The Avatar of Man wrote:And, as a side, I'd not people can't actually hate a being they recognize as nonexistent, but can hate the incorporating religion and what it does.
Bingo.
I have no problems with Jesus or God. It's his fan club that annoys the hell out of me.
Granted, there are those Christians who are awesome, two of my best friends are Christians, never had a problem with them.
It's the douchebags like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Jack Thompson who flat out say "if you don't believe in God, you're a sinner and going to hell" among other things. The people like that, who are so closed minded in their beliefs they aren't willing to look beyond whatever it is I'm getting at.
Now, Ab32. This is a place for discussion, religion is a very huge topic here, as there is always something to discuss. Yes, "god" seems to be on the crap-receiving end many times. But it's not because people hate him.
It's because if you say "God" people are going to instantly know what you're talking about. But we're not just discussing God here. We're talking about all divine beings. Thor, Zeus, God, Aphrodite, Athena, Ares, Hermes, Org Du Jahad, Hecate, Apollo, Ra, Bast, Baal.
In todays society, a huge chunk of people know who God is, that he's a divine being. However, if you ask who Thor is, people may think of the comic character first. If you ask who Hecate is, people will blink and start drooling with a blank stare on their face.
God is said, because it's instantly recognizable.
Also, beliefs will never be enough to prove to someone that a deity exists. What you've seen, will be proof enough to you. But won't hold up to any type of scrutiny.
It's the same as me walking up to a Zoologist and saying "I saw a unicorn yesterday, they exist."
And Tammuz, sorry I didn't reply sooner, alas for real life. But I know what you meant. If you were omnipotent, you could do anything you want. So yeah, god could do all that stuff, show the good without the actual evil, and all that.
However, wheres the fun in that?