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funeralxempire
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11 Feb 2026, 10:32 pm

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The evil God challenge is a philosophical thought experiment. The challenge is to explain why an all-good God is more likely than an all-evil God. Those who advance this challenge assert that, unless there is a satisfactory answer to the challenge, there is no reason to accept that God is good or can provide moral guidance.


So, I've gotta ask, for believers, why do you believe an all-Good God is more likely than an all-Evil God, specifically what do you base this assumption on beyond claims made by earlier worshippers of your god?

Personally, I don't have a god in this fight, as I don't believe in any gods, whether good, evil, neutral or any other alignment but I'm curious why those who believe in gods always seem to presume a good god.


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BillyTree
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12 Feb 2026, 5:35 pm

I think there's to much suffering in the world for an all-good God to be realistic and not enough suffering for an all-evil God to be realistic. Maybe an indifferent God is the most likely alternative if you have to pick one. But personally, I don't believe in any God.


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traven
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13 Feb 2026, 2:15 am

Job and the wisdom tradition

Job, Ecclesiastes, and the Book of Proverbs belong to the genre of wisdom literature, sharing a perspective that they themselves call the "way of wisdom". Wisdom means both a way of thinking and a body of knowledge gained through such thinking, as well as the ability to apply it to life. In its Biblical application in wisdom literature, it is seen as attainable in part through human effort and in part as a gift from God, but never in its entirety—except by God.

The three books of wisdom literature share attitudes and assumptions but differ in their conclusions: Proverbs makes confident statements about the world and its workings that Job and Ecclesiastes flatly contradict. Wisdom literature from Sumeria and Babylonia can be dated to the third millennium BCE. Several texts from ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt offer parallels to Job, and while it is impossible to tell whether any of them influenced the author of Job, their existence suggests that the author was the recipient of a long tradition of reflection on the existence of inexplicable suffering.

The Book of Job is an investigation of the problem of divine justice. This problem, known in theology as the problem of evil or theodicy, can be rephrased as a question: "Why do the righteous suffer?" The conventional answer in ancient Israel was that God rewards virtue and punishes sin (the principle known as "retributive justice"). According to this view the moral status of human choices and actions is consequential, but experience demonstrates that suffering is experienced by those who are good
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Job

Answer to Job
Answer to Job (German: Antwort auf Hiob) is a 1952 book by Carl Jung that addresses the significance of the Book of Job to the "divine drama" of Christianity. It argues that though he submitted to Yahweh's omnipotence, Job nevertheless proved to be more moral and conscious than God, who was incited by Satan to torment Job without justification. This scandal necessitated God to become united with man. Satan was banished from heaven, and God incarnated as purely good through a virgin birth, into the sinless redeemer Jesus Christ. Eventually, however, God will also incarnate his evil side. For this to happen, the Holy Spirit left by Christ on earth has to enter "empirical" and sinful human beings, in whom the divine can be realized completely.
Jung turns to the Book of Ezekiel, the Book of Enoch, and especially the Book of Revelation to consider how this may unfold. He suggests that the contemporary modern era, in which humanity possesses immense technological power, is significant to this second divine birth. He interprets the 1950 papal dogma of the Assumption of Mary as easing this transition toward completeness by re-emphasizing the feminine dimension of God.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Answer_to_Job

maybe .....
i chew on that occasionally, and not even a 'fan' of Jung


tldr
In Jung's interpretation, Job is completely innocent. He is a scrupulously pious man who follows all the religious conventions, and for most of his life, he is blessed with good fortune. This is the expected outcome for a just man in a rationally ordered universe. But then God allows Satan to work on him, bringing misfortune and misery. Being overwhelmed with questions and images of divine majesty and power, Job is then silenced. He realizes his inferior position vis-a-vis the Almighty. But he also retains his personal integrity, and this so impresses God that He is forced to take stock of Himself. Perhaps He is not so righteous after all!



cyberdora
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13 Feb 2026, 6:27 pm

Before getting to the question of an all powerful god...
Aren't
good/evil
peace/chaos
hedonist/transcendent
All scales built on human constructions?

Ultimately in olden times when humans are given power to control their land/environment/others - god/spirits are supporting them
when humans lose control over the land, can't look after themselves or are conquered by others - god/spirits no longer support them.

So basically an interventionist god

But in 2026 we also have a god who created us but is "impartial" and sits watching us from a distance and lets us fail/succeed based on fate or random chance. Our destiny is in our own hands.



funeralxempire
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13 Feb 2026, 10:51 pm

BillyTree wrote:
I think there's to much suffering in the world for an all-good God to be realistic and not enough suffering for an all-evil God to be realistic. Maybe an indifferent God is the most likely alternative if you have to pick one. But personally, I don't believe in any God.


I agree with this position. I'm open to the possibility of a god, but I am as certain as I can be that there is no all-good, all-powerful, all-knowing and all-capable god.


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If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing. —Malcolm X
Just a reminder: under international law, an occupying power has no right of self-defense, and those who are occupied have the right and duty to liberate themselves by any means possible.


funeralxempire
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13 Feb 2026, 10:54 pm

traven wrote:
Job and the wisdom tradition

Job, Ecclesiastes, and the Book of Proverbs belong to the genre of wisdom literature, sharing a perspective that they themselves call the "way of wisdom". Wisdom means both a way of thinking and a body of knowledge gained through such thinking, as well as the ability to apply it to life. In its Biblical application in wisdom literature, it is seen as attainable in part through human effort and in part as a gift from God, but never in its entirety—except by God.

The three books of wisdom literature share attitudes and assumptions but differ in their conclusions: Proverbs makes confident statements about the world and its workings that Job and Ecclesiastes flatly contradict. Wisdom literature from Sumeria and Babylonia can be dated to the third millennium BCE. Several texts from ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt offer parallels to Job, and while it is impossible to tell whether any of them influenced the author of Job, their existence suggests that the author was the recipient of a long tradition of reflection on the existence of inexplicable suffering.

The Book of Job is an investigation of the problem of divine justice. This problem, known in theology as the problem of evil or theodicy, can be rephrased as a question: "Why do the righteous suffer?" The conventional answer in ancient Israel was that God rewards virtue and punishes sin (the principle known as "retributive justice"). According to this view the moral status of human choices and actions is consequential, but experience demonstrates that suffering is experienced by those who are good
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Job

Answer to Job
Answer to Job (German: Antwort auf Hiob) is a 1952 book by Carl Jung that addresses the significance of the Book of Job to the "divine drama" of Christianity. It argues that though he submitted to Yahweh's omnipotence, Job nevertheless proved to be more moral and conscious than God, who was incited by Satan to torment Job without justification. This scandal necessitated God to become united with man. Satan was banished from heaven, and God incarnated as purely good through a virgin birth, into the sinless redeemer Jesus Christ. Eventually, however, God will also incarnate his evil side. For this to happen, the Holy Spirit left by Christ on earth has to enter "empirical" and sinful human beings, in whom the divine can be realized completely.
Jung turns to the Book of Ezekiel, the Book of Enoch, and especially the Book of Revelation to consider how this may unfold. He suggests that the contemporary modern era, in which humanity possesses immense technological power, is significant to this second divine birth. He interprets the 1950 papal dogma of the Assumption of Mary as easing this transition toward completeness by re-emphasizing the feminine dimension of God.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Answer_to_Job

maybe .....
i chew on that occasionally, and not even a 'fan' of Jung



tldr
In Jung's interpretation, Job is completely innocent. He is a scrupulously pious man who follows all the religious conventions, and for most of his life, he is blessed with good fortune. This is the expected outcome for a just man in a rationally ordered universe. But then God allows Satan to work on him, bringing misfortune and misery. Being overwhelmed with questions and images of divine majesty and power, Job is then silenced. He realizes his inferior position vis-a-vis the Almighty. But he also retains his personal integrity, and this so impresses God that He is forced to take stock of Himself. Perhaps He is not so righteous after all!


It seems the god of the Book of Job can't possibly be all-good. This would seem aligned with the idea that there is most certainly not a god with the four omnis that believers claim YHWH possesses.


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The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing. —Malcolm X
Just a reminder: under international law, an occupying power has no right of self-defense, and those who are occupied have the right and duty to liberate themselves by any means possible.


Texasmoneyman300
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13 Feb 2026, 11:24 pm

I believe God is all-good because He told me in the Bible.However I am sure every other religion would say the same of their god or gods. However I do struggle with God's morality but I just tell myself that his ways are not our ways. I stand by everything He did in the Bible.I know this prolly aint the answer you were looking for but you did ask. I have read the entire Bible multiple times.



funeralxempire
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13 Feb 2026, 11:32 pm

Texasmoneyman300 wrote:
I believe God is all-good because He told me in the Bible.However I am sure every other religion would say the same of their god or gods. However I do struggle with God's morality but I just tell myself that his ways are not our ways. I stand by everything He did in the Bible.I know this prolly aint the answer you were looking for but you did ask. I have read the entire Bible multiple times.


It's a solid answer and I like that you point out how heavily it relies on circular logic (even if you also accept that circular logic).

Of course, one would expect an all-evil god to lack honesty, so one might assume claiming to be all-good is a behaviour an evil deity might choose to engage in.


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The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing. —Malcolm X
Just a reminder: under international law, an occupying power has no right of self-defense, and those who are occupied have the right and duty to liberate themselves by any means possible.


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14 Feb 2026, 5:31 am

To me all pro-God arguments based on things the Bible says is worthless. I don't believe in the existence of Gandalf or Frodo just because they are mentioned in Lord of the Rings.


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peterd
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14 Feb 2026, 6:17 am

Let’s face it: you can solve the puzzle of “the greatest good for the greatest number” with +1 for the existence of god, or with 0. Occam’s Razor will give you the answer.

The question “Are the human race worthy of survival?” is simplified a little once that’s done, but still a question.



funeralxempire
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14 Feb 2026, 9:25 am

BillyTree wrote:
To me all pro-God arguments based on things the Bible says is worthless. I don't believe in the existence of Gandalf or Frodo just because they are mentioned in Lord of the Rings.


Agreed. It's like reading NorK propaganda and thinking you're gaining an accurate understanding of how glorious the Kim regime is.


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The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing. —Malcolm X
Just a reminder: under international law, an occupying power has no right of self-defense, and those who are occupied have the right and duty to liberate themselves by any means possible.


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14 Feb 2026, 11:34 am

I think there's to much suffering in the world for an all-good God to be realistic

If one were to create self-replicating robots, one would have to choose whether or not to give them free will. The very real chance these robots to choose to do what they wanted rather than what you wanted would have to be considered.

Having a bunch of selfish robots running around hurting themselves and each other would not produce the result you wanted. However, if you had control over their environment and made it so harsh and their lives so short that they would need each other and have some interest in you, you might be able to reach some and have them exercise their free will to seek you out.

Considering an all powerful God who intentionally created this world of suffering argues against God being good. However, considering an all powerful God who created this world of suffering to get us to curb the harm we inflict and give us a chance to escape the robot garbage dump begins to open the possibility of a believable God.



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14 Feb 2026, 2:06 pm

timf wrote:
I think there's to much suffering in the world for an all-good God to be realistic

Having a bunch of selfish robots running around hurting themselves and each other would not produce the result you wanted.


I assume this all-good God has free will? Would it be a problem then for that all-good God to create all-good robots (humans) that have free will?


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14 Feb 2026, 4:26 pm

One thing to keep in mind is what makes something good or evil.

Biblically speaking, EVERYTHING God does is 'good'. His WILL is the thing that defines good.

So, he kills every living thing on earth, except what he can stuff into a boat, and it's good.
Kill the first born sons of the Egyptians. Good.
Order the killing of the Canaanites... Good.
Lie to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Good.

Satan kills Job's family with God's permission, and tells Adam and Eve the truth... suddenly HE'S the great murderer and the father of lies.

Classic example of 'It's not what you know, but who you know'.


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14 Feb 2026, 6:49 pm

BillyTree wrote:
To me all pro-God arguments based on things the Bible says is worthless. I don't believe in the existence of Gandalf or Frodo just because they are mentioned in Lord of the Rings.


I (and many tens of thousands of other Aussies) were thwarted from putting "Jedi" under Religion back on the 2006 Australian Census by then minister Peter Costello who declared anyone putting Jedi on their census form will receive an automatic $50 fine for interfering with the census data collection.

But yeah, JR Tolkien or G. Lucas aren't really any less qualified as authors of a religious text than the ordinary folk who wrote fiction about Buddha, Mohammed, Jesus or Moses (long after they died) other than labels (Lucas and Tolkien called themselves writers whereas the others donned robes and declared themselves clerics).



funeralxempire
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14 Feb 2026, 6:57 pm

Meanwhile L. Ron Hubbard just did both. :lol:


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The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing. —Malcolm X
Just a reminder: under international law, an occupying power has no right of self-defense, and those who are occupied have the right and duty to liberate themselves by any means possible.