Is God just a complete jerk?

This is something that has bothered me since childhood. Let's use the Judeo-Christian god for this.

God is omnicient, correct?

God says anyone who doesn't follow him is going to hell, correct?

The majority of the world does not believe in this god, correct?

So most of the world is going to burn in agonizing pain for eternity, correct?

If God knew that most everyone will burn for eternity, why bother creating their souls in the first place? Does he not care? Does he enjoy it? I personally don't believe in this god, and thus I'm supposed to burn. If my soul was destined to burn, then why put me here?


(disclaimer: Since I don't believe in this god, I know that he can't be a jerk. After all, no adjective can accurately describe nothing)

well if God is the Judeo/Christian god, then I would think he/she is cynical, manipulative and probably just very wierd and has bizarre sense of humor.

Making bushes burn and talk is just one example of that god's quirk.

That god is also a little bit of flip flopper, one minute he wants you to turn the other cheek and in the next instance, stone them or wage war

but really I don't think God is a jerk, just a very complex entity who probably gets his kicks watching us trying to figure him out.

as for my personal beliefs, I think all the religions are wrong to the most part, and God is not judging, controlling or influencing us, nor is he/she a promoter or supporter of religions..

I have to say in the old testament He was pretty harsh

Example:
Killing the first born in Egypt

But then he mellowed out a little in the second testament

Maybe it has something to do with Jesus arriving

Ok...........I will give this more thought
:bnghd:

See, here's the deal- You say you're using the "Judeo-Christian God", but then you set up a straw man to ascribe to God things which are not scripturally supported. Now this can get long and tedious, and I don't want to get into a scripture posting flame war, but I'll just say again, no one's going to hell.

Of the four statements in your original post, #'s 2 & 4 are not only incorrect and unsupported by scripture (not talking "doctrine" thats a whole other issue), they're blasphemous. (And the word is "omniscient").

But Merry Christmas, anyway. I know you mean well. And if I do, surely He does.

Okay, so what happens to those who disobey god's commandments (thau shalt not worship any god but me)? Does he send them to a seperate part of heaven?

Nope. We all ultimately end up in the same place. But we're not all going to get there the same way. For some, it will be a more rigorous experience than it will be for others. (HINT: The Lake of Fire isn't what it's commonly portrayed to be by those thumpers with their own agenda). But when it's all said and done, it will be fair and it will make sense. Now there's no way I can convince anyone of that. And there isn't sufficient space in a post (or 12) for me to include all the supporting evidence I have for that (and no one would read it anyway).

Here's the short course, boiling down the whole enchilada-

1. God wills that ALL mankind be saved.
2. Thy will be done.
3. God is love.
4. Love never fails.

And there you have it condensed down in four simple lines. Everything else is details and dogma. Which of course, you're free to explore.
Or not.

This is something I have often pondered myself.

I mean, I thought God was perfect? I certainly wouldn't consider someone so jealous and angry perfect.

I do believe in God, however I myself believe in a God that is loving, forgiving and gentle...kind of like how a real father should be.

well to me God is like a kid with an ant farm. and i dont really care where i end up one place is as good as any other as far as i am concerned.

@ Yeahright


I must say that what you are saying is what comes the closest to what I believe when it comes to God.. I am very much a universalist and your "theory," Yeahright, pretty much fits my ideology well.

For me, it took a very long time of reading, studying, contemplating, to get there. And not just the Bible, but a number of philosophers, thinkers, scientists, and religious commentators. Talk about disinformation, I'm not sure anything anywhere in history has been subject to as much disinformation as the core message of the bible. And it continues unabated to this day.

To my advantage, I didn't have any particular religious indoctrination growing up, so there wasn't much I had to "unlearn". I started off on my quest nearly tabula rasa on this topic, after college. And that was a good many years ago. And what set me off was the very argument that any God who would condemn a relative innocent to eternal damnation is a deranged sadist. Well guess what? That's NOT what happens, but you won't hear that from the pulpits of most mainstream Christian denominations.

Churches have traditionally been, and still are, political instruments and vehicles for control. Not that they don't do some good work. Mussolini had the trains run on time, too. So what?

But the only people who will see the truth are the ones who look for it themselves. You can be told what it is, but you won't truly understand it unless and until you seek it out for yourself.

For me there was an "aHA!" moment where it all made sense, and I've been at peace with it ever since. I'd hope the same happens for everyone, but realistically, it's not going to. The good (and maybe the best) news is, in the end it really won't matter, much.

Yeahright, it has taken much study for me as well.. Oh, roughly 17-18 years.. While I do believe that we are accountable for what we do, I don't think that it is in the manner that most claim it is..

Yes, accountability. Without question. But eternal hellfire torture damnation? Nope. That's absurd.

I believe hell is very real.

I think that God is so good, that hell is a better than destroying His own creation. Also, we send ourselves to hell, He doesn't put us there. He has already sent us our salvation in Jesus; we must accept or reject this salvation.

I also believe that He will save many who don't know they are going to be saved (including some who do not come to know Jesus). And, many who think they are saved will be very surprised upon Judgement.

Right, but the point of this thread is that God the omniscient knew exactly which souls were going to hell, and created them anyway, just to go there. Even if he doesn't send us to hell, he knows that is our ultimate fate. He knows exactly who will accept Jesus, and who will not.

Originally posted by Rasobasi420
Right, but the point of this thread is that God the omniscient knew exactly which souls were going to hell, and created them anyway, just to go there. Even if he doesn't send us to hell, he knows that is our ultimate fate. He knows exactly who will accept Jesus, and who will not.

Rasobasi, you are operating under th presumption that there is a "hell." So, anything that I or yeahright may say to you is rather irrelevant,I guess.

So let me get this right... You don't know how to read, so you just decided to make the characters in the book do what you want?... You cannot retain what you read? ... I know its a big book.. but try not to move onto the next page without understanding the page your on..

Do NOT allocate, or compartmentalize 'GOD' ... unless you say its everywhere, or no-where.. don't say its only over here, or only over there..
Hell? ... Thats just symbolism for darkness.. or something concealed..

hell Look up hell at Dictionary.com
O.E. hel, helle "nether world, abode of the dead, infernal regions," from P.Gmc. *khaljo (cf. O.Fris. helle, O.N. hel, Ger. Hölle, Goth. halja "hell") "the underworld," lit. "concealed place," from PIE *kel- "to cover, conceal, save" (see cell). The Eng. word may be in part from O.N. Hel (from P.Gmc. *khalija "one who covers up or hides something"), in Norse mythology Loki's daughter, who rules over the evil dead in Niflheim, the lowest of all worlds (nifl "mist"), a death aspect of the three-fold goddess. Transfer of a pagan concept and word to a Christian idiom, used in the K.J.V. for O.T. Heb. Sheol, N.T. Gk. Hades, Gehenna. Used figuratively for "any bad experience" since at least 1374. As an expression of disgust, etc., first recorded 1678. Hell-bent is from 1835. Hell-raiser is from 1914 (to raise hell is from 1896); hellacious is 1930s college slang. Expression Hell in a handbasket is c.1941, perhaps a revision of earlier heaven in a handbasket (c.1913), with a sense of "easy passage" to whichever destination. Expression hell of a _____ is attested from 1776. Hell or high water is apparently a variation of between the devil and the deep blue sea. To wish someone would go to hell is in Shakespeare (1596). Snowball's chance in hell "no chance" is from 1931; till hell freezes over "never" is from 1919. To ride hell for leather is from 1889, originally with reference to riding on horseback. Hell on wheels is from 1843.

I don't even know why I try.. people are going to believe in their fairy tales anyhow..

There are two theories which might offer an explanation:

1) Souls perpetually reproduce themselves to inhabit the bodies created through biological reproduction. So, God only created the souls for Adam and Eve and left the rest to us--He isn't creating millions of souls only to damn them to hell...they are creating themselves.

2) Because of free will, there is an endless number of possibilities and courses our lives will take. God knows all the possibilities but allows us that freedom and respects our "privacy." He knows all that could happen, but "keeps His nose" out of the final outcome.

Originally posted by PuRe EnErGy

I don't even know why I try.. people are going to believe in their fairy tales anyhow..

It's all fairytales darling

Anyway, I've thought about this whole idea of a sadistic God for a while. I've decided to believe that a being which is both omniscient and omnipotent probably is neither sadistic nor altruistic. Furthermore, all roads lead to Heaven. Hell and Purgatory, in my opinion, is just the long, dark route...you know; time to repent for your 'sins'.

Then again, I don't believe in a god, much less the Christian god.

[edit on 16-12-2006 by iceofspades]

Well, I've been to hell. And the only thing you have to do to get out is stop trying to figure it out and give the whole enchilada to God.

I know that sounds flip, but simple isn't always easy.

As for this patriarchal sky-God that dooms all of humanity to the legalese of property rights -
Well, people are just complete jerks.

Hello Good Friends,

The thread topic is an interesting thing to consider. I, too, have puzzled over the seeming emotional recklessness that has been portrayed as the God persona. What I, personally, have come to understand through patient reflection is that God is beyond comprehension and any attempt to describe his phenomena through our frail intellectual capacities usually ends in confusion and frustration. For this reason God chose two methods for ideological transference.

1) The Law [Moses]

and

2) Spiritual Revelation [Christ]

The Law was designed to excise all those things; thinking that prevented or were obstacles to direct communication via spiritual revelation. Well God in his infinite wisdom realized that these two methods of understanding needed help, so he invented pictures or symbols. Now symbols are more than just pictures, they have a metaphysical aspect associated with them which further weakens the barrier; veil to spiritual revelation and understanding.

To put all this into perspective...

The true nature of God can only be known via spiritual revelation. Following and obeying the Law will lead us closer to this ultimate goal. The verbal expression of this experience, as captured by various spiritual masters throughout history, has taken on a decidedly emotional slant in order to communicate his nature more effectively or rather in terms that could be understood by most. This, in no way, degraded the sublime truth of the revelations but merely encoded their deeper meaning within the symbolic picture painted by the messenger via the message.

With this viewpoint in hand, allow me to address the, "Is God just a complete jerk?" thread title.

The answer: No, not complete. However, I believe God is at a stage were he will now repay harsh word for harsh word. Inconsiderate act for inconsiderate act. In other words, God is feeling WRATHful because the vast majority of people have become gross and inconsiderate in their day to day interactions. Now, some of you may ask, what about love? The answer: Yes, God is love in abundance, but only for those who's inner nature is pure

"He knows when you've been sleeping he knows when your awake he knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake!"

The following quote pretty much sums up the aforementioned sentiment.

Rev 22:11-13 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.


My apologies if I've veered to far off the beaten path of this topic. I hope the opinion and view offered will be of benefit.


Kindest Regards