Religion & Spirituality

Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

The Lie: God Is Evil - The Truth: God Is Good

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11-13

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should [c]not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

John 3:14-17

For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”

Luke 9:56

10
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

Isaiah 41:10

3 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of [a]God! Therefore the world does not know [b]us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

1 john 3:1-3

Does this sound like an evil God to you?

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

ViciDraco · 36-40, M

Why would a good god need to send anyone to save his creation? Why not make his creation good in the first place?

Look what I've done to save you from myself!

Things are hard, but you can rely on me. It's my strength because your own isn't enough. You all call that good when it's biblical, yet somehow when government sponsored safety nets try to actually help people it is considered establishing dependence so they can control you.

Context is key, and the context you select can paint most anything as good or bad.

Ultimately, I view god as a fictional construct so I don't have to worry about whether he is good or evil. But from purely literary criticism he can be both or neither based on a reader's point of view.

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@ViciDraco [quote]Why would a good god need to send anyone to save his creation? Why not make his creation good in the first place?
[/quote]

He did until mankind messed it over by not heeding His Word about consuming the knowledge of good and evil.

ViciDraco · 36-40, M

@GodSpeed63 why didn't he predict that would happen?

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@ViciDraco [quote]why didn't he predict that would happen?[/quote]

He did before the foundations of the world which is why Jesus came to save the world.

ViciDraco · 36-40, M

@GodSpeed63 So, you are saying that he created us and set a rule for us knowing that we would fail to heed that rule?

LordShadowfire · M

@GodSpeed63 So God set it up to fail, then blamed his creations?

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@ViciDraco @LordShadowfire [quote]So, you are saying that he created us and set a rule for us knowing that we would fail to heed that rule?[quote]

What'd want Him to do, become a dictator?

[quote]So God set it up to fail, then blamed his creations?[/quote]

Why do you keep looking to blame God for man's troubles when man brought his own troubles on his own head?

ViciDraco · 36-40, M

@GodSpeed63 Let us say I build something and that thing explodes and kills people.

If I did not intend it to explode, then I am an incompetent creator and my incompetence is to blame for harm.

If I knew it was going to explode when I made it, the fault is mine. The thing I built is not to blame. It operated as it was built.

Either way, it is my fault people were hurt and killed, not my creation's.

So, my question to you is whether the god you believe in is an incompetent creator or a malicious creator?

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@ViciDraco [quote]So, my question to you is whether the god you believe in is an incompetent creator or a malicious creator?[/quote]

None of the above. God created perfect and gave it to us as a gift. He gave man a wonderful but dangerous gift, the gift of free will. He warned man never to consume the knowledge of good and evil lest he should die. But man ignored God and consumed the knowledge anyway and they died a Spiritual death. This is why we cannot know God on personal basis unless it is through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Okay?

ViciDraco · 36-40, M

@GodSpeed63 why did God create the the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil?

Are you saying god did not predict what we would choose?

Why did he give us the ability to use our free will to eat that fruit, but we couldn't use our free will to fly or breath underwater? Seems like god put lots of restrictions on our free will through biology. So why was this choice special unless he wanted us to fail it?

Why do we deserve damnation for disobeying god? Why does god need us to go through his son as an intermediary for forgiveness rather than just forgiving us?

This whole story is more holey than holy...

Why can't you see how little sense your narrative makes?

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@ViciDraco [quote]why did God create the the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil?[/quote]

He had to put that tree in the garden for Adam and Eve to exercise their free will. Without that tree, God would've been a dictator who created robots instead of free thinking human beings.

LordShadowfire · M

@GodSpeed63 [quote]He had to put that tree in the garden for Adam and Eve to exercise their free will.[/quote]
Okay, but he knew what would happen. He's god. He designed these people, and he knew exactly what they would do when faced with that kind of temptation. And then he "left" the garden? That's not a test; he set them up to fail.

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@LordShadowfire [quote]Okay, but he knew what would happen.[/quote]

What are you here for, to get at the truth or just to argue?

LordShadowfire · M

@GodSpeed63 I'm trying to help you see the truth.

ViciDraco · 36-40, M

@GodSpeed63 You have not answered the question of whether God knew in advance whether the test he set out to exercise that free will would be failed.

If anything, you seem to be doing everything possible to avoid answering that question. Is it because you refuse to say that god is all-knowing? Or is it because you refuse to accept that a god who knew in advance what would happen invalidates the very existence of free will?

NativePortlander1970 ·

@ViciDraco Exactly "I have come down as a sacrifice to myself to pay for sins I placed upon you with the evil I created to punish you for rebelling against me."

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@LordShadowfire [quote]I'm trying to help you see the truth.[/quote]

What truth would that be? What do you think it is?

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@ViciDraco [quote]You have not answered the question of whether God knew in advance whether the test he set out to exercise that free will would be failed.[/quote]

Why would you think that the free will that God would fail?

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@NativePortlander1970 [quote]Exactly "I have come down as a sacrifice to myself to pay for sins I placed upon you with the evil I created to punish you for rebelling against me."[/quote]

Those are your words and they don't make a lick of sense. Do you actually believe that God would say something like that?

ViciDraco · 36-40, M

@GodSpeed63 I am asking if God knew what we would choose to do with the free will he gave us or not.

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@ViciDraco [quote] I am asking if God knew what we would choose to do with the free will he gave us or not.[/quote]

What does His Word say?

ViciDraco · 36-40, M

@GodSpeed63 you are the one preaching here. You tell me. And tell me the answer to my question. This a yes or no answer to a single question.

Did God know what choice we would make with our free will?

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@ViciDraco [quote]you are the one preaching here. [/quote]

Just sharing the truth of God is all. Read His Word, what does He say about Himself?

ViciDraco · 36-40, M

@GodSpeed63 Continuing to dodge the question tells me that you realize that thinking critically about the implications of 'His Word' leads to either fallibility or callousness which are things you cannot admit out loud.

If there is a perfect, non-fallible and benevolent god that really exists, it is not described in or by the Holy Bible or any other popular holy book presently on this earth.

LordShadowfire · M

@GodSpeed63 [quote]What truth would that be? What do you think it is?[/quote]
That the book you base your entire life on has more holes than a brick of Swiss cheese.
[quote]Read His Word, what does He say about Himself?[/quote]
Nothing. It is written by humans.

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@LordShadowfire [quote]That the book you base your entire life on has more holes than a brick of Swiss cheese.[/quote]

Would you care to elaborate.

[quote]Nothing. It is written by humans.[/quote]

According to whom.