I'll actually grant you evil vs. reality. I don't agree with it (the shame aspect, which stemmed from their nakedness, not disobedience, as well as the language choices), but it doesn't matter. It's a minor bone of contention with the rest of it.
See, the failure of the creation story - and a lot of Christianity on the whole - is that it relies on the idea of tests. God tests his creations to deem their worthiness. But, the tests are unfair and capricious. With Adam and Eve, he creates the Tree and puts it right there, before them. He creates the serpent who tempts them. He gives them misleading information (touch the fruit and you die). It's technically true - they lose whatever immortality that's assumed in the tale - but it's stated dishonestly.
He purposely creates an environment designed to tempt his prized creations, and then gets angry when they succumb to that temptation. It's cruel. And it dovetails into the idea of eternal punishment.
God has knowingly, willingly created a system where a sizable portion of the population will suffer eternal punishment. Depending on which flavor of Christianity you believe in, one's good works may not be enough to stave off the punishment if they don't swear fealty to God. And, even better, God does what he can to keep his presence hidden. Rather than being active and visible for all to see, he "works in mysterious ways." He appears on potato chips, but let's kids die of cancer. So, no one truly knows if he exists or not. Oh, sure, the faithful will claim he does, but, well, they call it faith and not fact for a reason.
It's utterly moronic.
Why would such a powerful being feel the need to create anything? Creating something is the act of filling a deficiency. I write shitty poetry because I'm flawed, have some things I'd rather express than keep bottled up, and find it an interesting and challenging way to stave off boredom. I have a dog because I can feel lonely at times. Why did God create everything, beyond just because? There has to be a purpose, some key thing he wanted to address.
Why would such a being desire, née demand the worship of lesser creatures? What could it possibly gain him?
Why would such a being be so damn inefficient? "Hey, God, did you realize that about 50% of the people you create are destined to go to hell due to a mix of free will and you hiding over here?" "Yup, but I'm still gonna crank them out! In fact, let's up production! I bet we can add another billion by the end of the century!"
It's ridiculous. It's beyond wasteful. And it's mean. It's a flawed setup that results in eternal torture for billions.
And, again eternal punishment as an exercise is inherently flawed anyway. It's useless as a deterrent because no one knows if it actually exists, and it's not a teaching tool because you're dead.
See, the failure of the creation story - and a lot of Christianity on the whole - is that it relies on the idea of tests. God tests his creations to deem their worthiness. But, the tests are unfair and capricious. With Adam and Eve, he creates the Tree and puts it right there, before them. He creates the serpent who tempts them. He gives them misleading information (touch the fruit and you die). It's technically true - they lose whatever immortality that's assumed in the tale - but it's stated dishonestly.
He purposely creates an environment designed to tempt his prized creations, and then gets angry when they succumb to that temptation. It's cruel. And it dovetails into the idea of eternal punishment.
God has knowingly, willingly created a system where a sizable portion of the population will suffer eternal punishment. Depending on which flavor of Christianity you believe in, one's good works may not be enough to stave off the punishment if they don't swear fealty to God. And, even better, God does what he can to keep his presence hidden. Rather than being active and visible for all to see, he "works in mysterious ways." He appears on potato chips, but let's kids die of cancer. So, no one truly knows if he exists or not. Oh, sure, the faithful will claim he does, but, well, they call it faith and not fact for a reason.
It's utterly moronic.
Why would such a powerful being feel the need to create anything? Creating something is the act of filling a deficiency. I write shitty poetry because I'm flawed, have some things I'd rather express than keep bottled up, and find it an interesting and challenging way to stave off boredom. I have a dog because I can feel lonely at times. Why did God create everything, beyond just because? There has to be a purpose, some key thing he wanted to address.
Why would such a being desire, née demand the worship of lesser creatures? What could it possibly gain him?
Why would such a being be so damn inefficient? "Hey, God, did you realize that about 50% of the people you create are destined to go to hell due to a mix of free will and you hiding over here?" "Yup, but I'm still gonna crank them out! In fact, let's up production! I bet we can add another billion by the end of the century!"
It's ridiculous. It's beyond wasteful. And it's mean. It's a flawed setup that results in eternal torture for billions.
And, again eternal punishment as an exercise is inherently flawed anyway. It's useless as a deterrent because no one knows if it actually exists, and it's not a teaching tool because you're dead.
"I was thirsty for everything, but blood wasn't my style" - Live, "Voodoo Lady"