Sam Harris

Is there any explanation on why the Christian god needed to rest on the seventh day? Omnipotent as he is supposed to be and all.

Omnipotent means inexhaustible power right? So resting when you still have power left would be…

laziness?

Well, it could be because the Christian God is an anthropomorphic God, who has many human characteristics (he’s a jealous God, he writes on the wall with his ‘finger’, he ‘breathed’ into the dust to create Adam), etc. 

OR, it could be that God just decided to chill the fuck out and smoke a bowl.

[quote author=“SeanK”]
Is there any explanation as to where the heck you have been?  :wink:

I’ve been resting.  :D

He sat back and watched the planet evolve.

Is that some sort of “official “story or is it your own opinion?

There’s only one story, interperate as you like. The meaning can be chanegd but the words are always the same.

How many ways are there to interpret it? According to the “facts”:

a)  the Christian god rested after six days of work.

b) is Omnipotent, making void the need for rest.

It would have been simple to write “on the seventh day god saw all the life on earth grow and prosper and was pretty pleased with himself.” Even a plausible thing to write. Well, except for the “pretty pleased..” thing. Simple thing to “inspire”, though, for a god.
Instead it says he rested. My view is that this is just one more sign of a man made religion. A god made by men. Therefore the fingers, the breath, the walking in the garden. And also the rest. Just like ModernHeretic said, many human characteristics.

All I ever see, in regards to this, is people repeating “he rested on the seventh day” without ever asking the question “why?”. Why would an all powerful god waste a completely good day? Why would a god need to rest?  Why not make use of that “extra” day to do some finishing touches?

Actually, the Bible isn’t clear that its god is either omnipotent or anthropomorphic.

My apologies that I don’t have the specific section bookmarked.  Please scroll down to the “from anthropomorphic to purely spiritual” and “from meerly powerful to omnipotent”:

At the point where Genesis was written, Yahweh still had a physical body and was only very powerful.

Edit to add: Hey, you have to remember he had to work his way up from volcano god to the god he is today.  He really pulled himself up by his bootstraps to be so successful.

would a god need to rest? Why not make use of that “extra” day to do some finishing touches?

The joy about the Bible. It’s not about “why”, it’s just about what God did. He rested on the 7th day because the 7th day is blessed. That’s why we (used too) take Sundays off from work. The world needs rest, not God.

I believe it is symbolic for our need for rest. If he did finishing touches on the 7th day, and rested on the 8th day, society would have used an extra callander day for finishing touches.

Don’t ask why, ask how. How is it possible? How does God define resting when he’s omniportant? What did God do that would be considered resting?

[quote author=“Storm”]Is there any explanation on why the Christian god needed to rest on the seventh day? Omnipotent as he is supposed to be and all.

Omnipotent means inexhaustible power right? So resting when you still have power left would be…

laziness?

Who cares about the 7th day, what the hell has he been up to since? As far as I can tell, he’s only made a handful of personal appearances since.

Even if you count the 33 years or so of Jesus’ life (which should really only make him 1/3 less efficient), he’s had enough time to create 286,416 uuniverses!!

( 6000 - 33 x 48 ) I gave him a week off at Christmas and Easter, plus 2 weeks summer holidays. As well as every Sunday off of course.

Talk about an under acheiver.

It really pisses me off that I got brainwashed into believing this crap, and even more so that so many don’t outgrow it.

As far as I can tell, he’s only made a handful of personal appearances since.

He’s all around you, all the time. It’s not that you can’t see him, you just don’t recognize God for what he really is.

Even if you count the 33 years or so of Jesus’ life (which should really only make him 1/3 less efficient), he’s had enough time to create 286,416 uuniverses!!

What makes you think he hasn’t? We have no way of finding those universes for starts.

I gave him a week off at Christmas and Easter, plus 2 weeks summer holidays. As well as every Sunday off of course.

Christmas and Easter are for Jesus, not God. Sunday is older than Jesus.

Talk about an under acheiver.

Making you happy may not be what God wants to do. There are a million more people with a million more things for God to accomplish.

It really pisses me off that I got brainwashed into believing this crap, and even more so that so many don’t outgrow it.

You’re not brainwashed, you’re not a zombie. You are a sound mind. Millions die each year from war and starvation but you find yourself more concerned with how God couldn’t fullfill your life dreams for you. God gave you the opportunity to live, everything you want is right in front of you. The only thing beyond your control are the people around you. If you don’t want to live, die. Give someone else the opportunity.

God doesn’t make you go to work, and God doesn’t stop you from going to work. You go to work for the money.

I smell burning leaves…

Hi, Stormy !

[quote author=“Storm”]Is there any explanation on why the Christian god needed to rest on the seventh day?

It doesn’t say he needed to. It says he did.

So resting when you still have power left would be…

laziness?

Is that supposed to be bad? That’s a pretty demanding work ethic you’ve got there. I hope you’re not anyone’s boss.

From The Right to be Lazy :

A strange delusion possesses the working classes of the nations where capitalist civilization holds its sway. This delusion drags in its train the individual and social woes which for two centuries have tortured sad humanity. This delusion is the love of work, the furious passion for work, pushed even to the exhaustion of the vital force of the individual and his progeny.
:::
Jehovah the bearded and angry god, gave his worshipers the supreme example of ideal laziness; after six days of work, he rests for all eternity.

See also: In Praise of Idleness

[quote author=“Mia”]Hi, Stormy !

Flirting?  In the Christianity forum?!  What nerve.  Please show some decorum.

[quote author=“Bad_Conduct”]The joy about the Bible. It’s not about “why”, it’s just about what God did. He rested on the 7th day because the 7th day is blessed. That’s why we (used too) take Sundays off from work. The world needs rest, not God.

I do believe it says he rested on the seventh day and then blessed it because he enjoyed it so. Indeed the Christian god does not need rest. Even stranger that he rested then.

Now, to me, the whole week thing is strange. An omnipotent god would only need one day, even just a part of a day to create an entire universe. He could have spent the rest of the six days resting.

[quote author=“drewjw”]Talk about an under acheiver.

Or in over his head. There are certainly things he could fix in this universe, since he, as described, likes to mircomanage. If he did create all those 286,416 other universes he’s spreading himself to thin is seems.

[quote author=“Mia”]Hi, Stormy !

Hi, Mia

[quote author=“Climacus”]That’s a pretty demanding work ethic you’ve got there. I hope you’re not anyone’s boss.

How long would you work if you had unlimited power and had just created a litter of children? 6 days? How many days would you invest in your children? As many as you could manage?

[quote author=“Skipshot”]Flirting? In the Christianity forum?! What nerve. Please show some decorum.

It needs to be a little dirrty to better represent real life.