That's my point: The beliefs of Christians are often obviously wrong.
People. People are often obviously wrong. That changes things a bit.
Then Christians who believe he is omnipotent are wrong. Except for you, of course, who believe in a sort of punk-omnipotence. I've seen versions of the Christian god who couldn't do any magic at all, who couldn't supersize fries even if they worked at McDonald's.
That's funny. The omnipotent thing isn't entirely wrong, thus my comparison to omnivorous. To over exaggerate the meaning of the words to the extreme is a religious sort of carelessness. That's why I don't like using religious terminology to explain anything, because there is that tendency to do that. Omnivorous doesn't mean to literally eat everything and omnipotent doesn't mean literally can do anything. Then the skeptic always says: "Well, if a God can't do everything what good is he?" or some stupid shit like that . . . what are you going to do, huh?
And his purpose, will, and characteristics are mysterious, I bet.
No, there's this collection of books explaining in detail, and we were made in his image. That doesn't mean we look just like him.
Then your version of Jehovah has no issue with the Problem of evil. Too bad he didn't think to investigate that serpent/apple stuff, though.
That's a rather cryptic remark. The problem of evil?
Isaiah 45:7 KJV "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." The Hebrew word for evil is ra, and as used in Isaiah 45:7 it basically means justice through calamity, for example, Adam's expulsion from the garden, or the flood. Of course it can also mean something bad, ugly, gloomy, ungenerous. Modern day comparison: parent tells child that to play in the busy street is bad (ra), child thinks the rule of not playing in the street is ungenerous (ra) so does it anyway. Either of two possible negative outcomes are bad (ra) for the child; the child gets hurt or the father punishes the child for playing in the street. That's evil.
I suppose that's one way to interpret it. I'm more familiar with the version where Jehovah knows, but is acting like he doesn't know in order to manipulate the kids into confessing.
Hmmm. What about the angels in Sodom or Cain shortly after the demise of Abel?
But your version is good too. No interpretation is privileged over any other; there is no reading that can be called "true" at the expense of other readings.
I don't buy that. We are all capable of error. I've made my share of mistakes, but that isn't to say that no reading can be called "true" at the expense of others.
I'm talking about Christianity. Your focus is more on the bible, on what Christians should believe if they read the bible and believed it, and if it were true and accurate and subject to being interpreted consistently. We need to try to keep the two ideas separate.
Agreed.
My point is that god can't be both omnipotent (regular omnipotent, not punk-omnipotent) and also unable to defeat iron chariots. The two beliefs held together are an obvious contradiction.
God couldn't defeat the iron chariots because he had made an agreement with Israel and they weren't living up to their side of that agreement. He could have easily evaporated the iron chariots in any number of ways himself. Really. Logically, from reading the Bible there is no reason not to conclude this.
I looked on his face and lived? We talked face to face. He showed me his backside? Those are inconsistent with the claim that no man may look upon god and live. Spirit creatures are beside the point.
What?! Often when spirit creatures, or angels (the Hebrew and Greek words for angel means messenger. When the messenger is originally spirit he is called angel when originally human he is called messenger) appear to men throughout the Bible they are often called "angel," "man," "God," and even "Jehovah" simultaneously throughout the account. They are "angels" originally, "men" in appearance, and "God" or "Jehovah" as a representative of God or Jehovah. So, on one hand men have seen "God" and on the other hand they can't see God and yet live. Even Moses only saw a representation of God.