(July 29, 2021 at 11:28 am)Ten Wrote: Why would you make that assumption?
Even if you had evidence of such a Creator telling us that they're good and intend good for us, what evidence do you have of that actually being true?
If by good/benevolent you mean: has ultimately good intentions. Then clearly, the Abrahamic God in judeo-christian/islamic scripture is good. He intends to serve ultimate justice+ ever-lasting happiness for those who followed his path, and vice versa.
Why should one trust what's in scripture ? because, under theism, we only know God through this very scripture. If we accept that the Qur'an, or the OT/NT are the literal word of God, then we should accept what they say about God. If we don't, then we are deists at best, and guessing whether God is good or bad seems to be an unanswerable problem for deists. It could be in fact a very good incentive for deists to investigate candidate scriptures and look for a thicker belief system.
An argument for the transition from deism to theism will look like this :
P1: The deistic god either sent instructions to His creation or is inherently evil/not benevolent/ leads his creation astray.
P2: There are various aspects of order in this world
Conclusion: it's more likely that God sent us such instructions. as P2 is more compatible with a caring God.
A deity that made the smallest particle in the universe governed by precise laws of physics is unlikely to leave entire human beings without some kind of law. The entire fabric in the universe points to a lawgiver who cares about clarity and precision.
What would be the candidates for these instructions? Major religious experiences in history seem to be the best candidate for this. Although formulating arguments from religious experience is an entire thread in its own right.
