The Nehor wrote:I prefer loving God and wanting to be closer to him.
Can you articulate presicely why you love God and want to be near him? Perhaps because you have imagined him as lovable? Or, do you think that omnicience and omnipotence just demands love? Is it a sense of duty or a sense of debt? That seems sort of subtly coersive.
I love God because he saved me from becoming what I was becoming.
"Surely he knows that DCP, The Nehor, Lamanite, and other key apologists..." -Scratch clarifying my status in apologetics "I admit it; I'm a petty, petty man." -Some Schmo
GlennThigpen wrote:As far a vengeful God and fearing him, there is nothing to be afraid of if one is obeying His word. However, God has seldom poured out his wrath on anyone without plenty of warning beforehand. Noah was preaching repentance for one hundred and twenty years before the flood. In vain. If you believe the Bible to be true, then you need to believe that this action was necessary. During the many times that Israel was under the domination of a foreign power, it was not God exacting vengeance. It was God removing his protection from Israel because of transgression, which included killing or imprisoning the prophets that were sent to warn Israel about the impending calamity. When Israel would not listen, the calamity would occur. However when Israel, or even a neighboring city heeded God,s warnings, they were spared. Remember Jonah and the city of Ninevah? The human psyche is very interesting. The further away in time a reward or punishment is, the less influence it has on the the behavior of a person or persons. You can see this typified in a childs responses. If you promise him/her a reward that he/she really wants next month as a reward for good behavior uo to that time, the child most often will lose sight of that reward as situations develop during the month, with bad behavior exhibiting itself on more than one occasion. The same goes for punishment. Defer it fo days or months and it ceases to be a deterrent to bad behavior. The same goes for adults, although hopefully less so. Hopefully most adults have matured a little as they aged also. And that is the beauty of the Gospel. The rewards are so far down the road as to be unreal and probably not much of an influence on any one person's behavior. The same goes for the punishment aspect. So what we really have for most people who fervently live their religion is that they do it because that is what they want to do. They do good works mostly because they want to. No one makes them.
Glenn
you really need to get out of the King James version: I've been reading the old testament with a lot of interest lately and genesis and exodus is full of lying, cheating, killing, all by those who are the old testaments god's favorites. And what is the promise between the two - I give you land if you make sure your penis does'New Testament have skin on the tip. And the land that I give you you have to take and put everyone on that land to death by sword - no survivors.
The Nehor wrote:I prefer loving God and wanting to be closer to him.
Can you articulate presicely why you love God and want to be near him? Perhaps because you have imagined him as lovable? Or, do you think that omnicience and omnipotence just demands love? Is it a sense of duty or a sense of debt? That seems sort of subtly coersive.
I love God because he saved me from becoming what I was becoming.
Ghey?
And crawling on the planet's face Some insects called the human race Lost in time And lost in space...and meaning
The Nehor wrote:I prefer loving God and wanting to be closer to him.
Can you articulate presicely why you love God and want to be near him? Perhaps because you have imagined him as lovable? Or, do you think that omnicience and omnipotence just demands love? Is it a sense of duty or a sense of debt? That seems sort of subtly coersive.
I love God because he saved me from becoming what I was becoming.
Ghey?
More like you.....so I'm not sure if homosexuality is a part of the process.
"Surely he knows that DCP, The Nehor, Lamanite, and other key apologists..." -Scratch clarifying my status in apologetics "I admit it; I'm a petty, petty man." -Some Schmo
"you really need to get out of the King James version: I've been reading the old testament with a lot of interest lately and genesis and exodus is full of lying, cheating, killing, all by those who are the old testaments god's favorites. And what is the promise between the two - I give you land if you make sure your penis does'New Testament have skin on the tip. And the land that I give you you have to take and put everyone on that land to death by sword - no survivors."
Your reply completely misses the point of my post.
GlennThigpen wrote:As far a vengeful God and fearing him, there is nothing to be afraid of if one is obeying His word. However, God has seldom poured out his wrath on anyone without plenty of warning beforehand. Noah was preaching repentance for one hundred and twenty years before the flood. In vain. If you believe the Bible to be true, then you need to believe that this action was necessary. During the many times that Israel was under the domination of a foreign power, it was not God exacting vengeance. It was God removing his protection from Israel because of transgression, which included killing or imprisoning the prophets that were sent to warn Israel about the impending calamity. When Israel would not listen, the calamity would occur. However when Israel, or even a neighboring city heeded God,s warnings, they were spared. Remember Jonah and the city of Ninevah? The human psyche is very interesting. The further away in time a reward or punishment is, the less influence it has on the the behavior of a person or persons. You can see this typified in a childs responses. If you promise him/her a reward that he/she really wants next month as a reward for good behavior uo to that time, the child most often will lose sight of that reward as situations develop during the month, with bad behavior exhibiting itself on more than one occasion. The same goes for punishment. Defer it fo days or months and it ceases to be a deterrent to bad behavior. The same goes for adults, although hopefully less so. Hopefully most adults have matured a little as they aged also. And that is the beauty of the Gospel. The rewards are so far down the road as to be unreal and probably not much of an influence on any one person's behavior. The same goes for the punishment aspect. So what we really have for most people who fervently live their religion is that they do it because that is what they want to do. They do good works mostly because they want to. No one makes them.
Glenn
So, for me, which "prophet" should I listen to today? There are hundreds of men that claim to be prophets. Most of them speak contradictory words. I can't follow all of them. Does that mean if I am lucky and just happen to choose the correct prophet, that I will be spared, but if I should be persuaded by a false prophet (as even the very elect will do), God will show no mercy in His wrath?
If there's one thing I've learned from this board, it's that consensual sex with multiple partners is okay unless God commands it. - Abman
I find this place to be hostile toward all brands of stupidity. That's why I like it. - Some Schmo
The Nehor wrote:I prefer loving God and wanting to be closer to him.
Can you articulate presicely why you love God and want to be near him? Perhaps because you have imagined him as lovable? Or, do you think that omnicience and omnipotence just demands love? Is it a sense of duty or a sense of debt? That seems sort of subtly coersive.
I love God because he saved me from becoming what I was becoming.
Ghey?
More like you.....so I'm not sure if homosexuality is a part of the process.
Yah, I could see how success and personal satisfaction could be seen as something to avoid becoming.
And crawling on the planet's face Some insects called the human race Lost in time And lost in space...and meaning