The "Evil God Challenge" by Stephen Law

We can presume that God is not evil, since if he were, nonexistence would be preferable to creation. By not killing yourself, you are implicitly agreeing that his creation is preferable to nonexistence.

>>1873858
>By not killing yourself, you are implicitly agreeing that his creation is preferable to nonexistence.
What if evil god included survival instinct in me so I can't escape his torture chamber.

>>1873875
Survival instinct doesn't take away your freedom to kill yourself. It just makes you extremely instinctually adverse to it, but it's not like trying to hold your breath until death or something like that, killing yourself is completely possible and doable.

Oh God no why is he back
Constantine was Arian btw

>>1873893
What

>>1873900
emperor Constantine was Arian in the end

>>1873908
Doubt it, he just had an extremely close friend who was possibly Arian (whom he previously exiled and only readmitted after he recanted Arianism)

>>1873910
>>1873912
Of course he was only technically Arian, in reality he was most likely henotheistic and very superstitious even for his time

>>1873918
There is no reason to believe he was even technically Arian, since he was responsible for the Council of Nicaea, and exiled his friend for Arianism. It's also unlikely he was a henotheist at the end of his life when he asked for baptism, because by that time he was quite familiar with Christian theology, unlike earlier when he first legalized it and barely knew anything. Constantine took an extremely active and interested part in Christianity, and gradually became more and more involved in studying the faith and hanging out with the bishops.

>>1873841
>using hume
How many layers of irony is he on?

>>1873921
Any form of religious drivel had a lot of sway on him because he was, you guessed it, extremely superstitious, he could easily be convinced by it, but this didn't change that he pretty much feared many Gods but he feared the Christian God the most, and as shown by him hanging around with and being baptized by an arian even after the councils it was not really easy for bishops to affect his internal religious convictions and he could easily change his mind. His understanding of religion was very different from how people used to interpret it.

>>1873931
An Arian who was exiled by Constantine for Arianism and only readmitted when he recanted Arianism.

Constantine had much more that a cursory understanding of Christianity by the end of his life, he knew full well that Christianity considered worshiping other gods to be evil, and that he could not be a Christian without also renouncing the worship of other gods, you can see that in how he went about founding Constantinople, which intended to be a pagan-free city.

Feser did it

http://edwardfeser.blogspot.ca/2010/10/laws-evil-god-challenge.html

>>1873975
He certainly knew, but in the end he still only considered the Christian God the strongest God, who hated the worship of other gods, that's what he took from it. And he really really wanted the blessing of this god, he was scared that he would turn against him so he appeased him as much as he could.

Heck, not even Theodosius was what you could say very 'orthodox' even though he made christianity a state religion this had more political reasons than religious, as evidenced by the fact that he appointed fervent anti-christians as prefects.

>>1873991
I don't understand his argument. If evil is simply the absence of good, why could there not be a god that is simply absent of good? This in fact, makes perfect sense if you consider there is no such thing as objective good, just subjective good. If god is omnipotent, there is no meaningful distinction between what is good for him and evil to him.

>>1873997
Not really sure how you're reading his mind.

>>1874006
Ask my professor but it's his general behavior, he wasn't what you'd call a skeptic but he wouldn't really throw himself for christianity like you'd expect such a superstitious person to do if he saw what he thought was evidence for God.

>>1874000
> no such thing as objective good.

Really? No such thing as a universal good? You can't think of a single thing that's good? Are you suggesting that a mother loving and taking care of her child isn't a objectively good? Because that's an example of good right there.

I saw this guy give a lecture and he is the most obnoxious, dawkinseqsue shrill wanker I have ever had the displeasure of listening to

I'm glad based Constantine is back to deal with this shit