Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site wucs.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!ihnp4!wucs!scs
From: scs@wucs.UUCP (Steve Swope)
Newsgroups: net.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Reply to Jon Gallagher
Message-ID: <1167@wucs.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 17-Sep-85 21:03:03 EDT
Article-I.D.: wucs.1167
Posted: Tue Sep 17 21:03:03 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 19-Sep-85 03:56:48 EDT
References: <317@drutx.UUCP> <320@pyuxn.UUCP> <222@ptsfb.UUCP> <343@pyuxn.UUCP> <1711@pyuxd.UUCP>
Organization: Washington U. in St. Louis, CS Dept.
Lines: 36

In article <1711@pyuxd.UUCP>, rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen) writes:
>> 
>> If you claim that a damager-god created us to suffer (for its enjoyment), you
>> imply that whatever is within us was created by it as well.
> 
> Paul, to my knowledge, has persistently claimed just the opposite. Why are you
> bothering to speculate that this might have bearing on what he has said?
> 
I did this partially because I'm not sure exactly what Paul claims in this
respect (I'm a relative newcomer to the discussion), but primarily to present
counter-arguments to both cases.  It was my intention to show that either
view of a damager-god was invalid (these cases are the only two; it either
created us or did not).  If both views are shown to be invalid, the entire
concept must be regarded as invalid.

>> If you claim that it did not create us, but merely tortures us, you ignore the
>> possibility of there being another power, one that is good and creative by
>> nature (as opposed to evil and destructive). And if such a power exists, it
>> will of necessity be at odds with the destroyer. It seems more likely that
>> the damager-god is an alias used by Satan than that Satan is an alias used by
>> the damager-god.
> 
> Why does it seem "more likely"?  Don't you mean "equally likely"?  If not,
> why not?

It is more likely because of the existence of the greater power (see my
original argument).  The damager-god alias would be used by Satan to slander
this higher power, which Christians refer to as God.  Attributing evil to
God advances Satan's goals in that it gives a false image of God's nature.
If there were only a damager-god, the taking of an alias would seem
irrelevant.

				Steve Swope (aka scs@wucs.UUCP)

"Brigadier, A straight line may be the shortest path between
 two points, but it is by no means the most interesting!"