The Problem of Good

[orangebox21]

Yes, and just because someone "reveals" that they haven't lied doesn't mean that he can't lie. Also, note that a lot of God's claims are non-falsifiable, so it's impossible to know he's not lying about those.

And vice-versa.  

You have no reason to assume he's telling the truth other than you want him to be telling the truth.  It's just wishful thinking.

The only reason to know He is telling the truth is because He is the only one able to testify to the truth of the statement.

It doesn't mean he's lying, but you can't know it. Everything else you said was just shifting the goal posts away from me saying you can't know this. I mean, obviously you can't prove it.

Ok.  I disagree that knowledge is impossible, but I certainly understand your position.  The only way for it to be proven to you that God exists is for you to be as God is and since you're not God it can never be proven to you that He exists as claimed.    

That's not the point; it's an unknowable claim, so Christians should stop making it. If they want to replace it with "I believe God only tells the truth", that'd at least be intellectually honest, but that certainly takes away all the punch from their claims.

Given the previous criteria I agree that it is an unknowable claim.  And given your criteria I can understand your contention with the claim that "I can prove that God cannot lie."  Although I'm not sure that a Christian claiming that God cannot lie is the same as claiming he/she can prove it [according to your criteria].  And if you've understood my argument you'll understand that the two reasonable claims a Christian can make [and hopefully you're satisfied with] is to say that God says He tells the truth, and I believe Him.

I missed this the first time around.

Just do a key word search in the Bible for purpose, decree, predestine, etc.  I'll note two.  It was God's purpose that Christ be crucified (Acts 2:22-24).  It is God's  purpose that salvation is freely received (Romans 9:10-18).

Now you've gone full circle. The purpose of sin is so that God can give us salvation from the sin he created in the first place.

He didn't create sin.

Without some other seed outside of this circle, it's useless and unnecessary. It's no different than me posting a sign reading "IT IS UNLAWFUL TO DEFACE THIS SIGN". I mean, that could be true and all, but if my goal is to not have that sign defaced, and if that sign is serving no other purpose... why even have the sign?

I did not say that sin's only purpose is that salvation is feely received.

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Please answer the question you've ignored twice.