Formal holdings
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[Goetz's] argument is that God allows evil for the sake of some ultimate good and that this is the best of possible worlds in the grand long term view.
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Notions such as "possible worlds" and "long term view" have meaning only in human terms. As far as God is concerned (according, at least, to what He told us), He can choose anything He wants. Which means, that "experimenting" with humans ( to see if they will go this or that route) is meaningless: He knows either way!
We can speculate on His reasons with Goetz for weeks but it all comes down to the same dilemma: Bored or sadist?
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You might argue now that not only is God a Sadist to allow Evil but a Masochist to suffer with it.
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Only to the extent that, for some Godforsaken reason, God chooses to limit his powers! And allow Evil elbow room.
...You realize what a can of new worms such an interpretation opens.
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Given that, god suffers along with humans so that he's not asking anything of us he's not willing to go through himself.
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I note, with horror, the absence of respectful caps in the words referring to our Lord. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] Remember, He reads everything!
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How do you reconcile your Christian beliefs with the paradoxes you raise above?
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I did not say I hold Christian beliefs. I said I'm formally a Christian. I was baptized a Christian and have not formally denounced Christianity. (8I wouldn't even know how to do that.)
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