Posts by slimboyfat

131

Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?

by jukief in

by evolution or by creation?

"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".

slimboyfat

Maybe God can keep the good that has happened while removing the bad. Is that possible? I don't know. If God is God, why not?

More than offering any particular solution, I am suggesting that, if God exists, then there could well be solutions to the problem of evil that we can't even imagine or begin to describe.

If you ask me to describe the mechanics of airplane flight for example, I wouldn't know where to begin. Not just the details, but I don't even know the language or symbols involved or what counts as an explanation in this context.

So what makes us think we are up to the challenge of accurately perceiving, describing, and concluding there is no solution to the problem of evil. If God exists it seems reasonable to suppose he knows more about it than we do, or can do.

Plus what if God simply eliminates suffering in the future. Atheists may say that's not good enough, but many believers may think that does preserve God's goodness. It's a genuine difference in moral judgement. Atheists may be convinced they are right, but if God and believers feel otherwise, how do you judge between the different perspectives. In the end you just get atheists shouting "I am right and you are stupid and callous if you don't agree with me". Is that really any way to settle the issue?

131

Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?

by jukief in

by evolution or by creation?

"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".

slimboyfat

humbled, yes it's all troubling. I don't think there is an easy answer at all. But what I was suggesting is not like memory being wiped. It is God making it not have happened, which is deeper and more profound than memory being wiped.

Think about it this way. If God exists could he stop someone being run over by a bus tomorrow? I think he could. And if God exists could he stop someone being run over by a bus last week? Given that God is outside space and time, he probably could change reality so that someone wasn't run over by a bus last week. And if he did that, then reality would be changed, not simply a memory erased. The suffering would be gone, not just in the present or the future, but in that past as well.

If God can do this with a single event, can he do it for all suffering? I don't know. But if he is God maybe he can and maybe it is wrong to say there is no way to reconcile goodness and almightiness. We just don't know everything about reality to be able to say definitively.

131

Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?

by jukief in

by evolution or by creation?

"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".

slimboyfat

God's perspective about human suffering is not relevant.

Well that's God telt.

But what if God says your perspective is not relevant?

131

Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?

by jukief in

by evolution or by creation?

"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".

slimboyfat

I am interested in questions about God and reality and sharing and discussing ideas. It's not much of a discussion if we can't probe the boundaries of what is possible. The idea that the human mind may not be able to understand the answer, or the idea that God has a different perspective on suffering (that it doesn't matter as much to him) may be difficult, but they are ideas worth exploring, if we are genuinely interested.

All you seem to want to do it shut down anyone who doesn't toe the line by calling names and ascribing bad motives. A poor way to genuinely explore any topic.

131

Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?

by jukief in

by evolution or by creation?

"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".

slimboyfat

I just solved the problem of evil and all you can say is "ridiculous"!

If God can prevent suffering now, then can he prevent suffering in the past? If God is outside space and time maybe it doesn't mean very much to make a distinction between present and past. If God's will is to make all suffering non-existent in all time, then how can we say that's impossible. Has anyone come up with this solution before? I think it's genius, if I do say myself.

131

Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?

by jukief in

by evolution or by creation?

"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".

slimboyfat

I'm not talking about simply "not remembering". Im talking about making it not have happened at all in the first place. Is that impossible? How do we know? We are creatures that live inside time and space. If God can make suffering in the past (from our perspective) non-existent, then maybe the question "why does God allow suffering", misunderstands the nature of reality in a fundamental way we cannot grasp.

I don't know if that's a viable solution. Probably it is not. But what I am saying is that the universe and reality are stranger than we can imagine. And for us to say we "know what is good" and we "know how God would need to act in order to be good" just seems presumptuous.

131

Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?

by jukief in

by evolution or by creation?

"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".

slimboyfat

No I'm not talking about God making it up to people, like the story of Job for example. I mean more fundamental than that. What if God can make it so the suffering never happened? Not just "forget" or "make it better", but literally make it not exist at all, ever. Is that impossible? Who says?

The point is God surely has the ability to see, know and do things we can't even begin to comprehend. So to say "I can't see how a God of love is compatible with suffering" may not be saying very much except our inability to understand.

131

Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?

by jukief in

by evolution or by creation?

"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".

slimboyfat

The God of the Bible lets people suffer, explicitly. So how can the God of the Bible be incompatible with a God who allows siffering?

Maybe God takes us more seriously than we know or can understand.

For example can God reverse all the suffering when he restores all things? You may say it doesn't count if God puts things right because people still suffered in the meantime.

But what if God can do more than simply reverse the suffering. What if he makes it so it never happened in the first place? You can say that's impossible because it already happened. But are you sure it's impossible? Can't God do anything he wishes, including making past suffering completely non-existent.

Isn't it likely that God has the capacity to perform solutions greater than we comprehend.

131

Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?

by jukief in

by evolution or by creation?

"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".

slimboyfat

I think a basic conviction for Christians is that God knows better than humans can know.

Whereas some atheists appear to be convinced that God must conform to their standard of goodness or he should not or cannot exist.

131

Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?

by jukief in

by evolution or by creation?

"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".

slimboyfat

I see you haven't backed away from putting words in my mouth.

How about trying to understand perspectives other than your own, rather than potshots and distortions.