Zone1 Why do you need gods?

[Meriweather]

DId you? You THINK you found it because it feels good to you. But did you find it?

And if God blessed YOU thusly why does he fail to bless so many others? Are you better than those people that God blessed YOU?

Or does everyone who fails to follow YOUR spiritual path do it wrong?

Because I took the time to study and research the knowledge and truth beyond what is in the Bible that was discovered and tracked down by scholars about Biblical times, that blesses me? You must be joking. I was merely presenting what I learned from others. That material is not hidden. When I first began it was in libraries. Now, a lot of it can be found on the Internet. Nearly everything in the Bible can be expanded upon by linguists, archaeologists, anthropologists, priests, rabbis, and historians. None of that knowledge just popped into my head. I had to study and learn. That study has gone on for decades.

Biblical study and research has nothing to do with a spiritual path. The spiritual path is an entirely different operation, and one you and your family may have spent more time on than I. My interest is historical research. That is an entirely different occupation than spirituality.

 

[Cardinal Carminative]

Because I took the time to study and research the knowledge and truth beyond what is in the Bible that was discovered and tracked down by scholars about Biblical times, that blesses me?

Well, I did much the same and wound up on the opposite end of the spectrum.

If God is real then I am going to hell.

You are not.

Ergo: blessing.

You must be joking. I was merely presenting what I learned from others. That material is not hidden. When I first began it was in libraries. Now, a lot of it can be found on the Internet. Nearly everything in the Bible can be expanded upon by linguists, archaeologists, anthropologists, priests, rabbis, and historians. None of that knowledge just popped into my head. I had to study and learn. That study has gone on for decades.

And you think I lack that? I would be more than happy to put my bookshelf and research head-to-head with yours and compare.

Biblical study and research has nothing to do with a spiritual path.

It has EVERYTHING to do with a spiritual path if you are part of a Christian sect.

if you are a raving HERETIC and you just want to make up your own God and your own religion, then the Bible is completely expendable. But, unfortunately, we are here talking about a rather specific God.

The spiritual path is an entirely different operation, and one you and your family may have spent more time on than I. My interest is historical research. That is an entirely different occupation than spirituality.

Well, unlike the Catholic FAITH which accepts "revelation", historical research does not. Ergo you are stuck with the Bible as the core.

 

[Meriweather]

Trust me, I've done a lot of research myself. I've spent years reading theology, studying philosophy, reading broadly in a number of religions.

So, don't act like you have put in more legwork. You probably didn't.

My research has not been theology, philosophy, or reading broadly in a number of modern day religions. I have put next to zilch legwork into that. If you think I am competing with you, you win. Hands down.

My research has been confined to histories and cultures and is confined to common Biblical stories.

 

[Meriweather]

The problem is: I understand why you have faith.

I don't have faith. Haven't for years.

 

[Meriweather]

It COULD be that I, too, have studied God like you have. And yet I arrive at a different conclusion so you automatically assume YOU put in more effort than I did.

While you were studying God, I was studying authorship of Biblical stories. And...unlike you assuming that I concluded you put in less effort, I made no such assumption, came to no such conclusion. I was simply having a conversation with someone who took a different approach and reached a different perspective than I.

I mention studies, because I did think you had the right to know I was not making things up out of whole cloth. I find other's knowledge interesting. I was merely passing along what had been passed onto to me through various books, articles, and lectures. I was not born knowing it.

 

[Meriweather]

We put warning stickers on ladders to keep people from getting hurt. God, however, doesn't mind if a few people wind up in hell because they failed to learn Hebrew with the degree of knowledge that YOU have.

Why would people wind up in hell for not knowing a specific language? That makes no sense at all.

The only reason I pursued Hebrew (and I still know very little of it and how to use it) is because I wanted to have a better understanding of the author's intent. I very much doubt better understanding the intent of long dead, ancient Biblical authors is the winning ticket into heaven.

 

[Meriweather]

So why did you "reject" the faith I had for so many, many decades of my life?

Are you asking why I chose Catholic Christianity over non-Catholic Christianity? If so, Sacraments and Apostolic traditions.

 

[Meriweather]

But at the end of the day ULTIMATE TRUTH is only one way. You THINK you got it right because no one wants to think they are in error. I THINK I have it right.

Since I see more philosophical and theological INCONSISTENCIES in your position I will continue to see my position as superior.

But I don't want YOU to follow my lead. Just telling you what I see.

What you cannot seem to grasp is that I don't think I have it "right". What I have is a number of perspectives based on outside knowledge and my own experiences. Some have the goal of being right. My goal is to gather even more perspectives, because I don't think we can know what is right about events that took place thousands of years ago. All we can gather are possibilities. That is why I am on a discussion board, that is why I research, to gather and share possibilities.

 

[Meriweather]

If God is real then I am going to hell.

Why? Are you an evil doer? That's not the impression I have.

Jesus said we are the salt of the earth. He also the Kingdom of Heaven searches for pearls of great worth. Are you so certain you are not a pearl of great worth, or even the salt of the earth?

 

[Meriweather]

And you think I lack that? I would be more than happy to put my bookshelf and research head-to-head with yours and compare.

No need. You win.

 

[ding]

LOL. It's like you didn't even read what I wrote.

Why is that?

 

[ding]

I make no bones about the fact that I fail to believe in God.

YOU, however, claim to be a Catholic, yet you flip your middle finger to God most days on this forum. It's almost as if you actually MOCK God.

It's OK if you want to mock God. You do what you want. Just don't think you are acting in accordance with your faith.

You know, I actually DO value that commandment. You seem to think that commandment wasn't real. God is a buffet for you.

Not all who say "Lord, lord"...well, you know the rest (probably not though...so far it's clear I know FAR more of the Bible than you do)

The irony was you accusing me of lying, dummy. Leave God out of it. He already knows I'm no saint.

 

[toobfreak]

I actually know quite a bit about Buddhism as I studied with a Buddhist monk for a few years.,

Good for you. So you are a junior novice. Then apparently you dropped out, lost your way and are now a general anti-religion dissident it seems.

Buddhism is not divinely inspired. The Buddha never claimed divine inspiration.

Like I tried to tell you before, it isn't what they claimed, it is about what it was: the seeds of Buddhism arise from the impersonal aspect of the Brahmajyoti Effulgence, though, no Buddhist can tell you that, because such knowledge lies outside their religion looking in.

 

[Cardinal Carminative]

The irony was you accusing me of lying, dummy. Leave God out of it. He already knows I'm no saint.

Thou shalt not bear false witness.

 

[Cardinal Carminative]

Why would people wind up in hell for not knowing a specific language? That makes no sense at all.

-sigh- I sense your "religion" is one in which all roads lead to salvation? That it doesn't really matter WHICH God you believe in (God, Aharu Mazda, Zeus, Odin...) just that you believe in SOME god.

Unfortunately if you actually READ the Bible you'd see how wrong that is per Jahweh who is a "jealous god" and before whom non other should be worshipped.

Hmmm, I wonder where one would get the idea...

The only reason I pursued Hebrew (and I still know very little of it and how to use it) is because I wanted to have a better understanding of the author's intent.

You better be sure you know Hebrew a lot better than just a little.

But if your faith is so open-ended that it doesn't matter WHAT you believe about God then by all means...

That just wouldn't be the God of the Bible.

I very much doubt better understanding the intent of long dead, ancient Biblical authors is the winning ticket into heaven.

I think your system is inconsistent logically.

 

[Cardinal Carminative]

Why? Are you an evil doer? That's not the impression I have.

Sorry but I was, like you, born with original sin.

My apologies but that is part of YOUR CATHOLIC FAITH as well. There's a reason you guys baptize infants.

Jesus said we are the salt of the earth. He also the Kingdom of Heaven searches for pearls of great worth. Are you so certain you are not a pearl of great worth, or even the salt of the earth?

Methinks you have created a very personalized version of "Christianity" made up your best hopes. That's admirable and quite common.

Of course, again, that is like "tennis with the net down" as they say. No rules and you may as well just be worshipping onesself.

Don't get me wrong: I LOVE this concept of an all loving God. It really is the only one that makes sense to me theologically. But, again, you have on your hands a book all about God (arguably the CORE of what is known about Jahweh) and you have to pick and choose which aspects of that God you like the best and which you want to set aside.

That's cool.

Just tennis with the net down.

And if we have to take the net down I guess I don't see a point in the game.

 

[Cardinal Carminative]

because I don't think we can know what is right about events that took place thousands of years ago.

But if your religion is PREDICATED on the Bible and the Bible is where we learn about soteriology and God's desires for us, how do YOU propose we figure out which are real and which are just made up?

 

[Cardinal Carminative]

Are you asking why I chose Catholic Christianity over non-Catholic Christianity? If so, Sacraments and Apostolic traditions.

We have sacraments in the Protestant Church.

Was there any THEOLOGICAL reason you prefer Catholicism and "reject" (your word) other faiths?

 

[Cardinal Carminative]

Why is that?

Hey, ding, why don't you just sit this one out. You aren't particularly well versed in the Bible or theology or philosophy so you're just going to make a mess of it like your attempts to talk about earth science (or science in general).

You just aren't set up for it.

 

[presonorek]

You guys should all just read the Bible entirely and like it.

Don’t worry about whether God exists or not. Just learn God’s character from the words of the Bible. Then there is no arguing. Everybody will know what God is like.