Back to theodicy and David's theories (The nature of a \'Creator\')

by David Turell , Sunday, February 21, 2021, 21:36 (1369 days ago) @ dhw

> dhw: I have stuck rigidly to your agreement that he is INTERESTED in us, and so I ask why you think a creator who you are sure is interested in his creations should not have created them because he wanted to create something that would interest him.

DAVID: Of course He is interested in His creations, but not to give Him something interesting to follow to have Him pass time as we humans idly do.

dhw: Why do you have to add such derogatory terms? You believe that your God created all the wonders of the world, and is interested in them. What is wrong with believing in a God who loves to create wonderful things and gets pleasure out of doing so? And once more, do tell us why you think he created the whole of life, including human beings. After all, you quite rightly tell us that he is purposeful, and so he must have had a purpose in creating all of life, including human beings.

DAVID: Not derogatory. That is the image of God you give. I'm sure He had his own purposes, that we discuss while we guess at them.

dhw: “Entertainment” and “pass time as we humans idly do” are derogatory descriptions. Why do you constantly harp on God’s purposefulness, and yet refuse to tell us what you think may have been his purpose in creating life, including humans? Do you really believe that your God created us without himself having any feelings at all, no awareness of love, joy, anger, pleasure etc.? You might as well bow down and worship a block of stone. In any case, you’ve told us he’s interested, and when pressed you’ve told us he might enjoy his work like a painter enjoying his paintings, and he might want us to recognize him and his works, and to have a relationship with us, and of course he probably/possibly has thought patterns and emotions similar to ours. You just don’t like it when I offer you a different thought pattern from your own!

You are the one who imagines God as human and implying He requires entertainment. Your reply indicates you are aware of my approach to God from past entries. I haven't changed. Every time we guess at his motives we must recognize it is all guesswork. I can admit God may have feeling of emotions that resembles ours, but 'may have' does not mean it has to be true. That is what religions peddle. I try to predict concepts of God by studying the science of what He has created (thru His works). He seems to me full of purposeful activity to create what He desires to create with no other motive than the creations themselves.. I do not see Him producing humans just for his own self-interest or self entertainment as primary reasons. I carefully follow Karen Armstrong's views that studying His works is the most mature approach. And that has given me my views of God.