(January 22, 2016 at 1:38 pm)Whateverist the White Wrote:(January 22, 2016 at 12:59 pm)athrock Wrote: Each of these points suggest that there is nothing inconsistent or contradictory about the Judeo-Christian view of a God who is both loving and capable of wiping out evil.
But don't you apologists teach that god was first and created all else? If there is evil in the world it obviously has god's blessing. If He occasionally has to reboot a particular group that would indicate He has favorites. Perhaps the evil you do to those who torment god's chosen is blessed in the eye of the lord? Would you personally be faithful enough to bash the skull of an infant if you believed it to be god's will?
No, theists don't teach that god is created at all.
As for evil, it is the absence of Good. Kinda like atheism is the absence of belief.
As for bashing the skull of an infant, you are proposing a test of faith - like Abram being asked to sacrifice Isaac. I would rather doubt myself and what I thought I heard from God than to be wrong and take an innocent life.
But if I had just spent 40 years wandering through the desert eating manna that fell from the sky every morning, drinking water that came from a rock, watching the Jordan river part so that I could pass through on dry land, and seeing the walls of Jericho fall at the blast of my trumpet, then yes, I could probably be inclined to think that I must now kill all of the those that God commanded me to kill.
God gave His people many great signs in order to form them into a people that believed and obeyed.
How would you have responded if you had seen all of those wonders?
(January 22, 2016 at 1:38 pm)Whateverist the White Wrote:(January 22, 2016 at 12:59 pm)athrock Wrote: Ironically, atheists often ask, “If God exists, why doesn’t He prevent evil?” The destruction of the Canaanites is an example of God putting an end to evil practices (such as child sacrifices to a false god) just as these atheists demand. Unwilling to let go of this convenient (if impotent) cudgel, however, atheists continue to object to God’s judgment and destruction of the Canaanites—a clear example of wanting to have it both ways.
The shoe may be on the other foot. It is no concern of mine that the god of bible does what I would call immoral if men did it. It causes me no conflict because I'm willing to call that spade a spade. I think it is you that is made uncomfortable by all this, not atheists. But hey, if it helps you to project one side of your internal debate out there onto atheists in order to work through your issues, I'm glad we can help.
This is a weak argument, and I see it all the time in this forum. "Oh, it's you believers who are trying to convince yourselves." No, Whatever, it really isn't. Believers believe. It's non-believers such as yourself who cling to the notion that God is immoral who must try to explain away rational explanations of God's actions.
IOW, atheists understandably ask hard questions. Believers reply with reasonable answers. Now, the ball is back in your court to deal with the implications of those answers. And simply repeating the questions is not the response of an intelligent man.
(January 22, 2016 at 1:38 pm)Whateverist the White Wrote:(January 22, 2016 at 12:59 pm)athrock Wrote: Finally, while objections to the immorality of the God of the OT may explain why one may not be Jewish or Christian, they offer only an incomplete explanation for why someone is an atheist since there are many alternative views of God that do not require acceptance of anything from the Bible.
Promising to hear you say so. I quite agree. But thank you, no thank you. I'm not having any more gods.
Oh, you're lack of belief might be rational, but that doesn't mean it's reasonable.
