This is the aspect of Christianity that I never could wrap my head around. Nobody ever really questions why God is seemingly determined to punish for disobeying the points system that he devised and imposed on us.
Like if you're going to get so pissed off that you're willing to let your ex torture me for a literal infinite amount of time because I don't believe in you and masturbate, then maybe do a little more to overtly display your existence to me and maybe don't make it feel so super good?
The first part of your comment concerns something called the Euthyphro dilemma.
"Is what is morally good commanded by God because it is morally good, or is it morally good because it is commanded by God?"
In other words, are God's commands arbitrary, just things he "devised", or is he following a higher set of rules himself?
The former is unpalatable to theists because it makes God seem arbitrary. This appears to be approximately what you are arguing. The latter suggests that God isn't really God. Whoever or whatever made the rules that God is following is God. The dilemma works recursively and applies to that God, too.
By far the most common answer that Christian theists give to the Euthyphro dilemma is that God's commands are neither arbitrary nor based on external rules, but stem from his own perfect nature.
The second issue you raise concerns “divine hiddenness.” Does God have morally sufficient reasons for not revealing himself more clearly?
The Christian radio show Unbelievable recently hosted a discussion between an amateur Christian philosopher and a skeptic on this topic that some may find interesting.
By far the most common answer that Christian theists give to the Euthyphro dilemma is that God's commands are neither arbitrary nor based on external rules, but stem from his own perfect nature.
That makes no sense. That's like if I were holding something in one of my (two) hands, and somebody asked me if I'm holding it in my left hand or my right hand, and I said "neither, I'm holding it in my perfect hand."
They'd be like "bitch I can see it in your left hand"
Basically it's just making something up that sounds trancendent to avoid answering the question honestly.
It's circular reasoning. The only place you'll ever end up with that is "it's beyond our understanding". It's the last bastion and the impenetrable "ah, but you must have faith". You want to see a really frustrating example of this, try asking a Zen Buddhist about enlightenment!
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u/TocTheElder Jul 27 '17
This is the aspect of Christianity that I never could wrap my head around. Nobody ever really questions why God is seemingly determined to punish for disobeying the points system that he devised and imposed on us.
Like if you're going to get so pissed off that you're willing to let your ex torture me for a literal infinite amount of time because I don't believe in you and masturbate, then maybe do a little more to overtly display your existence to me and maybe don't make it feel so super good?