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What are the other views of how a diety may function? If God didn't make him gay, who did? (from a believer's POV)

Kalium 12y ago
Others believe that while a deity may have the ability to shape to such a degree, said deity also chooses not to. Others believe that said deity is not that powerful. In both cases, the matter is then left to personal and/or environmental factors.
lotsofmangos 12y ago
This is the main difference between Deism and Theism. Deists (like Thomas Jefferson), did not believe that god was still around, but had just started the whole shebang and then left. Also, even in Theism you can have a pretty hands-off god. In modern Catholicism, evolution probably made him gay, but god created evolution. Pope John Paul II wrote an encyclical accepting evolution ages ago, so Catholicism doesn't require god to be involved with every single detail of creation.
jshevek 12y ago
>> What are the other views of how a diety may function? Well, what makes a deity a deity? Surely 'creating the universe' is sufficient to qualify. Why assume that a creator has any interest in the universe? Every day I create a new configuration of a complex, thriving ecosystem in my bowels. I don't give a crap about all those little bacteria living their little bacteria lives. Last week I saw someone drop paint on the floor, and it splattered in a beautiful pattern. They didn't even notice the beauty they had created. If God was truly powerful and awesome, why stop at one universe? Why assume that the creation of the universe was even worthy of their notice? Most of the 'founding fathers' of the US were Deists. They believed in a God who created a universe, wound it up, and let it go on its own. For many reasons (including the supposed existence of free will), many people who believe this also believe that God had no idea how the universe would evolve over time. Some believe the opposite. All of the scientists I've known, who also believe in God, also believe that God plays ZERO active role in anything that is happening in the universe. For some, God is the fully incomprehensible outside of all time and space. For others, God simply manages the afterlife, and leaves the universe to its own machinery. There are so many views on God, and God's role. The important thing is to ask: Why do people assume that if God has quality X, then God must also have quality Y? Does it actually follow, or is it just an unjustified belief that it must be so? I have trouble believing that someone smart enough to run the worlds richest company would think that his God intentionally, specifically, knowingly chooses individuals' sexual orientations - especially given what I believe he must know about the science behind orientation-related proclivities. I could be wrong. Maybe Cook is brilliant at business and ignorant of science. I just suspect that he was intentionally, perhaps a little dishonestly, saying that bit about God for some well considered reason related to the fact that fundamentalist christians in the US are the main source of homophobia in this country. TL;DR - See "Deism", for example.

Others believe that while a deity may have the ability to shape to such a degree, said deity also chooses not to. Others believe that said deity is not that powerful. In both cases, the matter is then left to personal and/or environmental factors.

lotsofmangos 12y ago

This is the main difference between Deism and Theism. Deists (like Thomas Jefferson), did not believe that god was still around, but had just started the whole shebang and then left. Also, even in Theism you can have a pretty hands-off god. In modern Catholicism, evolution probably made him gay, but god created evolution. Pope John Paul II wrote an encyclical accepting evolution ages ago, so Catholicism doesn't require god to be involved with every single detail of creation.

jshevek 12y ago

>> What are the other views of how a diety may function? Well, what makes a deity a deity? Surely 'creating the universe' is sufficient to qualify. Why assume that a creator has any interest in the universe? Every day I create a new configuration of a complex, thriving ecosystem in my bowels. I don't give a crap about all those little bacteria living their little bacteria lives. Last week I saw someone drop paint on the floor, and it splattered in a beautiful pattern. They didn't even notice the beauty they had created. If God was truly powerful and awesome, why stop at one universe? Why assume that the creation of the universe was even worthy of their notice? Most of the 'founding fathers' of the US were Deists. They believed in a God who created a universe, wound it up, and let it go on its own. For many reasons (including the supposed existence of free will), many people who believe this also believe that God had no idea how the universe would evolve over time. Some believe the opposite. All of the scientists I've known, who also believe in God, also believe that God plays ZERO active role in anything that is happening in the universe. For some, God is the fully incomprehensible outside of all time and space. For others, God simply manages the afterlife, and leaves the universe to its own machinery. There are so many views on God, and God's role. The important thing is to ask: Why do people assume that if God has quality X, then God must also have quality Y? Does it actually follow, or is it just an unjustified belief that it must be so? I have trouble believing that someone smart enough to run the worlds richest company would think that his God intentionally, specifically, knowingly chooses individuals' sexual orientations - especially given what I believe he must know about the science behind orientation-related proclivities. I could be wrong. Maybe Cook is brilliant at business and ignorant of science. I just suspect that he was intentionally, perhaps a little dishonestly, saying that bit about God for some well considered reason related to the fact that fundamentalist christians in the US are the main source of homophobia in this country. TL;DR - See "Deism", for example.