The Failure of the "God is Testing Our Faith" Hypothesis
By Eddie Miles
We everyday skeptics often come to a point in a debate at which the question is posed, "If God really loves your uncle who was in a motorcycle accident and wants him to get better, why did he cause him to have the accident in the first place?"
Now, there are a few different answers that we get for this question but this post is just about one: "God is testing his faith."
At first, this seems like an intellectual dead end, that theistic claim that kills the debate because it becomes a matter of faith over evidence and is therefore unarguable. Fortunately, it's not. The debate can continue from this point and here's how.
Think about the implications of a test. In school, your teacher probably administered many tests. He or she did this to find out how much of the subject matter you actually absorbed. Of course, the best way to do this is to read your mind directly but since a school teacher doesn't have this power, he/she resorts to the next best method: testing. In other words, a test is a way for a being who IS NOT OMNISCIENT to know what's in your mind. A being who IS omniscient would have no use for such tools as said being could directly read your mind to know what you're thinking and what you know or believe.
What this tells us about the test of faith hypothesis is that either god isn't omniscient or things like motorcycle accidents aren't "tests of faith" because an omniscient god would have no need for tests and a being who has a need for tests obviously isn't all-knowing.
Posted from www.theeverydayskeptic.com
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Steph on -
Oh, thanks ever so much for reminding me of the stupid Abraham tale. grrr... ;) This is one particular bible tale that has always (even as a child) irritated the crap out of me. I thought it was cruel the first time I heard it and words just can't describe how it makes me feel as a thinking adult with children of my own. Oh, wait a minute, I know....It makes my stomach churn and reaffirms my belief that if there were a god, he's a real asshole. ;)
-
Permalink Reply by Steph on
-
Oooooo, thank you so much for this!! The dumbass god-is-testing-your-faith response makes me want to slap the stupid out of some of these fundies. :D Thanks again!
-
Permalink Reply by M on -
Or if he's omniscient and he already knew the answer and still caused the motorcycle accident, he's just an @sshole. Either way, it's a no-go.
- ‹ Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Next ›
What's new today
Forum
Should illegal aliens in the US be denied medical care?
Started by Holo Gram in Ethics & Morals. Last reply by archaeopteryx 28 minutes ago. 19 Replies 0 Likes
Blog Posts
Why Respect Relgion - A Post From FB.
Posted by Robert Karp on May 21, 2013 at 10:34am 3 Comments 1 Like
Events
Services we love
Check out our new mobile/tablet version of Think Atheist! www.ThinkAtheist.com/m
© 2013 Created by Morgan Matthew.
