Kate says the Xtian God is a God of unconditional love.
Not so, according to the Bible. If one is a Xtian, then one believes the Bible yes? The Bible makes it very clear that God is not into unconditional love. I have heard just about every excuse there is, every rationalisation, every interpretation, from people who want their God to be a God of Unconditional Love (sensible)and yet still want to be Xtian.
Now, don't misunderstand me, I do believe God would be a God of Unconditional Love. He just isn't a Xtian. If he was, then he isn't and I want no part of a God like that. Far too human. What is the point of a God like a human with our worst flaws? Loving conditionally being one of them. (loving conditionally is an oxymoron if ever there was one.)
Whilst on this subject of love. Most religions say 'love one another' and most people balk at this. HOW CAN WE? Easy. Most people confuse love and like. We don't have to like everyone. That would be impossible. Perhaps even for God. But to love everyone is easy. Most of the time. It just means treating all with positive regard, with respect, no matter what. This is where the caveat of 'most of the time' comes in. It gets harder to do when they don't treat us likewise or when they hurt us,sometimes deeply wounding us. Yet what is the point of having a belief if one doesn't live by it? What a fraud one would be if one said 'I love everyone except for those who*******'
Another thought:. 'Thou Shalt Not Kill'. Funny how so many Xtians support and go to war and are in favour of the death penalty. Turn the other cheek anyone?
Oh, and women need to be obedient to men, keep quiet in church,and cover their heads also. Sarah Palin: ring a bell?
Are you a Xtian with a mortgage and or a credit card? Oops! Usury anyone?
Oh what a tangle we get into when we try to take the easy way and live by the conscience of another. When we refuse to think. When we deny the gifts we were given.
Oh and in Corinthians Chapter 13 (can't recall if its the first letter or the second or which verse) but it clearly speaks of the gifts of the spirit-healing, discernment, prophecy.
Funnily enough, one of the churches I went to, which thought that homosexuals and mediums were destined for Hell, used to give each other messages from spirit during their prayer sessions! I was not the person then that I am now and I was still in the grip of the nonsense I had been taught. The leader of this church and his wife were nice to me. So I thought. They were the first people I ever told about the abuse I suffered as a child, especially about the teacher who was a child pornographer, becasue that was a HUGE deal as I believed that was my fault. They received it well, I thought. They invited me to a special prayer evening they were holding in my honour. I went. They prayed for me. They prayed for me to be forgiven. I walked out, never to return. It was years before I got the help I needed because it was years before I had the courage to try again. I don't believe those people meant well. The way they thought was evil. They were more interested in keeping their own belief system together than they were in loving me.
Isn't it odd what comes out when one sits down to write?
First Quarter Review:) Warning a LONG post!
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un·con·di·tion·al
Pronunciation:
\ˌən-kən-ˈdish-nəl, -ˈdi-shə-nəl\
Function:
adjective
Date:
1666
1 : not conditional or limited : absolute , unqualified (unconditional surrender) (unconditional love)
2 : unconditioned 2
— un·con·di·tion·al·ly adverb
What's confusing about this? In 1, it says "unqualified." That means, to me, without strings attached. So, no matter what I do or say, I should be loved and should go to Heaven. If I HAVE to believe in order not to burn in Hell, that's a condition.
Well, I always thought of the bible as not an authoritative source. A lot of the books were written hundreds of years after the events - after all, if Adam and Eve could not write, who wrote Genesis (asides from the fact it talks about time before humans)? And because the books are based on hearsay, things got changed to suit the church.
Colin, I am sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I tried to be gentle and respectful, obviously I failed. I am happy to continue this conversation in private if you want to, but after today I will stop commenting on your blog. Please accept my apology.
To Iris: If my child tries to run across the street in front of a car, and I pull him back, and hurt him in the process, does that mean I am not loving? I can love a person and still think that what he or she is doing is wrong - in such a case, the loving thing is to tell him or her - as long as it is done gently and humbly, and not from a state of pride.
To Kate: You are comparing apples to oranges. If you swat your kid for running into the street, you are NOT condemning him or her to a life of burning in the fires of Hell. If you are a loving parent you would NEVER condemn said child to burn - ever.
I believe in God. I do NOT believe in a God that would burn up his creations because they're not able to believe, on faith, everything from a particular book that can be argued to be the words of men (however altruistic) and NOT the very words of said God. I also don't believe in a God that would sacrifice the honor of 70 (or whatever the number is) virgins to reward a martyr of Islam.
If anyone desires, they can believe in this vengeful God (and THAT comes from the Bible, too). I do NOT. Perhaps God IS like any other creature - selectively loving, vengeful, cruel. I'll accept that. BUT, I will NEVER believe said God is loving "unconditionally."
I did it again, Colin. I hijacked your blog. My apologies to you, but not to anyone of any organized religion out there. They will never, ever convince me they are right.
Its so weird for years I have been putting after my signiture in emails ' Love all but you don't have to like them' Just as you say Like and Love are totally different.
Debbie a fellow knitter
Well, as it is still today....
God does not condemn anybody. We choose whether we want to spend eternity with Him, or away from Him, that's all. He allows us our freedom to choose, because he wants our love, and love cannot be forced. I am not comparing apples to oranges - I am merely saying that love does not necessarily mean accepting everything the loved one does.
Yes, you ARE comparing apples to oranges.
Eternal damnation is far more than a swat on the bottom. It's vengeance and it's cruel.
Sorry, Kate. I will never believe in your version of god.
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