So what if a new God arrives on the scene and explains to you that the current God you are worshiping is a false God and demands that you now worship him?

What if this new God declares that to disobey him or her is a sin and that sin will be punishes with death?

What will you do then?

How will that make you feel about free will then?

I'd give him 32 cents and tell him to call someone who cares and don't let the door him where the good lord split him on the way out.

G-d is a concept, by which we measure our pain - J.Lennon

Then you will die and it will be YOUR OWN FAULT FOR DISOBEYING GOD.

Yes ma'am, I sure would. I would bare that cross with honor.

lol, I like this answer,,,,,kudos

Okay then I guess you know how I feel about your demanding jealous God.

I would sooner die than worship any so-called god under the threat of death.

The only threat God has given is eternal life filled with an eternity and never ending love.


Again, "death" is the automatic ending of life. One does not "earn" death. We were born to die so to speak. Jesus offers eternal life.

Cowboy you don't get the point at all.

I am talking about the Jewish God of war of the Old testament referred to as "The God of Abraham" who demands to be worshiped or else.

I am talking about the thousands of men, women and children who, according to stories in the old testament, book of Joshua, were ordered slaughtered without mercy by order of this same God.

If such a god ever existed, I would not worship or serve such a god.

Luckily, I don't believe this God is God, nor do I believe the story of Joshua is true, nor do I believe that King David or Abraham ever existed.

I'm not talking about "Jesus" who is also most likely pure fiction.

You reap what you sow in life. If these people were being disobedient and not worthy of this land, then they were being judged. And obviously if they were being disobedient eg., sinning the only reward for sin is death.

Cowboy they were just people living their lives, as they have a right to do, and exercising their freedom of religion and their freedom to worship any god they chose.

They were not being "disobedient" to anyone. They were minding their own business.

Then comes this mad man, (Joshua,) totally insane, who claims that he talks to "the almighty god" who tells him to murder everyone in that land without mercy.

..and of course steal the land and all the vineyards and farms and goods too. (thieves and murderers they are)

He and his army murdered everyone, including women and children Cowboy, (if you believe that story.)

And I'm sure that kind of thing did happen a lot back then, people went around killing and raping and plundering all the time, but I think the story of Joshua itself is pure fiction.

You cannot possibly justify that kind of genocide with the absurd remark that "you reap what you sow."

But if you believe that, and if you believe that Joshua and the Jews really did that, then they have been reaping what they have sewn for years seeing as how they claim to be hated and "persecuted" all the time.

Do we not have the right to worship or not worship any God we choose? Are you saying that some insane person leading an army into our land who thinks we should worship his God has the right to murder us and steal our land?

Is that what you are saying?

not exactly

I think we confuse worldly rights with spiritual 'rights' (if there is even such a thing)

the world gives us the 'right' to do alot of things that are not necessarily condoned by God and in some cases outright condemned

as a member of the world, in the flesh, we have the right to worship whomever we choose

however, in the world, we also have laws that we abide by and we cant just choose which laws we have to follow, we have to follow all of them,,,, so choosing those laws that are accepted in one country will not excuse us from penalty if those laws are not accepted here in THIS CULTURE

similarly, in a kingdom headed by GOD, who says to worship HIM, it would make sense that he would likewise expect obedience to HIM above any other God

in other words, if we dont accept God as God than why would God bring us to his kingdom?

If we worship,,,torah, for example, than we should hope that torah has a kingdom to welcome us into,,,,

So the story goes, that Joshua and the Israelites (Jews) got tired of wandering in the desert and they found a beautiful land and their leader, Joshua, who talks personally to the almighty God Jehovah, then instructs them to go in and kill everyone and that includes the women and children.

And it is more than just Jericho. It is many kingdoms where they conquer and lop off the heads of the kings in those lands. They are not to take slaves they are instructed to kill everyone.

But some of the followers of Joshua take pity on some of the people and they take slaves and wives of the people they conquer. And they see that as being merciful.

Of course Joshua disapproves. He has no pity or mercy.

These you call "the chosen people" of the God of Abraham.

Not exactly?

I am speaking specifically about the Personality identified as the "God of Abraham" who was written about in the Jewish texts.

He was a jealous god who incited his followers to war and to kill without mercy, if you believe your own holy book.

I say we do have "spiritual rights" and no God of war has the right to demand that we worship him by threat of death.

I would say no thank you because one jealous god is enough for me.

You might want to go with the biggest baddest one though.

Pick a winning team.

a Creator would have every right to lay out the intentions and plans for his creation,,,

What you say doesn't make sense. Yes they do have the right to do whatever they wish, worship whom ever they wish. But there is always a consequence or a reaction to our action.

Exodus 20
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

And again, we then have "the only reward for sin is death".

Screw the ten commandments of the Jewish God of War!! Please don't quote those laws to me, they are the laws of a false God.

If you don't worship that particular jealous god, his RIDICULOUS commandments don't mean diddely squat!

You don't get it. You are completely missing the point.

Genocide and murder and killing in cold blood without mercy on the SO-CALLED second hand order of a ruthless jealous God of war -- is WRONG!

It is ruthless, cold blooded, amoral, and just plain INSANE.

It is only a "consequence" of their refusal to worship the god of a band of ruthless killers and intruders whose intention was to STEAL THEIR LAND.

But they were not even given the choice to convert or die. They were simply slaughtered in cold blood.

It is not right.

If you don't know this in your heart, then you too are insane.