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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!unc!mcnc!akgua!akgub!cylixd!charli
From: charli@cylixd.UUCP (Charli Phillips)
Newsgroups: net.religion.christian
Subject: Re: The horrifying Old Testament
Message-ID: <380@cylixd.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 16-Oct-85 14:06:29 EDT
Article-I.D.: cylixd.380
Posted: Wed Oct 16 14:06:29 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 21-Oct-85 00:48:32 EDT
References: <350@cylixd.UUCP> <598@k.cs.cmu.edu.ARPA>
Reply-To: charli@cylixd.UUCP (Charli Phillips)
Organization: RCA Cylix Communications , Memphis, TN
Lines: 42
Summary: 

Tim Maroney writes:
>It is truly amazing how you can state a simple refutation of an argument,
>then have someone post a message which states the argument once again
>without any reference to the refutation.  This has happened several times
>since my recent posting of "Even If I Did Believe..";

I'm sorry, Tim, but I didn't read your posting.  I don't read the net
every day, and I don't read every posting even on days that I do read
it; I simply don't have time.  Our site doesn't keep postings in
non-technical newsgroups more than 3 or 4 days, so I can't go back and
look them up later, either.  

>I finally decided to respond because of Charli's message...
>First, she denies the omnipotence of God, ignoring the
>multitude of non-cruel ways that His ends could be accomplished and invoking
>a "necessity" that cannot apply to an omnipotent being.  

I believe I have stated clearly that God is both omnipotent and good.  
The "necessity" that I have invoked is that, if God is to allow free 
will, He must necessarily allow the possibility of evil.  As someone
else pointed out, God is omnipotent, but even He cannot make square 
circles.

>Second, she says
>that the slaughters really worked out for the best in the long run.  Aside
>from the total lack of proof, such criteria can surely never justify
>unneccessary killing.

Two points.  First, one cannot *prove* "what would have been best in the
long run."  What happened happened, and one cannot go back and make 
something else happen to prove what would have been best in the long
run.  Chastising me for not proving something like that is irrational
and absurd.  Second, I agree that unnecessary killing cannot be 
justified; I stated that the killings described in the Old Testament may
have been necessary.

By the way, I don't mean to be rude, but if you don't believe in God,
why do you care whether the doctrines of His omnipotence and His
benevolence can be reconciled?  (That is *not* a flame.  It is an
honest question.)

	charli