Dear Moderate Muslims

[YahwehIsTheWay]

Dear Moderate Muslims,


Where is Allah?

I don't want you to apologize for the actions of others. You are not omnipotent or omniscient. You don't hear prayers and watch over all of us. You are not a personal god who can speak with authority and get radicals to stop killing, simply by telling them to with a booming voice from the sky.

Shouldn't we hold the gods we worship to the same moral standards that we hold one another to?
If any responsible parent saw their children stabbing each other in a fight over a toy, that parent should stop the children, discipline them immediately (not later) and take the toy away. Why won't your god take action on how his followers fight over religion?

If any responsible general heard that his soldiers were committing atrocities in his name, that general would immediately take action to stop his soldiers and discipline them immediately (not later). A general who did nothing would be a war criminal. Why won't your god take action to stop those who are murdering in his name?

With increased power comes increased responsibility. Your god is more capable than any mortal parent or mortal general. Why won't he take any action?

Please be prepared to do better than the, speaking frankly, feeble excuses that the faithful usually offer for their absentee heavenly father. Theodicies like "it's a test", "mysterious ways" and "free will" are utterly unconvincing in the face of so much death and suffering.

In truth, there are only three explanations. Either your god delights in the sight of people killing in his name (he's evil) or he feels no need to stop people from killing in his name (he's negligent) or can't stop the extremists because he doesn't exist.

I'm not asking you to apologize for your religion. I am asking you to ask why your god will do nothing and rethink whether that god is worthy of worship or is even "up there" at all.

Sincerely,
A skeptic of religion.