The next section of Evilbible.com's article on the impossibility of God is that God is defined as all good and all knowing, and yet we have all the suffering today. They say that He knew who would end up turning away from Him or not every hearing His Word, so it doesn't make sense that He can be all-compassionate and create the people he knew were going to suffer for eternity.
They conveniently leave out the part about what caused this. Nobody but Satan and the demons would end up in the Lake of Fire without the original sin of Adam and Eve. We brought this on ourselves because God is all-holy, and therefore cannot be in the presence of beings that are imperfect. Even when God was with people his physical being wasn't because of His holiness. This is also why high priests that hadn't repented and sacrificed to atone for their sins died when they entered the Holy of Holies. The closest anyone has every gotten to seeing God's full glory on earth is Isaiah seeing part of God, and Moses seeing His back. God is even described as being so mind-blowingly holy, powerful, and full of glory that a look at God's front would kill an imperfect human on the spot.
Now back to the matter at hand. Suffering and pain exist because of sin. This is a basic, yet very important, concept. I've already shown why God wanted free will for us, but the free will resulted in sin which brought about all the pain and suffering there is. He cannot simply prevent people being born because of how they will end up. This is because He works within the natural laws He set in place, and this would clearly violate them. People make their own choices for how they'll end up. That's why Christians have the charge to spread their beliefs as far and wide as they can, and to give answers for their faith.
Another option God had would have been to not create at all. All creation exists to please God, and he is still pleased by what he has created. Nothing in nature displeases God, although people's corruption of God's originally perfect creation has caused unnecessary bloodshed between species. While He could have not creates humans because of those who wouldn't end up in heaven, He did create because he is still very pleased with those who do follow him. It is their charge to bring His Word to those people who haven't heard it so that more of his children end up with Him.
God ultimately created because His creation pleased Him and eventually it will once again be made perfect. This time, however; humanity will not mess up for the will have been purged of their sinful nature by the acts of Jesus Christ. The original sin is what caused humanity's suffering, you cannot accurately blame God for that.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
"God Is Impossible" Part 5--The Freewill Argument
Evilbible goes on to say that the only objection to their last point was that humans must have freewill to be happy. For one, that's not the only objection, as I have already shown, but for the sake of argument let's continue. They say this is a weak argument.
The first point is that God just as easily could have created robots that would be happy without freewill. In fact, that way the creation would have stayed perfect. This argument is weak because God finds delight in our everyday lives, including seeking after him because of trouble we are going through. If there are perfect robots, they have no reason to seek Him whatsoever.
Their second point is that God could have created freewill, but merely to choose between several good options. The example they use for this is the angels who haven't sinned. This shows a lack of knowledge of the Bible because Satan and the demons were originally angels who attempted to reach the same level as God. Angels CAN sin, but they lack a sin nature which is the reason that humans mess up so much. We will ultimately be elevated above the angels because of the faith we need to follow God in spite of that, and without a sin nature and free will such faith would be meaningless.
The first point is that God just as easily could have created robots that would be happy without freewill. In fact, that way the creation would have stayed perfect. This argument is weak because God finds delight in our everyday lives, including seeking after him because of trouble we are going through. If there are perfect robots, they have no reason to seek Him whatsoever.
Their second point is that God could have created freewill, but merely to choose between several good options. The example they use for this is the angels who haven't sinned. This shows a lack of knowledge of the Bible because Satan and the demons were originally angels who attempted to reach the same level as God. Angels CAN sin, but they lack a sin nature which is the reason that humans mess up so much. We will ultimately be elevated above the angels because of the faith we need to follow God in spite of that, and without a sin nature and free will such faith would be meaningless.
Friday, August 28, 2009
"God Is Impossible" Part 4--Perfection begets imperfection
The next section of evilbible.com's argument talks about how God created humans, who in turn ended up sinning. Therefore, God's creation was imperfect, and something imperfect can't come from something that is perfect, so God must not be perfect. There are a couple big things missing from this argument:
In order to show this, Evilbible must first show that the world is, in fact, imperfect due to a creative flaw. There is another kind of imperfect that Evilbible.com did not recognize, the state of being made perfect. Think about Revelation for a minute. Revelation is when God ultimately exalts His Creation and it is made perfect. The world is imperfect because of being in the process of being made perfect.
Why God chose this method, we can only speculate. The only thing we know is that Adam and Eve are the ones who messed up the original good (not perfect) creation. Satan's role is conveniently left out in this article. Satan is the one who began warping the good desire for knowledge that Adam and Eve had, and they decided to attempt to fulfill themselves rather than turning to God. The path that the world then went down allowed God to show that He keeps His promises, He is love, and He is always glorified. The world will be without sin once God is done with it, and Satan will not be able to interfere.
Again, it is also worth mentioning that you cannot limit God with a man-made world and attributes described in man's language. God is beyond perfect, so perfect cannot be made a limit.
In order to show this, Evilbible must first show that the world is, in fact, imperfect due to a creative flaw. There is another kind of imperfect that Evilbible.com did not recognize, the state of being made perfect. Think about Revelation for a minute. Revelation is when God ultimately exalts His Creation and it is made perfect. The world is imperfect because of being in the process of being made perfect.
Why God chose this method, we can only speculate. The only thing we know is that Adam and Eve are the ones who messed up the original good (not perfect) creation. Satan's role is conveniently left out in this article. Satan is the one who began warping the good desire for knowledge that Adam and Eve had, and they decided to attempt to fulfill themselves rather than turning to God. The path that the world then went down allowed God to show that He keeps His promises, He is love, and He is always glorified. The world will be without sin once God is done with it, and Satan will not be able to interfere.
Again, it is also worth mentioning that you cannot limit God with a man-made world and attributes described in man's language. God is beyond perfect, so perfect cannot be made a limit.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
"God Is Impossible" Part 3--Perfection Seeks More Perfection
Evilbible.com's biggest slip-up here was attributes they assigned to something that is perfect, that aren't necessarily true. For example, they said that something perfect needed nothing else, which is true, but then they added that it WANTS nothing else. Where does that come from? God created us because he finds delight in our faith and everything we do for Him, but that by no means shows he needs us, merely that he loves us.
To definition of want: is to feel a need for something, or an inclination. Ordinarily it would make sense that God wants nothing, but again you are using human feelings to define the Almighty God. His emotions are not the same as ours, again pointing at Isaiah "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways." Nothing could prompt God to recognize His need for anything, and He certainly wasn't lonely, the inclination He felt to create came from the joy He knew His creation would bring Him.
It says humans engage in activities to pursue perfection. That in itself isn't necessarily true, there are people who do things for the sheer pleasure of doing it, not to pursue any sort of perfection.
Last thing, the Bible says God is indescribably glorious and awesome. The word perfect is in itself a human created word, so it makes no sense to limit a God beyond our understanding to a human created word. You cannot limit God by a human created attribute.
To definition of want: is to feel a need for something, or an inclination. Ordinarily it would make sense that God wants nothing, but again you are using human feelings to define the Almighty God. His emotions are not the same as ours, again pointing at Isaiah "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways." Nothing could prompt God to recognize His need for anything, and He certainly wasn't lonely, the inclination He felt to create came from the joy He knew His creation would bring Him.
It says humans engage in activities to pursue perfection. That in itself isn't necessarily true, there are people who do things for the sheer pleasure of doing it, not to pursue any sort of perfection.
Last thing, the Bible says God is indescribably glorious and awesome. The word perfect is in itself a human created word, so it makes no sense to limit a God beyond our understanding to a human created word. You cannot limit God by a human created attribute.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
"God Is Impossible" Part 2--Defining YHWH
The next section of this article is another introductory one. YHWH is one of God's many names, so here we are also defining God. He has been given the attributes of omnipotent, omniscient, outside of time, outside of matter, beyond perfect, and eternal. He is also all-loving and each and every decision he makes is just.
He also created humans. We were once a perfect creation, but through deception on the part of the serpent (Satan) caused ourselves to become imperfect. God has given us the gift of redemption which, through Jesus's blood being shed for us on the cross, will give us the ability to spend eternity in heaven if we believe in Him, repent of our sins, and surrender our lives to God.
One point Evil Bible makes that is shown in the wrong like is Hell. They say all those who don't accept Him must go to Hell, which isn't necessarily wrong, but begs explanation. Hell is the only place with the absence of God's presence, which is why it is eternal torment. God ultimately is Holy, and imperfect humans that have not atoned for their sins cannot be in the presence of a Holy God. Lastly, Evil Bible ends this section with a mere insult, nothing needs said.
Another, more detailed take on this: http://unavoxveritatis.blogspot.com/2009/04/impossibility-of-god-part-ii.html
He also created humans. We were once a perfect creation, but through deception on the part of the serpent (Satan) caused ourselves to become imperfect. God has given us the gift of redemption which, through Jesus's blood being shed for us on the cross, will give us the ability to spend eternity in heaven if we believe in Him, repent of our sins, and surrender our lives to God.
One point Evil Bible makes that is shown in the wrong like is Hell. They say all those who don't accept Him must go to Hell, which isn't necessarily wrong, but begs explanation. Hell is the only place with the absence of God's presence, which is why it is eternal torment. God ultimately is Holy, and imperfect humans that have not atoned for their sins cannot be in the presence of a Holy God. Lastly, Evil Bible ends this section with a mere insult, nothing needs said.
Another, more detailed take on this: http://unavoxveritatis.blogspot.com/2009/04/impossibility-of-god-part-ii.html
Friday, August 21, 2009
"God Is Impossible" Part 1--Proving a Universal Negative
This next section will be centered on one of evilbible.com's articles that felt to me the most bothersome. On their website they believe they have proved a God cannot existence through the fact that his definition is self-contradicting. I am debunking now what attributes of God they call contradicting one another.
First of all, here's what a universal negative means. A universal negative is an object of which its very definition contradicts what it is, therefore it cannot exist. To use an example, a cubic sphere, because the definition of sphere is a round, no sided, 3D object and the word cubic means to have four sides. When attempting to use this sort of logic to explain the existence of God we must keep one thing in mind. God is infinitely complex in ways that go far beyond our own understanding. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways" Isaiah 55:8.
Another, more detailed, take: http://unavoxveritatis.blogspot.com/2009/04/impossibility-of-god-part-i-prolegomena.html
First of all, here's what a universal negative means. A universal negative is an object of which its very definition contradicts what it is, therefore it cannot exist. To use an example, a cubic sphere, because the definition of sphere is a round, no sided, 3D object and the word cubic means to have four sides. When attempting to use this sort of logic to explain the existence of God we must keep one thing in mind. God is infinitely complex in ways that go far beyond our own understanding. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways" Isaiah 55:8.
Another, more detailed, take: http://unavoxveritatis.blogspot.com/2009/04/impossibility-of-god-part-i-prolegomena.html
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Definiton of Atheist
In order to understand the purpose of this blog, we first need to understand the group we are mainly targeting. This is the group that identify themselves as atheists. Atheist is defined as one who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or power.
I encourage you to, if you are debating an atheist, make this point very clear. This will cause them to have to back up their claims with some actual proof of one side rather than obscure points.
One of the biggest misunderstanding about this group is whether or not people holding no beliefs about the spiritual are considered atheists (ex. babies, undecided, agnostics). The answer is no. The reason atheists are trying to push this definition is because if they believe nothing, there is no need to back up their beliefs. You can't disprove something that doesn't exist, can you? Therefore, here is a revised definition:
Atheist (n): One who holds a belief that there is no god or supreme power.I encourage you to, if you are debating an atheist, make this point very clear. This will cause them to have to back up their claims with some actual proof of one side rather than obscure points.
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