"Tim Rhodes" <proftim@speakeasy.org> wrote:
> Nonsense. I (and you too I suspect) have the power to give $50
> to the next bum which sp'rchange?es me on the corner. But I have
> not the will to. Is that proof of my (or your) malicious nature?
Ahhh... but you missed a part of the argument, Tim.
1) "Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot;
2) Or he can, but does not want to;
3) Or he cannot and does not want to.
4) If he wants to, but cannot, he is impotent.
5) If he can, but does not want to, he is wicked.
6) But, if God both can and wants to abolish evil,
7) Then how come evil in the world?"
-- Epicurus, 350-?270 BC
See line 5? Now, obviously, if god IS wicked, the argument from evil won't
get anywhere, but generally, people don't want you to believe in a wicked
god...
"If there is a God, he is a malign thug." -- Mark Twain
> Epicurus assumes "evil" from <God's> perspective is the same "evil"
> as seen from a human perspective. A dubious assumption. The mass
> slaughter I just performed on the toilet bowl I'm sure was "evil"
> from a bacteria's perspective, but from mine it was a simple cleaning,
> devoid of ethical question. Why would one assume a <God's>
> perspective relative to us to be any different?
This is my general position, actually. If a god does exist, I can't
imagine that he cares too terribly much about any of us finite beings. I
think it the height of arrogance to think (let alone say!) that "god loves
you/me".
"Man is a marvelous curiosity ... he thinks he is the Creator's
pet ... he even believes the Creator loves him; has a passion for
him; sits up nights to admire him; yes and watch over him and keep
him out of trouble. He prays to him and thinks He listens. Isn't
it a quaint idea." -- Mark Twain, _Letters from the Earth_
ERiC