Power = Responsibility


DOTB18's avatar
We've all heard the famous quote from Spider Man, "With great power, comes great responsibility." God is supposed to be all-powerful, but allows terrible things to regardless, often as a result of his own doings. Seems rather irresponsible, doesn't it? When asked why, many Christians will respond with, "He is the Almighty, He can do what He wants."

So my question is: If great power comes with great responsibility, then why does infinite power exempt God from infinite responsibility?
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carusmm's avatar
Because God is good, he cannot be evil.
DOTB18's avatar
Considering the state of the world, he must then be incompetent.
After--Life's avatar
All good things come from God.

All bad things come from man, it's simple.

To answer your signature.

God is only willing to help those that turn to him, yet he even helps those who do not ask him for his help. God says MANY times in the Holy Qur'an that he is able to unite all of mankind and restore peace and order and justice in the world and remove poverty, but then where is the test? What is the point of our existence? He is indeed the omnipotent, he can do whatever he pleases, and what he wants to do is create a world full of creatures following his orders and surpassing his tests.

The reason poverty exists is because of us humans. Tell me, if God is truly evil, then when a man plants a seed and waters it, will the ground refuse to grow the plant with its fruits that you may eat? Of course not.

God created this world filled with EVERYTHING we humans need to survive and live and cherish, only what we humans invent bring about corruption and disorder.

And this is all part of our test.
DOTB18's avatar
"God is only willing to help those that turn to him, yet he even helps those who do not ask him for his help."

If you cannot understand the inconsistency of that sentence, then this conversation will go no further.
After--Life's avatar
Sorry my bad in my English.

What I meant:

"God helps those who turn to him for help, and yet, he even helps those who do not turn him if he so wills."

A father will reward his child with dessert if he finishes dinner, but if the father is well pleased with his child in school, he may give him two desserts!

This father-son relationship is the same type with that of God and human.

Religion is the system that establishes this connection, like a family establishes a connection between parents and their children.
DOTB18's avatar
I believed in God, once. And let me tell you; you can't have a relationship if it's wholely one-sided.
After--Life's avatar
How many sides are there?
carusmm's avatar
Good conclusion.
DOTB18's avatar
Of course; benevolence is no excuse for negligence.
carusmm's avatar
God is negligent but he is not evil per se.
DOTB18's avatar
There's also the option that God is impotent; he's actually not all-powerful and can't really do a damn thing about anything.
carusmm's avatar
There's also the medieval Jewish question: Is God broken?
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RoFlo-Felorez's avatar
ok i hate to make myself sound like the typical Catholic defending his religion, but i have to say this,
you're forgetting that God let us live in a world with free will, and it's our choice to decide whether we want to use our abilities to help or hurt the world, we cannot blame God for the actions of others. we are all His children, and a loving Parent will love His children despite everything they do, yet we take advantage of this so much so that if nothing happens we assume that He's left us alone. If He took action to the point where we see criminals magically flying to jail without any help from the authorities, then the world would be all too easy for us and nobody would work to achieve anything great. I'm sure He's doing everything He can right now to make sure that all the little speedbumps in the road will get us exactly where we need to be, and where we are right now.

Tell me, why is it when someone is faced with the crappies conditions they could imagine, or even a first world problem, they think "God has forgotten me, screw him!", but when they achieve success or joy, they think "I did this all on my own, God didn't do a damn thing!"? People like to think that they can do whatever they want, but i'm sure this is all part of something much greater than you and me, and however long it takes, we cannot blame God for the actions of evildoers, we blame the evildoers themselves. And don't go around forcing other people to explain why they think God does what he does, we're all human, and i'm pretty sure the person with the right explanation is nearly impossible to find. All i'm saying is to keep an open mind to see maybe why things happen the way they do. Here's a quick example; people think its bad to say "everything happens for a reason" when it comes to rape, but despite what happened to Pam Stenzel's mother, she continued the rest of her life helping people everywhere practice safe sex and to prevent sexual diseases from spreading, how? by helping people think on a deeper level instead of acting on impulses. The world is not perfect, and i'm sure there's a lot of other great stories that begin with tragic events, yet hopefully the world realizes its problems and rises from its mistakes to start over a new. If that doesn't happen, don't blame God, blame the actual people responsible for ruining our world.
DOTB18's avatar
I should point out that free will and a divine plan are actually incompatible. If free will takes precedence, then a divine plan is pointless, as it would have to be constantly changed and adjusted to fit with every new action and decision. If a divine plan takes precedence, then free will is just an illusion, as everything you do, say or even think is all "part of the plan." If we have the choice, the future is not set; if the future is set, then we have no choice.

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RoFlo-Felorez's avatar
again, i must reinstate that the person with all the right answers to these questions is difficult to find, and probably a lot harder to understand. i admit that i don't know enough to take on your point, but that doesn't mean everything about free will and divine plan is wrong, for all we know there's probably a much more complicated plan for it all than we're capable of knowing about.
DOTB18's avatar
All I can say is that God is either trying to play an RPG with an avatar that does whatever it wants, or we're all just characters in a story; our personalities and decisions adhering to a cosmological plot already predetermined by the pancelestial author.
RoFlo-Felorez's avatar
well whatever happens, there's always an underlying reason in the end, and no matter how long we wait it always becomes apparent to us in the end, whether we believe in God or something else
DOTB18's avatar
Of course there's always a reason; there's just no reason to think that that reason is the will of a deity.
RoFlo-Felorez's avatar
one day we'll see what it's all meant to be, i promise
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JooPe's avatar
"Kill one man they call you a murderer. Kill millions and they call you a king. Kill them all, a god..."

Human power structures have diluted humanity itself, to the point that many worship an obscenely sadistic sky-wizard which determines infinite punishment/reward at death based not on the moral conduct of the individual, but whether or not it chose to mindlessly believe/obey (or so they believe/claim to). In human behaviour and institutions, there is a huge discrepency between punishment for unethical/illegal behaviour relative to the power of that individual. Serial killers are at the very least imprisoned (as they should be) and brutalised for life (severe brutalisation/abuse is what creates most serial killers), yet those who torture entire fucking populations live long, luxurious lives only to die unpunished for their crimes, even many high ranking Nazis from WWII had decades of freedom before they stood trial.
carusmm's avatar
Responsibility grows with independence. To be responsible one must be dignified and honourable. Dishonour is a coward's conceit.
Iriastar's avatar
That is assuming God is an individual entity that's somehow separated from us.
carusmm's avatar
God is a plague upon mankind.