'Vengeful God'

If you're a believer in an almighty God, do you believe that he is vengeful?

This is one of the areas where I have a problem with the entire concept that a supreme wonderful & loving "god" would create beings well aware of what they can be expected to do & then punish them for all eternity to "burn" for those very things.

And damn that was one hell of a run on sentence but...

CeCe wrote:And damn that was one hell of a run on sentence but...

But it worked. Must have been inspired.

'Vengeance is Mine' sayeth the Lord. And I think the general idea of this is that God is going to deal with people's comeuppance so it's not for us who feel we've been screwed over to take the matters into our own hands, though anybody who's ever felt like that knows how much we'd LIKE TO. The idea is that in this life the good people get walked all over, and the evil people have everything they want, BUT considering THIS is the only good life they're ever going to know, and thereafter spend eternity suffering for their sins while the rest of us go to a better place, then it's supposed to all kind of balance out.

God doesn't need revenge. People who betray him always destroy themselves in the end.

He can be. God don't like ugly.

God in the old testament is portrayed as vengeful, punishing people with death for various things, demanding obedience and love. God in the New testament is portrayed as a loving forgiving god. Of course, one will argue that now with the death of jesus, he CAN be forgiving....

but i wonder if God has just changed over eons. God is supposed to be infallible, but that does not mean that the big guy can't change his point of view, or change through experience. I like to believe god is loving

I don't remember who it was but they described God as acting like a really crappy girlfriend most of the time.

I think God has every right to be vengeful when warranted--correction sometimes needs to be harsh to get the point across depending on the fault. All the smiting and smoting in the Bible were usually with just cause and no different today with the way many godless leaders have been removed from power this past year. As harsh as God can seem I also believe He loves just as violently.

Hyacinth Girl wrote:I think God has every right to be vengeful when warranted--correction sometimes needs to be harsh to get the point across depending on the fault. All the smiting and smoting in the Bible were usually with just cause and no different today with the way many godless leaders have been removed from power this past year. As harsh as God can seem I also believe He loves just as violently.

It's always reminded me a bit of parents who struggle with their adult screw-up children, they give them every chance to change, to do something with their lives, but you can only take so much of them doing the same old crap before you have to just give up and let them go because they obviously are never going to change and don't want to.

I don't know about "vengeful" per se. I see him as more a supreme entity that believes in consequence to someone's deliberate actions.

Marc™ wrote:I don't know about "vengeful" per se. I see him as more a supreme entity that believes in consequence to someone's deliberate actions.

I agree, and I think "Vengeance" in a Biblical sense means not so much hateful and so wrath-filled that we are to constantly fear God, but rather "Correction with a Passion." Just as God loves with that violent passion, so does He correct with a violent passion.

Here's a link I found that gives some good explanations of "wrath", "jealousy" and "vengeance" as they pertain to the Bible: http://christianthinktank.com/madgod.html

Shale wrote:In 1968 when I was denied a job with the New Orleans Police Dept. because on the last form at the Police Academy I put 'none' in the religion box, I was given what amounted to an exit interview by Maj. Terrebone who did not understand how I could be a moral cop without the 'fear of god.'

It should be noted that the NOPD is one of the most corrupt police forces in the US, right up there with LAPD, NYPD and Miami PD, notorious for organized theft, burglary, abuse of suspects and even murder. It is nice to know that all those rotten officers are 'god fearing.'

Another example of people hiding behind religion and God to accomplish their dirty work, and in the process, giving it a bad name. I know you're a non-believer, Shale, and you know that I am. I'm not going to shove it in your face, but being of the mindset I am, I do believe in the old adage of what goes around, comes around, and it'll eventually catch up with you. Even the corrupt police will answer to God on their actions, someday, so that's where I take heart when I hear stories like that, or other things that are unjust--they may get away with it now, but someday it'll all come crashing down on them. Pyrric victory.

I believe in logic and the idea that an all powerful, supreme being who created all things could succumb to a primative emotion like "vengence" is inherently illogical. Vengence is an attribute of the weak, not the strong. It is an emotion designed to bring comfort or closure to the damage that was done to someone when they were wronged in some way. But a strong individual has no need for vengence because neither he, nor his psyche could be harmed to the point where he would need to be comforted. Humans are vengeful because humans are weak! Physically, mentally and emotionally WEAK! If God is indeed "all-powerful" then vengence would serve no purpose for him.

It is my belief that we are here on condition with a set of rules, just as we were with our parents, with our employers, etc.

Personally, I don't think God is vengeful enough.

captainbryce wrote:I believe in logic and the idea that an all powerful, supreme being who created all things could succumb to a primative emotion like "vengence" is inherently illogical. Vengence is an attribute of the weak, not the strong. It is an emotion designed to bring comfort or closure to the damage that was done to someone when they were wronged in some way. But a strong individual has no need for vengence because neither he, nor his psyche could be harmed to the point where he would need to be comforted. Humans are vengeful because humans are weak! Physically, mentally and emotionally WEAK! If God is indeed "all-powerful" then vengence would serve no purpose for him.

Spock couldn't have said it better.

Bluesmama wrote:It is my belief that we are here on condition with a set of rules, just as we were with our parents, with our employers, etc.

Personally, I don't think God is vengeful enough.

Not from our side of it but then again we don't see things from His perspective either. We don't know the full extent of what DOES happen to the bastards who get theirs in the afterlife.

Supernova wrote:

Not from our side of it but then again we don't see things from His perspective either. We don't know the full extent of what DOES happen to the bastards who get theirs in the afterlife.

True, true. I don't think all evil-doers necessarily "get theirs" in their current incarnation.

Of course they don't, they have it good for the time being because this is the only time it's going to be good for them, as maddening as the wait can be for the rest of us though.

captainbryce wrote:I believe in logic and the idea that an all powerful, supreme being who created all things could succumb to a primative emotion like "vengence" is inherently illogical. Vengence is an attribute of the weak, not the strong. It is an emotion designed to bring comfort or closure to the damage that was done to someone when they were wronged in some way. But a strong individual has no need for vengence because neither he, nor his psyche could be harmed to the point where he would need to be comforted. Humans are vengeful because humans are weak! Physically, mentally and emotionally WEAK! If God is indeed "all-powerful" then vengence would serve no purpose for him.

Shale wrote:Spock couldn't have said it better.

Shale wrote:


Spock couldn't have said it better.

Why thanks!

I'd prefer to think he's more realistic than vengeful.