Searching for GOD...

[torridon]

This reminds me of one of the Gospel aclamations used in our church services:

I thank you, Lord, for revealing the mysteries of the Kingdom to mere children

And as adults, we put away the childish things

[Shaker]

Children are great. (At least some of them ... sometimes!). But I doubt you'd be content with a child's understanding of any given issue about the world - there's much that's overrated about growing up, but why do you want to remain at a child's level all your life? Child-like I get - we can all do with recapturing some of that in our lives. Childish, not really.

[floo]

Why would adults wish to be treated like children by a deity?

[ippy]

This reminds me of one of the Gospel aclamations used in our church services:

I thank you, Lord, for revealing the mysteries of the Kingdom to mere children

Yes and it did a lot of good for you, I don't think.

This kind of dogma makes fools of otherwise sensible peeople, as in your case Alan.

ippy

[Rhiannon]

The job of any parent is to raise their child to not need them any longer. Alan's God doesn't do that.

In fact Alan's God does a lot of strange things - demanding worship, withdrawing, testing how much he is loved through causing pain and difficulty. If he were a human we'd call him a narcissistic sociopathic control freak.

[Khatru]

The job of any parent is to raise their child to not need them any longer. Alan's God doesn't do that.

In fact Alan's God does a lot of strange things - demanding worship, withdrawing, testing how much he is loved through causing pain and difficulty. If he were a human we'd call him a narcissistic sociopathic control freak.

Not to mention leaving his children in the hands of the greatest super villain in the universe and promising to return at some undisclosed date like a "thief in the night" to wreak havoc and destroy his children with fire.

[floo]

The job of any parent is to raise their child to not need them any longer. Alan's God doesn't do that.

In fact Alan's God does a lot of strange things - demanding worship, withdrawing, testing how much he is loved through causing pain and difficulty. If he were a human we'd call him a narcissistic sociopathic control freak.

A real sicko, who would need serious psychiatric attention if it existed!

[Rhiannon]

A real sicko, who would need serious psychiatric attention if it existed!

Control through guilt and shame; forgot that one.

Of course it's really from the minds of people that this stuff comes. What is particularly cancerous about religions is its ability to make otherwise whole people into damaged people who not only are very wounded but then go onto inflict the same wounds on others - and all in the cause of saving them.

[floo]

Control through guilt and shame; forgot that one.

Of course it's really from the minds of people that this stuff comes. What is particularly cancerous about religions is its ability to make otherwise whole people into damaged people who not only are very wounded but then go onto inflict the same wounds on others - and all in the cause of saving them.

Spot on!

[Shaker]

Control through guilt and shame; forgot that one.

Of course it's really from the minds of people that this stuff comes. What is particularly cancerous about religions is its ability to make otherwise whole people into damaged people who not only are very wounded but then go onto inflict the same wounds on others - and all in the cause of saving them.

This reminds me of a remark by the great H. L. Mencken: "The desire to save people is almost always a false front for the urge to rule them."

[Rhiannon]

This reminds me of a remark by the great H. L. Mencken: "The desire to save people is almost always a false front for the urge to rule them."

Yes.

[wigginhall]

The job of any parent is to raise their child to not need them any longer. Alan's God doesn't do that.

In fact Alan's God does a lot of strange things - demanding worship, withdrawing, testing how much he is loved through causing pain and difficulty. If he were a human we'd call him a narcissistic sociopathic control freak.

And the people who worship such a God seem to be showing Stockholm's syndrome; they are getting off on being dominated by such a sociopath.

[wigginhall]

This reminds me of a remark by the great H. L. Mencken: "The desire to save people is almost always a false front for the urge to rule them."

I've never heard that one; very shrewd.   Borne out by history.

[Shaker]

Interesting and acute man, wiggy. Worth reading to this very day.

[wigginhall]

It reminds me of Reagan's joke, well, not really a joke, 'the most frightening words you could ever hear are "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you"'.    Well, this is a right-wing slogan really, but it still makes me laugh.

[Shaker]

Yes, I like that one too 

Unfortunately in the USA that seems to be taken to mean: "We're the government, and you should be able to help yourself. If you can't, oh well, never mind - too bad."

[ekim]

True gift of perception?


If it wasn't for the humble bee, most of those flowers wouldn't exist.

Nor the fruits we enjoy.

🌹

They're not all so humble though ...... what about the hepatitis bee.

[Alan Burns]

Why would adults wish to be treated like children by a deity?

To get to heaven, for Jesus said, "Unless you become as little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven"

Can you remember the joys of being a child?

[Rhiannon]

To get to heaven, for Jesus said, "Unless you become as little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven"

Can you remember the joys of being a child?

There's nothing wrong with a bit of childlike awe and pleasure. But what you actually mean is infantilising adults in order to stop them thinking independently and for them to accept nonsense as truth.

[wigginhall]

To get to heaven, for Jesus said, "Unless you become as little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven"

Can you remember the joys of being a child?

Lots of children get abused as well.   They are vulnerable to powerful authority figures, hmm, now I wonder who that reminds me of?   Did somebody mention Stockholm syndrome, oh, it must have been me.

[Nearly Sane]

Lots of children get abused as well.   They are vulnerable to powerful authority figures, hmm, now I wonder who that reminds me of?   Did somebody mention Stockholm syndrome, oh, it must have been me.

And some die in excruciating pain of childhood diseases that Alan's god created so that Alan could like flowers.

[Nearly Sane]

I know we are all supposed to go 'isn't Alan lovely because he's so polite' but te cloying idiocy that seeks to justify childhood diseases because 'we should be like children and like the pretty flower' and thank some thug god for the second but shrug our shoulders at the first because in our lisping prattling impersonations of Toyah 'it'th a mythtery' is stomach churning.

[Rhiannon]

I know we are all supposed to go 'isn't Alan lovely because he's so polite' but te cloying idiocy that seeks to justify childhood diseases because 'we should be like children and like the pretty flower' and thank some thug god for the second but shrug our shoulders at the first because in our lisping prattling impersonations of Toyah 'it'th a mythtery' is stomach churning.

Spot on. We aren't supposed to go anything of the sort; manners or not these beliefs aren't just nauseating, they are actually quite frightening. What kind of blinkered self-importance could possibly allow for them?

[wigginhall]

I sometimes wonder if Alan is a spoof, his stuff is so idiotic, and there is so much goal-post moving.  But probably not, would somebody really go on and on for months in this risible way as a poe?  But then it's supposed to be impossible to separate the spoof from the real thing, well that's what 'poe' means.

[Nearly Sane]

Spot on. We aren't supposed to go anything of the sort; manners or not these beliefs aren't just nauseating, they are actually quite frightening. What kind of blinkered self-importance could possibly allow for them?

That's just the devil talking through you, 'please sir thug god, please, thug god, I saw Goody Rhiannon asking questions!'