their lives. It wasn't until Jesus came that a prophet would speak to God directly. Jesus existed with God before becoming flesh. He was known as the Word of God or the "Spokesperson of God". Now we have the Holy Bible with the records of all the prophets and laws to follow. God will return sooner than you think.

5. Why is the idea of God rational to you, but not the idea of evolution, which is scientifically verifiable?

Minor evolutionary steps are reasonable and proven but the Darwin theory of evolution has so many faults that I don't know where to begin. There is no proof that we all came from one single organism yet this idea is passed off as fact. It's a theory just like believing in God is a theory. Both take faith. The big bang may have happened but no one really links it to God creating the universe. I use this theory to give both sides of the argument a bone to chew on. Something my wife always says, "I don't know about you but I didn't come from a bunch of monkeys!" She was kicked out of her science class for that remark.

6. Do you not feel that the idea of God is extremely disempowering to humans?

No. God is Almighty and there is none greater than He. We can't explain everything now but soon we'll be revealed the full truth of things. Do you diminish who your parents are? After all, they created you. God created humans.... His will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.

7. Finally, Why did God create the Devil?

God didn't create Satan the Devil. He created Lucifer, an angel... possibly an archangel who had free will and put himself above God. Battles insued, possibly the ones that destroyed the earth the first time causing the need for the "creation week". Lucifer (day star) was cast down to earth and from then on was known as Satan (great deciever). He created himself through selfish thoughts by way of free will.



I hope this helps you out. Don't rule out God right away just because you don't understand His ways yet. They will be revealed in a matter of time.