God the Ironworker and Why the Freewill Defense Fails
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God the Ironworker and why the freewill defense fails.
In brief: If there is an omnipotent, omniscient creator, then this creator is perfectly responsible for every aspect of his creation, as an omnipotent, omniscienct creator is necessarily responsible for creating every parameter of existence. Thus it follows that the free will defense for the problem of evil must fail, because freewill cannot coexist with a perfectly responsible creator.
Lets review:
It necessarily follows that such a creator is 1) is responsible for creating the concept of free will, 2) responsible for creating its limits/parameters 3) responsible for granting it to his creation (when he need not have done so, despite the possible deleterious outcomes it might cause for his creation) and 4) responsible for the character of the person and the nature of the environment, which of course dictate choice!
This means that even if we were to grant that people had free will (and its really moot at this point) an omnipotent creator would still be necessarily perfectly responsible for dicating whatever outcomes occurred within his universe. Which means that the free will defense against the argument from evil fails. Again, in short, an omnipotent, omniscient creator obivates free will.
Heres a nice follow up on this point written by Knight of Baawa:
Which is why all the xer sects save Calvinism (with their doctrine of predestination) are dishonest on this point. I have yet to meet an xer who will deal with their god being both omniscient, omnipotent, and the creator of everything at the same time in an argument. They always leave a part out while making their claims, e.g. “Just because god knows everything doesnt mean he forces you to act in a certain
way”, leaving out of course the notion that god created everything.
They simply cant deal with all the concepts at once, so they leave one out and imagine that theyve taken care of everything. And when called on it, they scream at you and retreat into “its just gods will/god works in mysterious ways”, in essence conceding the point.
Such is the problem with mutually-exclusive and self-contradictory concepts trying to be shoehorned onto a tribal phallic symbol.
Now, here is an example that helps illustrate the point:
Inagine you want to stress test a pieceof metal that is going to be used in a building. You need it to bear up a certain weight, or it will prove to be unsafe for construction.
So you stress test it, because you dont know what load it can bear. You apply a chosen amount of weight per square inch that you hold to be required to keep the building up, and if the metal cracks, you realize you need a better metal.
Now, imagine god is making the building. Lets tune in and watch:
God the Iron Worker
One day, god decides to make a building. He decides that the metal must be able to bear 2000 pounds per square inch. (He decides this based on fiat, of course, as god can never do anything out of necessity, as he is unlimited in what he does. )
So he makes a metal. This metal can bear 1900 pounds per square inch. He then tests the metal, and it shatters. “No good”, he says, and makes another, this time, able to bear 1900 pounds per square inch.
He tests it again. It shatters. “Damn” he says, “No good again.” God conjures up another piece. This one can bear 1900 pounds per square inch..
Getting the point yet? An omnipotent, omniscient metal worker need not test the metal, for perfect metal worker is responsible for the fact that the metal passes or fails the test in the first place. This simple exercise helps us grasp that an omnipotent, omniscient creator must, necessarily, be perfectly responsible for every aspect of existence that in turn must dictate every outcome.
It therefore follows that god cannot be all powerful/all knowing AND the creator of the universe AND create beings with free will AND then find them guilty for their behaviors, because such a god must also be perfectly responsible for every single solitary aspect of existence that determines their guilt, in the first place. An omnipotent, omniscient iron worker is perfectly responsible for his metal, just as a omnipotent, omniscient creator is perfectly responsible for his creation.
God creates ALL the parameters of existence – all of them… he decides the parameters of the metal, AND the test! God could make the metal stronger or the test less strenuous, or do away with the test, or do away with the metal or even do away with the CONCEPTS of “metal”, and “test” altogether and just make a building without them…. so the free will argument makes no sense, and fails in its true goal – to absolve god from the true guilt for “sin”, if it did exist.
When considering human behavior and morality, consider that god would have to be responsible for creating the very concepts of existence, behavior, humanity, morality, choice, good, “evil, and so on, with none of them being necessary parts of existence. Ergo, this god would have to control every aspect of a “choice, including human character, prediliction and every single solitary other aspect that shapes the choice!
Poof goes free will in such a universe. Even if it existed, it would be moot.
Parameters of existence
What do I mean when I use the term parameter of existence?
What I mean is any aspect of reality, all of which would be under the purview of an omnipotent being. And, an omnipotent, omniscient creator is necessarily perfectly responsible for his own creation. This is so because this creator is responsible for creating all the parameters of existence, which in turn determine all outcomes.
Any and all of the parameters could have been different, so this god is responsible for them being as they actually are. Ergo this omnipotent being is perfectly responsible for his creation being precisely as it is, this includes the existence of free will, and its limits. If there is an omnipotent, omniscient creator, the universe didnt have to work the way it currently works, it could exist without any of these things.