ix415@sdcc6.UUCP (Rick Frey) (09/13/85)
Not to start a whole flurry of discussion, but the damager-God idea has got alot of people talking about the Bible and the picture it paints of God. In a recent article, John Miller states that he too might come to the same conclusions as Paul Zimmerman from reading the Bible. I'm wondering how many other people feel that way and which passages or stories lead them in this direction. In a response I've posted to Paul Zimmerman we started discussing the nature of the Bible and why a damager-God would allow a book that at least seems to teach means of reconciliation and peace to be out and popular and in His name. But the response that many people seem to be making is that the Bible teaches something else and the that the overall picture of the Bible is that God is this damager-God or at lest that He isn't the good God that Christians and most religions make Him out to be. So what's the concensus? I've heard from a lot of people who say the Bible makes God look bad and I'd like to hear what some of the parts are that paint this evil picture of God. Rick Frey (...!ihnp4!sdcsvax!sdcc6!ix415) "If God is God then worship Him, but if Baal, then worship him." "Choose this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
tim@k.cs.cmu.edu.ARPA (Tim Maroney) (09/17/85)
Rick Frey, I hope my essay "Even If I Did Believe..." answers your question about "God's evil image" and where it comes from. -=- Tim Maroney, Carnegie-Mellon University, Networking ARPA: Tim.Maroney@CMU-CS-K uucp: seismo!cmu-cs-k!tim CompuServe: 74176,1360 audio: shout "Hey, Tim!"
tan@ihlpg.UUCP (Bill Tanenbaum) (09/22/85)
> [Rick Frey] > Not to start a whole flurry of discussion, but the damager-God idea has > got alot of people talking about the Bible and the picture it paints of > God. > [Much omitted] > So what's the concensus? I've heard from a lot of people who say the > Bible makes God look bad and I'd like to hear what some of the parts are > that paint this evil picture of God. ---- I'll first admit that I know next to nothing about the Bible. Despite that, it might be relevant to Rick's question to state what it was that first soured me on religion. Up until the age of eight or nine, I was a true believer. Then, we learned about Joshua and the battle of Jericho. I always wondered what the people of Jericho had done to deserve their fate. I didn't have enough nerve to ask the teacher. After that date, I never took anything without questioning again. It was the Bible itself that did it. I lost my belief in God before I knew even one other person who I knew didn't believe either. -- Bill Tanenbaum - AT&T Bell Labs - Naperville IL ihnp4!ihlpg!tan