Thursday, November 8, 2007

Theistic Imperfection

Of all the reasons I have for renouncing Christianity- the primary one is "the problem of evil". apparently it really is a problem- as there is much material by scholars attempting to solve it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodicy

That is- how can an infinitely-powerful, infinitely-knowing, and infinitely-benevolent God be compatible with the ever-present evil in the world? To add onto that, how can something imperfect come from something perfect? After renouncing Christianity, over time, I came to the conclusion that evil does not exist. Although I do not believe in the existence of God (nor do I deny it- but belief is required to be definitive just as denial is) if I were to believe in his existence, it would be more compatible because, assuming that evil is the essence of imperfection (which is how it is defined overall by the Bible), there would be no problem with God creating this world, because it's perfect anyway. But, judging both by common sense and by the repeated affirmation throughout the Bible, Something imperfect cannot come from something perfect, just as it is vice-versa. Even if we have free-will, our God-given good nature would give us no reason to commit evil, and infinite reason to do good.

That being said- I am not saying that a perfect God cannot exist- I am saying that in order for a perfect God to exist, the Bible must be false and cannot be the word of God. Furthermore- since the Bible is disqualified from this argument, it would be safe to acknowledge the possibility that evil does not necessarily equate to imperfection. This actually makes much more sense rationally, when we consider that perfection requires balance, and in order for balance to exist, evil must. This considered, evil would actually prove that- assuming that God does exist- that he is perfect. I myself seeing the trivial technicality of meanings, which leads these rationalizations on a slight detail, prefer to simplify the conceptional aspect by instead asserting that evil does not exist. This is justified by basic deductive reasoning, specifically by applying "If a=b, and b=c, then a=c", which is the basis for why I decided on this stance. This also compliments my current beliefs that neglect the active belief it God...because it leaves room for the possibility that although evil does not exist, imperfection does. This also would rely entirely on individual perspectives.

The above would explain the basis of what I believe to be the most convincing argument against the validity of Christianity- and I challenge any takers to attempt to rationalize the "problem of evil" without contradicting the Bible. The other main reason I have for taking this stance, is simply that even if a perfect God could create and coexist with imperfection- it would be irrational for this God, if as the Bible says is infinitely benevolent- could send his creations to hell- a place he also created- when he could have done (considering he is God) an infinite amount of things to prevent such occurrences. This is further documented in http://jbcandid.blogspot.com/2007/10/ranting-about-christianity.html

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