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Can God be objectively good despite criticism against Him/Her/It?
May 4, 2022 at 1:48 pm
I mean, I know I've said some pretty harsh things about God (in real life), but perhaps God is above all forms of criticism? And acts like the one truly objectively good thing in a person's life, despite what that person might think or say about God?
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RE: Can God be objectively good despite criticism against Him/Her/It?
May 4, 2022 at 1:58 pm
(This post was last modified: May 4, 2022 at 1:59 pm by Alan V.)
(May 4, 2022 at 1:48 pm)Ahriman Wrote: I mean, I know I've said some pretty harsh things about God (in real life), but perhaps God is above all forms of criticism? And acts like the one truly objectively good thing in a person's life, despite what that person might think or say about God?
This is what many theists would have us believe. The problem is that they can't come up with a God-concept which is above criticism, since they are all human concepts. Even a God-concept which is transcendent of the world we know is irrelevant to this world, since relevance is a two-way street.
This is why I prefer the concept of truth to any God-concept. Assuming a God exists is assuming too much about truth from the get-go.
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RE: Can God be objectively good despite criticism against Him/Her/It?
May 4, 2022 at 1:59 pm
Was that a question?
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RE: Can God be objectively good despite criticism against Him/Her/It?
May 4, 2022 at 2:05 pm
(This post was last modified: May 4, 2022 at 2:06 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
If gods acts like the one truly objectively good thing in a persons life, it's not above all forms of criticism. You set a bar, and wondered if a god could clear it.
I think the more revealing question is whether or not it can fail to be that thing, assuming it is that thing. That could call it's moral agency into question. Reducing it to being objectively good exactly like water is objectively good.
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RE: Can God be objectively good despite criticism against Him/Her/It?
May 4, 2022 at 2:07 pm
If God orders the massacre of little children, who are you to judge??
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RE: Can God be objectively good despite criticism against Him/Her/It?
May 4, 2022 at 2:11 pm
Do we judge the lion for eating the lamb?
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: Can God be objectively good despite criticism against Him/Her/It?
May 4, 2022 at 2:20 pm
(May 4, 2022 at 2:07 pm)Jehanne Wrote: If God orders the massacre of little children, who are you to judge?? Why would God order the massacre of little children in the first place? You actually care more about the Bible than I do and I'm a Christian.
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RE: Can God be objectively good despite criticism against Him/Her/It?
May 4, 2022 at 2:26 pm
Why not? Maybe the massacre of little children was the most objectively good thing to do? Or maybe it's not morally competent, and it was just hungry. Gods are often described as loving the smell of burnt flesh.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: Can God be objectively good despite criticism against Him/Her/It?
May 4, 2022 at 3:12 pm
(May 4, 2022 at 1:48 pm)Ahriman Wrote: I mean, I know I've said some pretty harsh things about God (in real life), but perhaps God is above all forms of criticism? And acts like the one truly objectively good thing in a person's life, despite what that person might think or say about God?
It's possible for any person-- including God, I suppose-- to be misjudged by others. So I guess my answer to the thread's title is "yes."
But I disagree with the OP. No person, not even God, is somehow above criticism just by being God. "Cancer" is a more powerful force in the world than I am, but I still hate it and I don't want it anywhere near me or my loved ones.
If God is some tribalistic blowhard (as many religious people take him to be) then he can fuck off too.
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RE: Can God be objectively good despite criticism against Him/Her/It?
May 4, 2022 at 3:26 pm
(May 4, 2022 at 1:48 pm)Ahriman Wrote: I mean, I know I've said some pretty harsh things about God (in real life), but perhaps God is above all forms of criticism? And acts like the one truly objectively good thing in a person's life, despite what that person might think or say about God?
Define “objectively good.”
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