What do Judeo-Christian folk make of these things?

Question

14. Church leaders have been responsible for some of the greatest horrors in human history and are capable of doing it again. Why would you EVER think they spoke for God?
Now consider the word omniscience -- this word means all-knowing and is regularly applied to "God." Omniscience involves seeing all of time, including the future at once. Now consider the number of people who have been murdered, either directly or indirectly, as a result of Christian ideas: hundreds of thousands and, more likely, millions. Now ask yourself what sort of god would introduce such documents as the Old and New Testaments, knowing full well all the torture and horror that would be committed in their name?

15. Why would somebody as kind and great as Jesus be associated with a return accompanied by horrors, pestilence and earthquakes?

16. The idea of Jesus taking care of everything for you eliminates personal responsibility, so why bother with ethics?

Answer 1

People can do great evil in the name of good. Always have been able to. How else do you think evil works?

Evil does not come cackling in the guise of Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars. Any imbecile can see that the bad guys in movies are, well, the bad guys.

But real evil isn't like that - it couldn't be! Real evil embraces the words of righteousness. It needs to in order to deceive. Real evil may even convince itself that it is righteousness - leaders who think that their calls to war are justified, or their means justifies their ends.

This does not mean that good is not good. Should Jesus have held back from saying, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God?" Why should good be silent, even in the face of evil? let me tell you something - Christianity cannot hold a candle to the life that atheism has taken - Pol Pot, Stalin, Chairman Mao! The blood shed by post-enlightenment outlooks of the twentieth century makes the crusades look like tea and crumpets.

As to the idea that Jesus is "associated" with earthquakes, etc. is just a glass half-empty way of looking at it. Who says he isn't in fact coming at the time he is to save people from these calamities? The idea that Revelation is a horror novel is an unfortunate misconception too many - even Christians - harbour. It isn't. The bad times described in Revelation are John's description of his own era! The future is something he is portraying as a wedding feast - the bridegroom taking his church, the bride, as his wife. This is not a Stephen King novel.

And as to the idea that Jesus negates the study of ethics: I'm sorry, but that's not compatible with the history of Christian thought. The great doctors of the church - Augustine, Aquinas, Thomas Moore, St. Therese de Lisieux - they spent as much time on ethics and exegesis as anyone has in history. Only a poor understanding of Christian history would lead one to believe that Christians do not examine ethical questions. I mean, really - how do you explain Civitas Dei otherwise?

Answer 2

Don't be so naive. Horrors in this world are done in many names, religion is just one of them. What you are really talking about is men drunk on power.

14. Men have been responsible for some of the greatest horrors in history: some were church leaders, many were not.

Anyone heard of Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Chairman Mao, The Aztecs, The Mayans, Kim li Sung, Idi Amin, Slobodan Milosevic, Nero?

Pick any dictator and/or any government with a lack of freedom (notice, they are all run by men).

I say we get rid of the men. My husband does not find humor in this.

Now, how about Gandhi, Dali Lama, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa among few who did wonderful things in the name of faith.

15. You must interpret the bible as you will. I don't associate him with any of these things. I have my own interpretations. Study what you read, don't just listen to what you are told.

16. Nothing is just taken care of for you. You still have free will. You must still be repentant and in order to be truly repentant you must have faith. If you have faith then you will try to be a decent human being.

For that matter, if you don't believe in God, then I guess you wouldn't bother with ethics? (if we go by your ideas) Ultimately there would be no personal responsibility since there is no one to answer to in the end.

Now, what are you doing about the atrocities today and the ones that may happen in the future?

Answer 3

i make of them that they are your opinions that have nothing to do with the Bible or its teachings.

1) it being committed in God's name does not mean that God had anything to do with it.

Hitlers so called christian idea to kill the Jews was not in the Bible.

2) the horrors, pestilence and earthquakes that you refer to - if you believe the Bible - is at a time when man controls and rules on the earth.

when Jesus comes back, all of that horror stops.

3) christians dont get to have any free ride without responsibilities.

its the worries and the cares of life that Jesus handles. the actual work and living by moral ethics is still ours to do.
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Answer 4

Looks to me like your washing the hands of man clean of all guilt as Pilate did when he sent Jesus Christ to the cross.

Jesus himself said in Matthew 7: 15- 23.

15Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

There are just reasons for war many times and God is soverign in all his ways. And his ways have been hurtful to both the believer and the unbeliever. But the believer has faith that all things work together for good to those that love God and are called according ot his purpose. The ungoodly or non beliver has no hope outside of himself or another man.

We bother with ethics because God is very concerned about right and wrong. But remember it is God's value of right and wrong Christians think about. Not man's values of what is right or wrong.

Answer 5

They consider those who stress the importance to do good works to be cursed......... so why do good ?



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Answer 6

Why do you use the word "Judeo" in your question?