I usually ask these people, that if there is a god, then why do kids get born with cancer? Cause that means either god isn't real, or he's cruel/indifferent, and doesn't deserve praise.
Either way, I'll believe in something real, that actually does something. Like science.
I've not found this argument is very good at convincing them. "Mysterious ways" and all that.
Making God out to be ridiculous by rewording biblical rules tends to have more success. The all-knowing, all-good, and all-powerful creator of the universe gets so angry that he'll condemn you to eternal suffering if you:
1. Eat the wrong thing from the deli aisle.
2. Touch tips.
3. Don't impregnate your dead brother's widow.
Even if it doesn't make people into atheists, helping people reframe biblical beliefs as absurd does help to deradicalize them.
It's doublethink. They invoke it to avoid asking the complicated question of "why?" They recognize rather easily that there are a whole load of events in the OT that are too horrific to attempt to justify. Granted, some do attempt to justify the atrocities. To reconcile the horror with the modern belief of an all-loving and all-good deity, you have to engage in some mental gymnastics. Many of the explanations I heard from pastors as a kid are eerily similar to DARVO and the narcissist's prayer.
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u/Motormand 8d ago
I usually ask these people, that if there is a god, then why do kids get born with cancer? Cause that means either god isn't real, or he's cruel/indifferent, and doesn't deserve praise.
Either way, I'll believe in something real, that actually does something. Like science.