If God gives us free will, what do you make of the Ten Commandments? [Spirituality & Religion]

@MarkPaul you mean your religions plans?!

@MarkPaul my problem is that your religion lies to its followers about God's word and manipulates them for their own benefit. This is what could be called blasphemy.

@JovialPlutonian As I was warned would happen, I've been running into people like you who seem to have a bitter streak they need to express because you somehow feel let down or abandoned along the way. It seems childish, but I get it and I don't necessarily fault you for it.

I find that God's word doesn't lie, but sadly, people often lie to themselves by abusing the words he gave us to use for our benefit. It's pretty clear and straightforward that God has given us the direction we must follow and the free will for us to choose what to do. It's not always easy and our interpretation of success does not always match his. That could be where you have become stuck in a pothole, so to speak.

You need to pray, exercise faith, and stop acting like a spoiled little brat because you didn't get your way exactly as you may have wanted it.

@MarkPaul [quote]You need to pray, exercise faith, and stop acting like a spoiled little brat because you didn't get your way exactly as you may have wanted it.[/quote]
Typical christian response to a perfectly reasonable argument. You lot are so predictable.

@suzie1960 Perhaps, but those "of you" who have heavy chips on your shoulders seem to sing the same refrain as well. If you don't get everything you want, when you want it, in the way you want it, then you want out. I suspect you are that way in any relationship, not just with God.

Most likely, we all want only good things to happen all the time. That's a pretty unrealistic condition for anyone to live up to though, especially when that was never promised by anyone or to anyone. Maybe you should consider if it might be time for you to grow up... at least just a little.

@MarkPaul I don't have a relationship with imaginary friends and certainly not with your imaginary friend.

[quote]Maybe you should consider if it might be time for you to grow up... at least just a little.[/quote]
The fact that you have to resort to childish insults shows you're the one who needs to grow up - a lot!

@suzie1960 I've had these type of altercations with you before and I will be the first to admit I still don't yet have the full command of the Bible to counter all of your false claims and remedy each one of your hollow disappointments of God not granting your wishes.

@MarkPaul [quote]counter all of your false claims[/quote]
That's simply because they're not false.

[quote]remedy each one of your hollow disappointments of God not granting your wishes.[/quote]

LOL! What do you mean by "hollow disappointments"? Your god can't grant wishes because it isn't real, it's no more than a figment of your imagination. My study of the bible showed me that. You could see it too if you read the bible properly with an open mind and not allowed yourself to be misled by some christian evangelist "helping" you.

@MarkPaul you cannot "command" the bible, thats what they did during the witch trails, during the crusades.. lol

you obey the bible, you spread the bible, you turn the other cheek, like it tells you to.. like the 12 disciples did, and we all know what happened to them.. ;)

@suzie1960 You keep pointing to "your studies" as some indisputable act of purity. I don't doubt you studied the Bible in some form. I'm not convinced you understood what you studied or you approached it with a "beginner's mind." You seem pretty closed, tbh.

@xSharp They managed to change the world?

@MarkPaul you give them to much credit, it was a team effort

@xSharp "They" = team. What questions do you have?

@MarkPaul were you raised around religion?

@xSharp No, not really.

@MarkPaul second question, how many prayers have you had answered and did they make you happy or improve your life for any extended period of time without turning to shit?

@xSharp I don't actually keep a scorecard, so I can't give you an exact count. But, it's not a magic show where I pray for a pot of gold and then I make a binary assessment depending on if the pot of gold appears or not. Prayers generally make me happy, but I do experience periods of sadness. And, God knows that.

@MarkPaul third question, can god create an object that cannot be lifted by even god itself? and could god then lift that same unliftable object they had just been created by that god?

@MarkPaul [quote]I'm not convinced you understood what you studied or you approached it with a "beginner's mind." You seemed pretty closed, tbh.[/quote]
I could say the same about you. In fact I'd go further and say I'm certain you don't understand the bible, presuming you've even read it. I have to say, your mind is completely closed to anything that doesn't entirely concur with your version of christianity.

@suzie1960 I am learning; basically I'm in training. So, instead of the closed mind you envision, I am open and very aware. I can feel your denied bitterness and cut through it with my Swiss army knife. And, I wonder what didn't you get from your "Christmas list" of petty demands to God to make you want to resort to you berating me.

@MarkPaul [quote]So, instead of the closed mind you envision, I am open and very aware.[/quote]
You certainly don't give that impression.

[quote]I can feel your denied bitterness[/quote]
You're very much mistaken. You need to work on your empathy skills.

[quote]I wonder what didn't you get from your "Christmas list" of petty demands to God to make you want to resort to you berat[/quote]
I didn't make any petty demand of your god, I just discovered it wasn't real. I'm not berating you either, just letting you know the impression you give.

@suzie1960 So, let's summarize...

1. You're very happy.
2. You're very open.
3. You have studied the word of God with an open mind.
4. You're not bitter.
5. Your level of self-awareness, self-actualization, and understanding of life has allowed you to reach an all inclusive conclusion about God.

Is there anything else I need to add or know before I give you my final ruling?

@MarkPaul Reprobate?!

@Theliberal If what the woman has said is true and is how she truly feels, you would be correct.

@MarkPaul It doesn't matter what I say. With typical christian arrogance, you've already decided you know more about me than I know about myself.

I have not studied "the word of god" because your "god" thing isn't real. I actually studied a collection of myths and superstitions called "the bible". You can't even get that bit right. 🤷‍♀️