Attributes of God

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Are you comparing the Bible with books like Lord of the Rings?

Scripture, apparently, unlike other books, is the word of God. It is on this basis that Christians (usually) don't pick and choose what to believe.

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I was brought up an atheist. Nobody in my family is religious, save a couple of cousins.

I think you recognize your position is a weak one. I wholeheartedly agree that parts of the Bible are repellant (such as eternal suffering in hell) but by cherry-picking the bits you like and discarding the rest you are basically saying the Bible isn't the word of God (The work of an infallible entity). The Bible then becomes just like any other book and is not a reliable source for you to rely on to say anything meaningful about the divine, including His attributes.

And with scripture off the table, anything you have to say about God is wishful thinking and uncorroborated speculation. Where, for example, is your evidence that God is merciful? On what basis do you make such an assertion?

@kellyjay said
When you describe God how do you do it, and why do you believe what you say!?

According to Spinoza, the attributes of God are infinite. Which of course means that God is both good and evil.

@moonbus said
According to Spinoza, the attributes of God are infinite. Which of course means that God is both good and evil.

The Japanese have two words for God, one representing his good side, the other his destructive side.

And in Hinduism, Shiva is both protector and destroyer.

@ghost-of-a-duke said
Additional attributes of the Christian God (Biblically supported) :

Angry
Harsh
Vengeful
Needy
Petty
Genocidal
Cruel
Disproportionate
Jealous

I agree that He can get angry. He is also vengeful and Jealous. The rest I would
lump into our perspectives, not the nature of God. Disproportionate assumes you
know the full extent of what He does and why He does it. Unlike us, He grasps
the eternal consequence of everything He judges as evil and, being righteous, sees
the just recompense for said evil. That said, petty, cruel, and needy are not things
I would apply to someone good, righteous, and who sees the beginning from the
end, unlike us who cannot even grasp what is going on right in front of us many
times.

Being eternal and unchanging every moment for us in time, He has an infinite
amount of time to dwell on all consequences; also, unlike us, He isn't limited to just
this lifetime but also what is to come, so those things He finds important may be
meaningless to us, and many things we find and believe are important are nothing
to Him. Being the eternal, self-existent One, there is nothing needy about Him; we
are the ones dependent upon Him for everything! I doubt very much how thankful
we should be to Him in all the things He does for us, and if we think He would or
should be happy to have us in His kingdom; we are the delusional arrogant ones if
any of us think that way.

@kellyjay said
I agree that He can get angry. He is also vengeful and Jealous.

Assuming there is a creator entity, why do you feel the need to anthropomorphize it?

@fmf said
Assuming there is a creator entity, why do you feel the need to anthropomorphize it?

Actually I God created us in His image not the other way around.

@kellyjay said
Actually I God created us in His image not the other way around.

Doesn't it give you pause for thought that, amidst their curiosity about the universe and themselves, primitive humans decided that their God figures must be humanoid, as it were?

@fmf said
Doesn't it give you pause for thought that, amidst their curiosity about the universe and themselves, primitive humans decided that their God figures must be humanoid, as it were?

Nope, the way God was portrayed in scripture was not done in such a way that left the people of God looking good, if they were to make a story up they not God would look good. On top of that history I believe backs it up among several other reasons.

@kellyjay said
Nope, the way God was portrayed in scripture was not done in such a way that left the people of God looking good, if they were to make a story up they not God would look good. On top of that history I believe backs it up among several other reasons.

You seem to have missed the point completely.