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I Think You Misunderstood Me

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Posted by S.H. Le on October 13, 1999 17:39:25 UTC

: My intention is not to disprove the existence of God, as such would be an impossible feat. My intention is to disprove one traditional religious view point of God (if you account for all the assumptions about God I've made). I'm not suggesting all theists think this way, because the definition of God can be much more diverse than those that I've included in my argument. You are right to say that my argument doesn't disprove God, because it doesn't.

As for free will, fine I'll accept your premise because we've already argued this point extensively.

Concerning your point about evil: Of course I don't believe that natural disasters or diseases are evil. They are all part of nature's balance as you've said. Again, my argument appeals only to the traditionnal viewpoint of God, and the issue of good and evil. As far as I know, good and evil are purely subjective terms, and don't exist outside the human mind. In fact, human perception of good and evil very well shaped religious beliefs. However, you mentioned the fact that these disasters MUST happen because without them, the earth would split in two. However, this need not be. Remember that God is omnipotent, and he could have recreated the laws of physics differently if he wanted. For the cause of saving all the children (us) that he loves and created, I think that he could have done this without interfering with our free will (these events have nothing to do with free will). These events cause unnecessary suffering (as with the burning man example), and God could have prevented them.

Finally, I'd like to show how SOME theistic views are inconsistent. For instance, medical technology has advanced at a rapid rate, and lives are extended far beyond reproductive maturity. Few theists would think this is a bad thing, in fact many might think that it is a blessing from God. But, as human population growth explodes, the balance of nature is upset. Humans are consuming too many resources, and are forced to live in increasingly over crowded conditions. This facilitates the spread of disease, which is actually natures attempt at restoring balance. Theists might see this as being evil, or God unleashing his wrath before us, when it is simply nature's natural order. If we stop viewing events from a theological perspective (all things are caused by God for a reason), we'll see that things are caused by natural laws, that prefer balance and order.

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