Tony\'s God (Introduction)

by Balance_Maintained , U.S.A., Saturday, November 19, 2011, 19:37 (4753 days ago) @ dhw

Just like predatory self-interest is a perverted reflection of what rational self-interest is, the world of man, our societies, our creations, are a perversion of what the original designer had in mind. Consider by way of pathectically over simplified analogy the man who engineerd the first car to be 'pimped out' with lift kits, hydraulics, low profile tires, a stereo so loud that it rattles the fittings. To the person who modified the car what they created is simply AWESOME. They love it. They think it is the best think since sliced bread. To people around them that have a idea of what the original intention and design of the vehicle was, it seems ludicrous and wasteful. The designer though... It would probably move the designer to tears to see this high performance machine that he has built mutilated. In his designs, be probably calculated weights, fuel efficiency, horse power, torque, gear ratios, optimal tire sizes; he probably new every last nut and bolt that went into it. Not only that, but the designer was probably also intimately familiar with the laws of physics that governed the operation of this vehicle. Friction, wind resistence, energy, motion, the way to convert one to the other. Where as the owner of the vehicle that modified it was not only unaware of these things, but did not care about them and had no respect for them or the subsequent impact on ancilliary things.

So, while you could argue that the 'pimped-out' automobile was the work of the designer, you would ultimately have to admit that a statement like that could only be said to be true until the new owner of the car decided to change the design to the way he saw fit. To take the analogy one step further, in this case, the designer offered the owner an apprenticeship. He told the guy that he would teach him everything he needed to know if the owner would take the time to learn. This is precisely what is described in Genesis. God designed the perfect system, with all the little bits and bobs, bells and whistles accounted for and finely tuned. Humans thought they could do better without bothering to learn, and set about trying to redesign it.

You pose a lot of different stories here, and you leave out a vast number of significant details. I am not attempting to be appologetic for any of these events, but I feel that the details should be presented in a more balanced light than what you have done.

In the case of Abraham, it was a test of worth. If God and his son were going to endure a lot of suffering for the sake of these people, they wanted to know the they were commited to doing whatever needed to be done. Note that he did in fact stop Abraham once Abraham and Issaac proved that they were willing to sacrifice in order to see it through.

In the case of Job, the story says that God had sheltered him his entire life, and thus Job had become a very wealthy and prosperous person. The insuation was thrown out that, basically, Job was a sycophant. Kissing butt for the sake of the rewards. God didn't punish job, he simply removed his protection in order to prove his loyalty. In a sense, you can almost say that God felt pity or guilt over the need to do this, as exemplified by the fact that he rewarded Job for his loyalty tenfold after the test was over. It is also interesting to note that even when he removed his protection, he didn't remove it completely. The trial of faith that Job was to undergo would not be allowed to take Job's life.

In the case of Pharaoh, the nation of Isreal had repeatedly turned away. Now, these people had a long standing contract with God. That contract started with Abraham, and was to be adhered to by all of his decendents until the birth of Christ, which was the fullfillment of the contract. In return, the provisions of the contract entitled Isreal to protection. They tried to renig on the contract, and God saw fit to remind them of why they shouldn't go back on their part of a deal. Now, if this same scenario had happened in the business world, and the G Company sued I Company publically, and then sent out a memo warning other businesses not to do business with I company because they refuse to fullfill their contracts, you would probably say that G Company did the right thing. But, in this case, it was actually much more subtle than that. In this case God KNEW that there was a famine coming that the Isrealites wouldn't be able to survive, and that the Isrealites were going to produce something in the future that was crucial to Gods plans. So God punished them by sending them into Egypt, and hardening Pharaoh's heart so that he wouldn't let them go. He did this, not to punish Israel, but to protect them from the famine. You can actually see the preparation for this when Joseph is sent into Egypt to prepare for the famine LONG before the Isrealites were taken into captivity. It was a masterful piece of maneuvering that protected Egypt and Isreal as well as serving as punishment for renigging on a contract.

So yes, from these events, you can say that you can infer some stuff about the mind of God, but certainly not that he did these things for his own pride.

I apologize about not including quotes, but the post was too long :P

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What is the purpose of living? How about, 'to reduce needless suffering. It seems to me to be a worthy purpose.