Now, Daniel, I'm really interested in hearing your response to this devil question. Is it not true that, without presupposing the truth of your religion, one cannot assume to know what a prankster god can or cannot do? I submit that we must accept the possibility that, if a person named Jesus ever WERE raised from the dead, we would have no way of knowing whether this was an act of God, or an act of another god, or an act of aliens, or an act of Voldemort... etc.
And, if the God were perhaps Yahweh, how would we KNOW he was telling the truth? The claims of the Bible God about morality and the nature of heaven and hell are totally unfalsifiable and could easily be enforced maliciously through mass revelatory delusion and a book sent down from above to deliberately mislead. An omnipotent being has no duty to man. If he were evil, he could easily dupe a whole race of people into following some preposterous religion that would get them sent to hell or worse, just for laughs. There's simply no way of knowing the mind or motivations of an otherworldy being, no matter how well a book and an emotional experience might make you think you know.
And, if the God were perhaps Yahweh, how would we KNOW he was telling the truth? The claims of the Bible God about morality and the nature of heaven and hell are totally unfalsifiable and could easily be enforced maliciously through mass revelatory delusion and a book sent down from above to deliberately mislead. An omnipotent being has no duty to man. If he were evil, he could easily dupe a whole race of people into following some preposterous religion that would get them sent to hell or worse, just for laughs. There's simply no way of knowing the mind or motivations of an otherworldy being, no matter how well a book and an emotional experience might make you think you know.
