As George Carlin once said: "God set down 10 rules for you to follow, but if you don't you'll burn...

Question

in everlasting damnation until eternity. But He loves you." Is Mr.Carlin right about God?

Answer 1

That pretty much sums it up.

Answer 2

I think it's irrelevant if someone said that or not. It's like saying "Do you guys think the KKK kills dogs for fun?". I mean really, does it matter if they kill dogs for fun or not? Sure, as an animal lover that would really piss me off, but it's not like as if it excuses them if they don't do that. They still try to hang colored people from trees so what does it matter if they do other bad things? So yes, the Atheist was wrong for saying that about witches, but it's not relevant, because as you said, the OT still preaches to kill non believers and gays and stone them to death and things like this. So this question should not be focused on whether it says to burn witches or not, it should be focused on whether the OT is relevant to the Bible and Christian beliefs or not. That is the real question here that is relevant. And yes, the OT is relevant because Jesus said you should follow it and said that he had come to fulfill the laws in the OT (Matthew 5:17 - New Testament). Of those laws, is the law to stone homosexuals and non believers. So the things that are written in the Old Testament are very relevant to anybody who is following the New Testament. As far as where we get our morals from, that is anybody's guess and nobody knows for certain. But what we do know is that morality was written about and created long before the Bible and even the Old Testament. Study some Socrates or Plato for example. They say Socrates was the father of morality, though it's almost certain he didn't create it. But he did preach extensively about it and tried to set an example in his own life, and he came along way before Christianity or the OT. So that's proof in itself that morality did not come from the Bible, so the Atheist is wrong (even though he was being sarcastic) and if you thought that then you are wrong too.

Answer 3

Mr. Carlin is wrong about God.
God doesn't burn anybody.
Jeremiah 32:35 talks about God's reaction when His rebellious people started offering their children in sacrifice.
It says:
"They built the high places of Ba′al, in order to make their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, a thing that I did not command, neither did it come up into my heart to do this detestable thing."
Please note:
God never commanded it.
It never came to His mind to ask it.
He finds it detestable.

Answer 4

Completely.

Answer 5

He played Cardinal Glick in Dogma, so he has to be religious, right? Always trust the Catholic priest (especially if he isn't really one).

Answer 6

Yep. That sums up the Christian/Jewish god pretty well.

Answer 7

yes

Answer 8

Salvation: Is Obedience to God Necessary?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead....You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
James 2:17,24


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some Christians claim that we need only to believe or trust in Christ in order to be saved, i.e. made fit for heaven. They claim that obedience to God's commandments is good but not necessary for our salvation. Our sin, i.e. disobedience to God, does not affect our salvation. As Luther wrote to Melanchthon: "Sin greatly, but believe more greatly." Even though Luther was exaggerating, it is the belief of some Christians today.

To support this claim they may quote the words of St. John the Baptist as found in the King James (KJV) Bible:

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. [John 3:36; KJV]

No connection between salvation and obedience is made. It appears to be a good support for their claim, until other accurate translations of the Bible are consulted. According to the Revised Standard Version (RSV) and the New American Standard (NASB) Bible:

He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. [John 3:36; NASB]

This rendition of St. John's sacred words sheds a different light on the issue of salvation. In another Bible verse, it is written:

And having been made perfect, He (Jesus) became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,... [Hebrews 5:9; NASB]

In this verse, no explicit connection between salvation and belief is made but only between salvation and obedience.

Now other Christians may quote St. Paul:

... that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved... [Romans 10:9; NASB]

According to this verse, they claim that by calling upon the Lord with sincere trust in His resurrection we will be saved. Fortunately, there is much truth to this viewpoint; however, it must be properly tempered with our Lord's own words:

Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. [Matt. 7:21; Also see 1 Thess. 4:3-8]

If we truly and sincerely trust that Jesus is Lord, then we would surely obey God.

Still other Christians may quote Jesus, Himself:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. [John 5:24; KJV]

However only five verses later, Jesus also says according to the KJV Bible:

And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. [John 5:29; KJV]

These two verses present two different aspects of salvation which neither should be ignored. To better grasp Christ's teaching on salvation, we must read more than John 5:24!

Many times St. Paul in his Epistles teaches that we are justified (i.e. reconciled with God and thus made fit for heaven) by faith (Rom 3:28...); however, he also writes about the "obedience of faith" [Rom 1:5; 16:26] and "faith working through love" [Gal 5:6]. St. Paul's concept of faith not only includes belief and trust but also obedience to God. This is the reason that he can write, without contradiction, to the Philippians: "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." [Phil 2:12] Finally St. James in the Bible actually writes that faith without good works is dead (James 2:17,24; see front panel of this tract).

In the Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul elegantly summarizes his teaching on salvation:

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 6:23; NASB]

Likewise the Council of Quiersy in 853 A.D. proclaimed:

The fact that some are saved is the gift of Him who saves; the fact that some are lost, is the merit of those who are lost. [Quoted from: W.G. Most, Catholic Apologetics Today (TAN, 1986) p. 114]

It must be rightfully understood that salvation -eternal life in Christ Jesus - is a free gift of God. However, the wages of sin is still damnation - spiritual death - since sin is opposed to God, the Source of life. Even though heaven is a gift, we can still earn hell.

Expressed in slightly different terms, salvation is a free gift that can be rejected or lost through our sins. Since salvation is a free gift, we cannot earn it through obedience, prayer, good works, love or even faith. However, like any gift, we have the free will to reject it. We can reject this gift through serious sin - willful disobedience to God. (2 Thess 1:8-9; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21; 2 Cor 5:10) As it is written in the New Testament:

For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgement,... [Hebrews 10:26-27; NASB]

These are sobering words! As a closing thought, my civil liberty is a gift earned by my forefathers. However, by committing a serious crime, I may lose it and earn jail.

As faithful baptized Christians, we can confidently hope in the redemption wrought by Jesus Christ, as long as we do not reject it through mortal (deadly) sin (1 John 5:16-17; Mark 16:16; 1 Peter 3:21; 2 Peter 2:20-22). As a result of Christ's redemptive act, God gives each of us enough grace to have faith, to do good works and to resist sinful disobedience; however, we can still willfully reject this grace (1 Cor 10:12-13; 2 Cor 12:9; Eph 2:8-10). Fortunately for Catholic Christians, we have the gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) in which we can repent, confess and ask God for forgiveness and more grace, if we have fallen into sin (John 20:23; 2 Cor 5:18-21; Num 5:7; Lev 5:5; Acts 19:18; James 5:16). Jesus calls us to forgive one another without limit (Matt 18:21-22), but also promises to forgive us as we forgive others (Matt 6:12; Luke 11:4). Our Lord is a just but merciful God (Isa 45:21; Jer 3:12). As Christians, we must quit rejecting God through our sins and let Him save us by His grace until we finally reach heaven.