Tony\'s God (Introduction)

by Balance_Maintained , U.S.A., Friday, November 25, 2011, 23:46 (4747 days ago) @ dhw

No worries, and I hope no offense taken. We can throw beer mugs or teacups at each other and shout obscenities and call each other unflattering names and it still would not change my respect for you or your opinions and insights one bit. :) As for me, I was having a bad day. I was over it after some sleep, and I bounce back quickly.

Tony

You cannot tell me that mankind, as a species, puts love first in all the things that they do. At least, you can not tell me that while being honest with yourself.[/i]”

DHW

Tony, I’ve never thought, let alone said any such thing. That is a misunderstanding brought about by my questioning God’s nature and my suggestion that he’s a mixture of all the attributes – good and bad – that he has poured into us, his image. The mixture is at the heart of all my arguments.

Tony
Didn't mean to imply that you had said/insinuated it, simply that I do not think there can be any argument with the statement if one is practicing any degree of intellectual honesty.

You’ve put in a nutshell precisely what’s wrong with the world, and precisely what could set it to rights. Where we differ is that I don’t need belief in God to see this fundamental truth. Nor do I see any solution through faith in a God whose existence and nature are so much in doubt. Evolution will run its course – whether he is there or not – and we as individuals can only do our best to base our actions on love. Many people do, and despite global suffering and future disasters, the present moment can be made happy, and it should be relished. You might argue that if we followed God’s teachings, all would be well, whereas I will argue that if we followed the principles of humanism all would be well. Perhaps that’s as close to each other as we can get. Pax?

Supposedly humans have had between 6000 and 4 million years to figure it out, depending on who you ask. Regardless of which set of numbers you agree with, I think that the evidence is in on whether or not we can do it for ourselves. The funny thing about belief to me is that every ascribes different things to faith. See, I don't need faith in God to enlighten me as to the relevance of love. My faith in God is simply that he is a god of love, and that he will do what is in the best interest of all in its own due course.

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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.