If God is evil

It's that why satin was created so you could shift all the blame to him, and god get to bath in the glory?
 
Carcano said:
Not Buddhists...
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Many Buddhists do have notions of God, and very Christian ones at that.
For example: http://www.buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/beyond/beyond01.htm


Or
"Having approached the priests & contemplatives who hold that... 'Whatever a person experiences... is all caused by a supreme being's act of creation,' I said to them: 'Is it true that you hold that... "Whatever a person experiences... is all caused by a supreme being's act of creation?"' Thus asked by me, they admitted, 'Yes.' Then I said to them, 'Then in that case, a person is a killer of living beings because of a supreme being's act of creation. A person is a thief... unchaste... a liar... a divisive speaker... a harsh speaker... an idle chatterer... greedy... malicious... a holder of wrong views because of a supreme being's act of creation.' When one falls back on creation by a supreme being as being essential, monks, there is no desire, no effort [at the thought], 'This should be done. This shouldn't be done.' When one can't pin down as a truth or reality what should & shouldn't be done, one dwells bewildered & unprotected. One cannot righteously refer to oneself as a contemplative. This was my second righteous refutation of those priests & contemplatives who hold to such teachings, such views.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an03/an03.061.than.html
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And
Buddhism and the God-idea by Nyanaponika Thera
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nyanaponika/godidea.html
 
ON TOPIC:

Does anyone have any comments etc. on the problem of whether God is evil as put forward by the OP?
 
Carcano said:
Sure, but they are critical of those notions...as your links attest.
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Sure. But the fact is that they do have notions of God - which was the point in question. It's not the case that they are free from notions of God.
 
greenberg said:
You said earlier:


So you think it is sin that makes people die a physical death? And that without sin, their physical bodies would live forever?
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yes that's what i think. i mean look around at the world. look at the effects of it. what we do to our bodies. what we do to the planet. all in the name of what? greed, sloth, pride, wrath, lust, envy, and what's the other one? i think that if we were somehow able to always abide by the law, we would be in perfect peace, perfect health. there would be no destruction, no sickness and no death. just look at eating habits and health as an example. if you're able to extrapolate that one example into an application that encompassed it all, it's not that far of a stretch. can i imagine it? no. do i think i can do it? no. but i think that if there's a will, there's a way, and that's what jesus did.
 
Lori_7 said:
yes that's what i think. i mean look around at the world. look at the effects of it. what we do to our bodies. what we do to the planet. all in the name of what? greed, sloth, pride, wrath, lust, envy, and what's the other one? i think that if we were somehow able to always abide by the law, we would be in perfect peace, perfect health. there would be no destruction, no sickness and no death. just look at eating habits and health as an example. if you're able to extrapolate that one example into an application that encompassed it all, it's not that far of a stretch. can i imagine it? no. do i think i can do it? no. but i think that if there's a will, there's a way, and that's what jesus did.
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But Jesus wasn't a baby his whole life - his body was 33 years old at the time of death. His body aged, from babyhood over boyhood to manhood. Was that because of sin? If he hadn't been put on the cross and killed, would his body continue to age? Could Jesus become an old, wrinkled, bald man?
 
greenberg said:
But Jesus wasn't a baby his whole life - his body was 33 years old at the time of death. His body aged, from babyhood over boyhood to manhood. Was that because of sin? If he hadn't been put on the cross and killed, would his body continue to age? Could Jesus become an old, wrinkled, bald man?
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the effects of sin are global. sin is also in our genes...in our blood. i think if we were restored genetically to our physical condition prior to the fall of man we would live forever just as they were supposed to.
 
My two cents: If god is evil then I think we have to change our definition of what's good or evil. At minimum, change the definition of what constitutes an evil act.

Correct me if I'm wrong but conventional wisdom has it that an evil deed is subject to some kind of punitive measure from God. Well, right away there's a problem with that because such a God may differ from you in how evil is determined. IOW's, evil is good in the mind of a nefarious God.

Now if I was an evil God and I could not or would not make a person do what I wanted them to (some call it free will) then I would write bibles exactly the way they are written today. I don't think I have to replay God's body count or a multitude of all the dispicable acts committed in the Bibles of any religion that refers to such events or acts.

There is only one way out, and only one way to exonerate an evil God. Blame Satan. However one might have to admit that their Bibles were written by the Lord of Darkness (thought I'd throw that in there seeing how it's Halloween)
 
greenberg said:
I think it comes down to choosing and committing to one of these six options.
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As an aside: there is also the idea of a demiurge:
The term also appears in Gnosticism in which the material universe is seen as evil or at least created by a lesser and or inferior creator deity. In Gnosticism, the Demiurge is a being that never should have come into existence, the result of Sophia emanating without her male counterpart.

The Gnostics attributed to the Demiurge much of the actions and laws that in the Tanach or Old Testament are attributed to the Hebrew God Yahweh (see the Sethians and Ophites). Alternative Gnostic names for the Demiurge, include Yaldabaoth, "Samael", "Saklas", and "Kosmokrator", and several other variants. He is known as Ptahil in Mandaeanism. The figures of the "Angel of YHWH" and the "Angel of Death" may have contributed to the Gnostic view of the Demiurge.
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I have heard other versions, but the basic idea seems to be that we are in the hands of a very powerful being who is not God and we should not be fooled by this demiurge.

That said: your list of six options:
they seem like the more isolated options.
One can also questions and explore with others -which you obviously know.
One can also follow some traditions' approaches to having a relationship with God and ask God about these issues.
 
greenberg said:
ON TOPIC:

Does anyone have any comments etc. on the problem of whether God is evil as put forward by the OP?
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I do not think God is evil, but I think God has acted in ways that were very confused and damaging. I also think that it is a pretty healthy question/issue: is God good, given the way things have been.

It should not be a taboo topic.
 
greenberg said:
A: What are the sources of the idea that God is or might be evil?
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The success of certain kinds of evil approaches on earth. IOW the lack of justice.

B: What are the potential implications for us if God indeed is or might be evil?
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We would be likely doomed.

C: Why is it relevant whether God indeed is or might be evil?
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If God is evil most things become only temporarily relevent. They would all be swallowed up in evil in the long run, at best.

D: What exactly is the problem?
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2. What to do in the case that God indeed is evil?
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Oppose God.
3. What to do in the case that God indeed is good?
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Breathe a sigh of relief.
And one cannot really not do something, not even for a second.
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One takes a defacto position on the issue, yes. Actions speaking louder than words.
 
I suppose the question is: What actions would the theist say "that's an evil action" to? I dunno, let's ask the theists...

Is it evil to make people cannibalize their friends and family?

Is it evil to provide one troops with young women captives for their own enjoyment?

Those two examples should suffice for now. The thing is that the theists here will say "yes" to the above. Having said yes to the above - yes, your god is evil. (biblical quotes provided if needed).


"But it's ok when god does it!!"
 
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