west@sdcsla.UUCP (12/23/83)
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Another point David Norris raised in his reply to Laura:
``Christianity (the truth) does not change, but christianity
(the religion) does.''
How does this fit in with the obvious personality changes God goes
through as the Old Testament progresses?
( E.g., in the beginning there were many gods ["Elohim"], not
just one; before the Exodus [as in the outrageously unfair
dealings with the Pharaoh and the Egyptians], it wasn't a matter
of Yahveh being the only God, just the strongest one [at least
in the land of Judah and Israel, although this later spread to
a Universal strength {story of Noah hints at this}], etc. )
If this is just a matter of how God chooses to reveal himself,
why do you think that the picture of God painted by Jesus is any
more accurate than that painted in the Old Testament?
And why the two-thousand year absence of any (direct) signs of God
-- compared with the previous two thousand during which [if you believe
what the Yahvehists wanted people to believe] he interfered in wars and
personal affairs so (relatively) frequently.
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I'm also curious as to why this should be so: why shouldn't Christianity
change? Why shouldn't God change? Is he incapable of learning?
( That question assumes a belief in something resembling ``free will'',
such that God doesn't know what people will do; otherwise, of
course, everything we talk about in net.religion is moot. )
Was Jesus then not in direct communication with his ``cosmic self''?
( Since he was in human form, and part of being human is changing. )
If he wasn't, was he then perhaps subject to human mistakes and
misapprehensions?
If he was not truly here in limited human form, what is the point of
his death?
And how can he sit in judgement over those with whom he
shares so little --> no pain, no learning, no uncertainty, no fear,
no lust, no love of another member of the same species...
And while I'm rambling, what is the point of allowing the ``devil''
(for those of you who believe in his existence) to do his evil work,
other than to test humans? Why should we be concerned about the
devil when he's actually acting on behalf of God?
And why on earth do some Christians seem to think that being told
that a policy ``accept Jesus into your heart or burn in hell for
eternity'' is a policy of love? (And what a choice you're offered!)
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Yes, David Norris did not say "God does not change". Another
question: how does "God" differ from ``Christianity (the truth)'',
if either of those terms has any meaning for you?
A final question: if you're one who believes that God is beyond
our understanding [``the Lord works in mysterious ways''], why
do you believe (if you do) that the God conceived by Christians
is anything more than a small fraction of his true essence? How
do you know that the Buddhists and Muslims aren't just approaching
God [far beyond our understanding, remember] from a different path?
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Apologies for the lack of orderly structure to these questions, and
for the total length. I may have left out connections between questions
for the sake of brevity. But I am interested in responses (from anyone
who finds these questions interesting [or simple]).
Have a safe and happy holiday season, everyone!
-- Larry West UC San Diego
possible net addresses:
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-- UUCP: ucbvax!sdcsvax!sdcsla!west
-- or ucbvax:sdcsvax:sdcsla:west