Wednesday, August 20, 2008

More on moralism

tracieh (of the Atheist Experience) shares deep from his/her heart:

Your response about the idea that god would pick and choose the more deserving is good. Why this child and not that one? Generally I’ve heard “god’s plan” as the answer. But why would an all powerful being, if he was not monstrous, create a plan that required children to suffer and die protracted deaths in hospitals while their families watched on hoping for an intervention god plans to withhold. That’s simply cruel. Unless god was somehow constrained, he could have accomplished whatever he was trying to accomplish without killing children. Why not go that route if it’s just as effective? And if there are more and less effective routes, then god is not all powerful. He cannot, in that case produce a plan with the same effectiveness that reduces suffering.



What a bunch of moralistic whining, no different than what one would find on the laughable whywon'tgodhealamputees site.

That’s simply cruel.

Prove it's cruel. Define your standard.
Then, provide evidence that "cruel" = morally wrong. And make sure to provide an argument as to why that should apply to anyone else.


Why not go that route if it’s just as effective?

Are you arguing for some kind of purpose in the universe? Defined by... whom? Certainly not God - this is an atheist site.
Define the purpose, provide the argument for it, and make sure you understand you stand in variance with many big-name atheist philosophers.


the height of hypocrisy

Provide an argument that hypocrisy = morally wrong. And make sure to provide an argument as to why that should apply to anyone else.


I believed in my own salvation, and I never feared death during my Christian phase.

Your self-deception apparently continues to this day. No time like the present to change, though.


if I believe god has a plan and god can intervene—what does that say about my insistence that the doctors continue to treat me or my loved one after they have indicated that medical science is of no further use?

Please explain why these Christians are justified in thinking this way.
Quote Bible verses, and make sure you exegete them properly.
If you can't, be so kind as to concede the point.


Let’s pull the plug and pray and let the Lord decide.

Which is hardly the biblical standard.
If you want to condemn the sub-biblical view on this, I'm all the way with you.


isn’t anything else a lack of trust in god’s will for the dying/sick person?

Where did God promise in the Bible to heal everyone in this life?


Whereas the Christian parable teaches that with faith, we can have miracles

That is not the correct understanding of that parable. This doesn't inspire much confidence in your ability to understand and correctly interpret the Bible.


If my goal is to heal people, and I want to devote my life’s work to that, and I put forward that System X fails where System Y succeeds…why would I then choose System X to put my energies into? Why wouldn’t I become a faith healer instead of a physician’s assistant or a doctor or an ER worker?

B/c faith "healers" don't heal.
Doctors do. The Bible doesn't provide for the career of "faith healer" and comprehends the usage of medicine and due diligence.


I don’t get it.

Well said, but we didn't need you to tell us.

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