Interesting. One would have thought that practitioners of christianity would have come to defend their deity like they usually do. Perhaps the question cut a little too close to the bone and made them uncomfortable.
All human beings at one time or another hate authority figures - be they parents, bosses, government & the deities in their religions. It is a human condition to feel confined by authority and to get annoyed or outright reject it.
2007-07-08 13:20:14
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answer #1
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answered by genaddt 7
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Why would you remain Christian if you hated your God?
"For one thing, you accuse people who don't believe in your deity of 'hating' him, when we simply don't believe in his existence."
Odd. *I* don't recall ever doing that.
"For another, if you believe in an all powerful being, then you have to hold him responsible for everything, like it or not."
Of course not. He has permitted free will. He is not responsible for the actions of free-willed beings. If you have a child, and that child grows up, gets married, catches his wife cheating on him, flips out and kills her, let me assure you - you are not responsible for that murder.
There's a great story told by T.H. White that goes something like this:
Long ago, two devout Jews (one a prophet) were traveling to a far city by foot. As the first night fell, rainy and cold, they arrived at a wealthy man's house. They asked for shelter, and he reluctantly gave them permission to spend the night in his dilapidated shed - the roof and part of one wall had collapsed. The next morning, hungry, cold and wet, the prophet graciously thanked the wealthy man and then, unknown to the wealthy man, paid a workman to repair the shed. The second Jew wondered at his kindness in return for such ill consideration. The prophet responded: "It was the will of God that I pay to have his shed repaired."
Their journey continued, and at the arrival of another cold and rainy evening they came upon a poor elderly couple's single-room hut. Their only possession of value was a cow, from which they got milk to accompany their daily meal of bread. The couple graciously invited them in, shared their supper and gave the travelers the warm spot by the fire to sleep in. The next morning, the cow died. When the second man commented on the poor luck of the couple, the prophet responded: "It was the will of God that the cow die."
The second man did not understand. "How could it be", he asked, "that God thought it right to pay for the repair of the wealthy man's shed in recompense for the ill treatment we received at his hand, and yet also He thought it right that the only valuable possession of the couple, who showed us such thoughtful kindness, should be taken away?"
The prophet replied, "Unknown to the wealthy man, there was a great treasure buried just beneath the collapsing wall. If it had not been repaired, he would have soon discovered it. As for the cow, it was that very night upon which the woman's death was supposed to occur, but because of the kindness she showed us, God showed mercy and took the cow instead.
Do not, therefore, ask "Why has God done such things." Rather, say, "If God has done this, then I know it must be right."
2007-07-08 20:30:17
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answer #2
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answered by JimPettis 5
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