Russell
Posts: 1082 Joined: April 2005
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Quote | Remember that I am not a biblical literalist. Nor do I consider the bible inerant. Especially the OT. | Let me hasten to point out that [a] I never thought you were and [b] I - like Thomas Jefferson - am a "whateverist" and [c] I rather like and admire you, Stephen Elliott, as far as I know you through your comments. I'm just making some general observations about "religion".
And that is: God has always been made in man's image. When the Israelites were carving out a little lebensraum for themselves in the Middle East, a liberal, multicultural, every-Canaanite-is-beautiful-in-his-own-way god would hardly fit the bill. Nowadays, societies that realize they have to somehow accommodate more diversity find god to be more diversity-friendly than he used to be.
For me it boils down to this: is there really anything in this reality that [a] has a Will (i.e. preferences, desires, likes and dislikes) and [b] the wherewithal to implement said will, but [c] does not have a material, biological, body? I see no reason to believe that there is, and every reason to believer there isn't. But for those who see things differently (because, remember, I am a "whateverist") I really can't imagine how they can come to any kind of consensus on what the properties of this entity might have.
-------------- Must... not... scratch... mosquito bite.
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