Anon wrote:
If great men, such as Buddha, Gandhi, Bucky Fuller, etc. are capable of tolerance and compassion, then shouldn't god be.

If you decide that the god you believe in has these characteristics then he/she/it will have.

However could you not make a similar argument that powerful people like Hitler, Genghis Khan,etc. are capable of terror and tyranny, therefore god, who is also powerful, would be too.

Also can we indeed endow god with human characteristics? Surely god must be divine and his/her/its actions will be beyond our limited human understanding. Isn't that the usual get-out clause?



To Rev:
I wrote:
However I will acknowledge that the scope and range of the known universe (and the possibilities of the unknown) are awe-inspiring!

Rev replied:
If you add the readiness to be a humane--loving, moral, and ethical--being to this. Now,tell me: What is the difference between this and being a spiritual one?

The difference is that I do not believe in god. I think that the awe, and being a moral, loving and ethical person (I hope!) are because I am human, not because I believe in God. Every human is born with the possibility for good.