The "Cultural Context" Excuse

[Angrboda]

Rights are granted. Who has granted the right to God, to do whatever he wants? Certainly not us.

If he can just do whatever, and we've gotta suck it up and pretend it's righteous because it's him, that's a really lousy system. Replace him with an evil (more evil) version, and you're still defending him.

This is "might makes right", nothing more.

This is why I stated in a previous post that you are not an atheist because you think God is mean, but rather because you don't have proof that he exists..  You are saying that God has no right to tell us what to do, but if you did believe in him, then you would think he had that right.  So we're attacking or defending different gods.  You can't argue about whether God is good or bad, or right or wrong, unless you're talking about the same God.  If we are to discuss the God of christianity, then in order to have a constructive discussion, we must discuss the God of christianity.  He who is the potter and has the right to do with the clay and the pot what he wishes.  The God of the christian bible does.  So saying that the christian God has the right to do whatever he wants is a valid defense.

(underlining mine -- I think you're arguing from a personal theology here. It isn't clear to me that the God of Christianity has this right except by interpretation.)

Nowhere in the bible is there a rational defense of God having the right to do what he wants. The closest you get is Job. The clay / potter analogy is a lousy analogy. Clay isn't an autonomous being so the analogy doesn't address relevant moral points. It would be a closer analogy to say that a parent doesn't have to ask the son or daughter for permission; they can treat them however they like. And this analogy points up the flaw in the argument that God "has the right" to do whatever he wants, because no parent has cart blanche to do what they want to their children regardless of age. Where did he acquire this right? How are you defining a 'right'? These are valid questions which you're just sweeping under the rug with an analogy and some bare assertions. How do you know God has this right?