Caliber said-
You actually gave me my first hardy laugh of the day but don't get too near my" Red and Chrome Pump Action BB ShotGun" , it mighty be more nasty than you first may think hahahahahaha!
Well, thanks, as I aim to please (pun intended)!
BTW, be careful where you point that BB gun or else you might take someone's eye out, including possibly your own (eye safety MUST be a concern for anyone with a green eye located inside ANOTHER green eye)!
Cofty said-
Your metaphor is adding nothing but confusion.
More unsupported conclusions?
Cofty, deal with the argument presented, and offer some reasoning to SUPPORT your conclusions: you're not immune from the rules of debating, as if the rest of us have to bow to your royal edict and dismissal.
You can figure out the flaws in the argument, as the 'benign neglect' theodicy is not insurmountable (it's harder for someone to overcome who's never encountered the 'benign neglect' theodicy before).
Cofty said- The god of theism is knowing, powerful and loving. He could have stopped the tsunami without changing his long-term plan. You make it sound as if the continuation of a quarter of a million lives wasn't worth his time and effort.
BTW, you rightly avoided making the mistake of saying all theists believe in an omniscient, omnipotent and omnibenevolent God, since obviously they all don't.
At any rate, assume I'm playing the role of a Xian who readily accepts that God is omnipotent, but willfully limits His actions despite having the capability to act, eg as seen where Jehovah entered into a covenant with humanity after the Flood, promising never to again wash the Earth clean with a flood (God voluntarily removed that option off the table, not because he lacks the capability to flood the Earth, but He chooses NOT to do so, in order to keep His word). That's what's so special about God's covenants and entering promises with mankind: He doesn't have to do so, but does it out of love for humanity as a whole.
So such willful restrait is NOT an example of his lack of omnipotence, since God sometime chooses NOT to act to serve some other long-term purpose.
In the case of the tsunami in 2004, God possessed the power to stop the loss of life, but doing so didn't fit into his long-term plans to correct the problem, as God understands there will be some collateral damage involved in the long-term 'treatment' that addresses the cancer of 'evil', since a few eggs must be broken in the process of making omelettes. However, God is keeping track of the suffering, and will settle all accounts in the end.
Adam
