Abour rejecting God

[Lestat]

<font color="blue">There is no reality in which suffering is good in itself. </font>

This isn't true. Surely you would suffer the loss of your next meal if you knew for a fact it would save 1000 people from starvation. There are different levels of suffering and ours are bound to earthly types. We do not know what else is possible or what merit it has if the Christian God turned out to be true.

[luckyme]

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="blue">There is no reality in which suffering is good in itself. </font>

This isn't true. Surely you would suffer the loss of your next meal if you knew for a fact it would save 1000 people from starvation. There are different levels of suffering and ours are bound to earthly types. We do not know what else is possible or what merit it has if the Christian God turned out to be true.

[/ QUOTE ]

Shouldn't the "in itself" kick in sometime?

luckyme

[chezlaw]

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="blue">There is no reality in which suffering is good in itself. </font>

This isn't true. Surely you would suffer the loss of your next meal if you knew for a fact it would save 1000 people from starvation. There are different levels of suffering and ours are bound to earthly types. We do not know what else is possible or what merit it has if the Christian God turned out to be true.

[/ QUOTE ]
Of course I would 'suffer' the loss of the meal but its good for the reasons you gave not in itself.

It illustrates the point that to say suffering is a good thing it has to be justified in terms of benefits to others or future benefits to yourself.

chez

[Lestat]

<font color="blue">It illustrates the point that to say suffering is a good thing it has to be justified in terms of benefits to others or future benefits to yourself. </font>

But why do you consider it inconceivable that God has plans that you/we are not privvy to? Or that He has an understanding of things that you don't, or that doesn't make sense to you now, but might in a million years from now?

[chezlaw]

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="blue">It illustrates the point that to say suffering is a good thing it has to be justified in terms of benefits to others or future benefits to yourself. </font>

But why do you consider it inconceivable that God has plans that you/we are not privvy to? Or that He has an understanding of things that you don't, or that doesn't make sense to you now, but might in a million years from now?

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I don't consider that inconceivable at all. It seems hard to conceive that my support matters in the least for this plan but its at least as likely that withholding my support for seemingly unjustified suffering is what god wants for this plan.

chez

[Lestat]

<font color="blue">It seems hard to conceive that my support matters in the least for this plan </font>

Why is that so hard to conceive? If you are indeed His child, why wouldn't He want you to obey Him just as you might want of your child?


<font color="blue">but its at least as likely that withholding my support for seemingly unjustified suffering is what god wants for this plan. </font>

Do you really believe that even if the bible turned out to be true, that it is just as likely God is lying?

[chezlaw]

[ QUOTE ]
It seems hard to conceive that my support matters in the least for this plan

Why is that so hard to conceive? If you are indeed His child, why wouldn't He want you to obey Him just as you might want of your child?


[/ QUOTE ]
who wants obedience from children? Is that really want you want from yours to the extent that you eternally damn them for thinking for themselves?


[ QUOTE ]
but its at least as likely that withholding my support for seemingly unjustified suffering is what god wants for this plan.

Do you really believe that even if the bible turned out to be true, that it is just as likely God is lying?

[/ QUOTE ]
em you just changed the premise but why should I think god is lying when he tells me that eternal damnation for an honest lack of belief is a very bad thing.

chez