God did WHAT?!
I've been accused of being disrespectful to God in some of my posts. I would like to correct my accuser on one specific point. My ire and contempt is directed not at God but at the caricature of God depicted by both Jehovahs Witnesses and the bible.
Personally I doubt the existence of God however I am only basing that on my own conclusions and I have no firm evidence either way. What I do dispute is the concept of an all-powerful, immortal being who embodies love, justice and mercy whilst displaying murderous jealousy, dishing out vindictive punishments, is openly homophobic and appears to be outrageously chauvinistic.
I have heard so many Witnesses argue that the bible does not have any contradictions yet the contradictions in Gods qualities alone are numerous. Let me illustrate:
1 Sam 15 -This is what Jehovah of armies says: ‘I will call to account the A·malʹek·ites for what they did to Israel when they opposed them along their way coming up from Egypt. Now go, and strike down the A·malʹek·ites and devote them to destruction along with all that they have. You must not spare them; you are to put them to death, man as well as woman, child as well as infant, bull as well as sheep, camel as well as donkey.
Taken from JW's 'Close to Jehovah' book - Why Jehovah Is “Ready to Forgive
What does Jehovah remember about our nature, and how does this affect the way he treats us?
Jehovah is aware of our limitations. .... He does not forget that we are creatures of dust, having frailties, or weaknesses, as a result of imperfection.... The Great Potter tempers his dealings with us according to the frailty of our sinful nature and the way we respond or fail to respond to his guidance.
According to the Watchtower organisation Jehovah God never changes. His justice, love and mercy are the same now as they were when he created Adam. So the question suddenly arises; why does he order the genocide of Amalekite men, women , children and babies as well as their animals? According to the JW's the 'Great Potter (GOD) tempers his dealings with us according to the frailty of our sinful nature..' He was obviously angry about what some of them had done to his chosen people in a past incident but how does the mass murder of innocents alongside the guilty demonstrate even the slightest mercy or love or even justice?
There are many, many similar examples in the bible of God displaying qualities that even the worst of us would find disturbing and at the same time JW’s publicise him as a loving father with only the best intentions for all of us.
My old dad used to say; It’s not what you say it’s what you do that defines you. Or the common saying today is; walk the walk don’t just talk the talk.
The loving, just and merciful God depicted by JW’s is incompatible with the spiteful, murderous God of the bible. However neither description seems logical for an all-powerful creator. Why would he murder innocents - of what benefit would it be too him for his hoards of angels to watch him order babies to be slaughtered?
And yet how does he show man love by allowing the suffering and pain that many experience everyday on our planet?
Maybe he is looking down at me writing this post and deciding how to make my death as painful as possible or maybe he doesn’t know and doesn’t care that I’m alive. Or, more likely, I’m taking time out to write about a character that doesn’t even exist.
Personally I doubt the existence of God however I am only basing that on my own conclusions and I have no firm evidence either way. What I do dispute is the concept of an all-powerful, immortal being who embodies love, justice and mercy whilst displaying murderous jealousy, dishing out vindictive punishments, is openly homophobic and appears to be outrageously chauvinistic.
I have heard so many Witnesses argue that the bible does not have any contradictions yet the contradictions in Gods qualities alone are numerous. Let me illustrate:
1 Sam 15 -This is what Jehovah of armies says: ‘I will call to account the A·malʹek·ites for what they did to Israel when they opposed them along their way coming up from Egypt. Now go, and strike down the A·malʹek·ites and devote them to destruction along with all that they have. You must not spare them; you are to put them to death, man as well as woman, child as well as infant, bull as well as sheep, camel as well as donkey.
Taken from JW's 'Close to Jehovah' book - Why Jehovah Is “Ready to Forgive
What does Jehovah remember about our nature, and how does this affect the way he treats us?
Jehovah is aware of our limitations. .... He does not forget that we are creatures of dust, having frailties, or weaknesses, as a result of imperfection.... The Great Potter tempers his dealings with us according to the frailty of our sinful nature and the way we respond or fail to respond to his guidance.
According to the Watchtower organisation Jehovah God never changes. His justice, love and mercy are the same now as they were when he created Adam. So the question suddenly arises; why does he order the genocide of Amalekite men, women , children and babies as well as their animals? According to the JW's the 'Great Potter (GOD) tempers his dealings with us according to the frailty of our sinful nature..' He was obviously angry about what some of them had done to his chosen people in a past incident but how does the mass murder of innocents alongside the guilty demonstrate even the slightest mercy or love or even justice?
There are many, many similar examples in the bible of God displaying qualities that even the worst of us would find disturbing and at the same time JW’s publicise him as a loving father with only the best intentions for all of us.
My old dad used to say; It’s not what you say it’s what you do that defines you. Or the common saying today is; walk the walk don’t just talk the talk.
The loving, just and merciful God depicted by JW’s is incompatible with the spiteful, murderous God of the bible. However neither description seems logical for an all-powerful creator. Why would he murder innocents - of what benefit would it be too him for his hoards of angels to watch him order babies to be slaughtered?
And yet how does he show man love by allowing the suffering and pain that many experience everyday on our planet?
Maybe he is looking down at me writing this post and deciding how to make my death as painful as possible or maybe he doesn’t know and doesn’t care that I’m alive. Or, more likely, I’m taking time out to write about a character that doesn’t even exist.
Jehovah is aware of our limitations. .... He does not forget that we are creatures of dust, having frailties, or weaknesses, as a result of imperfection.... The Great Potter tempers his dealings with us according to the frailty of our sinful nature and the way we respond or fail to respond to his guidance.
According to the Watchtower organisation Jehovah God never changes. His justice, love and mercy are the same now as they were when he created Adam. So the question suddenly arises; why does he order the genocide of Amalekite men, women , children and babies as well as their animals? According to the JW's the 'Great Potter (GOD) tempers his dealings with us according to the frailty of our sinful nature..' He was obviously angry about what some of them had done to his chosen people in a past incident but how does the mass murder of innocents alongside the guilty demonstrate even the slightest mercy or love or even justice?
There are many, many similar examples in the bible of God displaying qualities that even the worst of us would find disturbing and at the same time JW’s publicise him as a loving father with only the best intentions for all of us.
My old dad used to say; It’s not what you say it’s what you do that defines you. Or the common saying today is; walk the walk don’t just talk the talk.
The loving, just and merciful God depicted by JW’s is incompatible with the spiteful, murderous God of the bible. However neither description seems logical for an all-powerful creator. Why would he murder innocents - of what benefit would it be too him for his hoards of angels to watch him order babies to be slaughtered?
And yet how does he show man love by allowing the suffering and pain that many experience everyday on our planet?
Maybe he is looking down at me writing this post and deciding how to make my death as painful as possible or maybe he doesn’t know and doesn’t care that I’m alive. Or, more likely, I’m taking time out to write about a character that doesn’t even exist.
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