Religious Intolerance

» Ben Hughes - Purposes and Consequences

In response to Purposes and Consequences posted by pink101:

But is this all it is?

Maybe some people felt it had a social control effect but that surely can't be all it's about. How does God fit into it if it is just about keeping order?

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» pink101 - Purposes and Consequences

In response to Purposes and Consequences posted by benhughes:
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Apparently God's intentions aren't always successful..

-- posted by pink101

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» Ben Hughes - Purposes and Consequences

In response to Purposes and Consequences posted by pink101:

But if we believe in a God, it only makes sense to believe in a perfect God. And if He is pefect, his intentions should be perfect and so successful.

An imperfect God is a nonsense.

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» pink101 - Purposes and Consequences

In response to Purposes and Consequences posted by benhughes:

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"An imperfect God is a nonsense."
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Actually, it's the other way around if you give it some thought.
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A imperfect god would always be in a state of improvement and, therefore, would be developing toward more and more perfection. Whereas, a perfect god would have achieve the end of the road and would never get to be the one that sez, "I am that which I am becoming.".
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-- posted by pink101

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» Ben Hughes - Purposes and Consequences

In response to Purposes and Consequences posted by pink101:

That's an interesting point. But if God was imperfect to begin with, doesn't that cause problems. What is the point of believing in something which isn't the best it can be. We might as well believe in something better instead.

Surely the development would be about human development of the knowledge of a perfect God rather than a God who was initially imperfect.

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» pink101 - Purposes and Consequences

In response to Purposes and Consequences posted by benhughes:

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Let's imagine something that is closer to perfection than anything else at the moment; but, that still improves and gets better with every passing moment. Is there a word for that?
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-- posted by pink101

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» Ben Hughes - Purposes and Consequences

In response to Purposes and Consequences posted by pink101:

not that I can think of.

Maybe it would be better to say that God is the perfect being we can think of then, rather than THE most perfect being. But I still have problems with a God who isn't perfect. Maybe it's our understanding of Him which improves rather than God Himself who improves.

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» skepticus - Purposes and Consequences

In response to Purposes and Consequences posted by benhughes:

"How does God fit into it if it is just about keeping order?"

If you've go a magic juju, then you can explain how everything came to pass, a powerful idea in itself. Then the almighty has dominion. Punishment and blessings, for sin or virtue respectively. I would think it were patently obvious, how a god fits into the scenario of religion for power.

-- posted by skepticus

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» pink101 - Purposes and Consequences

In response to Purposes and Consequences posted by skepticus:

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Yupper.

-- posted by pink101

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» Ben Hughes - Purposes and Consequences

In response to Purposes and Consequences posted by skepticus:

Maybe believing in a religion gives power, but religion is about humility rather than exerting power - at least, that's what it should be about according to the teachings; some people get it the wrong way round.

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