Posted by Ezekiel 25:17 on April 09, 2001 at 10:02:20:
In Reply to: There is a God ... and you're not him posted by James 5:16 on April 07, 2001 at 20:05:27:
Let me just state for the record, that this next section is filled with cynicism and sarcasm. I just couldn't help it, so those of faint heart, turn away now :) Assume any time I mention God to be a he, that God could also be a she. (I have enough problems offending anyone religious, that heaven forbid I should also alienate anyone female as well :))
Listen ye well pilgrims, for the prophet Ezekiel has today's sermon for thou.
: For all intents and purposes, we should all be glad that we do not bear the burden of being Him. We are in a situation where we do not have the responsibility of being God.
There is a burden to being God? That's news to me :) If I was all powerful and had absolutely no responsibilities, I don't think I'd be very burdened! If God feels like he has too much to handle, I'd gladly take up his spot just for a few hours to let him take a breather. In fact, I'd probably spend most of my spare time watching the interesting yet futile antics of all these little people down below. Throw in a few visions here and there, really mess with their minds :) Then again, I'm not God which a lot of you can be thankful for, coz frankly I'd get really sick of all this worship and obesience.
: Paul, in the his letter to the church in Rome, deeply dwells on the fact that we are not in this life alone. We are given the gift of the Holy Spirit to intercede between us and the Father. Not that we could not have direct contact, for nothing is impossible with God, but the Holy Spirit acts as a messenger, translator, and well, mailman if you will.
Well, I guess that's one way the Holy Spirit is akin to the postal service, more often than not the message is never received. And even when it is received, it is hopelessly garbled and no one can understand what it means :)
:However, He can be with us from now until forevermore. In each segment of time, (namely when we are on Earth and when we are in Heaven)God can speak to us. He can relate to us. Love us. And partner with us.
I thought God was already with us forevermore, God's not going anywhere fast.
God can speak to us? A few speeches now and then to boost morale would be great. Could he clear Friday on his schedule, I think I might be free then.
He can relate to us? How can he possibly relate to us? He will never die, he was never born, he has no peers and he has unlimited power with no responsibility apparently. How does that give him any basis to relate to us? He can relate to us as well as we can relate to the cockroach.
Again I'm purposely overlooking the omniscience thing.
God can partner us? What you mean like a friendly game of tennis?
God can love us? Awww how sweet, well I guess he did create us. But hang on, doesn't that mean he should love all of us, and not just the few who spend every Sunday bowing and scraping to him?
: Christians DO NOT have a God that died on the Cross, was resurrected, ascended into Heaven, and then left us to our own devices. God left a part of Himself so that we may become closer to Him. So that He may build us from the broken, stained and hollow people that we were born as, to become the people that He cares to share Eternity with.
God left a part of himself? Perhaps I should re-read the bible, I don't recall seeing any godly body parts strewn around Jerusalem. God is infinite, so if he splits a part of himself off, he still remains infinite, lets see him do it again as it can't possibly lessen him :)
Oh I see, so were born a broken, stained and hollow people? Well I wonder who's fault that is? Oh, so we're not good enough for him? What exactly are the attributes of people that God would _care_ to spend time in eternity with?
: Perfection is not a one time thing that is GOING to occur after judgement. Not at all. Perfection is an ALL TIME THING that God wants us to pursue with great effort and vigilance. We are called to be seeking that PERFECTION, that closeness to Him, even though we are aware that we, by ourselves, cannot achieve it.
Let me state, I don't dislike capitals. I think they serve a useful purpose in highlighting important points. I just find it amusing and ironic that the less coherent an argument and the more fanatical, the greater number of Capitalised words you happen to see. It's true!:)
Perfection is a good goal, that's undeniable. However, it is impossible to achieve perfection without intolerance occuring. What use is it to be perfect, if there are other people living their lives happily without seeking your brand of perfection? The Christian brand of perfection is also conceptualised around converting others, and it is impossible to achieve near perfection unless you persuade others to follow you. Great marketing gimmick no?
: Yes, we MUST be aware that God does exist AND that we are NOT Him. However, Christianity brings with it several gifts, the greatest of which is the eternal communion with Him. We can NEVER BE God. That was elloquently stated. However, we as believers, will always be WITH Him. Henceforth and forevermore.
We MUST be aware God exists? Well since you wrote MUST in capitals, surely he MUST exist. We are not him, we can never be him? Damnit, I'll have to cancel my plans for smiting people for saturday afternoon.
Henceforth, forevermore, forsooth, gadzooks, to eternity and beyond!
And so spaketh the great prophet Ezekiel and here ends the sermon.