Quote:
Originally Posted by SeeBass
But why do people who believe in him praise him when he lets evil happen?
Why is "free will" considered acceptable to not act?
If I saw an innocent child in trouble and did nothing I am quilty and every person on this thread would think little of me. But somehow the most powerful being in the universe (that created it in 6 days) gets a free pass?
This is a circle I can't square up
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Agreed. I read "How Can I Believe When I Live In A World Like This" by Reginald Stackhouse where he TRIES to throw out possible explanations. But I don't buy it. I'm okay with the possibility that there is a God. But based on the pain and suffering that exists in the world, there cannot be a good God worthy of worshiping.
Stackhouse tries to say that suffering is necessary because it helps us appreciate the good. And if earth is a testing ground for our spirits to gain entrance into heaven, we have to be given free will to choose evil over good, but at the peril of our souls. Okay, I always thought that what God did to Job was the ultimate dick move... why all this "testing"? Can't the Supreme Being look at the souls when they are formed and tell if they are good or evil?
So let's say the Supreme Being if limited in his ability to judge souls. I so often see those that choose evil prosper (look at our government politicians, corrupt corporate CEOs, criminal defrauders bilking grandma out of her savings) while those that choose to do good are punished (Chinese dissidents including union organizers, grandma who got bilked out of her savings). Why would a good God set up such a mess of a universe where, to gain entrance into heaven, you likely will suffer from the deeds of those that choose to do evil?
And this doesn't even touch on extreme, unexplainable suffering. Take a good, loving family. Mother, father, son, daughter. Daughter gets leukaemia. She suffers for many years of pain and torture. The family lives through just as much torture, watching this poor innocent girl writhe in constant pain. After fighting the good fight, the girl still passes away. What was the purpose of this pain and suffering? Stackhouse claims that it makes the boy stronger. He might want to become a scientist that finds the cure for leukaemia. Who knows what God's plan is... but it could mean that innocents suffer for the greater good of the world. Well my response would be WHY CREATE LEUKAEMIA IN THE FIRST PLACE? WTF? Why kill this innocent girl so the boy will become a scientist to cure this disease of He has the power to eliminate it right now? It makes no sense.
So as much as biblical scholars try, I can't circle that square myself. So back to this agnostic, atheist stuff.... I can possibly believe there was a being that created the energy for the big bang. But I don't believe in a good God deserving of our adoration. And I most certainly believe, with 100% certainty that the God of the Bible does not exist.