Shaving the Christian God with Occam's Razor
The following piece was sent to me by my friend, who often goes by the moniker of Fellow Feather. Let me know what you think - it's right up my OmniGod alley... This will be published in the issue after next of Free Inquiry and maybe the next American Atheist Magazine.SHAVING THE CHRISTIAN GODWITH OCCAM’S RAZORIs the Christian God really as he has been defined? Non-believers should narrow the discussion-debate-writing to what God had-to-be before the beginning, based on Christian claims, namely, God: · knows all – past, present, future;· is all powerful – can do anything not logically impossible;· is perfect in his love, justice, mercy, and forgiveness;· is a Father, who watches over, and cares for each person all the time. Catholics and Protestants both believe this. First we must establish what had-to-be, before the beginning: God was all; he chose to create the world as we know it, most notably, he created human beings out of their innocent nothingness, knowing when he did so, that they would sin – and more, knowing all the sins they would commit against innocents (Hitler-Stalin-Mao). He knew more than half of all mankind would, at death be consigned to an eternity of suffering, unrelieved ever by any mercy or forgiveness. Atheists say the act of knowingly creating persons God knew would be sent to eternal suffering, when he had unlimited alternatives and all power, was an unsurpassable act of malignant evil. Thus, God as defined by Christians is impossible. Or, God as defined is a deceit, because the words used do not mean what people all over the world think they mean. In short, the Christian God is a fraud. THIS PUTS ATHEISM ON THE HIGH MORAL ROADWHERE IT STAYS Consider the Advantages:· A pretty close shave, only 211 words. · Simple, but by no means simplistic. It has a lethal logical conclusion. · Most atheist arguments are appeals to reason, a negative for people who ‘love’ God mainly for emotional reasons. With this argument there is nothing for them to love -- especially for the young, who have a keen sense of justice, are not yet lost and are abandoning faith at very high rates already. · For the argument, our sources -- and our only sources -- are their sources. · It renders the free will argument, that leads nowhere, inapplicable. · It avoids all the other problems, complexities and unknowns arising in after-Creation history. · I dare not claim that it is a new argument, but I have never seen it made. If it is new, or only rare, then why not use it for a change? · The Christians are hoisted on their own petard. They cannot explain how it really was loving-just-merciful and forgiving of God to do this. It reduces to the following deductive argument which is valid and true because Christian’s definition of God is correctly presented:(i) God is defined by Christians as: knows all – past, present, future; all powerful – can do anything not logically impossible; is perfect in his love, justice, mercy, and forgiveness; a Father, who watches over and cares for each person all the time;(ii) This definition can only be understood in the most universally accepted meaning of the words used;(iii) If official Christian sources (Biblical and creedal) portray any of the behavior or commandments of God as unloving, unjust, unmerciful or unforgiving, and they do, then God, as defined in (i) cannot exist;(iv) Official Christian sources (Biblical and creedal) do portray the behavior and commandments of God as unloving, unmerciful, unforgiving, etc.(v) Thus, the Christian God, as defined, is impossible and cannot exist.LET THEM SQUIRM Paid for by fellowfeather@gmail.com Comments pro or con will be answered.
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