Christians, Prove Your God Is Good

[daver49]

Well it seems to me that the answer was "maybe you're right, perhaps it isn't essential". But somehow I don't think you feel that way yourself, daver.

I will respond using the title of Abelard's most famous book, "Sic et Non."
And I do so not as a convenient "sleight of hand" or "cop out," but totally comfortable and accepting of the tension between the two.

---

Okay, so you're saying that the question is "Can Christians explain why their god is good without resorting to "Because the bible says"?". I'd suggest that more informative answers (and a broader range of them) will result if we cut out the value-ladened 'Can't you do better...' approach and simply challenge Christians to justify the 'goodness' of their version of the Christian God. Some Christians simply won't be able to cut out the bible whereas others will. Also the justifications will provide us with some pertinent discussion topics. Whether that takes the form of 'bridge-building' (e.g. "I just want to understand where you're coming from...") or a more adversarial scenario (e.g. "That's not 'good' because..") will depend entirely on the people having the discussions.

Sounds "good" to me. But how do you cut out "the value-ladened approach" while discussing "goodness?"

---

I would rephrase the question to say, "Can you show your God wants us to have maximum wellbeing and minimum suffering?"

@#$!%!, just as I thought I was beginning to understand the first question!

Maximum well-being and minimum suffering is certainly what WE want, but by showing us a bloody-beaten body on a cross we get a more honest idea about what life is really like for the majority of humans. That reality is the one we have a problem accepting, and so we seek a false way (or ways) out...or so it seems from this spec of infinity.