RE: Plantinga's "Free Will" defense contradicts Christianity
February 7, 2020 at 2:54 am
(This post was last modified: February 7, 2020 at 2:55 am by John 6IX Breezy.)
(February 7, 2020 at 2:01 am)Fake Messiah Wrote: Problem of natural evil and other catastrophes is everyday human problem to which Bible is completely oblivious.
Even the smallest evils are punishment from God for person's/ Jews behavior. Thus the ancient Jews believed that if they suffered from drought, or if King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia invaded Judaea and exiled its people, that these were divine punishments for their own sins.
The Biblev can not recognise the possibility that perhaps the drought resulted from a volcanic eruption in the Philippines, that Nebuchadnezzar invaded in pursuit of Babylonian commercial interests and that King Cyrus had his own political reasons to favour the Jews. The Bible accordingly shows no interest whatsoever in understanding the global ecology, the Babylonian economy or the Persian political system.
That's why the Bible is so childish because that kind of self-absorption characterises all humans in their childhood. Five-year-olds think they are the centre of the world, and therefore show little genuine interest in the conditions and feelings of other people.
Are you sure? I find that although the bible does view death in general as the result of sin, it tends to discourage viewing natural disasters, sicknesses, or tragedies as punishment for sin.
"There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, 'Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (ESV, Luke 13:1-5).
But I'm not sure I understand your issue with the absence of things like global ecology or Babylonian economy from scripture. Narratives have structure. Stories are confined to things that are relevant to the story. The bible has a story to tell and a point to make; it's not an encyclopedia. Even your own internal narrative constructs your identity by emphasizing certain memories and ignoring others; your mind is choosing which memories are relevant to your autobiographical story and leaving the boring stuff out.
