If you were God...

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Don’t shut down so quickly, at least explain a little. What part of my final point is without evidence? What points have I failed to engage? (Remember, disagreeing with you is not the same as failing to engage)

I do care to understand, but just because I understand what you’re trying to say doesn’t mean I’ll immediately agree.
See post 152.

Edit:

Please note the that God “perfection” in this case means that His creation could be no better given the objective of creation. This objective is to share Love with His creatures.
 
Okay, post 152:
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davidv:
God is a perfect being. He created the world and it creatures. By definition, the way way He created must be perfect. One aspect of this perfection is the provision for reciprocol love (mutual self-giving for the benefit of the others). This aspect requires that we be free to love. For love not freely given is not love.

It then follows that freedom to love includes the freedom to not love. Any improvements that humans pursue are attempts at increasing our choices to love as opposed to not loving.
Your points (correct me if I’m wrong):
  1. God is perfect
  2. God created the world
  3. By definition, any product of God must be perfect
  4. One aspect of this perfection is provision for love
  5. Freedom to love includes freedom not to love
  6. Any improvements pursue to improve their condition is aimed at increasing love
As you may imagine I disagree with a number of your points.
  • By point 3 (that perfection begets perfection) the world should be perfect (which is my argument, if the world was indeed created perfect)
  • You need support for point 4; I don’t see how perfection necessarily requires the provision to love
  • Point 6 needs support as well; how is trying to better my condition an “attempt at increasing my chance to love?”
You haven’t made the case that
  1. “Not loving” (as a lack of action) causes imperfection, or that
  2. The imperfection of not loving could result in the world today (draw the line from choosing not to love to cancer or hurricanes)
The conclusion is that either the world was not created perfect, or that it was and is perfect, and anyone trying to better themselves while saying otherwise is being inconsistent.

Meanwhile, my old final point still holds, that is, that your position (that God created the world perfect, and any imperfections are the result of free choice of men not to love) has no evidence whatsoever outside of scripture and church authority, and a great deal of evidence against it: that man has only been around for a couple hundred thousand years at the most, but disease, hunger, predation and natural disasters have been around for billions. If you disagree you’ll have to be specific, and I don’t think anyone with a high school education can seriously argue with the factual component of this point.
 
Okay, post 152:

Your points (correct me if I’m wrong):
  1. God is perfect
  2. God created the world
  3. By definition, any product of God must be perfect
  4. One aspect of this perfection is provision for love
  5. Freedom to love includes freedom not to love
  6. Any improvements pursue to improve their condition is aimed at increasing love
As you may imagine I disagree with a number of your points.
  • By point 3 (that perfection begets perfection) the world should be perfect (which is my argument, if the world was indeed created perfect)
Which is due, in my view, to equivocation on the meaning of the word perfect. God’s perfection is not equal to His creatures perfection.
  • You need support for point 4; I don’t see how perfection necessarily requires the provision to love
As a starting point:

CCC said:
218 In the course of its history, Israel was able to discover that God had only one reason to reveal himself to them, a single motive for choosing them from among all peoples as his special possession: his sheer gratuitous love.38 And thanks to the prophets Israel understood that it was again out of love that God never stopped saving them and pardoning their unfaithfulness and sins.39
219 God’s love for Israel is compared to a father’s love for his son. His love for his people is stronger than a mother’s for her children. God loves his people more than a bridegroom his beloved; his love will be victorious over even the worst infidelities and will extend to his most precious gift: "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son."40
220 God’s love is “everlasting”:41 "For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you."42 Through Jeremiah, God declares to his people, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."43 221 But St. John goes even further when he affirms that “God is love”:44 God’s very being is love. By sending his only Son and the Spirit of Love in the fullness of time, God has revealed his innermost secret:45 God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in that exchange.

The purpose of God’s creation is to share love.
  • Point 6 needs support as well; how is trying to better my condition an “attempt at increasing my chance to love?”
Our purpose is to love God and neighbor. When we don’t we and others suffer. When we love, we fulfill our purpose and become happier and those around us experience a better world.
You haven’t made the case that
  1. “Not loving” (as a lack of action) causes imperfection, or that
  2. The imperfection of not loving could result in the world today (draw the line from choosing not to love to cancer or hurricanes)
I am not a professional philosopher, nor have I had formal training at logic, so it is quite likely that I won’t ever make my case. However, a poorly made case only hides, rather than changes truth.
The conclusion is that either the world was not created perfect,
I submit that it was created perfect. However, it did not take long for humans to corrupt it.
or that it was and is perfect, and anyone trying to better themselves while saying otherwise is being inconsistent.

Meanwhile, my old final point still holds, that is, that your position (that God created the world perfect, and any imperfections are the result of free choice of men not to love) has no evidence whatsoever outside of scripture and church authority,
Why aren’t these valid evidence?
and a great deal of evidence against it: that man has only been around for a couple hundred thousand years at the most, but disease, hunger, predation and natural disasters have been around for billions. If you disagree you’ll have to be specific, and I don’t think anyone with a high school education can seriously argue with the factual component of this point.
Your dating cannot be taken as fact as it they estimates based on theories. So what is the factual component?
 
…what would you do differently? Or what would you do in general? Later in the thread I will present my view, but not right now, because if I did then most of the posts would be just some criticism, and not presenting your own ideas about the subject. 🙂
If I was God?
Let’s just say I described how I’d run the show to some friends once, and my one friend said “Thank God you’re not god.” 😛
 
Well said! For a being, which is perfect, self-sufficient, who needs nothing, it would be completely illogical to do anything. After all, the road can only lead downhill from the top. Perfection can only be lessened by creating anything. (God+world < God) 🙂

To the other posters: you don’t want to criticize the “boss”? Are you “afraid” of possible repercussions? 🙂 Or you truly have real super-blind faith… Truth be told, I was very sure that no Catholic will come and offer an opinion, but I was hoping. JohnDamian had a few ideas, but unfortunately he did not present them.
While it is true that it wasn’t necesary for God to create the universe, it was a choice that reflected God’s generous and humble nature. Your argument actually supports Christianity. Which God would you respect more - a God who just kept to Himself and refused to share his love and grace with anyone else, or a God who humbled Himself enough to create what wasn’t really necessary for Him, but that grants us happiness and gives Himself more glory as well?

I know that might not make much sense (judging a certain God who, if He existed and didn’t create, therefore wouldn’t coexist with you, who would judge Him, in the first place), but my point is basically that God is an “overachiever”. He does more than is necessary. If that means some people might hate Him for that, so be it.

I apologize if this isn’t a really good defense; understand that I’m young and I’m not a theologian by any means.
 
…what would you do differently? Or what would you do in general? Later in the thread I will present my view, but not right now, because if I did then most of the posts would be just some criticism, and not presenting your own ideas about the subject. 🙂
If i were God, i would prefer to stay lonely over creating a miserable world where many suffer in it, or to create a total happy world and make my presence shown
 
That totally happy place exists,and it is called heaven.You will enjoy God’s presence there. Jesus said He was the way.You have the choice of following that path and get safely there.
Start fixing your eyes on that goal and start pretasting the peace, joy and strength that comes with it.
Good luck in your journey.
Tam
 
That totally happy place exists,and it is called heaven.You will enjoy God’s presence there. Jesus said He was the way.You have the choice of following that path and get safely there.
Start fixing your eyes on that goal and start pretasting the peace, joy and strength that comes with it.
Good luck in your journey.
Tam
maybe, but what i meant is that if i were a god, i would create only a ‘‘heaven’’, no other places of sufferings would be necessary.
best, for you too.
 
maybe, but what i meant is that if i were a god, i would create only a ‘‘heaven’’, no other places of sufferings would be necessary.
best, for you too.
But then what’s the point of creating it? If you fill it with people, they won’t appreciate it. If you incarnate yourself and promise it to them, they will enjoy it as it makes up for the sufferings of this earth. 🙂
 
But then what’s the point of creating it? If you fill it with people, they won’t appreciate it. If you incarnate yourself and promise it to them, they will enjoy it as it makes up for the sufferings of this earth. 🙂
What’s the point of creating angels?
 
If I were God, I would sit in a birch grove and whittle rods for beating people who speculate about what they would do if they were God. :mad: 😃
 
Bub

*“The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn us into atheists, at the bottom of the glass we’ll turn into Gods.” *

Megalomania 101 😃
 
Bub

*“The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn us into atheists, at the bottom of the glass we’ll turn into Gods.” *

Megalomania 101 😃
In an intellectual way as ‘gods’ ,not biologically or physically , Jesus said we are all gods, didn’t he?
a genius person (or scientist) can create life, save lives, respect life, or kill lives. it depends on us to be good gods or not, this has nothing to do with Megalomania 101
the more you get into intelligence, the more you become as a ‘god’, able to create, save lives ( as good scientists do)
 
But then what’s the point of creating it? If you fill it with people, they won’t appreciate it. If you incarnate yourself and promise it to them, they will enjoy it as it makes up for the sufferings of this earth. 🙂
The point could be love. And why are you so sure people wouldn’t appreciate it? Just some education would be all it takes. For example, I have never personally fought in a war, but I appreciate not having to, thanks to education.
 
I wouldn’t create sin to be a possibility. because sin is what causes suffering, and if I were god, I wouldn’t allow that. And for the person who is going to say that god doesn’t cause sin, its humans…
I say back to you that god is the one that ALLOWED it to be a possibility. If sin wasn’t even an existing thought or idea, there would be no way possible for any human/spirit or whatever to sin at all.

I would not even allow sin to be a thought. If I had all power, NOBODY would be suffering. And I also wouldn’t create a world that has flaws. Because flaws are results of sin, and I would not allow sin to even be possible.

But I guess we’d all do things differently.

I hope someday we will find out why god planned things out and did things the way he did.
Because personally I think he could have made a few adjustments. 😛 But then again all our opinions are meaningless to the opinions of gods because he is the one that created everything after all and we just can’t understand all of it… We just don’t understand the answers to everything. Hopefully we will someday.
 
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