Does God Really Make You Good?

Lots of Christians don't refer to the Bible as "the word of God" or at least don't mean it literally. Progressive Protestant Christians like myself think of the Bible as the words of men seeking God. That's the view that's taught in most mainline Protestant seminaries.

I guess I'm a "very ignorant person" because I don't think there's any convincing evidence that "religion has caused MUCH more destruction, devastation, death/genocide/war, etc. than it has helped people."
I tend to agree with psychologist Steven Pinker that it's impossible to make that generalization, because "religion" hasn't had any single effect on anything. Religion is too diverse a phenomenon to generalsize about meaningfully, and to do a responsible cost/benefit analysis, you'd have to come up with a way of quantifying those benefits, which would not only include hospitals and religious charity works but the WTP (Willingness To Pay) of believers across the millenia since the dawn of time to retain their religious beliefs. God to me is the meaning of life. How much would I pay for that? All I got, man! What else is important?

 

As for your response about the bible NOT being the word of god.........we obviously grew up around a completely different breed of christian. I grew up southern baptist, which, in case you didn't know, mainly preaches that the bible IS the "word of god" and is to be followed to a T. You know...........the whole "fire and brimstone" style of preaching. Most of them probably didn't even know that the bible forbids planting different crops in the same field, or that the bible forbids christians from wearing clothing that was woven from different fabrics, or that the bible forbids women from braiding their hair or wearing jewelry or makeup, or that christian women are supposed to cover their heads when praying(the same way muslim women do), and most of them probably don't even realize that the bible forbids tattoos. The list of these goes on and on, and many(even most) christians don't even realize it.

Just more examples of christian hypocrisy. People pick and choose the parts of the bible they want to obey, which is pathetic. If you're gonna obey the bible, then you should obey ALL of the bible.

I have no problem with people following their hearts and finding the religion that feels right for them, but I want people to think for themselves, as opposed to believing EXACTLY what they've been taught/brainwashed to believe since they were old enough to understand words, because that's just fuckin pathetic.

For the record, I hate religion, but I don't hate the people who follow those religions(with a few exceptions, of course).

 

[media]http://youtu.be/YULcUgF6Lag[/media]

 

KNOWLEDGE!!!

[media]http://youtu.be/UOp02vH7AY0[/media]

 

Ah, ex-Southern Baptist. Say no more! Just about every atheist I know came from either a Southern Baptist, Church of Christ , Nazerene, Church of the Brethren or Catholic background. Religion can be a mind crippling disease--toxic faith syndrome. There's an ex-southern Baptist in my Bible study class whose mind is toatally blown by our study materials telling us, for example, that the Pentateuch wasn't written by Moses, but was probablly the work of at least three groups of scribes with different agendas; that Paul never met Jesus in the flesh, but only knew him through a vision; that Matthew, Mark, Luke & John were just names assigned arbitrarily to anonymous works of people who were not eyewitnesses; that Mark was written first and used by Matthew and Luke, etc. I guess they don't tell such things to folks in Southern Baptist churches.

But I disagree with you about the all or nothing, no picking and choosing approach. "Picking and choosing" is what life's all about. Grey is the predominant color of our universe, and the only tool we have for making sense of it is our judgment, informed as best we can by experience, readings, reason, and the available evidence. Jesus told us that the whole Old Testament could be summed up in the commandments Love of God, and Love of Neighbor. That's what I go by. As for the excited young man on your video post #203, he should get out more. God hasn't given anyone permission not to listen!

 

here is what is simple. beliefs, ideologies, and a lot of other things, aggressiveness, greed and so on, they turn everything around, that is really just what they do, and make excuses for doing so.

there is one thing:

if you do not avoid causing harm, there is no morality.

the idea that you make yourself good by identifying with some belief, or anything else,
is like you can call yourself a bowl of cerial,
but you will still look damd funny, sitting on the kitchen table with milk on your head.

 

If god made you why would he make you again, better?
God doesn't make you better but the search for god is a search for one's own good. The search for career and fortune is also the search for ones good. Many who have searched for their good in the acquisition of things including things like physical comfort have discovered good after all to be an abstraction and for myself anyway the search for god was last resort.

in the kingdom of heaven the first shall be last and the last first

or

do not worry for what you will wear of eat for your father knows you need these things rather seek first the kingdom of god and all things shall be added unto you

This means the secret of your own happiness lies within your own state of mind. The mind is naturally abstract. A life of peace falls like soft rain from a mind at peace and a mind at peace reflects a heart satisfied. God's altar to coin a phrase is the natively devoted heart of man and in this sense he is found in our truly soulful desire that we should have all good all the time, not to be confused with things that momentarily attract us. Due to conditioning we are confused about what we want as in what do you want to be when you grow up, so to discover what that is requires self reflection, praying to god in secret who knows you in secret. The search for god is personal discovery. What you might discover in this process is beyond the scope of this thread but on that there is more to be said...

 

Even the most fanatical southern baptists in America don't stone teenage girls to death for loosing their virginity. Although if they believe the bible is the literal word of God then that is what they should do. Why not? Because people are generally good DESPITE their religion. They can even be so utterly clueless as to attribute all their good deeds to their religion. When that religion really had nothing to do with their goodness and caring for their family and empathy for the community. Goodness does not need to be taught, it is intrinsic to any caring intelligent, child rearing species. Only sociopaths with dysfunctional brains lack caring, compassion and empathy.

So why then does religion masquerade as a moral authority over intrinsic caring? It's the nature of religion and its true purpose as a coping mechanism. An intelligent caring species finds itself on a cruel brutal planet where survival of the fittest is the only law. Religion is all about justifying the unjustifiable, killing goes against our true morals of caring but killing is a necessity for survival. Religion is a tool man developed to reconcile these internal conflicts. It is no coincidence that harsher environments breeds harsher religions.

Survival for primitive sand people could sometimes mean sacrifice of loved ones, so the strongest have the resources to make it through the drought or whatever hardship it may be. An unexpected pregnancy could be a disaster. It's a sad fact of life that in extreme hardships and poverty that women can be a heavy burden. This is the kind of environment where religion develops justification for stoning pregnant women to death. This is the kind of environment where Judaism was born. These are not moralities, these are exceptions to moralities. Religion is intrinsically immoral.

 

What is intrinsically moral?

 

Post 208, first paragraph, last two sentences.

 

" Goodness does not need to be taught, it is intrinsic to any caring intelligent, child rearing species. Only sociopaths with dysfunctional brains lack caring, compassion and empathy. "

Is shitting on the floor good? Potty training helps civilization be healthy. It is true that most have some level of empathy and this is reflected in level of identification. Our protections extend naturally to those things we call ours or our own because self interest is the overarching morality. It is easy to protect those things you love but you can be equally barbaric to those you might call stranger or worse interloper. Where is your empathy for example when it comes to the religious?

 

Is a child shitting on the floor really an immoral act?
Did you need RELIGION to figure out shitting on the floor was counter productive?
Nonsense! Baby shit is not even remotely close to the type of internal conflicts that religion was invented to handle.

Of course Christianity isn't really about the 10 commandments, it's REALLY about forgiving yourself for breaking the commandments. Justifying your sins, that's self interest, because morality is not always compatible with surviving and prospering. Contriving loopholes to forgive your sins and sleep at night does not magically nullify those immoral actions.

Where's my empathy?
I'm here because I care.

 

^LOL!
yeah, you are here because you care about where is yours at? lmao!

 

LOL,
Where is mine at? WTF?

Yeah, I happen to fucking care about the future of our species.

Humanity can only go so far relying on old ignorant coping mechanisms from primitive sand people.

 

Well, there are two ways and intrinsically two ways God can make you good. He makes you good in the flesh or good in the spirit; that is, if you receive Him in this acceptance. His wishes and promises are foremost and not your 'own' to the space and time of the human context about Being. One is as of Him in the midst.

Thus to be Good further at It, with and through being self-conscious of Doing and Having He also becomes the one you can trust to be at Judgemen. THat is the judgement there prior to the recognition. One recognizes a subjectively stronger judgement by the Soul with others from within. What I mean is that the subjective judgement overcomes duality thanks to God.

 

God makes me bored.