God Cannot Be What He Is Believed To Be

Published on April 1, 2004 By stevendedalus In Philosophy

Nietzsche’s inquiry into the nature of God as omnipotent and omniscient, concluded that He could not be goodness but rather cruel if “being himself in possession of the truth, he could calmly contemplate mankind , in a state of miserable torment, worrying its mind as to what was the truth?” Believers would immediately counter that humankind is not privy to truth except when God wishes to reveal it, and in the meantime faith is tentative knowledge.

However, it is not as simple as either faith or absolute knowledge that drives philosophers and men of letters into this maze of discomfort. After all, we are not really concerned with the uncertainty of divine existence or truth as much as the worry of untold misery and suffering in the world as some sort of devilish joke. The film of the Passion exemplifies this inscrutable jest by depicting excruciating pain upon the very one who is supposed to be God’s son who himself was profoundly perplexed in his outcry “Father, why hast Thou forsaken me?” — for which no kindly resurrection can excuse the sadism. Dostoevsky posed: is the suffering of one lonely child worth the creation?

The argument that it is man’s inhumanity to man that is at fault and not God’s, but rather the godlessness — not to mention the worry of what is the truth — within the Romans and Jews that caused the unspeakable atrocity. Yet why would a God of omnipotence allow such evil to surface to begin with? A compassionate God surely would have created a decent existence for all and not reduce it to some cruel test for his creatures. If there can be logic in faith, the only conclusion would be to accept the probability that if God does exist he is within the universe an integral Demiurge that is struggling as much as his creatures in attempting to make existence worthwhile. In this light, it is far less blasphemous than to believe in an all knowing and all good divinity that has the superpower to rectify the horror of his creation but mysteriously refuses to do so.

Comments (Page 2)

Wahkonta Anathema

on Apr 02, 2004

The issue is as old as 'free will' Vs. Predestination' and I find them dualistic not polaric. I illustrate:

A movie with David Carradine, in which he is a 'shou lin' type guide for a man in search of the book of the answer to life's ultimate question. He sees a young pretty-boy who is clearly spoiled by his looks. As the child walks by, he breaks his nose. This was not done to harm, but help the child overcome his vanity and pursue his true calling in life.

I have told of the trip on the bus in which I observed a clear genius child of a welfare mother. As I left the bus I told her "Your child has highly intelligent eyes. The eyes of a genius." As I left her ther to ponder what another saw in her hyperactive child, I thought, "I may now step off this bus and be hit by a car and die. What if my whole life was to gain the insight to see this in the child and relate it, so he can grow to cure cancer?"

As perplexing as these things are for us to ponder, consider a God who controls each movement of each individual life that ever existed. Once in meditation, I sought for ultimate wisdom and received a vision of a cone extending from the top of my skull out into infinite space. A voice said to me, "Now order and maintain the space in this area for one second." I realized the masive and infinite wisdom of a God, and have not been so vain as to try to contain a portion of it in this small skull since.

My rest is in the knowledge, "For we know that all things work together for good for those who love god and are called according to his purpose." Nahum 1:7. Be at peace for all must return to its state of true perfection in time. It may be a year for one and a million for another, but it is done.

The satanists are foolish in that they are deluded to think the created 'Satan' will defeat his creator. God would not have made him if he knew he'd lose a battle to him in time. They don't get the fact that good and evil are not polaric, but dualistic. Evil may need good to exist and have form, meaning for itself, but god MADE it from good. Good does not need evil to exist, and neither does God. He wrote the book of our lives, all of them, and we are blessed of all creatures with 'free will' to enjoy this 'existence' so much we can call it 'life'.

As to life, Jesus said to conquer death you only have to die. The ultimate test of faith. Don't go there but consider it. What if death isn't the illusion, but life? It gets deep, but hope I helped contribute a bit.

Great post, as usual, Mr. Dedalus. You give us pause to think on the more important aspects of our 'existence'.

stevendedalus

on Apr 02, 2004

Sherye, I'm not questioning the existence of God, I just htink he has limited powers and is trying hard to make us better. Nevertheless, I am outraged by the horror so many little girls and women--among other things--who are kidnaped, raped and murdered. No amount of prayer and rationalization is going to comfort the mother of a Samantha. And just the other day hauling charred bodies to be hanged on a bridge like smoked ham, free will, nothwithstanding, no omnipotent God would allow such atrocities.

Shulamite

on Apr 02, 2004

So to answer your question: Isn't it better to view God as just doing the best he can?

The parent's role is one that mirror's God's role to us, right? Follow me... I know a reason I have to make sure my daughter obeys when I tell her to do something is for more than just safety reasons; its for security reasons. That is to say, if she knows and understands I'm in control of her and her life, I'm then in control of her world. If she views me as strong and commanding, she experiences less fear for the unknown ... like the dark or strangers or whathaveyou. She's SECURE in the fact that I can take care of her, protect her, and control frightening experiences. She's therefore freer to step out in faith and take healthy risks within the structure of my protection and will for her because she seeks my blessings and enjoys my security.

If my daughter instead viewed me as "doing the best I can" that necessarily means she takes pity, sympathy, on me and has compassion for me. She puts herself in my shoes and worries about me. She may either feel like she has to protect me or that she has to take care of herself alone. She obviously cannot fully trust me without viewing it through a sympathetic lens, right? She "takes me with a grain of salt." She sees me as weak and wishy washy. She's not secure in my protection or my will for her. She doesn't trust me to help her make good decisions.

Do I want her viewing me as a strong woman, a leader, an assertive person with my beliefs & morals, and someone who stands up for justice, gives mercy, loves with abandon, and is fiercely loyal, wise, and trustworthy? YES. I don't want to be the opposite. I want her to say one day, "My mother was amazing. She always did the right thing or apologized when wrong. She had compassion on people without compromising morals. She expected excellence from me and always helped me. She taught me right from wrong and loved me without fail."

God is a strong God. He's the one who does not fail. He keeps his promises. He keeps the universe moving so perfectly we can set our clocks by it. He has set the fractal in nature -- the mathematical formula so inherent in our lives Jackson Pollack couldn't help but paint it in his masterful works of splattering paint. (He became increasingly accurate with each painting.) The golden ratio is the spiral you see in ram's horns, sea shells (nautillus, conch, et cetera), pine cones, pineapples, and even the grass in africa's growing patter to name a few places. That's the tangible outcome of God's fractal.

No, this isn't the portrait of a God doing the best he can. This is the portrait of a God whose will is unsearchable, whose will we'll not understand until the day we're united with him fully, without the world and sin between us. This is the God who is bigger than I can imagine. If I could imagine him accurately, He'd not be greater than me. Isaiah tells us God asks the question, "Can you imagine me without diminishing me?"

"For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid my face from you for a moment; But with everylasting kindness I will have mercy on you," says the Lord, your redeemer. Isaiah 54:7-8

psychx

on Apr 02, 2004

It's crazy but as I see it, religion is easily the most controversial subject on the planet. Humans struggling to define what is right and wrong, how we came to be, and where we will end up. Is it just our biological ability to anticipate death? Or is it our salvation? Yet with it's tension it has caused wars, deaths, and persecutions. Why is such a benign way of life as religion fueled by anger and even hatred at times. I am a believer of God and the bible but sometimes man's interpretations of such things scares me. I will continue to believe in him and pray that humanity does improve.

Sherye Hanson

on Apr 03, 2004

Richard,
The theology that makes sense to me is that God suffers with humanity when bad things happen. I know that at times God does intervene and other times, he doesn't. I don't know why, but I do know that God is love. A heard a story that after the holocaust a Jew who hadn't been through it lost his faith in God, whereas another who did go through it continued to believe. I think that when we think of suffering and God, we will always get more questions than answers. What feeds my faith in sitting in the rooms of N.A. and seeing broken people made whole.
Sherye

stevendedalus

on Apr 03, 2004

Amen, and God Bless Everyone!

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