how can a perfect god feel regret for an action?

[AKR]

genesis 6:6 The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

7 The LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them."

not only does this sound like an incompetent, imperfect god, but he sounds like a pissed off teen ager. he wanted to kill EVERYthing; not just humans, but all life! what did the birds do? or the caterpillars? they can't sin, so why would they just be killed off?

or why children? if children are innocent, why would they be killed off? and simply saying, "oh, they'll go to heaven" doesn't exactly justify it. they still have to drown in the first place. god doesn't seem to give a **** about ANY creature. he's just pissed because he f*cked up and didn't create a species that chose to do what HE wanted. oh right, we have free will, but he'll drown us if we don't choose what he wants. wow, that's some free will we have there. "sure, you can choose that. but i'll f*cking kill you."

so anyway, the main point of this thread is to point out the true nature of the christian god, and to give christians YET ANOTHER opportunity to explain how this isn't what it appears to be, or to admit what seems so obvious to me and others.

or you can just whine about how terrible i am. it's so much easier than actually defending your religion.

[DanielBell]

He's omnipotent, he can do anything.

[Diesel66]

perfect ?

not only does this sound like an incompetent, imperfect god, but he sounds like a pissed off teen ager. he wanted to kill EVERYthing; not just humans, but all life! what did the birds do? or the caterpillars? they can't sin, so why would they just be killed off?

what is the point of the earth if man doesnt exist ?

[DanielBell]

I guess the animals part is simply because animals are only there for us, if we're not there not much point in having animals. Plus they don't have souls so they don't matter anyway.

[AKR]

Originally Posted by aaron653

We need to first understand that the Bible was "not" written for God it's written "for men", and therefore it's written from the perspective of men's understanding. We should even discern that from the fact that God says there that it grieved Him at His heart that He had made man. God is not a man that he should have a heart pumping blood through flesh, but this is the way mankind speaks to illustrate things were not going as we desired. So God uses this language so that the prophets (and indeed us today) would understand. God's ways are so far above our ways that if it was written from God's vantage point, we would be thoroughly confused and have little understanding, for we now see in a glass darkly (1st Corinthians 13:12).

[snip]

THOU SHALL NOT STEAL.

http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/faq/gen66.html


or is it just a coincidence that they wrote the exact same thing.

[AKR]

Originally Posted by DanielBell

I guess the animals part is simply because animals are only there for us, if we're not there not much point in having animals. Plus they don't have souls so they don't matter anyway.

why should the pain of animals not matter simply because they have no souls? at least he could kill them in some painless way, instead of freaking them all out and then causing them to drown.

[TwiloMike]

Originally Posted by Diesel66

perfect ?


what is the point of the earth if man doesnt exist ?

What is the point of Mars? Venus? Uranus? Saturn? Neptune? Mercury?

[ballsoftitanium]

Originally Posted by DanielBell

I guess the animals part is simply because animals are only there for us, if we're not there not much point in having animals. Plus they don't have souls so they don't matter anyway.

Who told you animals don't have a soul?

And for that matter, how do you know humans have a soul? The only thing separating us from animals is our highly evolved brain, if it wasn't for this brain we would be just another ape. Are you saying that at some point in our evloution we just developed a soul?

I wonder what it must have been like for the first primitive man to realize he was so much better than everyone else because the addition of a new piece of brain matter endowed him with a soul.

[TwiloMike]

Originally Posted by DanielBell

He's omnipotent, he can do anything.

So he wanted to create a world of humans that would upset him and have him "grieved in his heart"? The drama queen analogy applies fully if that's the case.

[TwiloMike]

Originally Posted by aaron653

We need to first understand that the Bible was "not" written for God it's written "for men", and therefore it's written from the perspective of men's understanding. We should even discern that from the fact that God says there that it grieved Him at His heart that He had made man. God is not a man that he should have a heart pumping blood through flesh, but this is the way mankind speaks to illustrate things were not going as we desired. So God uses this language so that the prophets (and indeed us today) would understand. God's ways are so far above our ways that if it was written from God's vantage point, we would be thoroughly confused and have little understanding, for we now see in a glass darkly (1st Corinthians 13:12).

In the Genesis 6 example, God is illustrating why He destroyed the world "from our vantage point" of sorrow and grief. The Sons of God were becoming unequally yoked with the daughters of men. In other words, the Children of God were going after unbelievers, and the result is that their children fell away from God to the ways of the reprobates. As a result of this unrighteous mingling of the righteous seed, the world grew continually more wicked until there was only wickedness (an example for us all). God is illustrating that His destroying them wasn't an act without reason, it was because of their continual wickedness and evil doings. From our perspective, they were grieving the Holy Spirit! It doesn't mean God didn't know it was going to happen, it means that God takes no joy in the judgment of the unrighteous, and He writes this from the perspective in which we will understand his actions. i.e., as if we had raise up a child who grew to hate god, so that we were sorry that we had raised him up. This is a perspective man understands.

We often see these kinds of episodes in scripture. For example, when God called Adam in the Garden of Eden, and said, "where art thou?" That didn't mean God was searching for Adam and didn't know where he was, that was God writing from our perspective illustrating that Adam was attempting to hide from God. God knew perfectly well where he was! The idea that God said, "where art thou," doesn't abrogate the law that God knows all! It simply means He's writing for our benefit, not His own!

The same thing when God said let Me go down to Sodom and see if the evil things were taking place there. God knew perfectly well what was taking place there, but these things are written for "our" benefit, not God's!

Again, when there was an Ox pulling the Ark of the Covenant and the ox stumbled and a man put his hand forth to steady the cart. God struck him down dead on the spot! God doesn't "normally" judge sin on the spot, but this was done for "our" benefit, that we'll read and understand that obedience to God's Word is not subject situation ethics, or to private interpretation. i.e., it's not what that man thought under the circumstances that counted, it was what God had said not to do.

And many more examples of God writing that men will understand what, why, and how things are done. God's magnificent Salvation program is through reading (hearing) and in the wisdom of understanding His Word!

In short, the writing as if there were feelings of grief and sorrow for what is taking place is not incompatible with omniscience or omnipotence of God. It is important to realize that God is writing to us finite beings, that we'll understand His actions as an infinite being. Therefore it often seems to us to be at odds with the truth of His being all knowing and all seeing.

None of the above addresses the point: how the world could have gone astray if an omnipotent/omniescient being created it to be a certain way. We have to assume, if we are talking about an omnipotent/omniscient creator, that what has been created is exactly what the being wanted (because otherwise what was created qualifies as a ****up, and that is something omnipotent/omniscient beings aren't supposed to be doing). Something doesn't add up.

[Diesel66]

Originally Posted by TwiloMike

What is the point of Mars? Venus? Uranus? Saturn? Neptune? Mercury?

none whatsoever. Though the moon and Jupitar are important for life on earth. Without them, there would be a lot more impacts.

[Revolver45]

If he's so incompetent, or non-existant in your opinion, why do you insist upon making threads asking stupid questions to which there is no answer anyone could possibly give that wouldn't result in another question of equal or greater stupidity? Seriously I'm amazed at how atheists, who don't even believe in God, are more obessed with him than most people of faith are.

[TwiloMike]

Originally Posted by Diesel66

none whatsoever. Though the moon and Jupitar are important for life on earth. Without them, there would be a lot more impacts.

That's a naturalistic explanation. If two celestial bodies affect life on earth in a big way but the others in our solar system don't, then what's their point? I would expect a divine explanation for all extraterrestrial rotators/revolvers to be "they're just pretty: life on earth, created by god, doesn't need anything other than its own creation and god's endowment" or some such nonsense.

[TwiloMike]

Originally Posted by Revolver45

If he's so incompetent, or non-existant in your opinion, why do you insist upon making threads asking stupid questions to which there is no answer anyone could possibly give that wouldn't result in another question of equal or greater stupidity? Seriously I'm amazed at how atheists, who don't even believe in God, are more obessed with him than most people of faith are.

Despite god being incompetent and non-existent, the power of believers in a god is felt by every atheist, at least in the USA, who encounters elements of religious crap in secular life and in legislation. Consider the making of these threads a way to vent our frustration.

[UltimateNYC]

god is emo.

[Marksman]

its god will, our mind is too small to comprehend it, you are tempted by satan

[JAGERBOY]

Originally Posted by Revolver45

If he's so incompetent, or non-existant in your opinion, why do you insist upon making threads asking stupid questions to which there is no answer anyone could possibly give that wouldn't result in another question of equal or greater stupidity? Seriously I'm amazed at how atheists, who don't even believe in God, are more obessed with him than most people of faith are.

Cop out, answer the question.

[IceDragon]

He isn't perfect.

/end thread.

[timbo81]

Originally Posted by AKR

or you can just whine about how terrible i am. it's so much easier than actually defending your religion.

we aren't obiligated to defend it, all you do is make troll threads bashing religion and dismiss any answer wanting physical proof for everything.

[AKR]

Originally Posted by Revolver45

If he's so incompetent, or non-existant in your opinion, why do you insist upon making threads asking stupid questions to which there is no answer anyone could possibly give that wouldn't result in another question of equal or greater stupidity? Seriously I'm amazed at how atheists, who don't even believe in God, are more obessed with him than most people of faith are.

*yawn*

predictable. you sort of answered your own question. he's incompetent and non-existant. therefore, i desire to share that opinion with others. seriously, how can you have been in this forum so long and not know why we do what we do?

thanks for ignoring the elephant in the room.

[AKR]

Originally Posted by timbo81

we aren't obiligated to defend it, all you do is make troll threads bashing religion and dismiss any answer wanting physical proof for everything.

troll thread? i guess anything that can't be answered with logic and results in posters spewing ad hominems must be a troll thread. just because my threads piss you off doesn't mean i'm a troll.

this thread has nothing to do with physical proof. it has to do with logic. what am i asking for proof of? all i'm doing is asking for a logical explanation for a god that would act in this way. and if you can't give one, just admit that a) you're wrong and this IS a screwy religion, or b) admit that you simply don't know.

[AKR]

Originally Posted by Marksman

its god will, our mind is too small to comprehend it, you are tempted by satan

yeah.....that's it? i could say that for any religion. i could say that for the belief of unicorns. it's the unicorn's will, it doesn't matter if it makes no sense. just believe! it's only evilness which causes you to be confused and to doubt!

[tornprison]

Originally Posted by Revolver45

If he's so incompetent, or non-existant in your opinion, why do you insist upon making threads asking stupid questions to which there is no answer anyone could possibly give that wouldn't result in another question of equal or greater stupidity? Seriously I'm amazed at how atheists, who don't even believe in God, are more obessed with him than most people of faith are.

Good point. This is AKRs' thing, to quote a verse not even really knowing what it means to attack Christians. Same old same old.

[sicosico]

Originally Posted by IceDragon

He isn't perfect.

/end thread.

add to ignore list for usless comments

[IraHays]

Dam Icedragon, I don't think he liked your joke.

[JAGERBOY]

Originally Posted by tornprison

Good point. This is AKRs' thing, to quote a verse not even really knowing what it means to attack Christians. Same old same old.

Its pretty self explanitory. If you think it means something different, please, clue us heathens on the secret.

[TwiloMike]

Originally Posted by JAGERBOY

Its pretty self explanitory. If you think it means something different, please, clue us heathens on the secret.

Don't hold your breath. Ad homs are some people's only weapon.

[TwiloMike]

Originally Posted by tornprison

Good point. This is AKRs' thing, to quote a verse not even really knowing what it means to attack Christians. Same old same old.

Please explain what the verse quoted by AKR really means. I would love to know what AKR misunderstood.

[AKR]

Originally Posted by tornprison

Good point. This is AKRs' thing, to quote a verse not even really knowing what it means to attack Christians. Same old same old.

and what exactly does it mean, then? you keep saying this **** but you don't explain how it means something else. if i was religious and someone was stating something about my god that i believed was wrong, i'd throw down. it's funny; you care to take the time to talk **** about me, but you don't bother taking the time to explain why you think these verses mean something else.

[DanielBell]

Originally Posted by ballsoftitanium

Who told you animals don't have a soul?

And for that matter, how do you know humans have a soul? The only thing separating us from animals is our highly evolved brain, if it wasn't for this brain we would be just another ape. Are you saying that at some point in our evloution we just developed a soul?

I wonder what it must have been like for the first primitive man to realize he was so much better than everyone else because the addition of a new piece of brain matter endowed him with a soul.

I'm not religious I don't believe this stuff. It's pretty hard to answer religious questions from an atheist perspective, it simply doesn't work.