If you would like sources of Epicurus arguing against Judean theology and the Hebrew people comparing non believers as Epicureans, I will be more than happy to link them.

(PS. My GPA in undergrad school was 4.0...It would be a little difficult to get a Ph.D. with Fs on a college transcript)

Quote from: Annah on August 20, 2011, 09:52:05 PM
Every single one of your posts today have been pretty messed up. I know you are in a bad mood about something so I wont entertain your personal attack against me.

But if you want a historical lesson in order me to better explain it to you I will (I assume you knew enough background information so I didn't think I had the need to spell it all out for you)

Jewish culture was heavily influenced in the Hellenistic era and likewise, the Greek people were influenced by the Hebrews to an extent. Much of Epicurus' philosophies against these types of Deity definitions were directed at the Hebrew people because if he were to use his philosophical statement in a Greek society of a religious Pantheon it would make no sense whatsoever since he used a Singular when referring to God. Furthermore, there were Malevolent gods in the Greek Pantheon so his statement would make even less sense when debating theological apologetic to a society that embraced both kind and malevolent gods, wise and foolish gods, etc etc.

Epicurus' statement was a sly comment against Judea, which at the time, was one of the only nations that prided itself on a Monotheistic theology. Also, Epicurus was infamous at pissing people off ...even his own leaders. To equate Epicurus' quote against a pantheon of gods would not make any sense. To compare it to the Hebrew god made all the sense in the world.  Also, in the Greek Pantheon, their gods were not all knowing and all powerful. They even made it a point to understand this. This is another reason why many nations did not like Israel/Judea as their belief structure in an all knowing and all powerful God seemed a bit "elitist and nose thumbing."

Furthermore, I never mentioned Jesus. I used Judiac/Christian as the God worship by these two religious faiths are the same God and the statement Epicurus had said was directed towards the Hebrew God, which in turn, would be the same argument against the Christian God. This is why I put it in there.

There. Someone answered your question. Take what I said here and then reread what I stated in my prior post. You can either agree or disagree. I could care less. But lower your attitude a few notches if you wish to have a conversation about this. You wanted the question answered. Don't belittle someone who answers your request. It's rather immature.

but....specifically, why does faith and free will permit young children to starve to death and be abused?

Quote from: Annah on August 20, 2011, 09:56:27 PM
(PS. My GPA in undergrad school was 4.0...It would be a little difficult to get a Ph.D. with Fs on a college transcript)

and exactly how is that relevent?  but since you opened the door, what is your degree in and where did you go?

Quote from: Jamie Nicole on August 18, 2011, 07:18:09 AM
I'm curious, if there really is a god, why does he/she permit so many young children to starve to death and be abused?  I'd like good strong sound answers and not excuses please.

As my spirituality has evolved and I have gained knowledge, I have formulated all sorts of answers to questions like this.  But, unlike math and science, where your answer can leave you with a "That's it!" revelation, this particular type of thing never does because there's no way to prove it.

Of all the books and articles I've ever read, the one statement that provided the best answer, if you want to settle this once and for all, was, Before we come to this world, we create our life map.  We decide where we will live, who our parents will be, what kind of challenges we will have, everything that will be part of our life.  We do so with a very specific purpose, such as to teach ourselves something or to become better spiritually...

This can't be proven but it can certainly be challenged.  That didn't matter to me.  What I gained from this was, if I was at blame for everything that I hated about my life, for everything I wanted to change about my life, for every unexpected and undesired happening in my life, I couldn't bitch or whine or forever wonder, "Why me?"  And adopting that belief gave me a lot more time to live life.

Since this topic is under "Christianity" it is fair for the definition of God to be centered around Christian/Jewish beliefs.

The question has been answered to the best that it will be answered.  The problem is that any answer come up with will not suit everyone as we all come from different backgrounds.

I think its time to stop beating up on each other and let this topic die.

I've locked this conversation.