If God gave us free will, then why didn't we choose to be born or die? Also on that note, is it possible that "free will" is only virtual free will, seeing that our choices are truly limited in life. And if we had free will, then that pretty much cancels out God's will, which is the overall will to be carried out, no? And why is God such a psychopath in the Old Testament, killing everyone all the time. Could it be possible that the "mark of Cain" white Christians give for the reason people have dark skin be attributed entirely to living in environements that require, darker, thicker skin? Did Samson really kill 30,000 Philistines with only the jawbone of an ***? Is it possible human life was influenced by an extra-terrestrial presence (El Astronauto in Chile, the pyramids; Egyptian, Cambodian, and Aztec, Easter Island, the Legend of Quezzoqawatl, etc.)? Was Jesus maybe just a jew who saw and understood all the corruption present in the church during that time;a rebel in thought?
2006-08-22 08:05:42 · 10 answers · asked by spanky 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Dear Idiot,
You clearly do not understand what free-will means. It does not mean "the choice to do anything imaginable". It does mean "the ability to freely choose between two or more options presented to you".
Sincerely,
The Committee for An Intelligent Planet
2006-08-22 08:13:59 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
These all excellent questions!
On the free-will/determinism question, I would suggest that this question is not an either/or -- black and white question. We have some free will, but many things are not choices for us to make. So we live somewhere between the two opposites.
Regarding God as a psychopath in the Old Testament, there are several points I would make:
1. Yes, there are a number of disturbing passages--no question about that!
2. There are other passages that protray God with tender, maternal feminine characterisics as well.
3. In the ancient world, the gods were violent, capricious beings who saw humans as slaves and of little value. The OT represents a departure from this view of the divine. Yes, the OT is violent, but compared with religious writings of other cultures, the OT prsents a kinder gentler God who cares about human beings. Read the Bablyonian Enuma Elish and compare it with the Genesis creation story and you will have an idea of how blood-thirsty ancient near eastern gods were. Yahweh represents a radical shift and is more humane in comparison, believe it or not!
Mark of Cain--the word for mark is the same as the word for the Hebrew letter tav (comparable to our letter "t") --it was a cross-shaped or sometimes written as an "x" shape --and was hence the fore-runner of the Christian cross and the the use of the X (chi) as an abbreviation for "Christ.
The death toll from Samson's use of the jawbone as a weapon is 1,000. See Judges 16 in the OT. Samson is an interesting character and I think you might enjoy the article Wikipedia has --it draws some interesting paraplles to mythology, so I think this is a story that has many levels and one that you might not want to take completely literally.
There are many interesting possibilities about the universe. I think the Bible tells only a small bit, leaving much open for discovery. Who knows the answers to these questions? I think it is wonderful to study all these things and to wonder how it all fits together!
Yes, Jesus was a Jew and he was very anti-establishemnt. As there was no "church" yet, we cannot say he was opposing corruption there, but I think he opposed injustice on all grounds, as much of the Old TEstament is in fact about social justice and liberation for the pooor and oppressed. I do know a number of Christians who are themselves uncomfortable with accepting the divinity of Jesus, yet feel strongly about his teachings.
2006-08-22 17:28:40 · answer #2 · answered by Ponderingwisdom 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You don't have free will.
The god of the Old Testament was a jerk.
The mark of Cain refers to an actual physical mark like a tatoo that was common for masters to mark slaves with at the time that story was written.
Samson is a mythical character.
There are ordinary explanations for pyramids etc. Aliens are an unnecessary complication.
If there is a historical figure behind the legendary Jesus of the Bible, we know absolutely nothing about him.
2006-08-22 15:18:23 · answer #3 · answered by lenny 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Free will is more referring to having the freedom to choose god and to be saved. The old testament is supposed to show us that god was a vengeful and angry god but learned compassion from his son. I think he kills more around 1000 Philistines with a jawbone. The universe is way to big to completely ignore the possibility of extra-terrestrials but I think theres a very slim chance of it. Jesus was a rebel its very possible thats all he was but I guess some of us wont know for sure until we die.
2006-08-22 15:22:32 · answer #4 · answered by Wrapped in Thorns 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You Do have Free Will
Hey Look you just Choose by "Free Will" to ask your question
Why do people have Different Skin Types
Umm lets see it's called the Tower of Babel........
This is where all the different types of people come from.
2006-08-22 15:12:08 · answer #5 · answered by snuggels102 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Okay how do you know we did not choose to be born or to die. Besides your asking hypothetical questions if you really must know you need to start reading the bible and find your answers are.
2006-08-22 15:14:36 · answer #6 · answered by spicy girl 1 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Did you take the blue pill or the red pill to get out of The Matrix?
2006-08-22 15:19:15 · answer #7 · answered by guerritajr 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Who cares.
All you bring up is the nitty gritty details.
The dam* book survived for how long. And even you are posting questions about it. You just can't stop talking about it. What does that tell you?
2006-08-22 15:12:37 · answer #8 · answered by Baby #3 due 10/13/09 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Who cares.
2006-08-22 15:14:03 · answer #9 · answered by Tomekk 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
well i dont know about u dude but i got free will...I can go and have sex wid hott girls and its my own choice and the fact that i get to choose that even though is consider a sin and i still get to do it anyways...so i dont know wat ur talkin about really...well dat can b becuz I didnt really read wat u said but oh well who cares
2006-08-22 15:16:57 · answer #10 · answered by Matthew 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋