I had a realization several years ago that God was not "all things good and just", but rather "all things: good, bad, and indifferent". "God" is now admonished of his actions. I discussed my "realization" with a good friend of mine and he was quite appalled.
If there is a God-like entity or even a God-like creative force (as I believe), then the source of good/bad is the same, though the the path to each is different.
When I pray to God, believing that good will come of it. Keep in mind, however, that I also believe that a black cloud dwells over my head! So, I pray when I am afraid or wish for something that I cannot control, which sounds really bad.
I consider my wife's beliefs much stronger. She is an atheist, and believes that we are fully responsible for our destiny.
God helps those who help themselves, so I think atheists will always be in his favor. After all, praying to God, was never God's requirement.
I've become an agnostic. I believe in God but not man's fabricated religions. It comes down to the definition of God. Here's mine: everything that exists on all scales whether we know about it or not. In other words, the totality of creation, taken as a whole, is called God. That does not mean just the physical universe. Emotions and thought exist yet they are not physical but they exist in the totality of creation. It is humans who put the labels "good" or "bad" on things. God doesn't care, it just is. So when one prays to God, they are beseeching the totality of creation to come together in a way to assist them. Some pray for good things. Some pray for bad things. 9/11 kind of makes that point. There's no doubt that the totality of creation came together in a way that it happened. Some say it's bad and evil. Some were dancing in the streets eith joy. God is beneficent in that the totality of creation came together in such a way that we exist. God is also destructive to us but is that in some way beneficent to the universe? Don't know. I guess that depends on ones view of life. Some believe life to be good and promoted above all else. Some believe life to be bad and to be controlled or destroyed. And that control, IMO, is the basis of most religions. When you take the position that the totality of creation is God, it's somewhat difficult to deny the existence of God. How about running that by your wife Grumpy? I truly am interested in her response. Another answer I would like to hear is about her belief that we are fully responsible for our destiny. When one starts looking at the interplay between the geophysics of the earth and the moon and the sun and the universe at large it seems to be that we actually have very little to do with our destiny other than the next few minutes. Think of the recent ateroid explosion over Russia. I'm not being facetious and, I hope, not argumentative. I really am interested in her replies because I don't know anyone who is an atheist.
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Topic: 9/11 debate - enter at your own risk! (Read 973040 times)
