[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
From: Edmund Storms
Hi Ed,
...
If you were God, would you have made such a
self-destructive creature? If you had, would
you give support to individuals who had these
obvious imperfections even if they attempted to worship you?
If I were God, I'd give my creations freedom of choice to make good and bad decisions - and more importantly: To learn from the consequences of my own actions.
Personally, I wouldn't want to play in a sandbox where I wasn't allowed to occasionally make really stupid decisions. Yeah, I sympathize, we may end up blowing up a planet or two in the midst of learning our lessons, but eventually...
May I suggest that that's precisely what the parable about eating forbidden fruit is all about. I suspect there are many who wish they didn't have this terrifying burden called "freedom of choice". Some wish a Higher Devine Intelligence was constantly calling the shots so that they didn't have to be saddled with the responsibility of having to personally experience the terrible consequences of occasionally making really stupid decisions. Some try to set up various forms of religious doctrine to mimic their desire to run away from making their own decisions. Make up rules and belief structures where God in the absolute sense makes all the decisions - not me! Follow them unquestioningly. Do I feel better now?
Don't blame God for our inheritance.
I agree with you. If I were God I would create a large collection of intelligent lifeforms on this and on various other planets and let evolution sort out which ones will survive. Some will make mistakes that lead to their extinction and others will find the wisdom to prosper and approach my image. Our situation is not yet resolved. While I agree that the various religions describe our condition fairly well, my complaint is with the solution they apply to the problems they find.
Wait a minute! I AM god.
Now that is a very enlightened observation, Steven. The fact is that we were made in our own image, not in God's image. We then make God in our image. As a result, we each are the image of God we each attribute to God. In that sense, we each are god.
Oh dear! Fasten your seatbelts! I fear we're in for another bumpy ride!
Very true, but not just in this discussion. My anger is about the ride that is being imposed upon us by people who are sure they know God's will. On the other hand, I make no claim to know God's will, but I do know the end of the path being proposed. The real problem is that many of these people look forward to having civilization destroyed because they believe this is what God wants and they, because they use the correct method of worship, will survive. This is the worst form of self justification that is usually attributed to insanity when it is observed in an isolated individual. Unfortunately, the attitude becomes an accepted religion when it is believed by enough people.
Regards, Ed
Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com
