Quote:
Originally Posted by Kyle
Because nobody is claiming that nature is omnipotent, omnibenevolant and omniscient.
Blaming the devil for pestilence and disease is pretty hilarious tbh. Blaming a woman for listening to a talking snake for all mankind's woe's today is like something out of a fantasy book.
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I've already stated that I don't know all the answers Kyle, and I'm not an orthodox Christian, nor a Bible Basher, but I'm pretty sure that not every word in the Bible is meant to be taken literally - despite what some more 'devout' religious extremists might claim.
I believe that the Genesis story of Adam and Eve is just a beautiful allegory. What hidden messages are in this allegory? I don't
know. I have my own personal theory of just what The Garden of Eden and The Tree of The Knowledge of Good And Evil was, just as I have my own personal theory on The Tower of Babel, 'Noah's Ark, and The Ark of The Covenant, and here, my beliefs cross over from strict Biblical adherence, to elements of other religions and philosophies. There simply is not the space nor time here to expound on such a vast and complex array of subjects.
As far as the Devil goes, I'm afraid it's impossible to even mention the concept of Evil as a genuine force by using the popular name for its 'fountain-head', without instantly devaluing the validity of that concept, because of the ridiculous imagery of 'horned' entities with tridents and all the other 'learnt' medieval clap trap associated with it via popular culture -- none more so than the Devil portrayed as a serpent.
Yet, real, pure Evil does exist. And I am simply maintaining that to someone who believes in a supernatural force viz. God, then it is illogical to attribute acts of murder etc. to that force when there is a very real force at work called Evil.
In the case of natural disasters, I stand by my statement that it is totally illogical for some men (and I did not say all men) who cling to the tenet that there is nothing which exists but the Laws of Nature, to then blame a supernatural force viz God, as either the Cause of a natural disaster, or to blame God for allowing a natural disaster to happen.
In answer to God being omnipotent, omnibenevolant and omniscient but doing nothing, I've already said that I don't have all the answers- I know that there is in the Bible scripture an explanation for this, and I think it's in Luke, but as I've also said, I'm not a Bible Basher so I can't remember.
In my opinion, the Creation story in Genesis is also allegorical, but it could be factual and still not conflict with science. Just for example, accept the premise that there is a God, a supreme being, no matter how you envisage him, isn't it arrogant to assume that an eternal force measures time at all, let alone in days of the week. Isn't the Creation story early man's attempts to explain the creation of the cosmos and life in language that is universally understood by other men? --
-- Imagine, you could communicate with an adult Mayfly, and he was your pet. He says to you; "I'm dying of thirst". You say; "I'll nip to the shop and get you some Mayfly Pop, I'll not be long.". Off you toddle to the shop and return in 30 minutes, the chance is your pet is dead - not through thirst, but extreme old age, because an adult Mayfly's entire lifespan can be as short as 30 minutes. What was an eternity for him was but a very brief time to you.
Isn't it feasible to those who say God doesn't exist or that he is an 'absentee landlord' that we just cannot comprehend what eternal really means, and our entire history could be nothing more than a nano second to a supreme being?