Why do Christians make God out to be dumb?

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Defining Free Will
There are several points on whjich there is confusion about what is meant by free will. Some have said that it refers to the ability to desire. But a better defintion is that it is the ability to decide between alternatives. Desire is a passion, an emotion; but will is a choice between two or more desires. Also, some think that to be free means that there can be no limitation of alternatives-one must be able to do whatever he wants. But the opposite of freedom is not fewer alternatives, it is being forced to choose one thing and not another. Freedom is not in unlimited options, but in unfettered choice between whatever options there are. As long as the choosing comes from the individual rather than an outside force, the decision is made freely. Free will means the ability to make an unforced decision between two or more alternatives.
When Skeptics Ask p.63

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God made the world in a way that man would have a limited range of options to choose from. Among these options was a choice to choose between good and evil. God does not prevent evil because if he did, then we would no longer have free will. God made evil possible, and man made it actual.Why would God make evil possible?Because evil serves a purpose:It tests us.
When evil things happen to us, it gives us a chance to fight against evil. When there is no evil it is much easier to do good, and it is not a challenge. When we must overcome evil, we have an oppurtunity to prove to God that we love him and will persevere in spite of evil.Draws us closer to God
When evil occurs people tend to seek God's help to persevere through it. Many people convert to Christianity becuase of problems in their lives. A real life example: One of my uncles has developed a psychological problem and he has attacked his family, and created great turmoil in his families lives. Now many of his children are strong Christians. There are many examples of this sort of thing happening.So in the end, the existance of evil in the world actually produces a better good. People become more devoted to God, and more prepared to face evil.[This message has been edited by Muhd, 04-13-2004][This message has been edited by Muhd, 04-13-2004]

I'm sorry, but your so-called "mantra" is unbiblical, just like your Freudian/Jungian psychiatry. Also, please don't spam it in unrelated topics of debate.

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Fine. So remove evil as an alternative. After all, you say that reducing alternative doesn't decrease freedom. Then, allow unfettered choice among all that is good.

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Since God is good, our way of being pleasing to God is by doing good. Likewise, our way of rejecting God is by doing evil. If you remove our option of doing evil, we are forced to please God, and he doesn't want that. He wants us to choose to please him.Also, I think your understanding of freedom is not very good.
Let's apply your logic to African slaves in America in the eighteenth century (in the south, also). There was an infinite number of ways that the slaves could plow the fields that was also acceptable to the slavemaster. But they couldn't run away and live on their own. They had an infinite numbers of options. They certainly didn't have much freedom, because they wanted to run away, but they couldn't.

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And you know what? Being drawn closer to God is insufficient justification. Abusers often draw their victims in with abuse. The dog that you feed, pet, and kick is more loyal than the one that you just feed and pet. The only God that would use evil to draw people to him is an abusive one.

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God is not the one doing the abusing, it is humanity. If someone robs you of your money and beats you until you are unconscious, God cannot interfere, or he would destroy the robber's free will in that situation. However, God IS willing to give you salvation from the evil that you have done, as well as comfort and strength to persevere through evil if you let him do so.[This message has been edited by Muhd, 04-16-2004]

You obviously don't have a good understanding of the history surrounding those events and decrees in the Bible so maybe you should give it the benefit of the doubt until you do.Not saying that I necessarily understand that era or what God was trying to accomplish in that era, but I will say that if we are talking about the killing of the Amalekites - the Amalekites were highly sinful people and would have done worse to the Isrealites had they the opportunity.And remember, if God really said it, than it is good. But it always helps to know the context. Edited by AdminPD, : Off Topic Warning