In A.A., do you anti/non Christians feel it necessary to express your intolerance and disdain for a certain sect of religion... although it just so happens to be anothers conception of God?
It's my preference to keep my concept of God generic out of respect of differing veiwpoints but should I shit a biscuit if someone evolks the name of their unique God or non-God because it should offend me?
I think not.
Not on the topic but a few of my latest thoughts about God:
ReplyDeletea. God is "perfect", but
b. God cannot create "perfection", since that would amount to God creating God; therefore
c. all God's creation must be "imperfect" including mankind, whose works must be even more "imperfect" than man is.
It is helpful for me to keep this in mind as I go about my daily living.
Peace, McGow!
Peace to you too R!
ReplyDeleteNow if I screw up, I can just say "The devil made me do it." But then what would be God's excuse?
Oh, and your little thoughts are going to destroy the paradigm of those who utter, "GOD DON'T MAKE JUNK!"
Re: "God's excuse" - "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do".
ReplyDeleteRe: "GOD DON'T MAKE JUNK" - please have those people explain the worth of mosquitoes, black flies, and cockroaches. After that, I'll have some really hard questions for them to answer with their bumper sticker philosophy mentalities!
I believe that when God created the universe He established certain laws (for want of a better word) by which the universe is run.
ReplyDeleteWhen He created mankind we were given free will, and that free will defines us as human beings. Man has free will, the rest of the animal kingdom has instinct. This free will, and it's exercise thereof, is what makes us imperfect. We aren't God's puppets; we make mistakes and can be good or evil.
I think God watches us and sometimes laughs, sometimes weeps. But if He interferes in our exercise of free will, then He removes it and thus we are no longer humans.
We are evolving as humans. The bible says God created us on the 6th day, but perhaps it's still the afternoon of that day and He's not finished with us yet.
He also made certain laws regarding the operation of the universe itself. Gravity, the speed of light, etc. come to mind here. These cannot be changed either or they lose the nature of their existence.
That's not to say that God can't wipe this all out with the blink of an eye, but I don't think that's what He has in mind for us.
So I just plod along, trying to do the best I can. And I know that God created black files and cockroaches to give some people the opportunity to earn a living as exterminators.
Humans have instincts, too; procreation and preservation are but two of many.
ReplyDeleteAnimals have "free" will as well as instinct; cats that neglect their kittens appear to violate instinct, and dogs that serve as seeing-eye dogs illustrate instinct subdued by training.
Humans evolving? I'm not so sure of that, but we do have the benefits of 2000 years of Christian teachings. I like the thinking behind us being in "the afternoon of the 6th day", but cannot jibe that with God resting on the following (seventh) day - please elaborate!
I think there's a distinction between free will, instinct, and intelligence. Free will is the ability to determine right from wrong, good from evil, and the choice to determine between those options.
ReplyDeleteI agree that man does indeed possess instinct (as well as intelligence). Animals, however, possess only intelligence (in varying degrees) and instinct. You can house break a dog and modify its behavior. But in doing so you only train him to do what you want him to do. He then knows "right" from "wrong" (bad dog!) But good from evil? I don't think so.
As to evolution, we all have varying beliefs on that issue. I'm a Theistic evolution guy, myself. So I believe that mankind has been evolving for well more than 2000 years. The theological implications of this are best left to discussions with theologians, and I'm not one. I'm just an alcoholic working the program of AA to stay sober.
The idea of "the afternoon of the 6th day" comes from a book titled "When bad Things Happen to Good People". It has a better explanation of this concept than I could give here.