The God of the Old Testament is the most evil, unpleasant character in fiction. Capricious, ethnic cleanser and jealous. Job gets tortured so he can win a bet with the devil. Abraham ordered to kill his son. Israelites ordered to kill everyone. Including women and children.
This is from Dawkins the God delusion, from memory.
I think that the text of Psalm 103:8-14 (among others) debunks any notion of God in the Old Testament being cruel and hateful. Such a notion could not be further from the truth. Historical narratives are generally descriptive, not prescriptive, in nature. Context is key. All of the events that we may deem unpleasant in the Old Testament are ultimately a consequence of the Fall, and God has chosen to repair creation in the manner that He sees fit. Who are we to question Him? That would be my answer to Dawkins.
Also:
ReplyDeleteWhat can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose.
Materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a divine foot in the door.
We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further.
The God of the Bible is evil.
The Bible promotes slavery, genocide, sexism.
Teaching children religion is child abuse.
And so on.
Why doesn't God heal amputees?
DeleteI'm puzzled by this. Are you asserting that, because an argument is used very frequently, it must necessarily be false?
ReplyDeleteIt's a satirical collection of thoughtless atheist tropes.
DeleteAh! Of course, satire. Presumably Juvenalian rather than Horatian.
DeleteSeems to me:
DeleteFrom the atheist's perspective, Juvenalian.
From the Christian's perspective, Horatian.
On a related note, no one is more deadly serious about it all than Richard Dawkins, for instance.
http://triablogue.blogspot.com/2010/12/dickie-dawkins.html
For the Christian, it's divine comedy in the end.
http://triablogue.blogspot.com/2018/02/is-life-comedy-or-tragedy.html
I think the vast majority of atheist arguments are not well thought out.
DeleteThe God of the Old Testament is the most evil, unpleasant character in fiction. Capricious, ethnic cleanser and jealous. Job gets tortured so he can win a bet with the devil. Abraham ordered to kill his son. Israelites ordered to kill everyone. Including women and children.
ReplyDeleteThis is from Dawkins the God delusion, from memory.
For a minute there I thought it was Andy Stanley.
DeleteBadum ching!
I think that the text of Psalm 103:8-14 (among others) debunks any notion of God in the Old Testament being cruel and hateful. Such a notion could not be further from the truth. Historical narratives are generally descriptive, not prescriptive, in nature. Context is key. All of the events that we may deem unpleasant in the Old Testament are ultimately a consequence of the Fall, and God has chosen to repair creation in the manner that He sees fit. Who are we to question Him? That would be my answer to Dawkins.
DeleteBlah blah blah Apollonius of Tyana blah bling bloo Dying and Rising gods blimp blorp Ishtar boppa footnote citing Carrier blah.
ReplyDelete