Epicurus famously said:
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
It is more often interpreted as a riddle that proves the nonexistence of god. Epicurus was one smart dude given that he was hanging out in 300 BCE. It gives one pause. Have we really come very far in our intellectual development since then.
I took a quick glance at a reference out there for those interested in philosophy’s various academic problems, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and the formula cited there has 7 steps.
I didn’t go on to read all the pages of discussion, but I think the weak point is probably 4: “If God is morally perfect, then God has the desire to eliminate all evil.“. That would clearly be true if we were talking about, for example, a high school principal, but it seems less obvious that we can critique the motives of the creator of the cosmos.
If Yahweh is “infinitely good”, wouldn’t it follow that there would be no room for evil to exist at all? if there is, you really can’t say that his goodness is infinite. This reminds me of an extension on the mental exercise pertaining to God making you disappear and wiping away any trace of your existence, which theists in the omnipotent school would advocate for, the next thought that I had was “Would he remember you?” if not, then he isn’t truly omniscient. If he does, he’s not truly omnipotent.
Jesus & Mo (the characters) are absurd, blinkered, and oddly very sweet. J&M (the cartoon) is brilliant: sharp, delicious, irresistible. Salman Rushdie
Jesus and Mo cartoons are wonderfully funny and true. Richard Dawkins
Jesus and Mo make the world a better place, bless their little hearts. Ophelia Benson
In a world defined by outrage and offence and liberal spinelessness, Jesus and Mo is a treasure, whose value we should never fail to recognize. Read them. Laugh. And think. Kenan Malik
The brilliant, celebrated, freaking hilarious atheist comic strip ... Greta Christina
...rays of sanity in a befuddled world. Keri Hulme
The liveliest depictions of Muhammad currently available... Malise Ruthven
J & Mo is the funniest and most consistently thought-provoking cartoon strip on the Net. In a saner world, it would run in a major newspaper. Nelson Jones, Heresy Corner
Consistently amusing, frequently thought-provoking and often heart-warming. New Humanist
Jesus & Mo is one of the most wonderful things on the internet.. JT Eberhard
Wittily captures much of the absurdity of religious apologetics. Mano Singham
I love jesusandmo.net cartoons - witty and sharp! Katha Pollitt
Often hilarious, frequently wry, these cartoons do what all the best cartoons do: they tell the truth through humour. Terry Sanderson, NSS President
...a wonderfully acid British cartoonist... Nick Cohen
I love the scrappy mockery of Jesus and Mo. Freedom of speech
includes the freedom to mock any person, any thing, any activity, and
any belief -- and J&M stands up for this unflinchingly Richard Stallman
...empowering, important and deeply progressive, not to mention hilarious... Council of Ex-Muslims
June 8, 2022
Epicurus famously said:
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
^ Yes, but that is already giving credence to paraphysical powers. There is obviously no god who spoke to any man only egregious liars.. end of…
It is more often interpreted as a riddle that proves the nonexistence of god. Epicurus was one smart dude given that he was hanging out in 300 BCE. It gives one pause. Have we really come very far in our intellectual development since then.
I took a quick glance at a reference out there for those interested in philosophy’s various academic problems, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and the formula cited there has 7 steps.
I didn’t go on to read all the pages of discussion, but I think the weak point is probably 4: “If God is morally perfect, then God has the desire to eliminate all evil.“. That would clearly be true if we were talking about, for example, a high school principal, but it seems less obvious that we can critique the motives of the creator of the cosmos.
From the pen of John Callahan — https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=IprVqkNI&id=4F2FB454438793637EECD3E22B0048139328F681&thid=OIP.IprVqkNIq7u6JeRWIZHpZAHaHk&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2FA1tJ5lIyYNL._SL1500_.jpg&cdnurl=https%3A%2F%2Fth.bing.com%2Fth%2Fid%2FR.229ad5aa4348abbbba25e4562191e964%3Frik%3DgfYokxNIACvi0w%26pid%3DImgRaw%26r%3D0&exph=1500&expw=1468&q=callahan+cartoon%3A+what+kind+of+a+god+would+let+a+thing+like+this+happen%3F&FORM=IRPRST&ck=D558A407C7B94B631F1D26E8E72BA9E9&selectedIndex=0&itb=0&cw=1143&ch=536&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0
Haha…
If Yahweh is “infinitely good”, wouldn’t it follow that there would be no room for evil to exist at all? if there is, you really can’t say that his goodness is infinite. This reminds me of an extension on the mental exercise pertaining to God making you disappear and wiping away any trace of your existence, which theists in the omnipotent school would advocate for, the next thought that I had was “Would he remember you?” if not, then he isn’t truly omniscient. If he does, he’s not truly omnipotent.
Everyone has seen the picture of Trump as Jesus. Blasphemy! There ought to be a law.