Am I the only one who finds "God" to be baffling?

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I didn't say that rules need to be as complex as the outcome. I said that the rules are as "intricate and purposeful as to carry the entirety and complexity of their creation and nothing less".

A Theory of Everything would tell you a lot about the world, even if it's not used to predict the outcome of a big bang (quantum indeterminacy making that inherently unpredictable). Why can't rules come from nothing? Why can't rules be arbitrary? This universe wouldn't have to be the goal, just one possible result.

This week I'm again working on not getting baffled with surprise changes.
Yes I ask God for help in the morning.

I thank God each time a twist in my day happens and I don't over react.

Working with folks that happens all the time.

How did your beliefs in God or not
affect your behavior today? (Other than posting on WP)

Congratulations on your job.

What is six figures?
I knew a ventriloquist that worked with 5 figures at the same time. It was quite entertaining.

My figure is not as fit this year. Can't get close to my P. B. push-ups at 95 in a row 2 years ago.

Spiritual physical and emotion balance is a goal I don't reach in the same day.

I don't figure on ironing much. Most of my shirts are permanent press. The other few cotton shirts, my kind wife takes care of. I can iron and she does it better.

Forgive me for my stream of conscious response to your post.
I digress.

Namaste (just came from a Yoga class)

6 figures=lots of $

6 figures = $100,000+

If people thank God for something in their life, would that mean God makes everything happen in everyone's life? Good and bad?

My gf and I went to the theater last night to see Green Room (great flick, 5/5). After it ended, we decided to sneak into God's Not Dead 2 (this theater is old and didn't have the electronic sign with the name of the movie, but luckily we could easily tell from the religious chanting emanating from the doors). It was around 20 mins from ending. I find it strange that God is an all-powerful being yet needs his own creations to defend its existence. It's baffling. My gf and I, being secular, couldn't believe what we were seeing in this. They put up this straw man that if the woman isn't allowed to speak about Jesus in her classroom, then a secular government would eventually make it illegal to even practice a religious faith, even saying such a law would be enforced at gunpoint. Ridiculous. This is legal propaganda.

I thank God for all.
Even the things I perceived as bad can be used for good.
In the ancient days The Lord was patient before judgement came. Sometimes hundreds of years.
These days I see road rage happen after a split second.
Or perhaps a WP reader throwing their device after losing service.
The most difficult( situations that affected this writer) ones includes death & grief.

The Lord gives and takes away. Blessed be His name.
I used to ask
Why is this happening to me?

On good days I ask
What can it learn from this?

The only good thing I can see coming out of the Holocaust is that it made great source material for books and movies.

But honestly, I would rather have had zero holocausts.

And because of it, we're still seeing its effects with the ongoing Palestinian conflict. If only God were to intervene and tell people that they're arguing over nothing and that they've been worshiping fictional tales of alleged promised lands and whatnot. Is this part of some ongoing plan of his, where he pits different religions at war with each other? How malevolent.

What good can come from the Israel-Palestinian conflict? Or nuclear attacks on defenseless and innocent cities? I legitimately would appreciate your perspective on this.

you asked about how a belief in God, or lack there of, affects behavior. Answers to the "Why does this happen to me?" question show one difference. If you don't believe in an omnipotent creator, God, then all your answers will be about natural causes and things you, or other people, do. A belief in God can create this whole other emotional component, being angry at an omnipotent creator for tough times, faith when things are going well, or inspiration in the idea that everything that happens is for humanity's benefit. Without all that, you just make the best of whatever happens, seeking support from other humans.

It's interesting how any time someone presents a situation that is absolutely horrible for millions of humans, like natural disasters, some people still believe that God is omnipotent. Why couldn't a creator make a world free of natural disasters, or intervene to save sentient beings from harm if, for some reason beyond my current imagination, the natural disasters are impossible to avoid?


That being said, whether or not you believe, I think Joni Eareckson Tada's writings on suffering are very inspirational.

I know that if God existed and gave us everything we asked for (and we received it 100% of the time), then there would be no point in existence (I welcome any objection).

The fact of the matter is is that: every bit of suffering and evil in this world is possible without the presence/existence of a deity. I believe those that make excuses for all of it in favor of their deity simply doesn't want to admit that fact. Either a supernatural deity exists that can rid the world of all evil, or there is none and that we are alone in this indifferent world of suffering and cause-effect. Those that argue for an in-between just don't want to be swayed from their belief in their deity.

But I ask, why is it bad to question God's existence? Is it because of the threat of hell? If that's the case then I sincerely hope that you evaluate your belief to see the flaw in that logic.

It is not bad to question.

Keep doing it.

I am one that loves questions.

I have many more questions than answers.

Like many people in the Bible many folks on WP have posted lots of questions.

Keep asking them.
Hopefully your answers grow as you do



Zvi