Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site osu-eddie.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!osu-eddie!karl
From: karl@osu-eddie.UUCP (Karl Kleinpaste)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: Only one God?
Message-ID: <1@osu-eddie.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 3-Dec-84 14:21:07 EST
Article-I.D.: osu-eddi.1
Posted: Mon Dec  3 14:21:07 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 4-Dec-84 19:38:55 EST
References: <284@spp2.UUCP>
Organization: Society for the Advancement of Raw Weirdness
Lines: 32

A relatively minor correction...
----------
> ...isn't it funny to
>  say "I'm a jealous god" if you're the only god there is?)
----------
Your understanding of the  description "jealous god" is a bit inaccurate. It
does  not  refer  to the fear that one particular god would be  upset  if  a
certain group of people were to  worship another existing god. Rather, it is
the  case that God objects to anything or anyone getting in the way  of  His
relationship with people;  paying  homage  to a non-existent god is the most
blatant  and  damaging  case of this sort of  thing,  since  it  effectively
disallows God's proper place with said people.

It is not the case that jealousy is  a bad thing in and of itself, either. I
would  be extremely jealous, possibly to the point of violence, if  I  found
that someone else were taking my wife's affections. (Avoid obvious extremes,
please.)  In  such  a case, I would be  justifiably  upset  and  justifiably
jealous.  Similarly,  God  is  upset  when we  give  our  "affections"  to a
(supposed) deity other than Himself.

Thus, jealousy can in fact  be  constructive.  It  can be a tool by which we
detect  when  there is a problem in a relationship, and leads us to  find  a
means to correct that  relationship.  It  is only bad when it degenerates to
simple  irrationality, such as in the standard Psych 101  "raging  jealousy"
example of a man who thinks  that  his wife/girlfriend/mistress  is flirting
with other guys when in fact she is not.
-- 
From the badly beaten keyboards of                       best address---+
him who speaks in _*_T_y_P_e_* _f-_O-_n-_T-_s...                                   |
									V
Karl Kleinpaste @ Bell Labs, Columbus   614/860-5107  {cbosgd,ihnp4}!_c_b_r_m_a_!_k_k
                @ Ohio State University 614/422-0915    cbosgd!osu-eddie!karl