The Mind of God (The nature of a \'Creator\')

by Balance_Maintained , U.S.A., Wednesday, October 13, 2010, 06:00 (5154 days ago) @ dhw


> Agreed again. But I suspect the inhabitants of Pompeii would have found little consolation in the beauty of an erupting Vesuvius; the 2000 or so men, women and children killed by Hurricane Katrina would not have regarded the waves that engulfed them as "gorgeous"; and the 230,000 men, women and children killed in the 2004 tsunami would not have thanked God for creating such strange wondrous beauty. If you want to praise the UI's intrinsic sense of beauty, you cannot ignore his intrinsic sense of destructive ugliness. My point, as I tried to make clear in my original post, is that even if we accept the concept of a creator God, and whether or not he has a master plan, there is no sign that he cares about us as individuals. And if he doesn't, what is his relevance to us?-
Isn't it strange how nearly everything in nature gives warnings before it strikes, normally multiple warnings. Lightening creates a charged field that raises your hair if you were foolish enough to ignore the storm. Volcanoes rumble and smoke and have minor ejections. Earthquakes normally are preceded by temperature variations and minor tremors. Tsunamis are preceded by earthquakes, odd wave patterns, and the dead giveaway of a rapidly receding waterline. Tornado are preceded by heavy storm clouds with particular coloration and formations. Animals have quite clearly threatening body language or battle cries. It is not up to the UI to make people pay attention to the warning signs. Humans are notorious for not taking responsibility for their own lives. Or, more poignantly, they take responsibility for their successes, but not their failures. They have a tendency to blame everything bad in their life on the UI. -As for whether the UI cares personally, that is a hard question, and all I can offer is my perspective. When you raise a child, you teach them to look for the warning signs of danger, you teach them how to be a good person, strong, courageous, honest, all things that you consider virtues you try to instill in them, while hedging the things you consider non-virtuous. You also provide them with food, clothing, and shelter. That is the innate role of a parent. -The UI gave us earth, and (supposedly) provided us with scores of texts outlining the ways of being virtuous, which basically boil down to 'love your neighbor, love yourself, be honest in all things, do not be afraid to live or die, and do your best at anything you do'. But like any good parent, you have to take a hands off approach. Let your child stumble, fall, get scraped up and bruised, and dust themselves off. You hope that they will learn from your lessons, but failing that, you hope that they learn from their mistakes. Ultimately, you hope that they learn that it is all their choice. Their successes and failures; Their good and bad judgment. And while you may hope that they love you and care for you and respect you, all that matters at the end of the day is that they learn their own potential and find the peace that is available to every person.