SUMMARY: IS GOD GOOD
It is impossible to prove that GOD is good and does not lie to us or deceive us, but this belief allows us to advance in learning, understanding, acquiring knowledge, and developing better values and views. If we assume that GOD is evil or deceptive, then every thought and feeling becomes questionable, and we can go nowhere.
9. HOW CAN AN EVIL GOD CREATE RIGHTEOUS BEINGS?!
Some philosophers say GOD is evil, but how can they say that? If they are so moral and righteous, it would have been GOD that gave them those virtues, and therefore, he couldn’t be evil.
8. DO WE TRUST OUR MORAL SENSE?
In fact, the very existence of such a strong moral sense within us can serve as a reason to prefer a faith in the good GOD.
7. THE PARADOX OF MALTESE-ISM
The attitude that GOD is evil is called “Maltese” in philosophy, and it is no coincidence that it is difficult to find serious philosophers who support it.
6. WANT TO LIVE A GOOD AND PURPOSEFUL LIFE?
Therefore, if we want to live a good and meaningful life and build for ourselves a system of beliefs and knowledge, we must assume that GOD is good and trustworthy, and that he does not usually deceive us.
5. IS THE WORLD AN ILLUSION?
We will always have to wonder if maybe the whole world is an illusion, maybe what seems good to us is actually bad and vice versa, maybe GOD wants us to do the opposite of what he says, and so on.
4. CHOOSING THE POSITIVE OPTION
Is it possible to refute this possibility? Theoretically, could it be true? Since we have no way of finding out the truth, what we can do is check which of the two options advances us more.
3. IF GOD IS EVIL THEN… WHAT?
In short, if we assume that GOD is evil, lying, or unreliable, it means that we can no longer trust anything. Not the senses, not logic, not memory, not science, nor even the things that seem most obvious to us. If GOD deceives us, we can know nothing about anything.
2. CONSEQUENCES OF THE BELIEF IN AN EVIL GOD
If we assume that GOD is evil, what is in doubt is not only the credibility of the Bible but the credibility of our most basic tools of cognition: senses, reason, memory, conscience, and so on. We can rely on nothing, not even scientific evidence and the most convincing logic, because they too can be a hoax.
1. IS IT POSSIBLE THAT GOD IS EVIL?
GOD has told us many things, through the Torah and the prophets: that he created the world, that he oversees it, that there is no GOD but him, that he has chosen us to be a virtuous people, that he gives reward and punishment, and more. But how does he tell us the truth? How […]