Why do you hate the God of the Bible?

Originally posted by Relentless
Okay, for some reason you are mostly getting answers from people who don't acknowledge God, & I find this curious.

To give us something real to discuss, perhaps you could elaborate on why you are asking. Or else this could just turn into an opportunity for those who don't believe in God to state it - which in my opinion is pretty cynical, pretty dull and pretty played.



Just find this curious......

I put the question that way because I've been on this site for about a month, and from a christian perspective, there is alot of hatred for The Christian God. I see alot of hatred that's deliberate and intended, and some that isn't delivered that way but it seeps through the cracks as hatred.

I think mankind overall has the wrong perception of who the God of the Bible is. I know I did at one time. I wanna know why they feel that way.

The people who say he doesn't exist are very welcome to answer, I hope they give more of a reason than "I don't believe He exists", but that's up to them.

I hope alot of people tell me why, I don't know all the answers to Bible questions, but when someone asks me one I can't answer I'm going to tell them and then try to find out the answer. I'll be learning too, which is what I want, to know the God I believe in more and more. God and the Bible are extremly awesome. If I read the Bible all the way through a million times, I still wouldn't know everything there is it can tell me.

I also heard this from Pastor Tony Evans who is a nationally known pastor. He said" You wanna know one of the reasons we're going to spend eternity with God? Because it's going to take forever to discover who He is". Everday He will be revealing something new about Himself to us, and giving us work(true enjoyable things) to do. I'll never feel bored or unfulfilled again.

Originally posted by oddtodd
Why is god refered to as "him"?

You know I can't give an answer for that other than because that's the way it is, and while that's part of it that's not a good enough answer. I'll try to find out.

What I do know is, God doesn't discriminate. He loves men and women, boys and girls the same. He loves me just as much as He loves Moses. He loves the Ruth of the Bible just as much as He loves Moses and me. He even loves those who don't believe in Him with all He has. Their disbelief doesn't stop His love. Nothing can stop it. There is another saying that goes like this" It wasn't the nails that held Jesus to the cross, it was His love for you and me" that held Him there.

Adam and Eve were created partners, and also helpmates for each other. Adam was to give His all for Eve and she was to do the same for Him. Sin messed that up and it's been passed down to us.

What's interesting is Eve disobeyed and took the first bite out of the "forbidden fruit", but in the Bible Adam was right there in the same place and heard what the serpent said, and he kept silent. Eve and Adam both sinned, in fact some say his was a greater sin because he heard first hand from God not to eat it, Eve might not have.

because the bible depicts a god that is very hatefull, intolerant, close minded, power hungy, tyranical and wrathfull. in my eyes thats not a loving god but rather an evil god and if such a god did exist (which i have great reason to believe he dosn't) i would not serve such a god even if it did mean eternal damnation.

Originally posted by kinglizard

Originally posted by oddtodd
Why is god refered to as "him"?

I doubt god has a gender but the book of Genesis says Adam was created in the image of god, pointing to a male form.

This also refers to the fact that we(people) have a triune form that has a relationship to the "image of God".

Jesus Christ is God in a human body.(we have a body) God the Father is the soul of God, mind will emotions intellect,(people have a soul) and God is a spirit, The Holy Spirit(God has also given us a spirit. Our spirit gives us the ability to relate to and have a relationship with God through The Holy Spirit.) One God, yet three distinct forms.

Animals, plants etc. were not given a spirit. In the Bible it says "God breathed into his(man's) nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. This is where God gave us a spirit. We are an awesome creation of God, he made us special, to have a relationship with Him.

Also God has always been and always will be. Part of our "image" of God has to do with this. God never had a beginning and will never have an end. A name for God is I AM, He has always been. Now I had a beginning, April 5, 1963, but I will never have an end, and neither will any other man or woman.

Christianity is a myth, it was never meant to be taken literal. Anyone well endowed in classics, mythos, etc of times ancient, surly knows that ancient people did not believe thier myths to be literal, but believed in them, in the sense that they believed in the truth/moral behind the story being told.

Christos was the God ' within ', it was his sacrifice in humility ( The let go of the Ego ), his crucifixation ( To kill all of our previous ignorant ambitions ) and his resurection from the dead to take his seat in Heaven ( when one reaches full enlightenment ) which was the central moral one has to saturate.

So, in my views, the Church is the one to be hated, for they tainted the image of early Christianity and superimposed an image which would render much confusion unto its followers for centuries to come.

Believe in the Bible as a book of morals, not a book of history.

Deep

Originally posted by AlnilamOmega
Probably because it's not that people hate the god of the bible. The god of the Bible, which is mistranslated from a word that means "gods", is in actuality a representation of several different deities depending on which book that particular god was written about.

[edit on 7/1/2004 by AlnilamOmega]

Thanks for replying. Someone else mentioned that they don't believe they hate The God of the Bible. I still think there is hatred(maybe not in the greatest sense of the word) directed toward God. The message of the Bible is mankind has been seperated form God by sin. One aspect of this seperation is we don't care if we know about or love God. It's born in us even if we don't acknowledge it. As far as mistranslations. The God of the Bible as many names. Jehovah Jireh(if I rmember right)means God our provider, Adonai- all powerful and there are others, I'll have to get a list to post so I get them right. God wants us to know we don't need all these different "gods". We only need one, the True and Living God.

Originally posted by dlbrandt
That certainly wasn't ranting. I want to know reasons and I'm going to try to answer every question, that's why I'm doing this.

And that, in a nutshell, is why people grow to strongly dislike the Christian deity.

Look at what you've just done: You set up a "simple question" in order to "find out." Then you say you're going to "try to answer every question" -- in other words, to convert us.

This is outright disrespect of others' beliefs and religions.

We have Christians and pagans and Wiccans and and Jedi-ists and at least one Muslim and at least one Buddhist and Satanists and athiests and agnostics here, and most respect the fact that we have different religious philosophies. For the most part, we don't try to convert each other.

If you want to find out something, then ask your question honestly and listen and accept.

But if you show contempt for us by trying to convert us, that shows contempt for our beliefs. And we will respect your beliefs if you respect ours.

[edit on 1-7-2004 by Byrd]

God is what people go to when they don't have an answer or when they feel frightened. How can you place blind faith in such a open hole? Our answers and security lie within our innermost being...the unconscious - and there are ways to tap into that.

I don't resent the people who place "faith" in "God"...but I always get the feeling that their boxing themselves into a tight corner.
I hope, that in the death, it is what everyone person thinks is spiritually true is a reality. Some of us live our lives with expectations of our afterlives, maybe the burning of those images into our minds will be the last image in our eyes.

Bottom line - No one knows what happens in death...not even those that have near-death experiences, because the were never truly dead - most people are saved by blood clots, meaning the body is fighting, so shouldn't the "soul" be too? God then comes into play as the savior, when it was really yourself.

Originally posted by marg6043

Text Why does God let awful things happen?

God did not have anything to do with what happend to you, the circunstances and the wrong doings and their terrible choices of those around are the ones to blame, you were an inocent in the middle of these despicable actions of those around you, you were a victim. It was a terrible thing what happend to you and I hope that the persons that cause that wrong were punished.

Well let em get this correct as i have been out of yhe God loop for a while.

You said that God had nothing to do with it?

Didnt jesus die for everyones sins? If so then he died for this guys sin of whatever it was. If he did die for this guys sin then God new and allowed it to happen. I thought he was a just and fair God.

I see the bible (any and all versions) as a collection of historical accounts (sometimes accurate) which does teach a few, simple lessons that, if practiced, could make the world a better place. (This does not include those really weird and twisted books which say it's okay to own slaves and/or kill people...ahem.) However, it was written by people. Corruption aside, think of how many mistakes (factual and clerical) were made in yesterday's newspaper alone. Now think of how many times the bible(s) has/have been 'altered' (take that word as you may) since it's creation.... Even just mathematically, that's got to add up to an ark-load of errata.
Throw in coca-leaf-chewing, unregulated alcohol %ages in wedding wine, and just plain crazy people who happened to have a pen on hand, and the credibility swan-dives a bit more. Even so, as I said, it does contain some good lessons, which I think are good to live by. That's my opinion.

That said...if G(g)od does exist, the difference between what he/she/it is and what we've read is probably immense. I tend to think that the best policy is to treat others as you'd like to be treated, and try not to get too tangled up in labels while doing so. I can't see how that policy could lead to anything negative, really.

As for "Do I hate G(g)od?"... how can I hate what I don't know? There's a lot of 'ifs'... such as... If G(g)od does exist, and is such a loving creator, how could he/she/it allow such suffering? why send a soul to eternal damnation if he or she is truly loved, even if sinful? Of course I would be angry if the Supreme Being could help out and chose not to. But there's no evidence for it either way...so why waste the energy on hating what I don't know?
And please, while I respect every person's right to their own opinion wholeheartedly, please please don't anyone tell me, "If you want proof of God, all you have to do is look around you." Proof of Chaos, maybe. Proof of God...I hope not.

Be well.
-mrq

Originally posted by Byrd

Originally posted by dlbrandt
That certainly wasn't ranting. I want to know reasons and I'm going to try to answer every question, that's why I'm doing this.

And that, in a nutshell, is why people grow to strongly dislike the Christian deity.

Look at what you've just done: You set up a "simple question" in order to "find out." Then you say you're going to "try to answer every question" -- in other words, to convert us.

This is outright disrespect of others' beliefs and religions.

We have Christians and pagans and Wiccans and and Jedi-ists and at least one Muslim and at least one Buddhist and Satanists and athiests and agnostics here, and most respect the fact that we have different religious philosophies. For the most part, we don't try to convert each other.

If you want to find out something, then ask your question honestly and listen and accept.

But if you show contempt for us by trying to convert us, that shows contempt for our beliefs. And we will respect your beliefs if you respect ours.

[edit on 1-7-2004 by Byrd]

Amen to that.

I dont hate the God they speak of in the Bible, because simply, its a story!!! To me, the Bible is a BOOK. Thats IT! God did not sit down at his iMac, type up a copy, and fed ex it so us. I hiold it in the same respect as Fahrenheit:451, Famous Pictures of Naked People, and my thesaurus! The God in the bible is just a bunch of peoples fairy tales about god. And hooray for them, writers forever! My God isnt a man who walks on water, my God isnt man or woman, my God is just a cool ddue that helps me out alot, and i love him for it. Shes beautiful, and we talk all the time.

A big reason I dont like Christianity is, first of all, the prejudice and exclusion christians deal out, but also fear. They fear their God, what?!?! I cant stand that. Ive never feared my God. In truth, I believe that God is in fact superior to me intellectually, spiritually, and physically...but if God spends her time to talk to me, I dont think he wants me to feel any fear. I have respect for God, and she has respect for me. God and one other are the only miracles on the planet that make me feel like theres nothing wrong with being silly, nothing wrong with being a woman or being scared or being young or human. GOd makes me feel like I deserve to be loved and no matter what, everything is going to be alright. God told me my children will be beautiful, she evn showed them to me.

Why dont i like the god in the bible? because its cowardly to fear someone you love.

Originally posted by Scat
Why dont i like the god in the bible? because its cowardly to fear someone you love.

That would make an awesome ATS T-Shirt

Hahahhahahha! well thanks. you know what else would make an awesome t shirt?

Save the Tuna
Eat a Dolphin!

(I actually saw that shirt on a website, wanted it but dont have a credit card, so i came home and made it out of a print out t shirt transfer ahahhahahha!)

one more thing i wanted to add- someone a few posts back said something about how answering every question is the reasonpeople get fed up with the christian diety, with converting people and all.

i must agree! ive had far too many horrible memories of losing good friends because theyve tried to convert me. my big deal is, when they start giving you the cookie cutter answers from bible passages, hit them with some good old,"NO! I asked what YOU believe, not what Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John think!"

Originally posted by mutehalo
because the bible depicts a god that is very hatefull, intolerant, close minded, power hungy, tyranical and wrathfull. in my eyes thats not a loving god but rather an evil god and if such a god did exist (which i have great reason to believe he dosn't) i would not serve such a god even if it did mean eternal damnation.

I think I know what you mean, so I'll throw something out to you and then we can discuss more.

By intolerant and close minded do you mean towards some of the things He says in the Bible that He views as sin? Say for example homosexuality?

Also it's kinda weird that you said you wouldn't "serve" that kind of God. Very few who hate God say this word. This is a concept in the Bible, and since you used it it leads me to believe that you know more about the Bible than others. Is this true?

The service I give God comes from the fact that I acknowledge Him as creator. In doing this I humble my thinking recognizing that this is His universe, He created it. I also acknowledge that He made me. I wouldn't be here if He hadn't made me. So this leads to a next step, since I owe my very existance to Him, I need to take what He says to heart and pay more attention to it. And since He made me, I've had to lose some of my pride and recognize Him for who He is. He is the boss. But I know He's not tyrannical, but loving. Does He require of me to not do certain things, yes.

But not to restrict what I think is fun and ok to do, but to enhance what He knows will be fun and ok for me to do.

I hope this illustration helps. If I had a gun and put bullets in it and pointed it at an animal and pulled the trigger, the gun is going to fire and hit the animal, injuring and maybe killing it. It's a given, gun+ loaded+ point+ aim+ shoot= injury. Since He made the universe He has set it with His standards. Sin will bring consequences. I have to accept this fact in order to gain the right perception of who He is. Righteous and holy and loving. How do I get love from this?

If I had a two year old who began playing in our yard by the street. If I loved her one of the first things I would teach her is "Don't go in the street or you could get hit by a car and get hurt." I would have to restrict her to keep her from harm. What she thinks will be fun is actually dangerous. If I didn't love her I wouldn't care what she did. That's God. He hasn't set some things off limits to be a party pooper, there off limits because they are wrong hold danger.

Why dont i like the god in the bible? because its cowardly to fear someone you love.

Where's the book? I wanna buy it! Nice post

Originally posted by EnronOutrunHomerun

Why dont i like the god in the bible? because its cowardly to fear someone you love.

Where's the book? I wanna buy it! Nice post

wait...what book????

Originally posted by Scat

Originally posted by EnronOutrunHomerun

Why dont i like the god in the bible? because its cowardly to fear someone you love.

Where's the book? I wanna buy it! Nice post

wait...what book????

I was just joking - as in, hey...someone should (or more than likely already has) write/written a book on that

(That's one hell of a confusing quote bubble - sorry - lol)

[edit on 7/1/2004 by EnronOutrunHomerun]

Originally posted by dlbrandt

Originally posted by mutehalo
because the bible depicts a god that is very hatefull, intolerant, close minded, power hungy, tyranical and wrathfull. in my eyes thats not a loving god but rather an evil god and if such a god did exist (which i have great reason to believe he dosn't) i would not serve such a god even if it did mean eternal damnation.

I think I know what you mean, so I'll throw something out to you and then we can discuss more.

By intolerant and close minded do you mean towards some of the things He says in the Bible that He views as sin? Say for example homosexuality?

I dont think thats what mute means, but then again, i might be wrong. to me, when i think of a closeminded god i think of "Fear me!" and "If you dont accept Jesus youre going to hell!" (obviously not taken directly from the bible, haha) I see that as VERY close mided, and in fact, cruel. Ialways ask my friends, say you die before me and youre in heaven because you love jesus, would you sit there in silence as i am cast into the flames? thats a heartclencher

Originally posted by EnronOutrunHomerun

I was just joking - as in, hey...someone should (or more than likely already has) write/written a book on that

(That's one hell of a confusing quote bubble - sorry - lol)

Hooray! I think Ill write a book outlining my beliefs, and then when the world explodes it will be buried in the sand, found by the generations 100 years from now, and it will become the future christianity, but without the whole religion part. hahahhahahha

( I get very into these religion chats, im so happy someone started one finally!)

[edit on 7-1-04 by Scat]