I think there is only one problem - with your understanding of
Christianity and the God of the bible, not problems lying with God.
I have said, that many people hates what they think is Christianity, and what they
think is God. I'm stating
from what I know of Christianity, and as a Christian I believe I
have the right to say this (whether you call me arrogant or
not....well....) just like if I enter a Buddhist forum and
screamed, 'You buddhists are idolaters and worship idols!' I will
immediately be criticized of my wrong understanding of
Buddhism.
So, to answer your questions:
1) God is arrogant and unjust. Sounds ironic to me, and since when
has Man judged God? Nevermind, you are using a moral presupposition
to judge God, the giver of moral laws. I think you have answered
the question yourself. 'Good' is only truly good in God's eyes. Man
has many definitions of 'goodness', but none of which truly meets
the absolute goodness of God, by which all goodness must be
measured against. I can praise my good friend for being 'good' with
helping me with not exposing my lies. Such a good friend! Can you
disagree with my definition of 'good' now? Or is there an Absolute
Goodness by which I can say whether something or someone is really
'good'? In Christianity, no one is good, only God alone. Not Mother
Theresa. Not even Mohamed Gandhi, since they have sinned also. If
one understands the sinfulness of sin, then they will never say he
had done a single good
deed, much less proudly proclaim they have done 'tons of good
deeds' as you have done! And only when one realizes the effects of
his sinfulness as a direct transgression of God's character, can
one truly understand why in not believing in Jesus results in the
wrath of God. Other than that, you will only see God with myopic
eyes, as with many other accusations made.
2) The ambiguity of God. Again the lack of understanding of the
character of God. God gives us freewill, but allows us to make
choices only within His moral boundary. You assume that God has
given us even the right to do evil. Will you like such a God? I
think you will like. But not me. God is righteous. Secondly, why is
God a jealous God? You understand 'jealous' only in the negative
sense, as in casual talk. When the bible speaks of God as
'jealous', it is not in the negative sense. Far from it. If God is
God, He must be jealous! A God who shares his glory with other
things is not a true God. Glory must be His alone if He is the
Creator, if not God might as well don't exist, and then Christians
should worship no one.
3) We can't do anything anyway? Even calvinists believe in human
responsibility, so I do not know where you are coming from. Man is
responsible for his actions. Man is a free agent. God does not act
with what you call a 'now'. God is not restricted by time, as you
and I are. God is in the past, in the present, in the future. God
is eternal. How you want to even grasp, much less defeat this
concept with that argument of yours is beyond me.
4) God is not honest. I think you are the one not being honest. God
punishes as he pleases. No, he punishes sinners for a good reason,
and I agree with his punishment. For your information, I am, too, a
sinner myself. God is not the goody good guy. You are right; He is
not just that. Such a god
is only a figment of your imagination. You want a god who forgives
all sins, and overlooks all that, saves all the 'good' people
according to your own definition, and crucify His Son Jesus for
nothing. This is a god you have imagined. God is a righteous and
holy God, not just a loving one.
