"How on earth did you determine that God was the good one and Satan was the evil one?"

[rurallib]

"What objective criteria did you use other than 'God?' And if you pointed to God how is that not a cheating circular argument?"

Question posed by Matt Dilahunty at the end of an old Atheist Experience call in.

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I have often wondered who and how that was determined. Especially since it is often hard to tell "the work of God" (like destroying a city) from the work of Satan (like destroying a city). Or the work of either's followers.

Seems to me it is better to determine real causes for calamities and quit blaming non-existent super-natural beings.

[RKP5637]

1. God sure destroys a lot of people and places. A loving god, yep, right. Delusions and

fantasies.

[BigmanPigman]

2. Circular arguments with Christians is exhausting.

I refuse to even attempt it any longer (waste of time and energy).

[safeinOhio]

3. Seems Christians have

More gods than Hindu's do. All those angels, saints and devils.

[Brainstormy]

4. Grist for the apologist mill

Isaiah 45 in the King James Version reads, “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.”

[rurallib]

7. i got to admit, I am quite dense sometimes.

I have no idea what that is supposed to mean.

My guess is the speaker ( god I presume) claims to be both light and dark; good and evil.

I went to Catholic schools for 12 years and my knowledge of things biblical is about zero. That is a level that is suitable for me.

[Brainstormy]

9. I think you nailed it

inasmuch as anyone can. And it's not one of those passages that a religious school would focus on.

[rurallib]

10. funny thing is, at least in my day only a few biblical passages were taught

in Catholic schools.

That was fine with me. But since we were always told we were the "one and only true church" it always seemed strange to me that we always knew so much less than others about what were supposed to be the core of the religion.

Works fine for me now.

Just blowing off steam after calling my senators' offices about guns. Grassley & Ernst - deep in the pockets of the NRA.

[trotsky]

5. I remember the first time that was pointed out to me.

Lucifer = "light-bringer"

According to the story, helped break Adam & Eve free from being mindless playthings in a zoo by giving them the power to reason. And he's the bad guy? Hmmm...

[progressoid]

6. I got into a long and futile argument with a guy about god being good AND evil.

I kept pestering him with the notion that all the evil in the world was god's fault since he created everything (including evil).
Guy: No, all evil comes from Satan
Me: And who created Satan? God!
Guy: That's not how it works.
Me: So God didn't create everything?
Guy: Everything except evil. That was Satan.
Me: So God isn't omnipotent. He can't control Satan?

etc. until guy got pissed and left.

I was young and mostly drunk so I had a good time. Plus he never came to proselytize again!

[Exultant Democracy]

8. Prometheus has had a rough 3-5 thousand years,

Nothing went right for him after the unwilling sex change they forced on him. Innana was a stone cold boss until the patriarchy got a hold of her; ripped away her woman-hood, chopped her in two and locked one half in hell.

[DetlefK]

12. I believe that the Bible meant Lucifer as a metaphor for mundanity, as opposed to spirituality.

When Lucifer tests Jesus in the desert: In the first test, Jesus responds that man needs food and spirituality.

In the second test, he tells Lucifer that "it doesn't work that way" when challenged to produce evidence for God.

The last test is Lucifer offering Jesus to make him king of the world and Jesus tells him to go away.




I always wondered: How can Lucifer credibly make that offer when God rules everything?

I think, that offer is really meant as a philosophical choice: Heaven or Earth. Worldliness or spirituality.
And with each answer Jesus picks spirituality.

[DetlefK]

11. Of course God is the good guy! He said so! And we can believe him because he's the good guy!