I'm quite sympathetic to a gnostic conception of God as not omnipotent etc etc but as one half of a Manichean struggle between God and the Devil. I wouldn't take it to an extreme like say the Cathars - who believed this world was the devil's and the hereafter was God's creation (and on earth God is the immaterial parts of life) and therefore had a policy against having children. But I find it difficult to reconcile the traditional understanding of God with all the troubles in the world so that kind of reading is appealing.

I think Prometheus is an interesting comparison because as I'm sure you're aware, the Greek gods were far from good. Really the only thing that made them gods were their exceptional powers. They didn't even create the world. Quite a cynical view of creation and in that respect the later pagan era seemed to be rather like our own era in the existentialism and despair it inspired - Stoicism is fascinating but it isn't a cheerful philosophy. Equally epicureanism seems superficially cheerful but masks a deep loneliness.

But it's intriguing because the original sin of Adam is the gaining of knowledge - and whatever our primordial innocence prior to that point, and despite the suffering in this current world, I think I'd rather have knowledge and suffering than innocence but no knowledge. At the same time, the eating of the fruit works for me as a metaphor for the fall and original sin - which actually sounds more convincing to me the more I consider it.

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Faint as a will o' the wisp
Crazy as a loon
Sad as a gypsy serenading the moon

Oh ya??
Has the Christian god demanded that a bunch of people hijack 4 planes and slam them into 3 differant buildings? Killing tons of innocent people on impact? All for the sake of a war thats rageing half a world away??
No my friend, the christian God is the God of peace. Not death and terror.
Rangerjoe a proud Catholic.

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I like to talk to myself because I listane better than anyone else

"Then I heard the LORD say to the other men, "Follow him through the city and kill everyone whose forehead is not marked. Show no mercy; have no pity! Kill them all – old and young, girls and women and little children. But do not touch anyone with the mark. Begin your task right here at the Temple." So they began by killing the seventy leaders. "Defile the Temple!" the LORD commanded. "Fill its courtyards with the bodies of those you kill! Go!" So they went throughout the city and did as they were told."

Ezekiel 9:5-7

People marked with mortal sin will be killed.

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I like to talk to myself because I listane better than anyone else

Bit harsh isn't it? I am sure I have sinned many times based on your Christian teachings, surely you don't want to kill me, or advocating my death are you?

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Three times Wiz Quiz Winner
Since Jan 17, 2008


The Kingdom of God is within you, not in buildings of wood and stone. - Gospel of Thomas

There are times I've wished you dead, admittedly.


;)

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Is irritated that calling a moron a moron is grounds for post deletion.

http://www.wowarmory.com/character-shee ... =Delonyera

٩(̾●̮̮̃̾•̃̾)۶

^ Ah, Zizi is awesome!


Little children can commit moral sin?

For the record, the Islamic God isn't much different than the Christian God. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are all Abrahamic religions stemming from the same roots, and are a lot closer than you'd think. Most notably, they're all monotheistic religions that believe there shall be no other god. Contrast the polytheism of the Roman Empire, and how they incorporated local deities into their pantheon whenever they conquered a territory. That flexible polytheism was one of the reasons the Roman Empire got so large and lasted so long; local religions got integrated instead of stamped out.
Now, you say that those who have committed mortal sin should die. Is disbelief in your God a mortal sin? Do you believe it possible that an entire community can be marked for death simply because of a single act? What authority do you claim to judge others?

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Tahu 1000 - Former Member

A lot closer, yes, but there are real differences.

About Judaism's monotheism - there is some conjecture that early Judaism may have been henotheistic, that is, worshipping one god but recognising the existence of multiple gods.

As for the religious tolerance of the Romans, it's interesting that they were strikingly intolerant of Christianity. Perhaps they realised that were the shoe on the other foot, as eventually it was, the Christians were unlikely to exhibit tolerance towards paganism? Such a shame that so few of the old temples and places of worship survive.

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Faint as a will o' the wisp
Crazy as a loon
Sad as a gypsy serenading the moon

You WILL NOT find anywhere in the Quran for it's believers to kill the innocent. Those were extremists who exploit their religion and spread terror. And no, I am not Muslim, I just hate it when false Fox News type facts are spread around. The extremists are equivalent to "religious skinheads" who use their religion to teach hate and terror. Now, do you want that minority of "religious skinheads" or "KKK" to represent Christianity or Catholicism? Same logic applies to Islam.

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Dosent Alah promise a paradice for those who fight and kill in a holy jihad? Isnt the Al-queda organisation based on Islam practises? Correct me if im wrong but didnt some Al-queda members take part in planing 9/11?
Rangerjoe, a proud Catholic.

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I like to talk to myself because I listane better than anyone else

I've seen some good contradictions in my time, but this one's a real piece of work!

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An extremist interpretation of Christianity's First Commandment says that all who do not believe in the Christian God should be killed. Pupsin's completely right; Al-Queda is an Islamic extremist group. The KKK was a Christian extremist group. I can't name any Jewish extremist groups off the top of my head, but I'm sure some existed. Would you like the whole of Christianity to be judged based on the actions of the KKK?

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Tahu 1000 - Former Member

Aren't the Catholics guilty of some of the biggest religious bloodfests?

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It's tough, but I still play. I keep losing, but I still play! - Taichi
Digital Complex is officially launched!

This is the exact way that other religions justify acts of killing, I'm not saying that I disagree with your beliefs, I'm simply pointing out a blatant fallacy in hopes that you might see how other religions aren't so different from your own.

The Crusades were like 600 years ago, and the Pope didn't even intend for it to turn out like it did. I don't think that it's entirely fair to castigate Catholicism for the brutality of humanity back then.

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Yes, because we don't kill people today.
Sarcasm aside, the Bible hasn't really changed since then. People's interpretations of it may have, but the actual text is supposed to be the same. According to Christians themselves, the Bible hasn't changed in two millennia; the present-day Bible advocates marching through the land of the infidels, leaving behind a trail of believers and blood, just as much as the Medieval Bible dictated the Crusades. However, that sort of thing is rather frowned upon these days by the press.

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Tahu 1000 - Former Member

Sarcasm = ignorance at how much humanity has changed since then.

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You honestly think we're beyond religious bigotry and persecution for one's beliefs? We may have exchanged brutality for deviousness, but the maliciousness remains.

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Tahu 1000 - Former Member

I'd say we're far less brutal than we were several hundred years ago, and our society reflects that.

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