Concept of a Benevolent God

[ambelamba]

Even when I was a Christian, I couldn't fully trust in God.

It's a long story, but I became extremely careful whenever I prayed for something. I came to believe that God would deliberately misinterpret my prayers and give me a very twisted result. So I always added 'fine print' whenever I prayed. To me, prayer was like a legal contract that has full of space for deliberate misinterpretations. All for His entertainment.

As a man who grew up in South Korea, with its twisted democracy and unrestricted authoritarian capitalism, I came to distrust authority figures, including God. My relationship with God was not out of love, but out of fear and reluctant submission. And that was how hierarchy worked in Korea. Authoritarian figures can break all the promises and deals, and get away with it. It is said that you end up see God through the society you grew up with, like it or not.

And yes, it was partly out of anxiety.

Now I am an atheist. But recently something happened and now I can feel more ease with promise-keeping God who wouldn't abuse His position. Well, what happened?

I got a Medical Card. And a vape. I became mellow and my anxiety melted away. In a week.

Ironically, now I have little problem with the concept of acceptably benevolent God. Well, I can definitely understand why people come up with kind, gentle kind of God despite what's written on the Old Writ.

I am not sure if I would ever become a theist again, but at least I am free from the notion of Maltheism.

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

I like to think I'm mostly benevolent.

[ambelamba]

Good thing is that I can have more chilled-out view on God. Maltheism messed up with my mind and made my life Hell.

Still won't go back to Christianity. Even if God is real, Bible is not a holy book.

[Frank Merton]

It is obvious the universe is utterly uncaring about us, neither out to get us nor out to help us. Evolution produced smallpox right along with penicillin.

If God created this universe, then it seems pretty obvious He is no different.

[ambelamba]

It is obvious the universe is utterly uncaring about us, neither out to get us nor out to help us. Evolution produced smallpox right along with penicillin.

If God created this universe, then it seems pretty obvious He is no different.

I understand. But that's not the point. I wanted to demonstrate that your view on God can be dictated by your mental well-being.

[Marcion Meets E. Sibyl]

Even when I was a Christian, I couldn't fully trust in God.

It's a long story, but I became extremely careful whenever I prayed for something. I came to believe that God would deliberately misinterpret my prayers and give me a very twisted result. So I always added 'fine print' whenever I prayed. To me, prayer was like a legal contract that has full of space for deliberate misinterpretations. All for His entertainment.

It is said that you end up see God through the society you grew up with, like it or not.

And yes, it was partly out of anxiety.

Now I am an atheist. But recently something happened and now I can feel more ease with promise-keeping God who wouldn't abuse His position. Well, what happened?

I got a Medical Card. And a vape. I became mellow and my anxiety melted away. In a week.

Ironically, now I have little problem with the concept of acceptably benevolent God. Well, I can definitely understand why people come up with kind, gentle kind of God despite what's written on the Old Writ.

I am not sure if I would ever become a theist again, but at least I am free from the notion of Maltheism.

I hear you, ambelamba.

I neither see "Christ(os)" as benevolent nor malevolent. The quality of His being is perfection. How I deal with, or perceive, a situation shows my limitations, of course. How could it not? In the end, nothing is wasted; nothing is lost; and everything will be alright...in the afterlife.

Friends have asked me (a continuing thing, LOL), "Where was god when...?" Mind you, I've also asked this question a billion times before, especially when my mom died of cancer and other catastrophic events in my life. More often than not, many of them were caused by natural factors. My mom was a very delicate, corporate woman (in a high-stress "man's world," back in the day), without going into details. Other problems? Just watch some documentaries like Inequality for All, Red Hollywood, Frontline, Hunting the Nightmare Bacterias, and The Flaw, anything on global warming, and read articles about James Lovelock. Trusting a god is not my issue. Besides, human greed is doing a wonderful job at that.

"How about shifting earth?" "A layer of searing hot liquid magma trapped since Earth's formation may lie 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) beneath our feet, new research suggests," according to National Geographic. Is this a form of godly abuse of power? I understand because it's easier to blame an obscure, non-face god. It's less work and faster to sweep under a rug.

Horrible things happen because we live in a fragile material world with not enough resources and plenty of human creatures making things worse. Christ didn't snap His fingers and boom, the world's population is suddenly 7 billion. And people wonder about "prosperity gospel"??

Even though I consider myself a "Christian," my take on Christ(os), or my God, is not completely "orthodox." I'm probably a .02% literalist (Biblical) Christian, but a value number is not precise. It has been a very interesting pilgrimage and extensive research, nevertheless.

Edited May 1, 2015 by No-thingBornPassion

[Frank Merton]

I understand. But that's not the point. I wanted to demonstrate that your view on God can be dictated by your mental well-being.

Maybe so for some people, but it shouldn't be.

[Grandpa Greenman]

This why nature as god works well for me. Nature isn't out of get me, but neither is nature my savior. In nature you live and die by luck and smarts. Nature provides us and our fellow creatures what we need to survive if we are smart enough to maintain and use it in the right way as part of the biosphere. We humans are really spoiled children. We take and take and often give little in return. Eventually there will be nothing left for us to take and we will be no more. Nature will go on without us as it did before we came along to muck it all up. I have been given life, that in itself is a miracle enough.

[XenoFish]

Whenever you pray be careful what you tell your subconscious you want.

+1 to greenman

[hellig heilige]

We humans are really spoiled children. We take and take and often give little in return.

Capitalism is about that. We live in that kind of culture. To break the chain reaction you have to change peoples mindset..................................... NBP hits the bulls eye about over population and greed. We should ban religious groups against condoms and contraceptions...............................................................

[IamsSon]

I think our view of God and His benevolence is severely hampered by our perspective. The only "life" we know are the years we spend on this, for lack of a better term, plane of existence, which at best is between 80 - 90 years. God is an eternal being, a being who is completely unbound by time, a being who can will a universe made of energy and matter, and can give life through an act of will. Yes, He loves us, each and every one, but what does that mean? Does it mean He becomes our genie, granting any and every wish we have? Does it mean He lets us do what we may? Does it mean He holds us accountable to the rules He set up, just as we human parents hold our children accountable for the rules we set? And what does it look like for a Creator to hold all of humanity accountable? Does He send us to our room without supper? Ground us without TV, internet, and X-Box for a month?

Yes, He loves us, but not in a sick co-dependent way, and so His love can be wonderful, but it can also be something to fear.

[ambelamba]

If God exists and he intervenes with out life...well, reading A LOT OF NEWS makes me think that God might not be that benevolent. But...

To some people, such things can be seen as benevolence. Entirely different brain wiring and chemical makeup and political alignment make us see benevolence in very different angles.

To quote a popular quote: "He beats me up and abuses me because he loves me." Hmm.

Sure, I am OPEN to the idea of benevolent God. But observing how world goes and reading too much 'liberal media' makes me think that God is either absent or indifferent. Still better than a wicked God.

[LV-426]

I think our view of God and His benevolence is severely hampered by our perspective. The only "life" we know are the years we spend on this, for lack of a better term, plane of existence, which at best is between 80 - 90 years. God is an eternal being, a being who is completely unbound by time, a being who can will a universe made of energy and matter, and can give life through an act of will. Yes, He loves us, each and every one, but what does that mean? Does it mean He becomes our genie, granting any and every wish we have? Does it mean He lets us do what we may? Does it mean He holds us accountable to the rules He set up, just as we human parents hold our children accountable for the rules we set? And what does it look like for a Creator to hold all of humanity accountable? Does He send us to our room without supper? Ground us without TV, internet, and X-Box for a month?

Yes, He loves us, but not in a sick co-dependent way, and so His love can be wonderful, but it can also be something to fear.

Does he love young children who die of terrible illnesses, such as leukaemia? His PR guy would need to put some serious spin on that one to promote his benevolence...

[Donnie Darko]

I don't personally think God would purposely misinterpret my prayers, if at all at that. If anything, I believe that God and Jesus are the only ones who completely understand me. No one else truly does. I take comfort in that. No matter how I feel...happy,sad,depressed,anxious,excited,etc...I am thankful and also, repenting of my sins or wrongdoings. Nothing can be hidden from God, not even our thoughts, so therefore ; I trust that God is just and loving and more than patient and that he's the opposite of a trickster,as the devil is known to be.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Donnie Darko

[robinrenee]

If God exists and he intervenes with out life...well, reading A LOT OF NEWS makes me think that God might not be that benevolent. But...

To some people, such things can be seen as benevolence. Entirely different brain wiring and chemical makeup and political alignment make us see benevolence in very different angles.

To quote a popular quote: "He beats me up and abuses me because he loves me." Hmm.

Sure, I am OPEN to the idea of benevolent God. But observing how world goes and reading too much 'liberal media' makes me think that God is either absent or indifferent. Still better than a wicked God.

I believe God, the Ruler of Earth and Heaven, created us and then created for us this magnificent world for our training, for our enjoyment, and to provide everything that we could ever need here on the physical plane. He gave us intelligence and free will and allowed us to make of this paradise what we wanted. .... How are we doing??

[Occult1]

Now I am an atheist. But recently something happened and now I can feel more ease with promise-keeping God who wouldn't abuse His position. Well, what happened?

Ironically, now I have little problem with the concept of acceptably benevolent God. Well, I can definitely understand why people come up with kind, gentle kind of God despite what's written on the Old Writ.

Seems to me like you could be interested in Deism. It is basically the belief in a Creator but without revelations, supersititions and religious doctrines.

You might want to learn more about this God philosophy:

http://www.deism.com/deism_defined.htm

Edited May 5, 2015 by samus

[robinrenee]

Does he love young children who die of terrible illnesses, such as leukaemia? His PR guy would need to put some serious spin on that one to promote his benevolence...

God, the Divine and Infallible Physician, desires that we be happy and healthy. We, with our free will, poison the earth and our children.

[Frank Merton]

God, being benevolent, created evil so we could appreciate and enjoy good. God, being malevolent, created evil just naturally. It seems that we get the same world whether God is one or the other.

[LV-426]

God, the Divine and Infallible Physician, desires that we be happy and healthy. We, with our free will, poison the earth and our children.

The 'blame it on mankind' catchall argument might cover most bases, but it doesn't wholly account for infants being struck down with terrible incurable illnesses.

And even if it did, how about this omnipotent 'Infallible Physician' tending to a few of his young patients who've never had a chance in life?

[Rlyeh]

God, the Divine and Infallible Physician, desires that we be happy and healthy. We, with our free will, poison the earth and our children.

Our free will causes leukaemia? According to some, homosexuality causes everything from earthquakes to terrorist attacks. Edited May 5, 2015 by Rlyeh

[GoldenWolf]

I believe God, the Ruler of Earth and Heaven, created us and then created for us this magnificent world for our training, for our enjoyment, and to provide everything that we could ever need here on the physical plane. He gave us intelligence and free will and allowed us to make of this paradise what we wanted. .... How are we doing??

1 Corinthians 1:19

For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."

[Bluefinger]

The 'blame it on mankind' catchall argument might cover most bases, but it doesn't wholly account for infants being struck down with terrible incurable illnesses.

And even if it did, how about this omnipotent 'Infallible Physician' tending to a few of his young patients who've never had a chance in life?

I wonder if there is already several cures for this but they aren't being released because companies can't make money off of cures.

[hellig heilige]

The 'blame it on mankind' catchall argument might cover most bases, but it doesn't wholly account for infants being struck down with terrible incurable illnesses.

And even if it did, how about this omnipotent 'Infallible Physician' tending to a few of his young patients who've never had a chance in life?

It's either lack of knowledge and technology on how to come up with the right cures or people have destroyed the natural resources to make the cures. Leukemia and gene defects are a portion of the domino effect. People's stupidity is 99% of blame and it's only getting worse unless we wisen up in a timewarp speed............................................................................

Brave new world is here. Many scientists think it's too late to reverse. Divine intervention is our only hope but we have to focus our free will to that saving grace. People have tried their trendy political rallies, and after three days of cruising and kissing the parade is over yada yada yada. "Just 1 percent of the world's population controls nearly half of the planet's wealth, according to a new study published by Oxfam ahead of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting". FYI. Is power on earth infallible??????????????????????????????????????? What do animals do when cornered???????????????????????????

[robinrenee]

The 'blame it on mankind' catchall argument might cover most bases, but it doesn't wholly account for infants being struck down with terrible incurable illnesses.

And even if it did, how about this omnipotent 'Infallible Physician' tending to a few of his young patients who've never had a chance in life?

The 'blame it on mankind' catchall argument might cover most bases, but it doesn't wholly account for infants being struck down with terrible incurable illnesses.

And even if it did, how about this omnipotent 'Infallible Physician' tending to a few of his young patients who've never had a chance in life?

Mankind has not been a good steward of the earth. Many diseases come from genetic injuries that we pass on to our offspring. We have the potential to correct these situations and diseases. Someday we will do that.

The Divine and Infallible Physician does tend to these young patients. You are just not aware of what is going on behind "the veil." The suffering of the innocents is laid at our feet... own it. Our God of Mercy immeasurably compensates these beloved children. This is a "mystery of God."

[ambelamba]

Mankind has not been a good steward of the earth. Many diseases come from genetic injuries that we pass on to our offspring. We have the potential to correct these situations and diseases. Someday we will do that.

The Divine and Infallible Physician does tend to these young patients. You are just not aware of what is going on behind "the veil." The suffering of the innocents is laid at our feet... own it. Our God of Mercy immeasurably compensates these beloved children. This is a "mystery of God."

I guess I do have regional prejudice.