zeldarocks Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 My father tries to get around the problem of evil by saying that God has given the Earth to mankind, only able to intervene when invoked by man, he quotes Psalm 115:16 as proof. How do I combat this fundamentalist understanding of the aforementioned Psalm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted July 3, 2013 Super Moderator Share Posted July 3, 2013 I would ask him about the implications of Vader being Luke's father. How believers interpret their book of fables is irrelevant outside the cult. It doesn't make sense for a non-believer to argue theology and dogma with a believer. That's an internal squabble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leopardus Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 An almighty deity that can only act when his tiny, fallible creations tell him too????? Try saying that with the appropriate expression of "just how dumb are you??" on your face. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
directionless Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 Maybe you could argue that evil happened by design. Take some notion of evil (like aggression) and show that this is natural to all animals. Did humans invent survival of the fittest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerk Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 "The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to mankind." "The problem of evil is the question of how to reconcile the existence of evil with that of a deity who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent." Your father is implying that God just turned over the running of the earth to the humans. That is not "getting around" the problem of evil, it's describing exactly why it's a problem. If God exists and is as powerful and all-knowing as he is described to be by modern Christians, then he could easily prevent evil even without being asked. That is the problem of evil, and this verse, if it means what your father is implying (that humans get to run the earth), proves that it is, indeed, a problem that can't be gotten around. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RipVanWinkle Posted July 4, 2013 Share Posted July 4, 2013 zeldarocks: Tell him he's half right: God cannot act without a human's request. But he can't act with one either. bill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centauri Posted July 4, 2013 Share Posted July 4, 2013 You might try using these: Prov 16:4,9 The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps. God is in control and he made all things for himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RipVanWinkle Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 centauri: I really like your quotation of Charles Mackay. But I'm embarrassed to say, I don't know who Charles Mackay is. Could you help me out with that? bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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