Sometimes I think what led me on the path to atheism (a term I strongly dislike but I'll use for now because I seriously can't be bothered) is the idea that God is all powerful, all knowing, ever present, and infallible.
First of all, I'm going to admit that I have not read the Bible cover to cover so I truly do not know if God's omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, and infallibility is ever stated in the Bible itself or if that idea came later. Heck, the First Commandment suggests that God is not the only god out there, just that He must be worshiped above all others. Like, you can have gods AFTER Me, just not before Me. ;-) Moving along...
I got involved in a discussion about free will and unfortunately had this thought too late for it to be of any use then, but if God knows everything that ever was, is, and will be...where does human free will come in? How is it possible for me to make a choice? If God is all-knowing, then my free will is an illusion because in order for me to truly have a choice, God would necessarily have to NOT know something...but since He knows everything, he can't not know what my choice will be before I've made it. It would suggest that whether or not I am going to Heaven or Hell was determined long before I was born and that it doesn't matter what I do because I never had any choice in it at all. How depressing... Would it also apply to God as well? Does God know everything He will ever do and done before He does it? Does God lack free will as well? Putting omniscience into the story of Adam and Eve and the apple also makes God look less than benevolent when he punishes Adam and Eve for doing what He already knew they were going to do.
Then I thought about miracles, or rather, the idea of Divine Intervention. I wondered, if God is infallible, how could there ever be a bona fide miracle in this world? If God were to intervene at any point, it would suggest that He was wrong about something but if God cannot be wrong, where do miracles fit in? Again, you cannot claim that He needed to intervene to save a life or whatever because that would imply he didn't know it was going to happen because why else intervene except because something unexpected had happened?
But then I thought, what if such declarations were the mistake made by overzealous preachers in the past? Sure, it is hardly an enviable position to suggest that God is not all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present, and infallible but it would certainly explain what goes on in the world better and it would allow for free will too.
If God is not any of those things, then the reason bad things happen to good people (and vice-versa) is because God is not able to prevent all injustice and rather than that being a path to despair, it would be instead a reminder of the necessity that we do good and resist evil because God cannot do it all for us.
Other worlds are not mentioned in the Bible but a quick look at any astronomical text will show an unfathomably large universe which must be teeming with planets bearing sapient beings. If you take the grand miracles of God in the Old Testament as evidence of a visiting rather than nanny-like deity, it would explain why He doesn't seem to be around all too often. You could even take the story of Christ as a parting gift of sorts before leaving to instruct beings on another world. God basically telling humanity that he has to go now but will return should evil ever once again take hold of the world. But in the meantime, take these lessons and heed them because it is your (humanity's) responsibility to be stewards of this world; to be just and kind to others; and to be diligent in resisting evil; etc.
I don't know (obviously). I'm tired too...
2 comments:
I will try to respond without copying everything you wrote...hopefully it makes sense.
The Bible does mention many of God's characteristics. There are more than I'll list here, but I'll give bits.
Revelation 19:6(KJV)
"And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."
Matthew 19:26(KJV)
"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."
Matthew 18:20(KJV)
"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
2 Samuel 22:31(KJV)
"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him."
Next...Freewill.
KNOWING what will happen doesn't mean that you're going to MAKE it happen. God knows us well enough to know how we will decide, and even when we may decide contrarily to what most might think we would. As for knowing whether you will end up in Heaven or not, yes, it would make sense that He already knows, but it still ours to follow the path to learn the lessons, have the experiences, etc. that will prepare us for our final destination. God gave freewill because he wanted to be loved, and as you well know, love that is forced, is not love at all. It has to be a freely made choice. As for Adam & Eve, yes, it makes sense that God would know they would be tempted, and fail. God and the devil are in conflict, and therefore the devil having influence in this world creates havoc. Our world (there are others...I'll get there later) is in the middle of this conflict. He had to provide consequence for actions against what he'd directed Adam and Eve to do (or not do,) otherwise his authority would be undermined by the devil.
Miracles...
There are several ways to come at this. One is that the miracles are ways for Him to show his power, and to encourage us to turn our hearts to him. They're gifts if you will.
Mistakes of preachers...
Humans are absolutely fallible.The Bible is inspired, and therefore infallible. Almost any claim about God should be taken back to the Bible. One thing that often is problematic is that people assume that the inclusion of a situation in the Bible is an endorsement of that behavior. That isn't the case. The stories are historical accounts and also show how God was able to work through people who didn't follow his Word, and even how people can change their ways for the better.
God does allow bad things to happen to good people, because it is part of free-will and human interaction, as well as the influence of the devil. To believe in God and stay true to him, while it will not prevent storms from coming, it will help you get through those storms. (ie: Matthew 7:24-27(KJV)
"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.")
Other worlds:
Hebrews 1:2(KJV)
"Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;"
Hebrews 11:3(KJV)
"Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."
I know that the formatting of this comment is a mess and inconsistent, but I will leave it as is, because if I go back I'll turn each paragraph into an essay! Feel free to ask for more, and I'll make time to respond.
I think you were fair in saying on another platform that I'm not using this blog for conversation starters. It's safe to say it's just you and me here. My pages get the occasional views but from what source I have no clue. I have never received a comment from someone who was not told of this blog.
I know the nature of this particular entry comes across as challenging but it's not my intent to change other people's minds. I went down the areligious path slowly but I don't feel it my duty to convert others. I'm live and let live. For now I'm content to see in you how when given the same information, we can arrive at such different conclusions. For me, I'm inspired by the possibility of all existence being able to happen without any outside force. I'm awed by the possibility that an unfeeling, uncaring universe could spawn such wonders. For you, and I'm sorry for putting words in your mouth, I imagine you are equally as inspired and awed of existence and a universe coming into being by a God most benevolent and loving that He saw fit to commit to such a great work.
I am thankful for the information provided and Biblical passages cited. They are very helpful and I could think of no one better to ask on this subject.
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