If You Were God

[Paul Hazelwood]

If your gonna be God, you need to think things through a bit more.   ;)

[claypot]

What would the world be like a year from now if all lying ceased this very minute?

We think of lying as a terrible terrible thing.  But is it always?   If I like to wear something, does it really matter what anyone else thinks? 

I wore the dumbest looking hat one time "even to me"  but it was a hat a past dear friend wore as his favorite,  he is gone from cancer now and he wore that because he was self conscious of his bald head.   So one day I wanted to wear it in memory of my friend.  I never told my friend I didn't like the hat,  and never would have for any reason because it didn't matter if I liked the hat or not.

But if all lying stopped, then in a year,  what would be the ramifications of always telling someone what they are wearing is stupid just because we didn't like it?

We would not be lying in that strict sense, but would it be beneficial?

I'd love to see my friend today with his stupid hat on.

Paul, I know exactly what you mean about lying to help someone. Like when Jews were in hiding, it was good (to me anyway) that others lied to protect them.

Do you think there is 'lying' and then there is 'lying'?

God sure doesn't seem to pull any punches does He? He tells us we are stinking rotten sinners but then He tells us He loves us and will fix us up.

I wonder if your friend and all of us can't take the truth because we are so accustomed to lies. In other words if all the people in my wifes life always told her in an honest way what clothes looked good on her and what didn't then maybe she could handle the negative truths much better. What do you think?

cp

[Molly]

I think this thread is stupid.

LOL!  Is this your exercise in telling the truth?

Keeping your mouth shut would still be an option, you know...

No one said I had to keep my mouth shut,  truth is wonderful.

But nobody asked what you thought about the thread...

[Paul Hazelwood]

I think this thread is stupid.

LOL!  Is this your exercise in telling the truth?

Keeping your mouth shut would still be an option, you know...

No one said I had to keep my mouth shut,  truth is wonderful.

But nobody asked what you thought about the thread...

Why does truth need a question?

[claypot]

If your gonna be God, you need to think things through a bit more.   ;)

Man Paul, I almost fell out of my chair laughing..............this thread is stupid! And Molly, thanks for coming to the rescue. You all are great and that's no lie!!!!!

Thinking things through is exactly what this thread is all about. It has been causing some very good and creative and God centered thinking from my perspective.

cp

[Paul Hazelwood]

I wonder if your friend and all of us can't take the truth because we are so accustomed to lies. In other words if all the people in my wifes life always told her in an honest way what clothes looked good on her and what didn't then maybe she could handle the negative truths much better. What do you think?

The question there is why does it matter what hat my friend wears?

[Molly]

I think this thread is stupid.

LOL!  Is this your exercise in telling the truth?

Keeping your mouth shut would still be an option, you know...

No one said I had to keep my mouth shut,  truth is wonderful.

But nobody asked what you thought about the thread...

Why does truth need a question?

Because truth is always an answer to a question...

[Paul Hazelwood]

I think this thread is stupid.

LOL!  Is this your exercise in telling the truth?

Keeping your mouth shut would still be an option, you know...

No one said I had to keep my mouth shut,  truth is wonderful.

But nobody asked what you thought about the thread...

Why does truth need a question?

Because truth is always an answer to a question...

Did God wait for us to ask?

[claypot]

I think this thread is stupid.

LOL!  Is this your exercise in telling the truth?

Keeping your mouth shut would still be an option, you know...

No one said I had to keep my mouth shut,  truth is wonderful.

But nobody asked what you thought about the thread...

Why does truth need a question?

Paul, I didn't ask what would happen if 'love' (considering peoples feelings) were taken out of the world.

Maybe we would have to work harder at loving in other ways than lying if lying were not an option. Ever consider that Brother?

cp

[claypot]

I wonder if your friend and all of us can't take the truth because we are so accustomed to lies. In other words if all the people in my wifes life always told her in an honest way what clothes looked good on her and what didn't then maybe she could handle the negative truths much better. What do you think?

The question there is why does it matter what hat my friend wears?

Paul, it truely doesn't so please see my post a few up from here.........here I'll add it here.....

Paul, I didn't ask what would happen if 'love' (considering peoples feelings) were taken out of the world.

Maybe we would have to work harder at loving in other ways than lying if lying were not an option. Ever consider that Brother?

cp

[Molly]

I think this thread is stupid.

LOL!  Is this your exercise in telling the truth?

Keeping your mouth shut would still be an option, you know...

No one said I had to keep my mouth shut,  truth is wonderful.

But nobody asked what you thought about the thread...

Why does truth need a question?

Because truth is always an answer to a question...

Did God wait for us to ask?

Yes.

And, he never denies us an answer, unless it's for our own good.


Mark 9:32
But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.

[Molly]

I wonder if your friend and all of us can't take the truth because we are so accustomed to lies. In other words if all the people in my wifes life always told her in an honest way what clothes looked good on her and what didn't then maybe she could handle the negative truths much better. What do you think?

The question there is why does it matter what hat my friend wears?

Paul, it truely doesn't so please see my post a few up from here.........here I'll add it here.....

Paul, I didn't ask what would happen if 'love' (considering peoples feelings) were taken out of the world.

Maybe we would have to work harder at loving in other ways than lying if lying were not an option. Ever consider that Brother?

cp

Yes, and stop asking questions we don't want to know the answer to so we can keep lying to ourselves.

[Paul Hazelwood]

I think this thread is stupid.

LOL!  Is this your exercise in telling the truth?

Keeping your mouth shut would still be an option, you know...

No one said I had to keep my mouth shut,  truth is wonderful.

But nobody asked what you thought about the thread...

Why does truth need a question?

Paul, I didn't ask what would happen if 'love' (considering peoples feelings) were taken out of the world.

Maybe we would have to work harder at loving in other ways than lying if lying were not an option. Ever consider that Brother?

cp

Love is another thing though, do all acts of love consider someone feelings?

[claypot]

I think this thread is stupid.

LOL!  Is this your exercise in telling the truth?

Keeping your mouth shut would still be an option, you know...

No one said I had to keep my mouth shut,  truth is wonderful.

But nobody asked what you thought about the thread...

Why does truth need a question?

Because truth is always an answer to a question...

Did God wait for us to ask?

Paul, I don't understand your question.

cp

[Paul Hazelwood]

I think this thread is stupid.

LOL!  Is this your exercise in telling the truth?

Keeping your mouth shut would still be an option, you know...

No one said I had to keep my mouth shut,  truth is wonderful.

But nobody asked what you thought about the thread...

Why does truth need a question?

Because truth is always an answer to a question...

Did God wait for us to ask?

Yes.

And, he never denies us an answer, unless it's for our own good.


Mark 9:32
But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.

God did not wait for us to ask to provide his law and instruction on what to do.

[claypot]

I think this thread is stupid.

LOL!  Is this your exercise in telling the truth?

Keeping your mouth shut would still be an option, you know...

No one said I had to keep my mouth shut,  truth is wonderful.

But nobody asked what you thought about the thread...

Why does truth need a question?

Paul, I didn't ask what would happen if 'love' (considering peoples feelings) were taken out of the world.

Maybe we would have to work harder at loving in other ways than lying if lying were not an option. Ever consider that Brother?

cp

Love is another thing though, do all acts of love consider someone feelings?

Excellent, excellent question Paul! Excellent.

Do we lie out of consideration for someones feelings? Brings me back to my other comment about maybe we would be much stronger and considerate in other ways if lying was not an option.

People say evil is here to teach us yet I wonder if we would learn more if evil, like lying, were not here.

cp

[claypot]

What would the world be like a year from now if all lying ceased this very minute

That's a great question.

Have you see Liar Liar?  It's hilarious--about a lawyer who can't tell a lie.

Yes, Molly I saw it and it was a good mind exercise.

So what do you think the world would be like in a year?

cp

I think it would be wonderful--because truth is wonderful.

Molly, this response almost brought tears to my eyes!

cp

[claypot]

God did not wait for us to ask to provide his law and instruction on what to do.

Paul, forgive my dullness, but I still don't see what you are saying. What does this have to do with my original question about what would the world be like if people couldn't lie.

cp

[Paul Hazelwood]

People say evil is here to teach us yet I wonder if we would learn more if evil, like lying, were not here.

I don't know for sure, but here is what I have experienced.   I was treated very horribly as a child, according to how I felt.   I can look back and see that some of the things were beneficial, others I still retain and struggle over.   I'd love for those struggles to not be there at all, I have pleaded and screamed at God to take many of them away.

Yet, I am now seeing that without all those things in place, i could not actually "know" "believe" and "understand" what love really is about.   I know people that didn't have such a hard life, that say they love,  they make a big deal about their willingness to love.  But after getting to know them more, their love is actually more of a pity that people aren't more like they are.  

I could be wrong, but I do not see that as love.

[Paul Hazelwood]

God did not wait for us to ask to provide his law and instruction on what to do.

Paul, forgive my dullness, but I still don't see what you are saying. What does this have to do with my original question about what would the world be like if people couldn't lie.

cp

Probably nothing, I was responding to Mollys answer.

[claypot]

People say evil is here to teach us yet I wonder if we would learn more if evil, like lying, were not here.

I don't know for sure, but here is what I have experienced.   I was treated very horribly as a child, according to how I felt.   I can look back and see that some of the things were beneficial, others I still retain and struggle over.   I'd love for those struggles to not be there at all, I have pleaded and screamed at God to take many of them away.

Yet, I am now seeing that without all those things in place, i could not actually "know" "believe" and "understand" what love really is about.   I know people that didn't have such a hard life, that say they love,  they make a big deal about their willingness to love.  But after getting to know them more, their love is actually more of a pity that people aren't more like they are.  

I could be wrong, but I do not see that as love.

Paul, with all due, I mean it, respect to your childhood nightmares you are not saying that others who have had a good childhood learn 'love' in a lesser way are you?

cp

[Akira Takahashi]

AT,

I'm surprised these questions are not being taken up here by more people as the responses can reflect what we believe about God.

You say you don't see suffering as wrong. Is this because it is here and if it is here then God is allowing it, if not actually orchestrating it, and if God is involved in it in any way then it has to have some intrinsic good attached to it? Is this why you say suffering is not wrong?

You say you don't know how involved in the world you would be. Do you see God as separate from the world?

Why do you think God hides His plan of salvation?

cp

I do believe that there is good in suffering.  I see it as a way to test and strengthen character.  Suffering has brought me to times in my life where I've almost given up, and at one point even attempted to take my own life.  However, in hind sight, I think it was a very good experience for me.  It challenged me to look at the world with a different view.  I feel that suffering is almost essential for us to grow as human beings.

As for your second question, I don't think I see God as seperate from the world, but compared to His actions in the Bible, I'd say that He doesn't involve himself in determining the course of history quite so much.

As for your third question, I really don't have any idea.  I'm not an expert on this stuff, so my opinions are relatively unfounded.

[WhiteWings]

If I was God I think I would be Bacchus :)

I think I would pull some kind of stunt on the ETs :-)

[Paul Hazelwood]

People say evil is here to teach us yet I wonder if we would learn more if evil, like lying, were not here.

I don't know for sure, but here is what I have experienced.   I was treated very horribly as a child, according to how I felt.   I can look back and see that some of the things were beneficial, others I still retain and struggle over.   I'd love for those struggles to not be there at all, I have pleaded and screamed at God to take many of them away.

Yet, I am now seeing that without all those things in place, i could not actually "know" "believe" and "understand" what love really is about.   I know people that didn't have such a hard life, that say they love,  they make a big deal about their willingness to love.  But after getting to know them more, their love is actually more of a pity that people aren't more like they are.  

I could be wrong, but I do not see that as love.

Paul, with all due, I mean it, respect to your childhood nightmares you are not saying that others who have had a good childhood learn 'love' in a lesser way are you?

cp

No, actually I'm making a point about how do we determine what love is?    Is it feelings?   Is it experiences?

I don't believe I love very well, even if I might think I understand it.  Someone telling me they wish I had been raised like them, is that really love?

What is love?  If we are going to pretend to play God then what is it exactly God ought to be doing?

[claypot]

AT,

I'm surprised these questions are not being taken up here by more people as the responses can reflect what we believe about God.

You say you don't see suffering as wrong. Is this because it is here and if it is here then God is allowing it, if not actually orchestrating it, and if God is involved in it in any way then it has to have some intrinsic good attached to it? Is this why you say suffering is not wrong?

You say you don't know how involved in the world you would be. Do you see God as separate from the world?

Why do you think God hides His plan of salvation?

cp

I do believe that there is good in suffering.  I see it as a way to test and strengthen character.  Suffering has brought me to times in my life where I've almost given up, and at one point even attempted to take my own life.  However, in hind sight, I think it was a very good experience for me.  It challenged me to look at the world with a different view.  I feel that suffering is almost essential for us to grow as human beings.

I hear ya on the good coming out of suffering, AT. I wonder though, can't good come out of good? Of course it can and does and I'm not trying to be argumentative, just hoping to deepen my relationship with the Almighty.

As for your second question, I don't think I see God as seperate from the world, but compared to His actions in the Bible, I'd say that He doesn't involve himself in determining the course of history quite so much.

Do you see God as involved in the world via being within all life in some form or another?

As for your third question, I really don't have any idea.  I'm not an expert on this stuff, so my opinions are relatively unfounded.

Opinions are all we got it seems.  :dontknow:

cp