Here. Iβll help offend some.
Abram was Sumerian and worshipped the god El, of that pantheon. He had a consort named Asherah, (remember those Asherah poles in the OT??) and several kids.
Judaism is literally a child of Sumerian religion, and theyβve been fighting amongst followers of Elβs siblings and children for most of history.
From that Christianity is born.
All religious people are pagans.
So are many hunters. But thatβs different.
Post hoc non ergo propter hoc. If there is a true God, he would obviously predate both religions. So the question is, which religion portrays him more faithfully β the one where the god does human stuff, or the one where he does divine stuff?
The one that isn't a religion at all, but where someone spiritually follows the most pure form of reverence to life and community possible for them.
There are many many arguments to be made here, all of which have been hashed out over millennia.
I am a Roman Catholic. I believe very much. But I enjoy playing devils advocate both to remind my brethren that at the end of the day all we have is faith, and to let the non-believers know weβre not all convinced of our innate superiority in our understanding of βthe truth.β Thatβs pretty off putting to a lot of people.
Jesus said, βAlways be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence.β The last part is often lacking.
But supposing I continue to play this role, I would argue both that there is no reason to believe that a God who created us in his image would not have many traits in common with us, and even if we rule out the gods who donβt, itβs still multiple choice.
I would also like to take a moment to ponder how awesome having intellectual and mutual conversations like this on Nostr really is.
β€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈ
To you both.
My personal opinion is not that there is no "God" but that the very concept is more broad and all-encompassing that any one human or group can grasp. I respect every system of belief as long as they respect mine and other without aggression. Because I think all are at least partially correct, and any that believe they understand all that encompasses the origins and destination of what we experience as life are blinded by hubris. β₯οΈ
