| "Hypothetical:
Imagine you and I are in Vietnam, our helicopter has just crashed deep in the dark jungle. The enemy has very craftily laid well hidden snares in order to destroy us. A medic in our outfit calmly explains, I know the way, follow me. Do we follow him? If we do is it egotistical for him to expect us to follow his every command without hesitation? Shouldn't we give this man the respect, the "worship" necessary to see us through the jungle?"
An intelligent deity would recognize the paradox here. He, or she, or it, certainly would not allow those who question to rot in Hell or refuse them entry into some Valhalla simply because they doubt and might not follow. Why? Because that path is not as clear as the believer might think. Jimmy Jones, the folks at Waco, hell even the comet followers all used similar methods to keep believers in line and non-believers at a minimum. A smart leader knows how to keep even the non-believers going. It's a hard job, but certainly not beyond the powers of a benevolent God. I have met humans who, in a limited way, achieve this. Every person I've ever met who demands to be worshipped, who demands to be thought of as superior, who demands we follow him "or else," is a bully who deserves to be toppled faster than the Nazi symbol was at the end of WWII, or a Saddam statue.
I tend to find that such Gods are not Gods at all, or at least not the nature of a true God. They are but inventions of those who wish to have power over others for their own selfish and sick needs. So it's not that strange that those who insist we worship such a "God" often have the same characteristics as the God(s) they claim they believe in. |