Good Karma: The invention of the ruling class

a reply to: sacgamer25

What if God didn't create darkness. And that it is the absence of a thing--> no-thing

I have a hard time accepting Isa 45:7 in light of (pun intended) the revelation of Jesus as the exact representation of the Father (Hebrews 1:3, Col 1:15)

John 14:7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.".

This is a new understanding for me, I used to cite Isa 45:7 as God creating evil (the literal translation of the word 'Ra' is evil in Isa 45:7)

James 1
13Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. 16Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. 18In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

Do not be deceived, James says, in believing the Father of Lights has darkness in Him.

For me the view of who God is throughout the OT, and the NT for that matter is one of progressive revelation. There is a constant mid rash going on about the nature of God.

Look at the following 2 recountings of the same scene:

2 Sam 24:1 Now again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, "Go, number Israel and Judah."

1 Chron 21:1 Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.

One accounting has God inciting david, and the other has satan doing it. Which one is it?

How about Sacrifice? The books of Exodus-Deuteronomy have many commandments concerning sacrifice. I'm not going to even post a specific verse. But how about this?

Jer 7:22 "For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Heb 10:8 After saying above, "SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE in them" (which are offered according to the Law),

Or we have this

Deut 19:21 "Thus you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Matt 5:38-- 38“You have heard that it was said, ‘AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.’ 39“But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40“If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. 41“Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42“Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

43“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ 44“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47“If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

So that you may be sons of your Father, aka to be like your Father you do not return evil with evil, but with good. You do not smite, but send rain/gladness/joy on all.

John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

John 6:46 "Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.

1 John 4:12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.

a reply to: zardust

Everything that is, was created.

Do the desire of the flesh oppose the desires of the Spirit? Yes. Who created both?

God most certainly created both the spirit that leads man to him, and the flesh that stands opposed. It is this freewill to choose and the pain learned through opposition that is supposed to lead a man to repentance, virtue and love through the Holy Spirit.

EVERYTHING good and evil was created by God. God does no evil and himself cannot be tempted. These statements do not contradict.

Become part of the ruling class and you won't find any difficulty keeping the others busy.