Pastor Dave Posted September 17, 2015 Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 If the teenager was left alone and in charge of the house in the parents absence and took good care of the place and the parents came home and did not beat him because he did a good job, why should he be thankful unless he was expecting a beating in the first place?I'm sorry, where did this talk of beating come from?It seems that your train of thought runs on a different set of tracks than mine.I don't even think they run in the same direction.Perhaps he should be thankful that he has good parents.Maybe he should be thankful that his needs are met.He might even have reason to be thankful because some of his wants are provided for.Just Sayin' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Key Posted September 17, 2015 Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 I'm sorry, where did this talk of beating come from?It seems that your train of thought runs on a different set of tracks than mine.I don't even think they run in the same direction.Perhaps he should be thankful that he has good parents.Maybe he should be thankful that his needs are met.He might even have reason to be thankful because some of his wants are provided for.Just Sayin'I'm thinking his train of thought was more along the lines of teenagers taking things for granted, so unless something bad happened and he didn't get the punishment he feared he'd get, he really wouldn't give any thought to what he should have been thankful for in the first place. My take, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pastor Dave Posted September 18, 2015 Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 I'm thinking his train of thought was more along the lines of teenagers taking things for granted, so unless something bad happened and he didn't get the punishment he feared he'd get, he really wouldn't give any thought to what he should have been thankful for in the first place. My take, anyway.Maybe you're right & I just don't see it. It seems to me he is asking why the teen should be thankful for not receiving a beating. I just don't see how that relates to the point I was trying to make.I try to live with an attitude of gratitude. I am thankful for all of the good things God does in my life. I am also thankful when the Holy Spirit nudges me in a direction that allows me to avoid having something bad happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pastor Dave Posted September 18, 2015 Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 (edited) Let's try something different.There is a song on the radio by Matthew West that Illustrates my original point about God has given man dominion over the earth. The song is called "Do Something". It starts like this;I woke up this morningSaw a world full of trouble nowThought, how’d we ever get so far downHow’s it ever gonna turn aroundSo I turned my eyes to HeavenI thought, “God, why don’t You do something?”Well, I just couldn’t bear the thought ofPeople living in povertyChildren sold into slaveryThe thought disgusted meSo, I shook my fist at HeavenSaid, “God, why don’t You do something?”He said, “I did, I created you”Rather than get mad because evil is out there, it is our job to do something about it. We all have the ability to do some good somewhere at some time. It is the choices we all make that determines the state of the world. I may not be able to stop all of the evil in the world. Never the less I can to things to alleviate the bad circumstances of others. When I am able to "do something" I feel Blessed. Not because I am such a wonderful person but because God has Blessed me to be in the position to help others. I thank God for the opportunity to be a blessing to someone else. Not that I never need help myself. Sometimes I need help. I thank God when He sends me the help I need. Edited September 18, 2015 by Pastor Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan56 Posted September 18, 2015 Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 So, I shook my fist at HeavenSaid, “God, why don’t You do something?”He said, “I did, I created you”I had a similar thought a while back when someone said how terrible God was for letting children starve to death.. But there's plenty of food in the world, enough that no one needs to starve, so who's fault is it if anyone starves? As you mentioned, God gave us dominion over the earth, so many of the hardships that exist are the result of sloppy stewardship. I guess if God gives us all the food we need and we burn the meal, its God's fault. God gives us the bricks and mortar, but we have to do the work. If God gave everyone a new car, most would complain that it didn't come with a full tank of gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mererdog Posted September 18, 2015 Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 (edited) "cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return"Genesis 1 has God blessing man with dominion over the Earth, but Genesis 3 has God cursing the Earth...And if we use "I made you" to give God credit for the good men do, should we not also use it to give God blame for the bad men do? Doesnt the Bible specifically say that God makes evil men intentionally? Edited September 18, 2015 by mererdog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Kaman Posted September 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 It is wonderful that so many can express so much in so many varying ways and be neither right nor wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan56 Posted September 18, 2015 Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 (edited) It is wonderful that so many can express so much in so many varying ways and be neither right nor wrong.Or maybe both are right........ If God loves and God hates, perhaps we're just explaining it from different directions. There's good and bad, we can focus on all the bad and blame God for it, or we can notice all the good and thank God for it. Yin and yang, what would our prospective on good be if we knew no bad? It would be hard to have an opinion or answer based on half of an equation. Edited September 18, 2015 by Dan56 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Kaman Posted September 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 Or maybe both are right........ If God loves and God hates, perhaps we're just explaining it from different directions. There's good and bad, we can focus on all the bad and blame God for it, or we can notice all the good and thank God for it. Yin and yang, what would our prospective on good be if we knew no bad? It would be hard to have an opinion or answer based on half of an equation.I know that good and bad are just the extremes of the spectrum and you must have one in order to experience the other. My contention is, even with my own vision of God, if God is responsible for one he must be responsible for the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mererdog Posted September 18, 2015 Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 Always remember...If your kids do something good, it because you are a good parent.If your kids do something bad, it is because they are bad kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Kaman Posted September 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 Always remember...If your kids do something good, it because you are a good parent.If your kids do something bad, it is because they are bad kids.If you are a parent, mererdog, and you believe your statement, i am sorry for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Key Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 If you are a parent, mererdog, and you believe your statement, i am sorry for you.Actually, I believe he was giving reference to some Christians view of God. God being the parent, and mankind being the kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mererdog Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 Actually, I believe he was giving reference to some Christians view of God. God being the parent, and mankind being the kids.Yep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuchulain Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 Others say that it's a ludicrous idea to reference God as the father. Usually during a debate when we equate the way God shows eternal love towards us as hateful(which would be my view if I believed in God). But, the prayer gives the lie to that in my view. "our father, who art in heaven..." is a reference to God as the father, at least, in my view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panpareil Posted September 23, 2015 Report Share Posted September 23, 2015 Children do hate to be punished and often find no reason in it. Then they grow up.If the maker of this world were malevolent or insane why is there order and beauty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Key Posted September 23, 2015 Report Share Posted September 23, 2015 Children do hate to be punished and often find no reason in it. Then they grow up.If the maker of this world were malevolent or insane why is there order and beauty.Are you implying that the insane or malevolent can not know order or beauty? Could they not use these to mask their true intentions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panpareil Posted September 23, 2015 Report Share Posted September 23, 2015 Are you implying that the insane or malevolent can not know order or beauty? Could they not use these to mask their true intentions?I am saying insanity and malevolence are inconsistent with order and beauty. They are the absence of order and beauty.The miracle of life is that anyone has one at all. The dividing line amongst humanity is between those who appreciate life, and those who find fault with it. Notice, I did not say their life, but life in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Kaman Posted September 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2015 Children do hate to be punished and often find no reason in it. Then they grow up.If the maker of this world were malevolent or insane why is there order and beauty.That is a great reason for not believing the God of Abraham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuchulain Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 (edited) A large part of my reasoning, brother Kaman. I see the Christians talk about a loving and caring God, but the bible reference what I would consider a psychopath, and cannot reconcile the two. Good for those who can, however. Edited September 24, 2015 by cuchulain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan56 Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 That is a great reason for not believing the God of Abraham.Yes, correcting children who misbehave, along with order and beauty in the world, are excellent reasons not to believe? Would you prefer a god who said "Do not murder" and then after you go out and commit a murder, that same god says "Good for you"? That to me is chaos, and just plain crazy.A large part of my reasoning, brother Kaman. I see the Christians talk about a loving and caring God, but the bible reference what I would consider a psychopath, and cannot reconcile the two. Good for those who can, however.Christians don't see a psychopath because they don't think that punishing sin is crazy. God corrects those he loves (Hebrews 12:6), just as any good parent would discipline their own children. So from that perception, there's nothing to reconcile. What would be difficult for me to reconcile is if God allowed people to sin, commit evil, and harm others with impunity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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