Should God Punish Evil People?

Thanks Rick,


I knew it might not be representative of Prager's thinking and therefore attempted to qualify my remarks with this in mind.


The point of my post was not Prager's thinking; rather it was the thinking of anyone who has blind faith in the veracity of scripture taken literally.

Andy


I see the point you are trying to make. However, it stands to reason that the justification is immaterial. Bin Laden wants the US to pack up its bases in Saudi Arabia and quit meddling in Middle East affairs. Whether he thinks this is justifiable because we are heathens and infidels is NOT the main point of his beef with the US. He has NOT issued a fatwah against all non Muslims. He has been very specific in denouncing the United States. Bin Laden doesn't waste resources attacking Sweden. He wants the US OUT of the Middle East. It just happens to be all-too-convenient that the US is a non-Muslim dominated country.


As for your point on the Bible, I don't proclaim to be a Bible expert either. My knowledge of the Old Testament is especially lacking. However, even in the instances you bring up God to vengeance on HIS own. What I am saying is that (at least in the New Testament) there are no instructions to go out and KILL those who don't believe what you believe. In fact, Christianity is supposed to be based on the life and words of Jesus Christ. I can't think of anywhere in the New Testament where Jesus said to go blow away another tribe just because they weren't Israelites. In fact, there are quite a few cases in which Jesus would offer comfort and assistance to non-Israelites (I don't have the exact passages in front of me, but I can look them up if necessary.) If "Christians" are supposed to live their life according to the life and word of Jesus Christ, I don't think they can truly find any justifications for their slaughter of the Native Americans or any other atrocities committed in the name of God.

You make an appealing argument based on value judgments which I share. OTOH, vengeful feelings may be more justifiable in an omniscient being whose perceptions of good and evil are infallible (unlike us). It is also possible that God takes actions which seem vengeful from our perspective, but are not motivated by anger.


Mike

Rick,


Your generalizations about our animal friends are highly suspect.


"animals primarily depend on instinct. "


A wide variety of animals have been shown to rely heavily on experiential learning for survival.


"Animals do not have the human qualities of conscience."


How do you know? Many careful observers of higher mammals would disagree.


"only humans are aware of their mortality."


This assertion seems more likely, but can we be sure? Elephants, primates, and other animals exhibit behaviors suggestive of grieving upon the loss of a group/family member. In any event, I do not think such knowledge is required for free will to exist.


"That humans have free will is self-evident to me."


Like most other animals in natural settings, humans interact with their environment in a manner which appears like they are exercising free will and self-determination. However, research has demonstrated that situational factors are far more predictive of human behavior than individual factors/characteristics. Nevertheless, internal individual characteristics do matter; we are more than simple stimulus-response machines. This allows for the possibility of free will. OTOH, those individual characteristics may only be the deterministic outcome of biochemical and electrical processes occuring in our bodies (and their interaction with the physical environment).


DV,


Mike

A lot of people seem to forget that if this world were perfect, then there would be no incentive to do good. . . there are "Flaws" in this world for a reason. A random thought, brought to you by


Worm