the Bible says a gajillion times that God is the King / Lord / Ruler of the earth, but somehow it's not God's fault when the earth is all fucked up?
"oh he has another Kingdom in a different dimension and everything is gonna be perfect there"
well if he can't keep this Kingdom from being fucked up, why should we trust he'll do better in the invisible one?
"the earth is fucked up bc God gave us freewill, and he had to because without free will there can be no love"
so in the next Kingdom, which one is going to be absent -- free will or Love?
"oh, God will make us perfect so free will and love can coexist but we won't immediately yeet our entire species into sin like we did the first time"
wait... that was an option? why didn't God just.... do that the first time?
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a lot of christians be like: "yeah those are tough questions" and then carry on as if the entire theological premise of their religion isn't incoherent and incompatible with any aspect of our lived human experience.
i gotta hand it to the Calvanists. at least they're honest.
like: "yeah, God does wacky shit all the time. it makes him feel important. his game his rules, he can do whatever the fuck he wants"
a lot of Christianity (white, american, evangelical especially) is just out here positing a metaphysical worldview that negates the meaning of our human existence and also makes no damn sense, and just trying to smooth it over with grace and love and mystery.
i call bullshit.
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i'm not trying to talk anyone out of God.
i'm talking to the ones who who nearly broke their brains trying to believe and as a result were swamped in cognitive dissonance and shame and then told it was our fault.
it's not your fault.
it's ok to let go of that story.
I see a lot of this when I visit my wife in Uganda. Christianity there is bat shit crazy. Ever pastor is a prophet who secretly misuses his power and the Bible to gain followers, amass wealth, and sleep with congregants. But challenge the God of the Bible with questions you raised and their doctrines and arguments fall apart. I see freethinking and skepticism one day being just as dominant as it’s becoming in America. Great post. 👍👍
Hey Micah, thanks for posting. I can't help thinking of the song "Looking for Space" by John Denver, one of my late Mom's favorite singers. The world is in a terrible state, and yet it's still full of wonder and somehow it provides me with cantaloupe to eat tonight and old friends to talk to... and somehow I have eyes to see the weedy marshes and dimming skies and a brain to wonder about it. Right now I am wondering... why does the king of everything let such a sinner like me live in his universe?