A Benevolent God

[jomifl]

Having taken heed of some of the arguments in support of their benevolent god and Kromovacorum's posting on another thread, what are your suggestions for this benevolent god's mightiest works?
Here is mine:-

The boxing day tsunami

[jim360]

"Having said that, the religious can’t have it both ways. If they believe that their God is the creator, then he is responsible for the ills of the world - or he isn’t the creator."

Ha -- you fail to account for the inventiveness of the religious. This argument has been "dealt with" (my speech marks, imagine them as sarcastic) by saying that the world was in fact perfect until humans mucked it all up. So there! We're responsible! It's all our fault really!

So yes, every time you see a tragic tsunami, or an animal suffering a lingering death... remember it's all our fault really.

P.S. Up to the satire, this is a genuine argument. "Creation weeps" at the sins of man...

[Kromovaracun]

"Why do non-believers blame God for anything or everything?"

It's more a question of providing examples of thing God would have to be responsible for if he did create the universe and the earth - which none of us believe he did. If he were responsible for these things, you cannot conceivalby call him a good god. If he wasn't, you can't possibly call him the creator of earth.

Notice we didn't provide any mention of man-made disasters. Only ones which aren't attributable to human power.

[Kromovaracun]

I mean, to be fair, the Bible does describe God slowly and painfully murdering a child in its cradle for the crime of existing. In the book of Samuel (I think), he inflicts David's baby with a lethal sickness that lasts several days to punish David for adultery.

Then allows his next son (who is born from the same woman) to live.

"Aww, I don't think I'll kill this one."

[naomi24]

//you fail to account for the inventiveness of the religious. //

I never do that. I do, however, try to construct posts that may introduce a little logic where none formerly existed.

[jim360]

Don't forget the satire bit though Naomi.

[MrsLulu]

Naomi and LazyGun, I guess I am one of what some aber in the past called stupid. Blessed are those who have not seen but believe. I am what you call a 'happy clapper'. LG, that is news to me regarding Christians suddenly not believing in hell. God created Satan but banished him from Heaven.
Naomi, you obviously know the Bible inside out, gathered from your previous posts, so you should know what I am on about.

[naomi24]

Mrs.Lulu, I know what you're on about - but, logically, it makes no sense. Why, if you think he created everything, and is omniscient, do you blame him for nothing?

//Blessed are those who have not seen but believe. //

That's a sprat to catch a mackerel - and it works!

[jomifl]

Jim, perhaps I was using the word 'know' rather loosely. To be pedantic I cannot know with absolute certainty that g,od doesn't exist. I think I can rely on the assumption that he doesn't exist since so far I have not had the slightest valid reason to believe that he does exist and neither has anyone else. I am fairly confident that if I carry on to the end of my days this assumption will stand me in good stead.
I do find the idea of an atheist playing devil's advocate just a bit whimsical after all how can you be sure the devil exists? :-)

[jomifl]

So Sandy, are you saying that St. Stephen was to blame and not god? :-)

[jim360]

Yeah, sorry for jumping on you about it jomifl.

[MrsLulu]

Naomi, I cant say why God did what He did in the Old Testament. Wish I could answer that for you. When I was only thirteen something changed my life around and I believe it was an answer to prayer. It's a long story. Since then I know that nothing will ever change my mind. All of us will die one day and only then will we know the answer. If God is real and one has believed and tried their best to live a good life (and I don't mean crying Holy, Holy, Holy all day long because I am only human), then I hope to go to Heaven, whether it be up in the unkown or here on a new earth. If, as you atheists believe, when we die we are dead and that's that, then we will know zilch.

[jomifl]

Mrs Lulu I won't know anything when I an dead, tell me how your trick works.

[naomi24]

Mrs.Lulu, I didn’t ask you why God did what he did in the Old Testament. I asked you why you blame him for nothing.


By the way, not all atheists believe that when we’re dead, we’re dead. A few just believe that if the ‘soul’ does survive death, it is not as a result of any plan by your God. As I said earlier, if there is a creator God, the bible confirms that it can’t be him. Although I don't believe that anything is supernatural, I can understand people such as yourself attributing some life-changing event to a supernatural cause, but I think it’s a big mistake to attribute it to that God. I don’t think the authors of the bible understood what they were recording – and bearing in mind they thought this God was the omnipotent creator, they made some pretty glaring errors when recording his alleged abilities.

[MrsLulu]

jomifl, that's what I have just said - you will know nothing (zilch). What trick are you on about? No tricks up my sleeve, I am not a witch.

[jim360]

Where does the Bible "confirm" anything of that sort? All of the Psalms are fairly convinced, and St. Paul, and Jesus himself...

[society]

"naomi24
That's a sprat to catch a mackerel - and it works!"

Love it! :)

[Spoonboy]

Krakatoa.

[sandyRoe]

Where does it say God is benevolent? When he lit the fuse that would set off the big bang he knew, being omnipotent and all seeing, how the cosmos and our world would evolve. He must have known well that some of the trials and tribulations which afflict us while we're here are a direct consequence of the nature of the planet we live on.
Neither he, or the first martyr, Stephen, can be held culpable.

[MrsLulu]

Naomi, when I said that I cant explain what God did in the O.T. I suppose I meant that only God knows the answer to that. I refuse to blame God, what other people do is up to them. By the way, do you believe that a 'big bang' or evolution could create a soul. Would that include birds, fish and animals having souls because if the 'big bang' gave humans souls why not them?

[Kromovaracun]

So you would rather believe that a callous, murderous and destructive god created the cosmos knowing full well that the death of whole civilisations due to his own neglectfulnes would occur? Or that tiny, relatively insignificant organisms that kill hundreds of random children would crop up?

What about all those believers who define their God as one of love? Surely that is totally incompatible with believing that he created the earth?