Responses on: Punitive God?

By: kolobus

kolobus — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 22:35:40 +0000

to the guy above me.. if god can take care of himself why where all those people killed in the crusade in the name of god??? i do not think that suck a higher power would or could be so cruel, and if you think that just because people don’t believe in your GOD, that they will go to hell like all those stupid religious idiot at my old jobs did, you do not follow the bible like you think because it states that only GOD CAN JUDGE.. oh and the movie Bill Maher made was RELIGOLUS.. GET IS RIGHT GEEZ.. and he is right if our world did not have religion in it 90% of our problems would be solved you think that we humans are not smart enough to know what right and wrong is??? come on..

By: findkjt

findkjt — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:54:27 +0000

If you want to follow Bill Maher (not “Mayer,” by the way) and be ‘different’ by being obstinate, that is certainly your choice.

Someday you will want to know Him and love Him as He loves you, and you perhaps you will see that your life can be happy and not filled with doubt.

can take care of Himself. I do not need to defend Him.

By: Reviewer

Reviewer — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 06:11:40 +0000

I agree. All those stories are whack jobs from religious churches to control their flock. Has nothing to do about God. Gots to have a way to control da man!

The scary thing is that most religious followers believe that crap carte blanche and even read them as bedtime stories to their kids. Then we wonder why kids are messed up. Because they have clueless idiots for parents. Harsh? Doubtful. Like the last poster said, if someone showed up and said give up your daughter for rape to apease a ‘god’ would you be so stupid to do it? If you would then go get some big locks and lock yourself in your house and don’t come out or the boogie god will get you.

By: SansSouci572

SansSouci572 — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 21:34:15 +0000

I think along the lines of Bill Mayer in his documentary Religiousity.
No, I don’t think God punishes, karma makes better sense to me, that you create things yourself, its like a neutral energy that does whatever you put into it. If you are into that, its what you get, but if you are kind, that is good not just for yourself but everyone involved, since we are all in this together.
I don’t think Jesus died for sins either, because it doesn’t make sense. What, God wants blood and suffering?
What does that do? Soldiers of all faiths and no faith at all except their country die for others, and firemen and even pets give up their lives— and in a way its more brave than Jesus, because they don’t have the same knowing that Jesus does. Maybe the people at the time were into being martyred or something, it does seem to be the cultural thing to do at the time. And so he died because its where their head was at…but I just like to hear his insight, don’t need the blood and hanging on a cross and all that.
..Maybe that is where Grace comes in, you get it but don’t have to pay, since you get it now, don’t do that. I have no idea.

I also do not believe that Job story, where the devil is walking around hanging out with angels, which is already questionable…but then he makes a bet and tortures a bunch of innocent people to win a bet. God makes bets?
And the one where he tells some guy to kill his daughter and he does but says just kidding at the last second, but with someone else who has a son. Or offers his daughter up to rape, and one where they do that and she dies? from being gang banged? Those stories are very barbaric.
Or how about the story where people have to smear blood on their doors so an angel won’t strike them all dead? That seems downright wacko. If someone told me to take lamb blood and smear it on my door so God won’t kill my kids, I would not believe it.
I guess we smear blood in other people’s countries instead, with bombs, and think God likes that!

I think its obvious the people’s mentality was like that then, so that is what they thought God must be like, and its no different today. And the kinder we get, the kinder we think God is. He is much nicer in the New Testament than the Old, for example, and in some religions has a completely different set of rules and regulations, so it must be the people themselves evolving at different stages.
Some may think my thoughts about not believing these stories are blasphemy, but to the contrary, I think higher of God than that, and refuse to believe it. I think its disrespectful to God to think he or she would do something like that. I would not believe it of my own parents, let alone God.

By: findkjt

findkjt — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:12:59 +0000

I don’t think of God as the punishing God of wrath that we read about in the Old Testament. Being a New Testament believer, and follower of Jesus of Nazareth, I am convinced that God loves us so much, He sent his only Son to save us from that kind of thinking. We cannot live our lives thinking that God ‘has it out’ for us. Certainly, that doesn’t mean the God is some ’patsy’ who’s just waiting for us to mess up (He knows we will; we are, after all human). God gave us free choice, a/k/a free will, so that our love for Him will be genuine. He loves us, and wants to know us, and wants to know we love Him!

PS — This is a good and timely issue to address, thanks!