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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!ittvax!wex
From: wex@ittvax.UUCP (Alan Wexelblat)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Warning, the following is intended to be good for your sanity!
Message-ID: <910@ittvax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 8-Aug-83 13:35:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: ittvax.910
Posted: Mon Aug  8 13:35:55 1983
Date-Received: Mon, 8-Aug-83 21:19:53 EDT
Lines: 66

I just have to answer this article by John Rutis:

	You have to understand God's reason for man's 
	existence and God's plan for man before you can 
	understand why God has done some of the things 
	He has.

I thought that the ways of God were unknowable.  Are you claiming divine
knowledge?

	God's created man as the first step in reproducing 
	Himself! That's what I said, we are to become God 
	as God is God!  
	
HUH?  Where do you get this?  I thought you all believed that we were created
in God's image, not as divine reproduction.

	Character is something God CANNOT create by divine 
	fiat; it must be developed with the willing 
	participation of the one developing it.  
	
Now here's another new concept.  I thought God was, by definition, omnipotent,
and that means "all powerful."  Now you're trying to say that this all-powerful
being "CANNOT" do something.  That's a contradiction in terms.

	There are only two ways God can make a world with 
	no suffering, pain, sorrow, etc.  1) Force everyone 
	to conform to the right way, whether they like it or 
	not, and 2) Develop character in people so that they 
	will always want to choose the right and then get rid 
	of those who WILL NOT develop that character.  God 
	doesn't want robots in His family, so He has chosen the
	second way.  
	
Lots of pseudo-biblical drivel has been removed, but there are two points to
be made here:  One, it sounds an awful lot like God is using method one.  Look
at your own examples of what happens/happened to people who disobeyed God! 
Two, there is at least one other way that I can think of to make a perfect
world.  As Richard Bach said:  "Imagine the universe being the best that you
can imagine it.  Now you can be sure that the eternal Is has imagined it a lot
better than you have."  

Your presumption is astounding.  God, according to you, lays out what is 
"right," and then, like a spoiled child, says "Now you have to do it MY way,
or you can't play anymore!"  Can't you get it through your head that I will
not allow ANYONE to lay down an arbitrary code, and then expect me to toe
the line?  I don't care how high and mighty He is.  If He does not even
live up to His own standards, then I don't see why I should.

	The whole message of the Gospel can be summed up by 
	saying GOD'S GOVERNMENT IS RETURNING TO THE EARTH!

And my whole message can be summed up by saying I REJECT YOUR GOSPEL.  IF YOU
WANT TO TRY TO CONVINCE ME THEN USE LOGIC AND REASONING (if you know what they
are).  IF YOU JUST WANT TO PROSELYTIZE, THEN GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR DISCUSSION!

I hereby move that we, being an anarcho-democratic society, require that persons
wishing to use net.religion for proselytizing place a warning in their header
(similar to the obscenity warning in net.jokes).  This way, the reasonable
among us will be saved the trouble of having to put up with this crap, and
newcomers will not be caught unawares.  Of course, all persons are still free
to take part in the discussions, but anyone proselytizing without warning
will be formally ignored.

--Alan (yes, I'm short-tempered on Mondays) Wexelblat
decvax!ittvax!wex