God’s Love?

[1Dude]

With the Bible as one's only source…

Question 1) Is God's love conditional or unconditional? And of course, why?


Question 2) “God is love” according to 1 John 4:8. If this is true then, does God always operate under the definition of love found in I Corinthians 13:1-8?

1 Corinthians 13:1-8

1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails;

Again, with the Bible as one's only source…

a) Is God always patient?
b) Is God always kind?
c) Is God ever jealous?
d) Does God ever brag?
e) Is He ever arrogant?
f) Does God ever act unbecomingly?
g) Does God ever seek His own?
h) Is God ever provoked to anger or wrath?
i) Does God ever take into account a wrong suffered?
j) Does He ever rejoice in unrighteousness?
k) Does He always rejoice with the truth?
l) Does He bear all things?
m) Does He believe all things?
n) Does He hope all things?
o) Does He endure all things?
p) Does His love ever fail?


Question 3) We are told to love our enemies in Matthew 5:43-45, Luke 6:27, and Luke 6:35.

Matthew 5:43-45

43" You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' 44" But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Does God hate anyone? Was it with love that God told Israel to utterly destroy its enemies, to kill all men, women, and children, even animals? Does God love Satan? Does God love the demons? Does God love all those who He will cast into the fires and torment and agony of hell for all eternity? Does God actually love His enemies like we are told to do? Or are we held to a higher standard of love than He is? I am simply seeking answers!

Best Wishes To All,

Ken

 

[1Dude]

Thank You for your comments! I am looking for answers in whatever form they exist. I am looking for the truth. Can anyone else help me process these questions? Has anyone else here ever tried to answer these questions?

Thanks,

Ken

 

[the preacher]

a) Is God always patient?
b) Is God always kind?
c) Is God ever jealous?
d) Does God ever brag?
e) Is He ever arrogant?
f) Does God ever act unbecomingly?
g) Does God ever seek His own?
h) Is God ever provoked to anger or wrath?
i) Does God ever take into account a wrong suffered?
j) Does He ever rejoice in unrighteousness?
k) Does He always rejoice with the truth?
l) Does He bear all things?
m) Does He believe all things?
n) Does He hope all things?
o) Does He endure all things?
p) Does His love ever fail?

given that it does not exist, but lets go by whats said in the bible.

a) no. B) no. c) yes. d) of course. e) of course. f) definitely. g) ? "what". h) of course. I)no. j) yes, it's own. k) no. l) of course not. m) ?"what". n) ?"what". o) of course not. p) ?"what". it is quite clearly an evil creature that enjoys hurting, according to that infallible bible.
god has broken 6.5 of the seven deadly sins, apart from the seven deadly sins lets call these not so deadly, god is guilty of apathy, cruelty, murder, lies, and many many more.
also moses, god and jesus all have different versions of the ten commandments. of which god does not follow.
it's a case of do as I say and not as I do, great example to it's children is'nt it.
all this can be found in the king james version of the bible. go herehttp://etext.lib.virginia.edu/rsv.browse.html and click view for side by side comparisons of RSV and KJV. as you check out the scriptures.

 

[mustafhakofi]

and preacher youve missed out the free will crap as well. check these out Idudehttp://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=40065and faith http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=40015

 

[suzukisfrog]

god loves us unless he doesn't in which case he burns us.

 

[duendy]

first question....what Is 'God'....you need to know how monotheism came to be.....and what IS love. is it something that is all goody-goody and yet hypocritical cause the person --or 'God-saying they do contradict themselves with behaviour and demands that dont feel loving as they defiine it. ie., the famous 'love thy neighbour' and then they go blow the fuck out of children, women, and men,and animals, and Nature type of thing. a contradiction right....so all that is a mindfuk, cause it dont make sense. only apparently to religious literalists does it seem to make sense seeing they constantly go over the same old ground

BUT what if love is erotic energy. not just gential sexulaity, but an deep powerful feeling that sees and feels deeper
the Goddess religions regognize this as Lord of the Animals, for example, or Eros,
...the latter god is where 'erotic' comes from....a wild ecstatic energy that cuts through all the false crap

 

[Woody]

Hello Ken, I'll try to give it my best shot on answering from the bible because I see you at least give it consideration in your quest:

First of all your version of the bible seems to leave out some stuff, I cut and pasted I Corinthians 13 from the NIV:

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not selfseeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails.

a) Is God always patient? yes, but he won't wait forever.
b) Is God always kind? Absolutely, except when he is angered. Look at Jesus as the example. He was rather perturbed with the money changers at the temple that ripped people off. Other than that scenario he really kept his cool when the rest of us would have been ticked. He took a heck of a lot of verbal and physical abuse without loosing his temper. Look at all the people he took an interest in. He healed them of their diseases and treated all of them with kindness, even Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
c) Is God ever jealous? Yes, he is jealous for his own people, but he does not envy, there is a difference.
d) Does God ever brag? No
e) Is He ever arrogant? No
f) Does God ever act unbecomingly? No
g) Does God ever seek His own? No, he always has our best interest at stake.
h) Is God ever provoked to anger or wrath? Yes, but not easily, it takes quite a bit of doing.
i) Does God ever take into account a wrong suffered? You refer to verse 7, What this verse really means is once God forgives, he never brings up the matter again, unlike many people I know. They just won't let you live it down, but God remembers to forget what he has forgiven.
j) Does He ever rejoice in unrighteousness? Never
k) Does He always rejoice with the truth? Always
l) Does He bear all things? He hurts when we hurt.
m) Does He believe all things? Whatever he says goes.
n) Does He hope all things? Hope is faith, which he has plenty of.
o) Does He endure all things? He endured the worst on our behalf.
p) Does His love ever fail? No, He is Love by definition, and He has not failed.

The Gist of what you are asking for here concerns love. Real love is not conditional, But we can reject it, and this leaves the person that loves us with fewer options.

When you think about love you have to think about fairness too, and this is where justice is brought into the equation. How does a person act when they have been violated by the one they love, or the other party doesn't love them at all? It is a painful experience to love someone that doesn't love you. That is another topic.

take care, and I hope you find what you are looking for. Love is hard to find.

 

[Joeman]

If you want to know the true nature about Christian God, read Romans 9:10-23

 

[suzukisfrog]

actually you'd do better to read the story about Elisha, the children & she-bears. this will better explain the nature of God.

 

[Karmashock]

Atheists amuse me…

 

[suzukisfrog]

that's hilarious, ok, i believe now. i hereby submit my will, dignity & intelligence to the one true made-up God.

 

[audible]

theists amuse me also.

 

[the preacher]

very quick and brilliantly done, audible.
love it.

 

[Sarkus]

Using the Bible as the only source...

a) Is God always patient? yes, but he won't wait forever.

If God won't wait forever then he is not "always" patient, as the question asks.
So by your own admission the answer is "No".

b) Is God always kind? Absolutely, except when he is angered.

Again, if he is not kind when angered, he is NOT kind ALWAYS.
Your answer is saying "Yes, he is kind, except when he's not."
So by your own admission again, the answer to this is "No".

d) Does God ever brag? No

Yes he does.
In Genesis, does he not look at the world he creates in 6 days and think "Damn, that's good, even if I say so myself!" - or words to that effect?
This is bragging.

e) Is He ever arrogant? No

Again, yes he is. Why create people to worship him if not out of arrogance?

f) Does God ever act unbecomingly? No

Yes he does - for a God that supposedly has unconditional love for each and every man/woman he creates, he acts unbecoming in the way he slaughters everyone at a whim.

g) Does God ever seek His own? No, he always has our best interest at stake.

Eh? What does "seek His own" mean?
If it means does he do anything for his own purpose - then the answer is Yes, he does.
He created Man.
Why?
We couldn't have asked him to be created (as we weren't around prior to creation) - but for some reason he created us. This must thus be for his own benefit.

h) Is God ever provoked to anger or wrath? Yes, but not easily, it takes quite a bit of doing.

A simple Yes would have sufficed.

i) Does God ever take into account a wrong suffered? You refer to verse 7, What this verse really means is once God forgives, he never brings up the matter again, unlike many people I know. They just won't let you live it down, but God remembers to forget what he has forgiven.

God can not "remember to forget" - he can not forget anything if he is supposedly this omniscient and omnipotent being.

m) Does He believe all things? Whatever he says goes.

This doesn't answer the question. I think the answer is that he knows all things. Once you "know" something you no longer need to "believe" it.

n) Does He hope all things? Hope is faith, which he has plenty of.

How can an omniscient being have faith in anything, given that they already know everything? It sort of removes the need for faith.
And nor can he hope for things - as he already knows the answer.

o) Does He endure all things? He endured the worst on our behalf.

How?

 

[suzukisfrog]

if jesus knew how much bologna's been doled out in his name, i swear he'd crack up laughing.

 

[audible]

a) Is God always patient?
b) Is God always kind?
c) Is God ever jealous?
d) Does God ever brag?
e) Is He ever arrogant?
f) Does God ever act unbecomingly?
g) Does God ever seek His own?
h) Is God ever provoked to anger or wrath?
i) Does God ever take into account a wrong suffered?
j) Does He ever rejoice in unrighteousness?
k) Does He always rejoice with the truth?
l) Does He bear all things?
m) Does He believe all things?
n) Does He hope all things?
o) Does He endure all things?
p) Does His love ever fail?

”
given that it does not exist, but lets go by whats said in the bible.

a) no. B) no. c) yes. d) of course. e) of course. f) definitely. g) ? "what". h) of course. I)no. j) yes, it's own. k) no. l) of course not. m) ?"what". n) ?"what". o) of course not. p) ?"what". it is quite clearly an evil creature that enjoys hurting, according to that infallible bible.
god has broken 6.5 of the seven deadly sins, apart from the seven deadly sins lets call these not so deadly, god is guilty of apathy, cruelty, murder, lies, and many many more.
also moses, god and jesus all have different versions of the ten commandments. of which god does not follow.
it's a case of do as I say and not as I do, great example to it's children is'nt it.
all this can be found in the king james version of the bible. go here http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/rsv.browse.html and click view for side by side comparisons of RSV and KJV. as you check out the scriptures.

and preacher youve missed out the free will crap as well. check these out Idudehttp://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=40065 and faith http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=40015

Using the Bible as the only source...

a) Is God always patient? yes, but he won't wait forever.

If God won't wait forever then he is not "always" patient, as the question asks.
So by your own admission the answer is "No".

b) Is God always kind? Absolutely, except when he is angered.

Again, if he is not kind when angered, he is NOT kind ALWAYS.
Your answer is saying "Yes, he is kind, except when he's not."
So by your own admission again, the answer to this is "No".

d) Does God ever brag? No

Yes he does.
In Genesis, does he not look at the world he creates in 6 days and think "Damn, that's good, even if I say so myself!" - or words to that effect?
This is bragging.

e) Is He ever arrogant? No

Again, yes he is. Why create people to worship him if not out of arrogance?

f) Does God ever act unbecomingly? No

”
Yes he does - for a God that supposedly has unconditional love for each and every man/woman he creates, he acts unbecoming in the way he slaughters everyone at a whim.

g) Does God ever seek His own? No, he always has our best interest at stake.

Eh? What does "seek His own" mean?
If it means does he do anything for his own purpose - then the answer is Yes, he does.
He created Man.
Why?
We couldn't have asked him to be created (as we weren't around prior to creation) - but for some reason he created us. This must thus be for his own benefit.

h) Is God ever provoked to anger or wrath? Yes, but not easily, it takes quite a bit of doing.

A simple Yes would have sufficed.

i) Does God ever take into account a wrong suffered? You refer to verse 7, What this verse really means is once God forgives, he never brings up the matter again, unlike many people I know. They just won't let you live it down, but God remembers to forget what he has forgiven.

God can not "remember to forget" - he can not forget anything if he is supposedly this omniscient and omnipotent being.

m) Does He believe all things? Whatever he says goes.

This doesn't answer the question. I think the answer is that he knows all things. Once you "know" something you no longer need to "believe" it.

n) Does He hope all things? Hope is faith, which he has plenty of.

How can an omniscient being have faith in anything, given that they already know everything? It sort of removes the need for faith.
And nor can he hope for things - as he already knows the answer.

o) Does He endure all things? He endured the worst on our behalf.

How?

I think Idude you will find that, the preacher,mustafhakofi, and sarkus have it all about right, you cant look at any other way.

 

[1Dude]

In further consideration of this topic here are a few more questions.

Can a "loving" God "love" evil? Or in a more basic sense. Can love, love evil, and still be love?

Is it possible that God hates and loves the same person at the same time but in different ways?

Thank You All
Ken

 

[suzukisfrog]

prophet frog predicts in another 2,000 years jesus will be held in the same regard as hercules and thor.

 

[1Dude]

Unless someone can then demonstrate otherwise, my current thought on this topic is that "Love" (or in this case God), cannot love evil, and remain "Love".

Ken

 

[audible]

exactly