Hello world

[Newtonian]

Hi everyone,
I am a lifelong Catholic. But on a recent work trip, I decided to put on a documentary about Greek gods. It was during this documentary that I had a thought that turned into more of a revelation.

Though I've heard the question asked by non-theists before, for some reason this time it hit me right in the jellies. How was the Old Testament God any different than the Greek gods? How is the Genesis creation story(ies) any different than the Greek creation stories? If I was born in Saudi Arabia or India or China, would I be Christian? I think the obvious answer is no. I’d be Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist respectively. So how do I support my beliefs in Christianity? Does it have a case (objectively) to be any more true than any other religion (e.g. Hinduism or Pantheism)? I no longer think so.

Rick Gervais' quote (which I found tonight), sums up my current thinking.

Not sure what specifically you are referring to.   So, I'll try to guess:

1.   The Hell Fire doctrine - specifically the teaching that God torments people forever.   Certainly a god of love would not do that - it would be worse than most of the most sadistic criminals.   In contrast Jesus, in his sermon on the mount (Matthew chapters 5 - 7) taught us to love our enemies.  (Matthew 5:44).

2.  Christendom has the most violent history of any religious group.   In contrast, Jesus' first to second century followers did not go to war - nor do those of my religion (Jehovah's Witnesses).

[aitm]

Not sure what specifically you are referring to.   So, I'll try to guess:

1.   The Hell Fire doctrine - specifically the teaching that God torments people forever.   Certainly a god of love would not do that - it would be worse than most of the most sadistic criminals.   In contrast Jesus, in his sermon on the mount (Matthew chapters 5 - 7) taught us to love our enemies.  (Matthew 5:44).

2.  Christendom has the most violent history of any religious group.   In contrast, Jesus' first to second century followers did not go to war - nor do those of my religion (Jehovah's Witnesses).

Obviously you again omit the parts where your god demands that babies have their heads smashed against rocks and that his soldiers rape little girls....yeah god of love all right.

And jebus,of course still telling people to kill their off spring for having the audacity to question things. What bullsshit you swallow. Did you at least pet the bull first?  LOL

[trdsf]

The Greek/Roman pantheon are poly theism, while the Judiah religions are monotheism.

It might be more accurate to say that Judaism became monotheistic rather than is monotheistic.  There are a lot of linguistic clues in the early OT books that the Hebraic god was originally just one of the local gods, perhaps primus inter pares, the rest of whom needed to be redacted out of later copies.  It's not a settled matter, but it's an interesting hypothesis with some intriguing evidence.

And of course, by the time Christianity and Islam split off, Judaism was officially monotheistic and they carried that with them.  Catholicism has gone back to polytheism since then, with three gods, one goddess, and a multitude of demigods.

[AcrobaticDetective]

It might be more accurate to say that Judaism became monotheistic rather than is monotheistic.  There are a lot of linguistic clues in the early OT books that the Hebraic god was originally just one of the local gods, perhaps primus inter pares, the rest of whom needed to be redacted out of later copies.  It's not a settled matter, but it's an interesting hypothesis with some intriguing evidence.

And of course, by the time Christianity and Islam split off, Judaism was officially monotheistic and they carried that with them.  Catholicism has gone back to polytheism since then, with three gods, one goddess, and a multitude of demigods.

True. Very good point.

[aitm]

The babble is VERY clear that it’s god is not the only one. Just that he is more than willing to kill everyone else who finds comfort in a different one...even one that actually MAY be a real god.