Why Do We Assume That God Is Good ?

[Josquin des Prez]

It proves that it doesn't poison everything, which is the word used in the title of the book.

Which is also the word i meant to use, but my brain crapped out at the last second. Time to re-fill that coffee pot.

[greg]

Well, He's not good if he chooses to put our spirits in our bodies without asking for our permission. That's extremely rude, and I doubt anyone would agree to that knowing they could spend an eternity in hell if they make a wrong choice.

[DavidW]

Well, He's not good if he chooses to put our spirits in our bodies without asking for our permission. That's extremely rude, and I doubt anyone would agree to that knowing they could spend an eternity in hell if they make a wrong choice.

That's awesome, brought a smile to my face.

[greg]

That's awesome, brought a smile to my face.

wow, really? 

[BachQ]

wow, really? 

You're highly gifted, Greg ....... it's time you realize that! 

[greg]

You're highly gifted, Greg ....... it's time you realize that! 

oh, please, not nearly as much as other people on this forum  0:)

[Brian]

Well, He's not good if he chooses to put our spirits in our bodies without asking for our permission. That's extremely rude, and I doubt anyone would agree to that knowing they could spend an eternity in hell if they make a wrong choice.

If I ever write a philosophy book, I might quote you. This is a novel sentiment expressed in an elegantly simple way.

(I'll attribute it to "GGGGRRREEG" of course.  )

[greg]

If I ever write a philosophy book, I might quote you. This is a novel sentiment expressed in an elegantly simple way.

(I'll attribute it to "GGGGRRREEG" of course.  )

holy %&$*

you mean all you people have never heard or thought of that before!?

man, i'm sure there has to be other people out there who were miserable enough to think of such a thing. Has to be in a book somewhere, right?

oh, my name: "Greg Cook"......


btw, i'm flattered   

[Norbeone]

Which is also the word i meant to use, but my brain crapped out at the last second. Time to re-fill that coffee pot.

Then mine did, too, now that you point it out. I didn't realize you used the word 'anything'. Had I realised, my reply to it would have been somewhat different.   

[Danny]

Yeah, I wasn't impressed by this article, either. But maybe I'm just biased. 

[M forever]

i believe you misunderstand.  He 'invented' nature & all that comes with it.  what is in the universe where we exist is what must exist.  if it were different, we would be something else.

God can not put a 5-dimensional creature into a 3-dimensional universe.  He creates what can be created.
the place He created where the tragedies never occur is somewhere else.

you can go there if you wish, but He will not force you.

dj

Are you on drugs?

[Saul]

isn't good in my book...

You must have some book then.. huh?

What its called?

[Shrunk]

Leaving aside the question of who/what God actually is, if we just take him as the character described in the Bible, I think it's hard to convincingly argue that he's good.  Satan's supposedly the villain of the Book, but if you tally up the body count of deaths caused by each of them, God comes out ahead, and not by a small margin.  Of course, this is justified by the claim that God only killed evil people who deserved to die, but we only have His word for it, and the book is an authorized biography, so its objectivity can't be taken as a given.  It does claim that Satan is responsible for all the evil in the first place, but again that only makes sense if you assume God is the good guy and the advice he gave Adam about that tree was reliable.  God was certainly pissed off by Adam's disobedience and punished all mankind as a result, but again that can only be seen as "good" is you make the a priori assumption that God is good.  If you're objective about it, God just comes off as a vindictive, vengeful control freak who dispenses justice based on his arbitrary whims.

All this is just meant tongue in cheek, sort of....

[BachQ]

God just comes off as a vindictive, vengeful control freak who dispenses justice based on his arbitrary whims.

  Yeah, definitely a control freak .........

[lukeottevanger]

Are you on drugs?

I particularly liked the line:

God can not put a 5-dimensional creature into a 3-dimensional universe 

because if he can't do something, surely he isn't God?

[drogulus]

because if he can't do something, surely he isn't God?

    Well, there're the classic demonstrations of incoherence, like creating a weight you can't lift, or changing your mind. Gods can't be assigned infinite powers without running into these. Without them they can't control or even monitor everything. The problem is imagining everything as being under central control in the first place. No atoms, molecules, or galaxies need instruction from someplace else to be what they are. That's a good thing, since it means we humans really are in control of our fate, to the extent that anyone can be said to be in control.

[Brian]

    Well, there're the classic demonstrations of incoherence, like creating a weight you can't lift, or changing your mind. Gods can't be assigned infinite powers without running into these. Without them they can't control or even monitor everything. The problem is imagining everything as being under central control in the first place. No atoms, molecules, or galaxies need instruction from someplace else to be what they are. That's a good thing, since it means we humans really are in control of our fate, to the extent that anyone can be said to be in control.

"Could God microwave a burrito so hot that He Himself could not eat it?" - Homer Simpson

[DavidW]

The creating a rock thing really I think just shows the limitation of language, and it's not what you would call deep or insightful.

[drogulus]

"Could God microwave a burrito so hot that He Himself could not eat it?" - Homer Simpson

     Gods, like Homer Simpson, are really just funny ideas which betray their source.

     

The creating a rock thing really I think just shows the limitation of language, and it's not what you would call deep or insightful.

     Language is very powerful. It can lead us to think that what it says is real just because it can be said. I guess you could say that's a weakness of language, but it seems like a weakness of analysis, which Homer gets right. To see the problem is to understand this is not a description of anything.

[DavidW]

   
     Language is very powerful. It can lead us to think that what it says is real just because it can be said. I guess you could say that's a weakness of language, but it seems like a weakness of analysis, which Homer gets right. To see the problem is to understand this is not a description of anything.

That's well put, and I think that is indeed the problem.