A question that was first presented by Socrates.

So God creates crack-babies, strip malls, oil spills, child molestors, and genocidal maniacs?Nice guy...But that must mean that God also creates homosexuality, so then it must be a good thing!And He must have also created abortions, so how can they be argued against?This message has been edited by pink sasquatch, 10-21-2004 03:51 PM

But if God creates everything, He created man's sin.

My interpretation of the passages is that we were created in order to make the choice to be saved.Sounds kind of evil in itself to me, since that means God intentionally creates many that will NOT be saved and will suffer eternal damnation. One who intentionally creates a system that guarantees the eternal suffering of countless souls is the definition of evil.

Man creates evil.God created man.Therefore, either God intentionally created evil, or God unintentionally and indirectly created evil with man but is not omniscient.

Yes. If He knew our choices when He created 'everything', then He made those choices for us. Otherwise, He could have created 'everything' differently, so that the results of our choices would be different. If He doesn't have the 'right', then He is also not omnipotent. You appreciate it, I would guess, because you feel that you are 'saved'. What if you haven't got your worship quite right, and so you end up with eternal torture upon your death - would you still 'appreciate' your freedom of choice?

You seem to be doing the same thing - why is it that I am mistaken and you are not? Why did God make me in such a way to prevent me from becoming close to Him? Why does He make so many Hindus and Muslims and Buddhists, etc? Why didn't He make us all 'differently'? But in the Bible He goes back on his word, by commanding people to violate His commandments. What if you are wrong? You've said we can't understand God's will/capabilities/intentions - so perhaps you are going against God's will in your decisions, and will be punished in the afterlife.

Using just the edict against killing as an example: Check this site for about fifty instances chronologically following Exodus 20 where God commands murder (including genocide, murder based on intolerance, and specific instances commanding the murder of babies and children).An example that satisfies all three of these conditions:

I have, and I don't think I am.Dismiss Isaiah if you like, there are still the other 49 or so examples to deal with...

So in every single instance listed, the quote is taken out of context, and God never commanded the killing of anyone?I don't think so.

God isn't very fair then, He gives all of those people born into devout Christian homes and Christian communities and Christian countries such an advantage... So God created us with "inherent sin", but punishes us for our sins? Hey! This sounds like an upper class Republican argument! If I'm saved then my kid doesn't have to work as hard to be blessed? What about the Death Tax?

Out of curiosity, if asked prior to General Nazort's comments to recite the Ten Commandments, would you have said "Thou shalt not kill", or "Thou shalt not murder"? I think it is a bit silly to examine fifty statements one at a time when only one of them needs to be correct to create the contradiction I stated. It would make more sense, in my mind, for you to scan the list and honestly reply if not a single one included command by God to murder.I picked one at random anyway: How is this defensible? Killing a community for the sins of the few? Even if you support capital punishment, I'm guessing you wouldn't support this kind of act.Mass murder is what is described here.

Rich like Mexico? Poor like Japan?Does the fact that Mexico is poor a reflection of the way Mexicans approach God? That is your implication.So spirituality is now measured in monetary terms. I guess whichever religion has the biggest, most expensive church is the most spiritual?

So it is the religious beliefs of the rulers of a country, rather than its people, that determine if it is blessed or not? I've spent time in Japan, in both urban and rural areas, and have trouble seeing what your statements are based in - church mission propaganda, perhaps? Rush hour wasn't at 10pm when I was there. Children go to school six days a week and study all night (do you have any evidence that a significant portion work to support their families?). Are you saying American children don't have to work to support their families? What does "live right", mean exactly? A silly thing to say. That's because there's only a handful of golf courses in the entire country, not because the country is not blessed by Christ. Do you really measure God's blessings in terms of cost of country club memberships? In the United States many families disown their children for converting to Islam or Buddhism or any non-Christian religion. How is that different from Japan, exactly?If you looked as hard at the US as did at Japan, you'd find just as many points to bring up that make us seem less blessed than Japan:
We have to pay more than twice as much for our electronics than the Japanese do! We value money more than honor! Our education system is inferior! Children have to work to support their families! Tens of millions struggle for adequate health-care! Our workers our less ambitious! Our country is politically divided! We started an illegal war! We've lost the respect of the nations of the world!Egads! The US is in disarray! We are not blessed!

According to the 2002 International Religious Freedom Report, >95% of Mexicans identify themselves as one of the Christian religions.To put that in perspective, the United States is roughly 75% Christian, according to the 2003 Statistical Abstract of the United States.If Mexico is more Christian than the US, than why is the US more blessed than Mexico, exactly?

Do you accept that genocide is acceptable based on religious differences? or is it murder?What about the newborns that were murdered? Does the false God worship of adults justify infanticide in any moral framework?