Why did we stop inventing gods?

You seem to respect Karen Armstrong. She discusses Logos vs Mythos and also articulates the need for morality in global spirituality...much as you do. Her bio is brief:

quote:

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Born in England in 1944, Karen Armstrong is a TED Prize-winning scholar of comparative religion best known for her bestselling 1993 volume "A History of God." A Catholic nun from 1962 through 1969, she left the order to become a student of English literature at Oxford amidst a struggle with then-undiagnosed epilepsy, a period of her life discussed in her 2004 autobiography "The Spiral Staircase." In 2008 she called for a council of world religious leaders to draw up a "Charter for Compassion" based on the moral principles embodied in the Golden Rule. In November 2009, she unveiled the Charter in Washington, DC and online.

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I have not studied whether she believes in God or Jesus as something we humans are in communion with yet Who are of a higher archetype than we are or whether we all are the only gods we will ever know---as you believe. Still...you have shown us a link but have not articulated why you believe that God is so darn mean. I do not see this in my relationship with Him. Perhaps you want us all to stop believing that God is apart from us in nature and that we all can be gods.

Tell us more details! A testimony is only worth as much as the credibility of the author. People rarely gain credibility without being known. I do not blame god for my gambling problem--it was my addiction and my responsibility. I was simply too weak to confront it because i have long preferred fantasy over reality. Getting fired was reality. I don't blame God for that, either.

Lets first correct this sloppy formatting, shall we? Accepting Jesus as Lord means that you dont consider yourself more highly than you ought, for one thing. Humans are not gods. Humans will never solve their global,ethical, or personal problems through their own strength alone. Moreover, God considers us as sons--not slaves.

Again, GIA we have to correct this formatting as it is unclear what is being said by whom. Correct me if I am wrong. Essentially you are saying:

My testimony is honest. How credible it is is your call. We don't know whether God helped Job or not. Jobs assets and family were restored..the book does not say how, though we can surmise that Job simply got remarried and made more babies. How did he become rich again?

First of all, I do not see God as genocidal. Second, I am not slaving myself. I am willfully obedient, but I have a free will. I am not chained to any religion. Lastly, why doesn't God simply cure everybody? Well for that matter why doesn't God tie our shoes, go to work for us, and feed us directly from spoon to mouth? I believe He certainly could, if he wanted us to eternally remain babies.

God created us as freewilled creatures with autonomous natures. We were not born addicted---though some may argue we were born addicted to sin. No. Job suffered pain. God did not directly cause that pain though by allowing satan to do it,critics could argue that God was responsible.
So again the question: If God could prevent pain and suffering in our lives, why does He not?I maintain that reality is. There are days we will experience pain. There are days we will suffer.And about Noahs flood....what does the evidence show us concerning such an event? Can we hold God responsible for a story in a book that was written by humans? Seems to me if anything it is humans whom we should indict.

You are delightfully honest. See...I find new wisdom nearly every day. Reading it is one thing. Applying it is another. Perhaps they dont have special knowledge, but I would argue that many get insights that you or I might not yet understand. What you and your chums fail o realize is that God is living and active...as is the Word. Of course, you insist on evidence, as if the evidence isnt evident already. I can't convince you...thats for sure.

You likely saw no evidence. Being a man of reason...logic reason and reality were something tangible to you...so you changed your worldview.I have seen subjective evidence of the supernatural and I have also witnessed dramatic transformations in other peoples lives. People may claim it happens to everyone--not just believers---but I have yet to see it outside of my box. Again, yes I do. I have had personal experience. You may claim that you did also, but I doubt it. Not at the level I had, at any rate. You have already convinced yourself that God does not exist, so I would have to unconvince you...which it is doubtful I can do. Thats good to hear. We will take this one day at a time. Until then, I hope that you have a good life.

Please stop dragging this thread off topic.

Except that in this context, the hit-man was complaining that Job was doing well..in fact was jealous that Job was so blessed and wanted to make the hit. The Don merely refused to exterminate the hit-man at that point. I suppose that we could argue that God is responsible for everything that satan does...but God never directly created an evil satan. God allowed the possibility of evil and Lucifer chose it...actualizing his purpose. Thus the hit man chose to become a hit man.I suppose you could blame God for everything...thus gnostically wanting to be your own god. You could, in effect, be your own hit man! The whole argument on free will, determinism, illusion of free will, etc... hinges on the basic idea that God has no right to know what we have not yet chosen.Ye shall be as gods. (Leave us the f*ck alone, Big Guy and let us actualize our own destiny!!)

Its like a potter with clay. So you choose to smush a few pieces back into the ball and start over? Clay is just clay....and humans are just humans...More of them can always be made. Who are we to b*tch at our Potter? (jar would argue that we not only have a right but a responsibility to set the potter straight!)

Thats not what the knowledge was, though...thats your interpretation of what it was. In addition, you claim the snake told the truth when the Bible clearly tells us that there is no truth in satan. Sometimes in your quest for literal reading you end up interpreting a message in a way that it was not intended to be told. You are not helping people by glorifying the snake and demonizing God.

Very true.One sticking point in our arguments is the idea that evidence is required.How do we gather evidence for God? The only evidence we have is that believers claim that God is evident. In other words, belief is our only evidence.And you want tests, as if we can ask Him to come down for a moment....oh wait...He already has!

Why is it evil to provide the sacrifice?And how can someone who believes that we are the only gods there will ever be even try in the same breath to indict God?You may say you are not indicting God (since you don't believe in Him) but rather organized religion. So I think I understand your argument and passion.Here is a question for you: If you believe that we are the only gods there will ever be, would you not also say that we are the only devils there will ever be?If so, how do we become a unified and peaceful world? How do we get rid of the devil within us?Edited by Phat, : added features