Quote:every tyrant and his sycophants regarding each of the tyrant’s caprices as the most noble of all things
Although an atheist is someone who lacks belief in ALL gods, the god that gets talked about on this forum is almost invariably one particular type. The sky-tyrant dictator that Blake (a Christian) called Nobodaddy.
There is another, very long-standing way of seeing the monotheistic God which doesn't involve tyranny. This goes back to the Greeks, and will be recognizable to people who know Plato and Aristotle's various ethical views. It is also the view of the major Christian theologians.
In this view, God is the Good. God is goodness itself, fully actualized. It is the ultimate aim of everyone.
The idea is that no one would willingly choose to do what is bad for himself. We all want what is good for us, we all want to be happy.
If someone chooses to do something bad, it is out of a misguided desire to get a good result. You might think that robbing a bank is a good idea, because you'll be happy to have the money. So you're aiming at what you think is good. The trouble is that, due to ignorance or pride, you're forgetting that you'll probably wind up in prison and be less happy in the long run. But the intended aim is always the good.
Some people do cos-play of badness, acting like bikers or outlaws with guns. This is because they think such "bad" appearances are good for them. They are aiming at the good, also.
The choice of bad things always results from non-freedom. The model here is the drug addict, who knows that what he's doing is harmful to himself, but is out of control. He is a slave to chemical dependence. Freedom from that dependence would mean getting healthy. Likewise, we may be slaves to psychological obsessions, irrational desires, the influence of advertising propaganda, etc. etc. If we were free of these enslavements we would choose what is good for us.
A free person is free of those obsessions or distractions that lead to bad ends. A free person aims to the good. Christians think that the good is God. Thus, aiming toward God is the definition of freedom. Doing good is the opposite of tyranny.
