Intelligent? Design

Originally posted by sonship
FMF, in one of your good songs you had a lyric about you being a bird picking at a worm and the worm was you. Doesn't that sound like a kind of self torturing ?

Originally posted by FMF
The person in the song isn't me. For me, songs are stories with characters. The character in that song is disappointed that his environmentalist principles have taken a back seat to the practicalities of life. The character is not tortured by this but is, perhaps, wistful about micro-realpolitik of ordinary life especially as he witnesses the damage and mistreatment of nature continue apace. The song is about loss of idealism not torture.

Originally posted by sonship
Whoever the person is ...

I didn't think it mattered if the person was you, me, or anyone else.
It seems an unhappy situation.

Originally posted by sonship
Do you think it is possible that one could get locked into a state of self torturing his own soul, even maybe forever ? If God wanted to save us from that state, would it make some sense for Him to described such a self torment as maybe a burning ?

Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke
It is you who said Buddhism 'and' Islam. I clearly said Buddhism 'or' Islam.

In the end, it always comes down to you believing your particular truth is the 'real truth' and that the other guys have got it wrong. But then, they probably feel the same about you and your argument is no more convincing.

And I don't necessarily believe all religions ...[text shortened]... em, rather than just through one religion reliant on human missionaries to spread the good news.

Originally posted by KellyJay
I think you are pulling a (sonhouse) here and I have nothing but respect for him and you,
but what makes you think you know your ways are better than God's? Why would your
way be better than His if He sees it all at once and you only see things in the window of
that little sliver of time called "now"?

The personal relationship we get when we invite Go ...[text shortened]... or birth
rights, of getting good enough on our own, or belonging to the proper nation or tribe.

Originally posted by FMF
And what is the purpose of this threat in terms of people who think it's nonsense?

And what is the purpose of torturing non-Christians for eternity after they die?

In this age the evil is chosen by men under the reign of mercy. There will come a time when the will is fixed, choosing evil perpetually.

If evil doing is chosen forever, God will forever let the evil doer know what He thinks about his choice. The sinner becomes like a falling stone. He descends with ever increasing force.

Nothing hardens men so much as the rejection of Christ.

Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke
The Ghost will ruminate on that sir.

Please note, I don't find your own posts tedious. Just in need of occasional correcting.

🙂

Originally posted by KellyJay
Yes I admit that is a big flaw with me when I write from time to time I omit a word I thought I typed or some other brainfart occurrs and I don't see it.

Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke
Wasn't referring to your spelling or grammar old chap, just your theological outlook.

Originally posted by sonship
I don't see this as essentially non-Christian as much as non-name-in-the-book-life.

Pain and punishment. It does not seem to be corrective.
Every divine corrective action of God has been rejected at the point of being lost forever.

Is there something which causes you to think eternal punishment and eternal God are mutually exclusive things ? Is there some reason why logically the two could not co-exist ?

Originally posted by FMF
I asked you two straight forward questions about your ideology. You sidestepped them. The questions remain.

And what is the purpose of this threat in terms of people who think it's nonsense?

And what is the purpose of torturing non-Christians for eternity after they die?

Originally posted by sonship
The purpose of eternal punishment for people who think it is not nonsense is identical for people who think it is nonsense.

There is no difference in purpose effected by whether the lost thinks it is nonsense or does not think it is nonsense.

Now if you don't LIKE the answer, then say you don't LIKE the answer.
Don't say "you sidestepped" in place of "I hate your answer".

Originally posted by sonship
But apart from dealing carefully with the front loaded character of the question, the purpose of retribution is punishment.