I was thinking about this issue this morning. Christians think they they have compelling evidence that their religion is true, and they just need to convince us nonbelievers of this evidence and then we’ll start going to church (plus whatever else they expect/want). However, providing actual evidence that their god is real isn’t enough, and I don’t think they grasp that. Let’s say that Christians are able to provide actual good evidence in this area: I would start believing their god is real, but I wouldn’t repent or start worshipping him because their god is a genocidal monster.
In the end, it doesn’t matter if their god is real, because we’d all be under duress to worship him just to avoid an eternity of torture. It’s garbage. I’d rather suffer for eternity than worship a god like theirs. But they only think about the first hand of the problem, and many of them deny that their god is malevolent.
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(1) God is omnipotent (that is, all-powerful).
(2) God is omniscient (that is, all-knowing).
(3) God is perfectly good.
(4) Evil exists.
(5) A set of statements is logically inconsistent if and only if: (a) that set includes a direct contradiction of the form “p & not-p”; or (b) a direct contradiction can be deduced from that set.
(6) If God is omnipotent, he would be able to prevent all of the evil and suffering in the world.
(7) If God is omniscient, he would know about all of the evil and suffering in the world and would know how to eliminate or prevent it.
(8) If God is perfectly good, he would want to prevent all of the evil and suffering in the world.
(9) If God knows about all of the evil and suffering in the world, knows how to eliminate or prevent it, is powerful enough to prevent it, and yet does not prevent it, he must not be perfectly good.
(10) If God knows about all of the evil and suffering, knows how to eliminate or prevent it, wants to prevent it, and yet does not do so, he must not be all- powerful.
(11) If God is powerful enough to prevent all of the evil and suffering, wants to do so, and yet does not, he must not know about all of the suffering or know how to eliminate or prevent it—that is, he must not be all-knowing.
(12) If evil and suffering exist, then God is either not omnipotent, not omniscient, or not perfectly good.
(13) God is either not omnipotent, not omniscient, or not perfectly good.