Onw Or Two Gods

[Lonnie]

I've not been on for a while, and would like some input on this.

In the old testament, God was not a forgiving God, when you take into account the millions of people who would have been killed in the flood, there's Sodom and Gomorrah, the ordering of conquests, certain people to be killed,
If the children of Israel disobeyed him, he punished them etc, etc, etc,

In the New Testament, God is suddenly a merciful God, the exact opposite of the God in the old testament'

My thoughts are that there are either two Gods, no God, or a schitafrenic God.

I await your thoughts on this.

[shoota]

I'd go with 'schitafrenic'.

[Baldric]

I put 'schitafrenic' into a spellcheck and it fell about laughing.

[Mamyalynne]

To be honest, I think your thoughts on matters like this should be your own.

[198kHz]

Occam's Razor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor
would suggest that the second option is the most likely.

[Lonnie]

Forget the spelling, Just interested in your thoughts on this,

[Old_Geezer]

Or, stuff is attributed to God but in reality it isn't God's doing. Thus the perceived God reflects whatever the powerful claim at the time.

[Spungle]

It's the same God in the Old Testament and the New Testament. The New Testament writers make this clear. God's character as revealed in the Old Testament comes into even clearer focus and expression in the New Testament, because he has been revealed, ie taken on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ.

You say "In the New Testament, God is suddenly a merciful God, the exact opposite of the God in the old testament". This is perhaps a simplistic view- Moses in Exodus (The Old Testament) describes God thus: "The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin" etc.

[goodlife]

Let the Bible answer for you.
What would you like to have the truth or Lies.
“The God of truth.” (Psalm 31:5) Because humans are imperfect, we cannot always trust what they say. But “it is impossible for God to lie.” (Hebrews 6:18;

What has the passing of time revealed? Throughout the millenniums, people have experimented with many forms of government, including autocracy, democracy, socialism, and communism. The sum total of them all is epitomized in the Bible’s frank comment: “Man has dominated man to his injury.” (Ecclesiastes 8:9)
The Bible does not address every question regarding God actions in the past; nor does it provide every detail about how God will render judgment concerning individuals in the future.

“Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” (Romans 12:19) If we show a waiting attitude, we will echo the firm conviction expressed by the apostle Paul: “Is there injustice with God? Never may that become so!”—Romans 9:14.

[Mozz71]

//One or two gods//

Or none?

[Peter Pedant]

did I read
occam votes shitafrenic but trump suppressed his vote?

well - starting from er the starting blocks
God is immutable
yup coz - - - if he werent the bigger immutable version would be god ( as in greater than god) so
God is immutable
and so if views change - then God hasnt see above
so the views must've
and indeed they did
a fella called Jesus
who made - the new covenant - kaine diatheke
coz we know Jesus spoke greek and aramaic see

that is my thought ( main stream proddy theology - no heresy there mate - coinicdes wiv Rome )

no one on AB understands it? well it is probably valid and correct then ! ter daah !

[naomi24]

Hello Lonnie. Lovely to see you here again.

When I was Christian, and actually started thinking about it - something that people of religion rarely do - I questioned the glaring inconsistencies between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament and pondered the possibility that there were two Gods involved in this narrative. I consequently delved deeper and having eventually concluded that there weren’t two God’s at all - simply one who had been re-invented by those who manufactured the newly-founded Christianity - I abandoned in its entirety the greatest lie ever told. Religion. The only rational course to take.

[Peter Pedant]

oh well
eccl 8 - 9 All this I have seen, applying my mind to every deed that is done under the sun; there is a time when one man lords it over another to his own detriment.

which is not man has dominated man....
sometimes man has dominated man.....is much clearer to the text
9 καὶ σὺν πᾶν τοῦτο εἶδον καὶ ἔδωκα τὴν καρδίαν μου εἰς πᾶν τὸ ποίημα, ὃ πεποίηται ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, τὰ ὅσα ἐξουσιάσατο ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ τοῦ κακῶσαι αὐτόν.

( moi: the same such, a man over a man does him harm) him not specified to doer or victim)

so reading the original is better than um reading AB

[Peter Pedant]

// I was Christian, and started thinking about it - something that people of religion rarely do//

who wrote that ? then I joined AB instead and stopped ! ter dah!

[naomi24]

Stop editing my words, pp. You make yourself a greater fool with everything you post.

[Peter Pedant]

// firm conviction expressed by the apostle Paul: “Is there injustice with God? Never may that become so!”—Romans 9:14.//

Τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν; μὴ ἀδικία παρὰ τῷ θεῷ; μὴ γένοιτο.

[my back translation would be: "esti adikia en tw thew: mee genoito]"

But do we therefore say - is there (not) injustice wiv God - let it not happen! (para PP). optative for genomai - showing a wish or prayer - and mee in the main clause showing doubt where "ow!" would be needed

and so boys and girls by looking at the grammar of the original test we can refute: the firm conviction expressed by the apostle Paul: “Is there injustice with God? Never may that become so!”—Romans 9:14.

[Lonnie]

Hi naomi, I wondered if you were still here, been a couple of years, but glad your here,
I apologise for the spelling on the header, should've checked first.
Anyway, this has bothered me for a long time, I know that old Testament God is supposed to be a merciful God, but I look at all the people and animals killed by his own hand, countries taken and ravished on his command, if the children of Israel disobeyed him he punished them.
I look at the Merciful God, and then look at the world as it is, and has been for the past 5.000 years, the whole omnipotent god thing bothers me.
There's a whole lot more, but reading through these answers, naomi, I think yours is the one I'm most comfortable with.
Stay well.

[naomi24]

Sometimes it helps to share ideas, Lonnie. Hope all is well with you and yours. Dia?

[Khandro]

“By God I understand a being absolutely infinite, i.e., a substance consisting of an infinity of attributes, of which each one expresses an eternal and infinite essence.”

Baruch Spinoza

[naomi24]

That's what he thought, Khandro. What do you think?

[Spungle]

Albert Einstein stated that he believed in the pantheistic God of Baruch Spinoza. If only the majority of scientists and rationalists of today could show a grain of the same insight.