A parable about a house:

Originally posted by sonhouse
I just want you to think about the concepts in the bible that I don't think any kind of real deity would espouse, like original sin, I think cleverly designed to capture the submission of an unruly population way back then and the statement 'I am a jealous god' where I see that as totally man made since a real deity capable of thinking in an entire universe ...[text shortened]... lous of you, you don't worship me, so you are one dead ant.'

Can't you see ANY logic in that?

... a real deity capable of thinking in an entire universe would have ZERO to be jealous of in humans.

And you know this because... you hang out with real deities all the time, or you know this because you ARE a real deity?

Wow, talk about an imagination gone wild! You are no where close to understanding what God meant when he said he was a jealous god. You shall have no other gods before him means the relationship between God and man (that God himself created) was meant to be sacred.

So in the interest of fairness and consistency, I suppose if your wife decided to sleep around with other men you wouldn't feel jealous, or feel that some sacred bond had been broken. Is that right? Because if you did feel that way, then you would be no better than the God who created you to have a special relationship with him.

This is only a suggestion, and you can take it or leave it, but if you really want to effectively argue with what Christians believe then it might be a good idea to first learn what they believe.

Originally posted by lemon lime
[b]... a real deity capable of thinking in an entire universe would have ZERO to be jealous of in humans.

And you know this because... you hang out with real deities all the time, or you know this because you ARE a real deity?

Wow, talk about an imagination gone wild! You are no where close to understanding what God meant when he said he was a j ...[text shortened]... rgue with what Christians believe then it might be a good idea to first learn what they believe.[/b]

So when did your deity come down and tell YOU it was jealous? Oh, it didn't. Well then. You just have to take the word of your bible I guess. But wait, the bible was written by men. So you have to take the word of other humans. Ok, I get it now.

Originally posted by Suzianne
Doesn't matter who posted it.

The message stays the same. I'd be disappointed if a theist posted it, sure.

A theist DID post it. The original was an ex mormon.

Originally posted by sonhouse
So when did your deity come down and tell YOU it was jealous? Oh, it didn't. Well then. You just have to take the word of your bible I guess. But wait, the bible was written by men. So you have to take the word of other humans. Ok, I get it now.

Uh huh, and by the same reasoning I must also assume that what a secretary writes down during dictation is their own words, and not the words of the one dictating the message... because the secretary was the one who wrote it down.

The only thing you get now is what you've always had.

Originally posted by lemon lime
Uh huh, and by the same reasoning I must also assume that what a secretary writes down during dictation is their own words, and not the words of the one dictating the message... because the secretary was the one who wrote it down.

The only thing you get now is what you've always had.

Yes, that is realizing the greatest scam the world has ever known. It might make you feel like you can stand the rigors of life and all that but you are living on a worm hole eaten crutch.

Originally posted by Suzianne
But it's not anything making the homeowner blind to the imperfections in his house. He's simply refusing to hear it or see it, even going so far as to cover up the evidence.

The homeowner could be an atheist and an evolutionist too who prefer to believe a lie.

The family could be like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The fruit looked good to the eyes of Eve and according to the story told by the Serpent could make her as wise as God. Adam believed what Eve told him about it and disregarded the command of God and ate the fruit with Eve and they discovered they were both necked. God had told them something to the effect that their bodies (houses) would decay and be eaten by termites and worms and return to dust.

Originally posted by sonhouse
A theist DID post it. The original was an ex mormon.

An ex mormon? Then the agent must have been Joseph Smith.

Originally posted by sonhouse
A theist DID post it. The original was an ex mormon.

That "ex-mormon" is now also an atheist.


I hope you're not claiming you are a theist.

I believe sonhouse does not love his wife, so how could he understand what being jealous is all about? He has never created anything original, so why would he be jealous of anything?

Originally posted by RJHinds
I believe sonhouse does not love his wife, so how could he understand what being jealous is all about? He has never created anything original, so why would he be jealous of anything?

Now Ron, why must you be like that?

I'm sure sonhouse loves his wife and his family very much, just like you or any of us.

Originally posted by sonhouse
Yes, that is realizing the greatest scam the world has ever known. It might make you feel like you can stand the rigors of life and all that but you are living on a worm hole eaten crutch.

No. Just... no.

Originally posted by sonhouse
Can you give me your assessment of what this essay or parable is about?

It is a bit long for the usual parable story for sure.

People's belief in science while avoiding the fact they don't know everything
which puts all they think they know under question? 🙂

Originally posted by lemon lime
[b]... a real deity capable of thinking in an entire universe would have ZERO to be jealous of in humans.

And you know this because... you hang out with real deities all the time, or you know this because you ARE a real deity?

Wow, talk about an imagination gone wild! You are no where close to understanding what God meant when he said he was a j ...[text shortened]... rgue with what Christians believe then it might be a good idea to first learn what they believe.[/b]

If there is only one god and no others what exactly does God have to be jealous of?

Originally posted by DeepThought
If there is only one god and no others what exactly does God have to be jealous of?

I'm assuming this is an earnest question and you are asking in good faith, so I'll do my best to explain my understanding of this.

God is 'jealous' of the gods [lower case 'g'] people will invent or devise for themselves. Telling us he is a "jealous" God is God giving us a clue as to the intended relationship between himself and man. In a way he is giving us a heads up, because he also points out how idols of wood and stone can't really do anything for us, even though we might feel comforted by believing they can.

gods (again lower case 'g', meaning it's not really a god, but is nevertheless worshiped as though it were a god) are usually inanimate objects, or objects representing an unseen deity. Other possible 'gods' might be an idea or an ideal, such as believing in capitalism or socialism, or a belief that science holds the answers to most (if not all) of our questions and problems. It's difficult to explain what God might have meant by 'jealous' because he's obviously not talking about any other real gods, he's talking about the gods men will often invent for themselves.

I have a tendency to answer more than the question requires, so basically (and to put this as simply as possible) anything you put most or all of your faith in, and deem to be the most important thing in your life, this is (defined as) your particular 'god' and object of worship... and 'worship' can be defined in a variety of ways, such as what we are most likely to meditate on, or fix our attention on, having a sense of awe and respect towards, or thought of being of the utmost importance, etc etc.

Originally posted by Suzianne
Now Ron, why must you be like that?

I'm sure sonhouse loves his wife and his family very much, just like you or any of us.

But I am not sure that he has any love in him. All he seems to do is spew out hate with his bah humbugs.