Haha, thanks for saying expertise! I would decline the compliment though. I minored in religious histories and actually was one credit away, but didn’t finish. Mostly because I was ready to be done with Electrical Engineering, my major. I regret that, now. So, in my humble opinion, the contradiction/discussion on whether G-d does evil is the most fascinating. Isaiah 45:7 depicts G-d as the creator of all, peace, chaos, light, and darkness. But multiple times, especially in the new testament which generally switches over to G-d being a god of mercy, depicts G-d as someone who does not do evil. Some theologians blame the council of Rome for the inaccuracies, but I think it’s more complicated than that, as the old testament is not without a merciful G-d.
I think it might come from that, and I do feel like there’s something missing in the canon. There’s honestly so many missing texts, that it’s a shame. But I think G-d is in a superposition, almost. He is all, at the same time. However, this is just my personal explanation that comes with my own personal biases. This is just the example that came to mind, because it’s one that can’t be brushed off. Looking into the definition of the Hebrew words for light, darkness, chaos, peace, leads to discussion as to the actual meaning behind it. Is it allegorical? Is it definitionally exact? Who knows!
But yeah, in a nutshell, that’s my favorite one and I like all the discussion by folks, much much smarter than me with Doctorates in the subject. I’m actually friends with a Doctor whose focus is on whether G-d does evil, so that might bias me again lol. But it really is so fascinating. As society, especially in the western Christian Church, G-d is thought of as this one dimensional character. But in reality, He is multidimensional, varied, and extremely complex. I hope this dump wasn’t too much. I highly recommend reading through some dissertations on any subject/contradictions you find, as it is incredibly complex and fascinating to read through.
So, that comes from a Jewish tradition where G-d’s name should never be destroyed. I’ve subscribed to that theology myself, because I like it. If you’d like more information on my religious beliefs, it could be easily summed up as, I believe G-d is in everything. The air, our pencils, our food. He is all encompassing. I believe there is great truths in all religious texts and to dismiss any, is of great detriment to one’s personal spiritual journey. So, yeah. When referencing G-d’s name, I do not write it. But that’s just my own personal journey, no need to get hot about it lol
Info dumps by nerdy folks who are passionate about stuff are my favorite!! ☺️☺️
That’s super interesting, thanks for explaining! And yeah that’s a pretty central contradiction, I can see how that’d drive a lot of theological debate/discussion. Even within the public consciousness it feels like you have the two versions of the christian god, the “turn the other cheek” and the wrathful god you must learn to fear.
I get not wanting to accept the compliment, there’s often a really big difference between a true expert within a field of study and someone with “expertise” in the more coloquial sense of someone having significantly more specialized knowledge than a layman. Regardless, you know a lot more than me or most other folks in this thread and I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge and perspective with us ☺️
Anytime! Like I said, it’s a passion/hobby of mine, so I like to delve into it. Religion is so fascinating and it’s cool how so many religions have emphasis on peace and love that gets distorted by humans. I’m saddened by some of the comments in the thread, as it’s a large indication of people who refuse to be curious and learn, and would rather stay ignorant. Cheers!
Haha, thanks for saying expertise! I would decline the compliment though. I minored in religious histories and actually was one credit away, but didn’t finish. Mostly because I was ready to be done with Electrical Engineering, my major. I regret that, now. So, in my humble opinion, the contradiction/discussion on whether G-d does evil is the most fascinating. Isaiah 45:7 depicts G-d as the creator of all, peace, chaos, light, and darkness. But multiple times, especially in the new testament which generally switches over to G-d being a god of mercy, depicts G-d as someone who does not do evil. Some theologians blame the council of Rome for the inaccuracies, but I think it’s more complicated than that, as the old testament is not without a merciful G-d.
I think it might come from that, and I do feel like there’s something missing in the canon. There’s honestly so many missing texts, that it’s a shame. But I think G-d is in a superposition, almost. He is all, at the same time. However, this is just my personal explanation that comes with my own personal biases. This is just the example that came to mind, because it’s one that can’t be brushed off. Looking into the definition of the Hebrew words for light, darkness, chaos, peace, leads to discussion as to the actual meaning behind it. Is it allegorical? Is it definitionally exact? Who knows!
But yeah, in a nutshell, that’s my favorite one and I like all the discussion by folks, much much smarter than me with Doctorates in the subject. I’m actually friends with a Doctor whose focus is on whether G-d does evil, so that might bias me again lol. But it really is so fascinating. As society, especially in the western Christian Church, G-d is thought of as this one dimensional character. But in reality, He is multidimensional, varied, and extremely complex. I hope this dump wasn’t too much. I highly recommend reading through some dissertations on any subject/contradictions you find, as it is incredibly complex and fascinating to read through.
You can say god on the internet, the fuck?
He can say whatever he wants, including G-d, this is the fediverse, we accept diversity
So, that comes from a Jewish tradition where G-d’s name should never be destroyed. I’ve subscribed to that theology myself, because I like it. If you’d like more information on my religious beliefs, it could be easily summed up as, I believe G-d is in everything. The air, our pencils, our food. He is all encompassing. I believe there is great truths in all religious texts and to dismiss any, is of great detriment to one’s personal spiritual journey. So, yeah. When referencing G-d’s name, I do not write it. But that’s just my own personal journey, no need to get hot about it lol
Info dumps by nerdy folks who are passionate about stuff are my favorite!! ☺️☺️
That’s super interesting, thanks for explaining! And yeah that’s a pretty central contradiction, I can see how that’d drive a lot of theological debate/discussion. Even within the public consciousness it feels like you have the two versions of the christian god, the “turn the other cheek” and the wrathful god you must learn to fear.
I get not wanting to accept the compliment, there’s often a really big difference between a true expert within a field of study and someone with “expertise” in the more coloquial sense of someone having significantly more specialized knowledge than a layman. Regardless, you know a lot more than me or most other folks in this thread and I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge and perspective with us ☺️
Anytime! Like I said, it’s a passion/hobby of mine, so I like to delve into it. Religion is so fascinating and it’s cool how so many religions have emphasis on peace and love that gets distorted by humans. I’m saddened by some of the comments in the thread, as it’s a large indication of people who refuse to be curious and learn, and would rather stay ignorant. Cheers!