Argument from evil, restated

[Godscreated]

Do you remember that scene in Watchmen where the Comedian shoots the pregnant woman in the stomach? Dr. Manhattan asks how he could do such a thing. The Comedian responds that he had the power to stop him and didn't, therefore he shares the blame.

Your argument makes sense if you're a human, limited in your power and incapable of stopping a truck. If you had the power to stop him from ruining your garden in the first place without any effort whatsoever, then you are just as much to blame for the conduct of the ants in your garden as your friend is.

I know this argument is causing you cognitive dissonance because you keep making excuse after excuse for God's failings, then twist your understanding of a single very vague, very insignificant verse in Isaiah just enough so that it doesn't conflict with what you believe. It's astounding to us atheists that you can't see this happening.

My whole point is, you shouldn't have to go in these circles in the first place. If there really was an all-powerful, all-loving, all-knowing god, these problems would never exist. None of the arguments I've made would apply to a god who has human limitations, which Yahweh certainly seems to, but that's certainly not how he's portrayed and I doubt that's what you believe.

My conclusion is, either God is both good and bad with human needs and emotions, or he is the way he is because he was constructed by people, for people. Which do you think is more likely?

God's limitation to interfere was and is free will, which He imposed on Himself. He couldn't stop Lucifer because he would have called God an unloving tyrant, a being only able to keep His creation through power and everyone would turn from Him if it wasn't for His controlling power that allowed no one to make decisions for themselves. Unhappy is creation, no matter what God would do, so why not let the evil Lucifer brought into creation run it's coarse and then be dealt with by God. It cost Him the perfect life of the Christ, the greatest part of the creation He so loves, no He didn't sacrifice anything, but in the end creation would see what evil really does and will be glad God put an end to it. Yes God could have put a stop to Lucifer but, it would have in the end cost Him the respect of His creation and Lucifer would have been lost forever either way.