Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site l5.uucp
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!gamma!epsilon!zeta!sabre!petrus!bellcore!decvax!ucbvax!ucdavis!lll-crg!well!ptsfa!l5!laura
From: laura@l5.uucp (Laura Creighton)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: God and suffering
Message-ID: <206@l5.uucp>
Date: Mon, 21-Oct-85 18:15:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: l5.206
Posted: Mon Oct 21 18:15:38 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 24-Oct-85 00:33:24 EDT
References: <389@decwrl.UUCP> <2203@sdcc6.UUCP> <351@pyuxn.UUCP> <328@uwvax.UUCP> <171@l5.uucp> <388@pyuxn.UUCP>
Reply-To: laura@l5.UUCP (Laura Creighton)
Organization: Nebula Consultants in San Francisco
Lines: 36

In article <388@pyuxn.UUCP> pez@pyuxn.UUCP (Paul Zimmerman) writes:
>In article <171@l5.uucp>, Laura Creighton writes:
>
>> It does not require omnipotence to design a world where there are no
>> earthquakes or no common cold. I figure, either God is not omnipotent,
>> or he/she/it is evil.
>
>That's not an exclusive or, Laura. Certainly He could be both (not omnipotent
>and evil). In fact, He is.
>
>Be well,
>-- 
>Paul Zimmerman - AT&T Bell Laboratories
>pyuxn!pez

I guess I was not clear.  I meant this an an exclusive or.  

	IF (God is omnipotent)
		THEN (God is evil)	/* else there would be no earthquakes */
	ELSE
		(God could be other than evil)
					/* maybe God hates earthquakes as well*/

The binding is on omnipotence.  Either God is omnipotent and evil or not
omnipotent.  (Non-omnipotent evil Gods are possible, of course.)

I followed this one down, and came to the conclusion that ``omnipotent'' was
an ill-formed concept.  Nothing can be omnipotent, in the same way that nothing
can be square and round at teh same time, or blue and yellow at the same time.
Clearly you have arrived at the other end -- omnipotence is possible and thus
the Christian God is evil.  I am interested as to how you got there; I find it
more believable that the Christian God is not omnipotent.
-- 
Laura Creighton		
sun!l5!laura		(that is ell-five, not fifteen)
l5!laura@lll-crg.arpa