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Ichthys4121517
Guest
The Christian consensus on God’s traits seems to be that, among others, God has four literally godlike characteristics that relate to his infinite nature - omnipotence, omniscience, omnibenevolence, and omnipresence. Meaning, the Judeo-Christian God is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, and ever-present.
Now, what kind of God logically follows from these four characteristics? Certainly not Yahweh, as I will demonstrate.
Let’s start with omnipotence. God can do literally anything (barring some paradoxes that have puzzled Christians for centuries, such as the question of “Can God create a rock so heavy that he cannot lift it?”). This a very valuable power. If he wanted to, God could cure everyone of disease, stop natural disasters, cause a miracle of such magnitude that no one would be skeptical of it, talk face-to-face with doubting Thomases to give them answers to faith dilemmas, or simply annihilate evil altogether. Yet he does not do any of these. The only instances in which he claims to have done these, at least in the Bible, are in secluded areas to a small number of people who had no way whatsoever of, say, recording such miracles by way of video. If I were God, I would teach someone to develop recording technology centuries before its time, so that, not only would there be evidence of these miracles, but also the miracle of anachronistic technology. Why doesn’t God do this?
Should one claim that God doesn’t do those things because he did not know beforehand that people like me would demand them as evidence, this would violate omniscience. An omniscient God could foresee every possible outcome of every action and know which outcome would result. This means that God would know beforehand what the consequences of creating Lucifer would be, and what the consequences of creating the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil would be, or what the consequences of creating man in general would be. With this knowledge, why would God do those things? He could easily give humans and angels free will, while also revealing to them the consequences of their actions so that they wouldn’t commit evil willingly in the first place. If God would just explain his reasoning, no one would argue with him.
Should one claim that God did not stop evils because he was not willing to do so, this would violate omnibenevolence. It is bordering on sadism to create a universe, knowing fully well that this universe would eventually be home to evil, and to do absolutely nothing to stop those evils, leaving human to suffer for the sins of their ancestors. To do so and expect people to worship oneself with no irrefutable proof of one’s existence is even worse. And to send those who oppose one’s sadistic actions to a place of eternal torment is unforgivable.
Which brings me to the last trait - omnipresence. Hell, by definition, is the absence of God and separation from him. If God is omnipresent, hell cannot exist. Not to mention, if God can be anywhere at any time, why doesn’t he manifest himself on earth and (let my finish before saying, “Jesus”) live forever there. That would be sufficient evidence for God’s existence. If a human such as I can think of these ways in which I would help people get to heaven if I were God, why can’t God?
Should you claim that the fall of the universe was inevitable, that evil is necessary, well, that’s my point. A perfect being with the above four traits cannot exist based on what we observe in this world. Therefore, God cannot.
I do not mean to come across as militant or bitter towards Christians or God. I am just using logic, and showing you one of the reasons why I left Catholicism. I look forward to attempts at rebuttals.
Now, what kind of God logically follows from these four characteristics? Certainly not Yahweh, as I will demonstrate.
Let’s start with omnipotence. God can do literally anything (barring some paradoxes that have puzzled Christians for centuries, such as the question of “Can God create a rock so heavy that he cannot lift it?”). This a very valuable power. If he wanted to, God could cure everyone of disease, stop natural disasters, cause a miracle of such magnitude that no one would be skeptical of it, talk face-to-face with doubting Thomases to give them answers to faith dilemmas, or simply annihilate evil altogether. Yet he does not do any of these. The only instances in which he claims to have done these, at least in the Bible, are in secluded areas to a small number of people who had no way whatsoever of, say, recording such miracles by way of video. If I were God, I would teach someone to develop recording technology centuries before its time, so that, not only would there be evidence of these miracles, but also the miracle of anachronistic technology. Why doesn’t God do this?
Should one claim that God doesn’t do those things because he did not know beforehand that people like me would demand them as evidence, this would violate omniscience. An omniscient God could foresee every possible outcome of every action and know which outcome would result. This means that God would know beforehand what the consequences of creating Lucifer would be, and what the consequences of creating the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil would be, or what the consequences of creating man in general would be. With this knowledge, why would God do those things? He could easily give humans and angels free will, while also revealing to them the consequences of their actions so that they wouldn’t commit evil willingly in the first place. If God would just explain his reasoning, no one would argue with him.
Should one claim that God did not stop evils because he was not willing to do so, this would violate omnibenevolence. It is bordering on sadism to create a universe, knowing fully well that this universe would eventually be home to evil, and to do absolutely nothing to stop those evils, leaving human to suffer for the sins of their ancestors. To do so and expect people to worship oneself with no irrefutable proof of one’s existence is even worse. And to send those who oppose one’s sadistic actions to a place of eternal torment is unforgivable.
Which brings me to the last trait - omnipresence. Hell, by definition, is the absence of God and separation from him. If God is omnipresent, hell cannot exist. Not to mention, if God can be anywhere at any time, why doesn’t he manifest himself on earth and (let my finish before saying, “Jesus”) live forever there. That would be sufficient evidence for God’s existence. If a human such as I can think of these ways in which I would help people get to heaven if I were God, why can’t God?
Should you claim that the fall of the universe was inevitable, that evil is necessary, well, that’s my point. A perfect being with the above four traits cannot exist based on what we observe in this world. Therefore, God cannot.
I do not mean to come across as militant or bitter towards Christians or God. I am just using logic, and showing you one of the reasons why I left Catholicism. I look forward to attempts at rebuttals.
Life is about discovering truth and following it to the utmost. Were God a fantasy, I would go elsewhere to be virtuous… but God is real, and I must stay with Him: my end and my goal, who is glorified forever and ever. Amen.
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