A little guide that should help put an end to this “all knowing, all powerful” nonsense.
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there is no reason to be so vehemently atheist, it is the same concept as being a vehement theist. just because the god of the bible is either dead or never existed to begin with does not discount the vastness which we do not have the capacity to wrap our minds around. Just because bum-fuck religious fundamentalists cant prove the existence of their god to intellectuals beyond a shadow of a doubt does not mean that the universe is without “godliness”. A simple, non-discriminatory belief in a life-force is comforting and not a crutch like religious ideology.
Ah so we’re back to … “I can’t explain it.. so it must be god”… rather than “I can’t explain it… yet!”
Yjames, you sound like one of those “spiritual but not religious” pussies.
You sound like one of those trolling wastes of space. Bring something to the table why dont you.
These questions were asked by the heretics who became cathars. Their solution? God did not create universe: it was the other fellow, Satan or whatever you want to call it. Much more interesting than the standard xtian bullshit.
There are many very good reasons to be a vehement atheist but the one I like the most is that Christianity is so pervasive in this country that it is oppressive. I can’t speak to how things are in other countries but I can speak about how it affects everything in the US. It affects our laws, it affects who can successfully run for political office. It affects what we can and can’t do on certain days of the week. Christianity has its dirty hands in what we teach our children. It affects who we can marry and it is the motivating factor in many violent crimes. It is for these reasons and uncountable others that atheists have to stand up for their rights and the only way to do it is to be vocal, to be loud and to be vehement.
If Christianity didn’t insist on weaseling its way into every part of EVERYONE’s lives then maybe the non-believer would not have to be so loud.
I don’t actually believe in god, but my desire to be a smartarse overwhelms me.
God could have created a universe with free will but without evil but he would have had to destroy humanity to do it, a loving god couldn’t do that.
This is probably flawed, just had to say it.
The biggest flaw in the diagram is that for many of the questions it conveniently assumes a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer and itself gives answers in boxes which may not be correct in the first place.
In the first three boxes vertically down, there is no problem. The fourth box ‘Does God want to prevent Evil’ is the box where the problem starts, and it easily assumes a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. The correct answer is that God has the Power to stop evil but he allows it to exist. We have been given a free-will and allowed to act the way we want (good or bad), and this is why there is a Judgement Day and reward and punishment (the reason for this will be discussed below). And God sometimes does forcibly prevent evil, such as when He drowned the tyrant Pharaoh, and when one prays to Him for protection, etc.
The fifth vertically down box says ‘Then why is there Evil’ which branches out to two boxes on the right (‘If God is all-knowing he would know what we would do if we were tested, therefore no need to test us’ and ‘An all-powerful, all-knowing, all-good God could and would destroy Satan’) and one below. Following the path below also leads again to the top right box which is ‘If God is all-knowing he would know what we would do if we were tested, therefore no need to test us’. Therefore we need to explain these two boxes on the right:
1. If God is all-knowing he would know what we would do if we were tested, therefore no need to test us: Yes God is all-knowing and knows what we would do, but to conclude from that there is no need to send us in the world is a wrong conclusion. One of the wisdoms of sending us in the world and letting us act on our free-will is that we do not have an excuse on the Day of Judgment that I would have acted differently. Otherwise, if someone was put in Hellfire (without being sent on earth), then he/she could blame God that you are putting me in Hellfire for no fault of mine and I did not do anything wrong. So are physically doing deeds in this world are a witness for or against us.
2. An all-powerful, all-knowing, all-good God could and would destroy Satan: Yes He can destroy Satan and God being the most Just will be punishing him with eternal punishment. He has only been given respite for a certain amount of time (till the Day of Judement). One of the wisdoms of allowing him to exist and lead people astray is that people would know what evil is. If there was no evil, people would not appreciate what goodness and kindness is. Just like if there was no extreme hot or cold climate, people would not have appreciated what good weather is. So the presence of negative things, makes us appreciate what good is. Also allowing him to misguide us and giving us a free-will allows us to earn eternal Paradise and this is a great Mercy and an opportunity givens only to the humans and Jinn (and not even to the Angels). If there was no evil and free will there was no point of there being Paradise. And this is why there is no Paradise for the Angels as they are not tested with these things. So in a sense, the existence of evil and having a free will, is a blessing of God for us (as it allows us to earn eternal Paradise and eternal enjoyment).
There surely is more wisdom in these things but I mentioned those that I was aware of. Certainly Allah does not do anything without wisdom. He is the All-Wise. The ultimate and complete wisdom of things is know only to Allah.