tpaine posted:babyfinland posted:
i'm pretty sure God is omnipotent and omniscient in Judaism and that the characterizations of him and his actions in anthropomorphic terms in the Bible expose the limitations of language and human comprehension rather than contradictions in the fundamentals of monotheismi don't think that was his point, boogervillain.
well even with a cursory googling its really easy to find tons of explanations and descriptions from jewish sources demonstrating claims to omnipotence and omniscience in the Bible (and they are actual claims, unlike the way Christians argue that Jesus claimed divinity in the Gospels)
This doesn't really resolve the problem though, as the new humans end up being just as bad as the old ones, so he appoints Abraham to be his servant and preach his law, hoping to create a world in which humans can live under Godly moral guidance and avoid the barbarism and tragedy that otherwise occurs.
This alone is proof that God's ideas evolve over time as a result of experience and thought, but no element of this is more clear than the schism between the Old and New Testament, which is an official change in Godly policy.
It is important to remember that in reality God was a tribal God created by Abraham and upheld by Moses and Joshua and the Judges and so on, for the sole purpose of giving them divine authority so they could better direct tribal policy. So he "learned" things when the tribal leaders did. Ultimately a God that can revise his policy is better than one who goes by his first draft forever but yes it does conflict with the idea that God is supposed to be omniscient.
Edited by lungfish ()
tpaine posted:
it is pretty funny to me that god is something less than a fiction, because some fictions can be described even if they can't exist (ghosts, etc.). god is basically the worst-written fictional character possible
finally someone agrees with my god == goku hypothesis
crustpunk_trotsky posted:
yeah id be pretty annoyed if someone tried to save me from a life of deluded fantasy
same.
present company excluded. anyone posting here is obviously addicted to spouting their opinion, no further analysis needed
thirdplace posted:
i've always figured a majority of vocal in-your-face atheists are acting out of childhood trauma. my people are christians but in really laid back upper-midwest way, so i had nothing to complain about. but, if you're in a family that can't accept it and you aren't able to move away i bet shit gets really rough really fast
probably so. my family are atheists but in a low key and agnostic sort of way so the fundamentalist-missionary thing that you find on the internet is something alien to me.
discipline posted:
hmm methinks mr. white man in $700 suit with smug face should find a way to move past his childhood traumas without rudely taking a shit in public space
common courtesy is just a lie like, to control you maaaan
Impper posted:
i dress like a greek anarchist at all times
i think public nudity was something they only did in the ancient gymnastics, so i'm calling anachronism on you
I look similar to Steve Jobs. A simple and well-fitting American Apparel t-shirt, Levis jeans, New Balance sneakers.
I'll wear suits when I finally run for office. Or move to the East Coast. I do look forward to being able to dress more like an adult, but a suit is attire that must be earned by holding a prestigious position.
getfiscal posted:
i think public nudity was something they only did in the ancient gymnastics, so i'm calling anachronism on you
In the Republic, when Socrates is arguing for equal rights for women, he defends it by saying that not long ago many people thought the idea of public male nudity was absurd, but nowadays, it just seems totally natural and right! The same transition will occur when people learn to see women as equals.
lungfish posted:
I do look forward to being able to dress more like an adult, but a suit is attire that must be earned by holding a prestigious position.
thirdplace posted:
a respect costume distinguished primarily by a ribbon cinched tightly around one's neck
how american of you to think anything better than a dirty t and cargo shorts is a respect costume
Edited by soicowboy ()
discipline posted:
atheists are such children it's embarrassing irl because they haven't figured out the whole "it's not polite to talk about your religion to strangers" thing
-the author of over nine thousand islam threads in lf
lungfish posted:
"Don't talk about religion" is advice by religious people for religious people. Sure, if you're trying to win someone over, then it's probably a good idea to avoid contentious topics. But only cowards are afraid of making ideological enemies.
Hahaha politeness and courtesy are just social constructs, LIKE RELGION!!!!
Myfanwy posted:lungfish posted:
"Don't talk about religion" is advice by religious people for religious people. Sure, if you're trying to win someone over, then it's probably a good idea to avoid contentious topics. But only cowards are afraid of making ideological enemies.Hahaha politeness and courtesy are just social constructs, LIKE RELGION!!!!
Politeness and courtesy don't win revolutions, comrade.
Now this deals mostly with religion in the U.S. but I wouldn't be shocked if the same kinds of consciousness existed in other places with economic disparity.
But God really is dead in the moral and reality-creating sense. All but the most extreme margins of religious people know better than to think that God is responsible for things like corrupt government and war and carcinogens. These days, the overwhelming function of religion is that of existential justification - the classic "God has a plan for everyone and people will get what they deserve after death." And that's fucking retarded - prevents any social change for the poor - and exactly what Marx meant when he said "opiate for the masses." Because you can bet your booties that the rich do everything they can to keep this justification-consciousness alive and well (Falwell, Robertson, God Bless America at the end of every political speech). In cases where the rich do genuinely believe in religion, it's for the exact same justification purpose - just in the other direction. In these cases it probably resembles a Calvinist principle of "God has rewarded me because I am doing his will."