Who is God the Father? Zeus, Jupiter, Thor, the great “I AM”, or the man in the moon

Other that a little confusion, I don't take any issue with Rosemarie's post and I certainly don't consider there is anything intentionally insulting in it. With 279 posts, she is hardly a 'newbie' and obviously feels passionately about the subject.

I agree with the gist of her post. I believe 'God' is simply an attempt by man to explain a whole lot of unknowns.
 

I'm in the middle of watching an interesting movie, streaming on Netflix. It's called An Interview With God, and that's exactly what it is. A writer who does a religious column for a science magazine gets an assignment to interview God. He thinks it's some sort of stunt but goes along with it.

They meet in a local park and sit at a chess table for their conversation. God is played by the excellent David Straithern, looking like a very ordinary 60-year-old accountant or something. He is kind and gentle, and explains that he is God, with a perfectly straight face. The reporter "humors" him with standard questions, but is beginning to wonder what's going on. His assignment is to do 3 interviews, each 30 minutes long. I've watched the first 30 minutes. So far, it's fascinating. I hope the second 2/3 will be just as good.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
As far a belief in gods is concerned, do you really believe that Osiris lost his *****? There are texts all over Egypt, which tell of the divine tale. Are we supposed to take it as fact? Or is it merely an immortality ideation? It is strange that most of the world's gods and religions are initially proposed by a human. Is this man's desire to live past death, or his fear of it. Yes, Osiris's lost ***** is figurative of most gods. It is a magical tale of overcoming death. It is amazing that most gods have also a magical birth. Thousands of years ago, magical births were not so infrequent. Virgin births or god inseminated births were common for kings/royalty. Most rulers had some type of magical birth- Caesar , Alexander, kings, prophets and emperors. There is evidence that humans use gods as a source of great magic to change their life's situation. Most areas had a local god, which had great magic, who protected its worshipers. In Greece, gods could be bribed. Again, most gods had very human traits, such as envy, hatred, etc. So, did Osiris lose his *****. I guess that depends if you believe he had one.
Click to expand...
I said I wouldn’t post in here again but I need to add this.

You stated in another post that people were being disrespectful of your posts and you are right. I was.
When you posted this I considered it as a derailment and a way to try and intimidate the women here talking about religion so my response was completely inappropriate especially considering the context of the subject matter.

Also it’s not anything I would ever say in person so I apologize to you and the others by posting the cartoon as I did.
It was very rude and inconsiderate of me.
No response is required.
 

Random thoughts:

There is both good vs evil in our world. There is both God and Satan. Some forget about the Power of Evil on earth completely and blame bad things on God.

Sometimes man's sin has natural consequences such as drunk driving accidents or lung cancer from smoking, then other times bad things happen to good people, even the youngest for many reasons (at least 100 of those reasons are listed in the NT)...not for punishment.

Satan is working overtime. He's responsible for the evil in the world. Also when people die, God doesn't look at death as a bad thing. They are laid to rest in his loving arms and given new life.
 
Last edited:
Well, I had a very rough doctor’s appointment Friday, my stress level is super high, I’m physically ill and on an antibiotic. I can not throw myself a pity party cause I’m sick. My comprehension is in the toilet but huh? Sunny, I don’t quite get what Rosemarie meant either. But calling people you have not met in person and do not know smug, is silly.

Since I started this thread, I will apologize to anyone who was offended by this comment, but defend Rosemarie’s right to make the comment. Freedom of speech is freedom of speech.

Keesha, I didn’t look to remind myself what cartoon you are talking about, but please post on the thread if you want.

Lara, I am confused by your post as well. Are you saying smoking is a sin? If so, please let me know the scripture that’s supports that viewpoint. I believe the connection between smoking and cancer began to be establish in 1962 in England. Maybe you are not aware that our troops were given free cigarettes by our military at least through the Vietnam conflict.

This is where many of our young men got hooked, including my husband. When I married him, 47 years ago, I insisted he stop drinking and smoking. The drinking stopped, but I suspected he kept smoking although he denied it. He did eventually stop, but it was too late. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in January and is being followed by a cancer doctor as it is a complicated situation. His cancer could be from Agent Orange exposure.

As for drinking, which can result in drunk driving, are you saying drinking is a sin? Cause it’s actually an illness. I just have to disagree with you on these issues. I was raised to believe dancing was a sin; and if you wore make-up you were a whore,lol, a sin as well. Neither of these behaviors are sinful.

I believe in Satan. I believe he is working overtime. We all have sinned, we all continue to make mistakes, we all are flawed human beings. And, yes, death is not a bad thing, IMO. As I have said before, I am DNR/DNI. But linking the word sin to an illness is not something I would agree with ever.
 
I'm sorry if anyone was offended by my last post, it wasn't my intention. I was actually expecting people to point out the obvious and tell me that I am one of those smug, selfish people by declaring that God was invented by the needy. Funnily enough, no-one did.
 
:lol: when we yank a chain, we don't always know exactly what is going to drop on our head.
Don't worry about it Rosemarie. Smugness isn't a mortal sin or the worst forum gaffe we have seen.
 
Aneeda, thank you for the opportunity to clarify my previous post. Drinking in moderation and drunk driving are two very different things. I used the words "drunk driving" in my post. I said "bad things sometimes happen to good people because of natural consequences" and gave drunk driving and smoking enough to cause lung cancer as an example. In fact too much of anything usually has bad consequences. I will add that drinking too much can cause liver damage leading to cancer and colon cancer.

I see how you misunderstood because I did link sin to overindulgence and thus suffering at our own hands.
The Bible answers "Is getting drunk a sin": https://www.gotquestions.org/is-getting-drunk-a-sin.html

 
I'm searching for the truth, the same as everyone else is. These days, we have all this technology and yet we are still trying to figure out whether there is a God. One thing is for sure, 'God' was a mathematician. All of nature is based on maths.
However, to return to the original question....it does seem as though the Gods of Olympus were based on real people. If you read all the various myths and legends from around the world, it seems the Earth was visited by beings from other worlds, many eons ago. They had a falling out, which resulted in a war between them. There is evidence of nuclear explosions and stories of fantastic weapons being used. This could explain Thor and his hammer, Zeus and his thunderbolts etc.
The big question is...is there a spiritual-type God masterminding everything, or are we on our own? It could be said that God embodies all that is good in humans, and Satan embodies all that is bad...just as Father Christmas represents all that benevolence that we feel at Christmastime.
 
Wow, Lara, extremely interesting read in many ways, thanks a lot!

I was thinking as I read it then why the heck do most of the Christian Religions use wine as a representation of the blood of Christ? Then I read the question section where it asked about JC turning the water into wine at the wedding feast as in did he turn it into wine or grape juice. It was wine.

As usual, the writers of the Bible seem to disagree-which is what drives people crazy, lol. But it is the degree of drinking that is the key. I have never drank. Lol, some people have actually considered me smug:) when I say that, but I simply cannot stand the taste. Like coffee and bananas, it’s awful. The priest even asked me once why I didn’t take the wine.

I didn’t see anything on smoking so I assume that’s not a sin? Lots of things cause liver damage besides drinking. It’s important to note that, to me, as I have a damaged liver and as I stated other things cause lung cancer. I’ve had a rare blood pre-cancer thing since I was 19. I think it’s related to agent orange as well, but can’t prove it.

What also caught my attention was the bit about hating your mother, father, children etc. Keesha did you catch that? I think hate might be too hard a word but rather a strong dislike. I’ve always felt you could “honor your father and mother” while disliking them a lot. The bit about needing your own cross to bear in order to follow JC was surprising and enlightening.

Lara does this link to JC saying the “my god why have thou forsaken me” bit? Seems like that section is saying you must have suffered to understand my suffering. What human being has not suffered? At least we all qualify in that area.

Rosemarie I think some of the gods were invented by “the needy”, in terms of the corrupt needy wanting to grab money from the actual needy. The early Catholic Church had a lot of corruption in it, as I understand. In fact, it still does. I believe the church still has World War II belongings given to it for safe keeping which it refuses to return to heirs.

Wherever men are involved their will be corruption. I haven’t slept tonight. Perhaps I should give myself permission to dislike my daughter a great deal for moving away in one more week. Sigh. Now I’m being silly.
 
No Aneeda, Hate IS definitely too strong a word. I’ve never hated my parents. ( never really hated anyone. I don’t do hate )
There have been times when I’ve strongly disliked them but I actually love them very much. It’s a frustrating love only because they don’t know how to love back. They don’t know what love is , which I find the saddest thing about them.
Only when they pass will they know how deeply I’ve loved them.
 
Hmm, I don’t know if I love my mother or not. I don’t like her, and while I never hated her, or anyone else I suspect it’s more because I’m a very laid back person. I don’t get riled up very often toward people. I do get very hurt. There have been times when I’ve really disliked my mother, how could I not? Currently, I’ve no strong feeling towards her at all.

Still, it’s a really interesting piece of scripture.
 
Honour thy father and they mother is an interesting commandment when read in context. Honouring the father is not unusual but mothers in ancient times did not automatically receive respect. Men had all of the power and all of the respect because they had the power of life and death over everyone in the household, including their wives and children. It paid to be on their good side. Mothers not so much..
 
Well, I finished watching the movie "An Interview With God" yesterday. For all those posting in this thread, I recommend it. It's basically a religious film, produced by a Christian film company, which normally would be enough to discourage me from watching it, but I did out of curiosity, and found it very well done. (And incredibly well acted!) The movie could have lots of different meanings, including a modern retelling of the story of Jesus Christ, or a retelling of God's answer to Job in the Bible. It certainly inspires a lot of thought, even for a nonbeliever.

If you get Netflix, take a look at this film. I think most people would enjoy it.
 
Lara said:
Random thoughts:

There is both good vs evil in our world. There is both God and Satan. Some forget about the Power of Evil on earth completely and blame bad things on God.

Sometimes man's sin has natural consequences such as drunk driving accidents or lung cancer from smoking, then other times bad things happen to good people, even the youngest for many reasons (at least 100 of those reasons are listed in the NT)...not for punishment.

Satan is working overtime. He's responsible for the evil in the world. Also when people die, God doesn't look at death as a bad thing. They are laid to rest in his loving arms and given new life.
Click to expand...
I've never understood that concept. That God & Satan both have power to control what mankind does or doesn't do. How is that control decided? I understand free will is supposed to be the gift but why would a benevolent merciful God want or allow Satan to be the victor of that free will?
 
Because of free will, neither chooses to control humankind. Rather humankind chooses to be good, evil, or a balance of both. It also depends on which god you are believing in and referring too. The God of the Old Testament was not merciful and I am not sure JC is merciful. I think JC is forgiving when we ask for mercy, but we must fulfill our duty to him, or so it seems.

It seems to be getting more complicated rather than less, lol. As for Satan, he is not a victor if someone commits an evil act. Neither is god the loser. It simply is what is it is, IMO.
 
Knight said:
I've never understood that concept. That God & Satan both have power to control what mankind does or doesn't do. How is that control decided? I understand free will is supposed to be the gift but why would a benevolent merciful God want or allow Satan to be the victor of that free will?
Click to expand...
I hear you Knight. Well, here's my best shot according to scripture...God is more powerful than Satan but sometimes God doesn't intervene to stop his evil for many many reasons according to God's plan...his perfect plan even.

I mentioned before about the 100 reason's mentioned in the Bible. One is to teach us to be more empathetic toward others because it's all about love and reaching out to help others. We can't be empathetic if we've never experienced pain. Another is to teach us to trust and lean on God and seek him first in all things.

Another is to teach us patience, tolerance, self-control. Another is to humble us because some of us need to be "broken" (because we can be so self-centered, strong-willed, defiant, egotistical) before we can rise up to be our best selves and productive in society and do God's will. There's more in the New Testament.

It's not about punishment. It's about love and polishing our rough edges as we grow closer to perfection like Jesus is. Of course we'll never reach perfection but we'll grow closer and closer.
 
I never understood the concept of Satan. Is man responsible for his own sins? If man is indeed responsible for what he does, then what role does Satan play? If man is not totally responsible for his actions, what is sin anyway?
 
Man is absolutely responsible for his sins. He either pays the punishment for them in Satan's hell or confesses them to God, repents, and is forgiven because Jesus paid the punishment. Satan's job is to tempt humanity to disobey God as was the case in the Garden of Eden where sin began. Satan wants nothing more than to win us over to Evil and turn our backs on God.
 
Capt Lightning said:
...we as humans must work together to solve our problems, then life will be a lot better.
Click to expand...
You just quoted scripture...
3 John 1:8 "We ought therefore show hospitality...so that we may work together for the truth
Ecclesiastes 4:29-12 "Two are better off than one, because if they work together they can work more effectively"
1Peter 4:8-10 "Each of you...must use the gift that God has given to you to serve others.

I'm not sure if your aware of the many Christians working tirelessly right now as we speak "to solve our problems". For example Samaritan's Purse is scattered across the globe in oppressed countries building hospitals and schools, teaching them farming skills while bringing them seeds, livestock, and equipment. They are bringing in clear fresh well water systems so that the people don't have to carry buckets from polluted rivers up mountainous paths. Teaching hygiene.

They are also providing blankets, food, medical assistance, prenatal care, eyeglasses, teachers, school materials, vaccines, diapers and other baby supplies. They are there in natural disasters delivering supplies, repairing damage, cleaning up debris, and helping in any way they can. They have a program called "Heal our Patriots"

Franklin Graham's "Samaritan's Purse" does all of the above. They're also equipped with cargo planes and semi tractor trailers for transporting supplies. Go to their website and click on "What We Do" and Videos at the top of the page.
Water Link: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/water/
Main Page: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/franklin-graham/#

Volunteers pay all their own expenses to get there and back.

 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top