Theoretical Inquiry: God; Good or Evil?

This page is relatively new and I will have more like it in the future to have something interesting and controversial to read when a new movie review is not present. The first theory I want to tackle is one that I as well as a few others have wondered about from time to time; "was the devil a villain or hero of the bible?". Now I know plenty of religious people will be up in arms over this subject, but as usual I don't give a damn. The theory in question is more of a question as to whether God and the Devil are the opposite of what many have believed them to be known for. Today, we will be examining both deities from the bible of Christianity.  

In many forms of mythology, religion, and fiction, there have been tales of "good" v.s. "evil", "right" vs "wrong", but none have been quite as interesting as the fight between God and Satan. In the bible, it is said that god has created earth, giving life to all it's inhabitants as well as creating Heaven and Hell along with the universe as well, but was God truly a loving creator of this world or was he really an evil narcissistic tyrant who presented himself as a force of good in the universe or was he bi-polar? God has always been viewed as an all powerful deity filled with compassion for sending his one and only son to forgive us for our sins, and yet despite him being celebrated as a positive force, there exist evidence suggesting otherwise.  

Evidence#1: The Tree Of Knowledge

In the book of Genesis, some time after God creates Adam, God tells him that he may eat from any of the trees in the garden with the exception of The Tree Of Knowledge, stating,  Adam will die in the event he does eat any fruit from it's tree so God forbid him from doing so. The question we must ask ourselves is why would a loving god forbid you from obtaining  knowledge? Many Christians will argue no one can or should know as much as God, but that doesn't answer the question, in fact it's pretty much a contradiction within itself. If it is indeed impossible for any of God's creations to know as much as him the knowledge would not be forbidden because it wouldn't be the same knowledge he holds; it would be at best, a fraction of what he knows. From the view point of a parent, you hope to see your offspring learn and grow, teaching them the things they will need to know to be self sufficient enough to survive the day they leave the nest; withholding any knowledge we have that will be beneficial to our kids may rob them of discovering something we all need to obtain; self awareness, stability, and independence. Considering God's role as creator, this would also make the deity a father, like the bible as many other sources have stated. Any father who forbids their children from learning would be seen as a bad parent who is dooming the child to live a life in a constant state of ignorance. If you notice, the one thing Adam and Eve were missing (among other things) was self awareness. It was only through Eve's actions they had gained awareness of themselves as well as their emotions. In light of the situation, we discover a shocking truth; the king among kings does not want anyone questioning his power and authority, in fear of having to deal with a challenge, which results in him forbidding any knowledge that would  allow them to develop their own opinions.

Evidence#2: The Wrath of God

Despite the notion of God being loving, the truth is he was very vengeful in all interpretations of the character. In the sixth chapter of Genesis,  the story of Noah's Ark begins with the almighty deity feeling grief over his creations evil deeds, he has become sorry for making them and decides he needs to cleanse the earth by massacring them all in a massive flood with the exception of Noah, his family, as well as animals aboard the ark. Granted, mankind's actions were destructive, maybe even wicked by nature from the descriptions given, but humans in reality are fully capable carrying out  both good and bad actions; can God truly be angry for this? Most assuredly, we can easily say no. It has been said many times, God created man in his image, with his likeness; meaning he has no one to blame for their actions, but himself, because they are like him; vengeful, jealous, angry, selfish, etc. As we examine this bit of information, we can easily see how it would be an issue for Adam & Eve gain awareness; adding their knowledge of self with the understanding of  their conception being made with their lord's image would prove he is imperfect as well. One could make the argument that a person who is made in someone's image, having their creator's likeness does not mean you will be an exact duplicate; you will most likely either carry a few traits of said creator. It can also be argued a man being created in the image of a god is flawed because he is not a god, thus he will be imperfect on the grounds he is merely a human formed from a god. Both arguments still miss one crucial point; man was said to be created in his image. Whether or not a majority of people are duplicates or not or just humans made of a god, they will still bare similar traits as the deity. In any event, god has killed others for not doing what was asked of them. It's through God's wrath we are met with a form of rage, both cruel and merciless, showing no sign of remorse.  

     
Evidence#3: Gambling With Human Life

The story of, Job, was a very disturbing tale about a man who lost everything he held dear to him for the sake of a bet between God and the Devil himself. In the Bible's description, Job is a man who is "blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil."  He had seven sons and  three daughters. In his possession were, seven thousand sheep, three thousand Camels, five hundred yoke of Oxen, five hundred female Donkeys, fitting within a large household. Job was regarded as the greatest of all people in the east. One day, God appears on the earth. While he is there, the lord is met by Lucifer. After the lord finishes asking him where he has come from, God begins asking the devil if he had considered his servant, Job, stating: "there is none like him on earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears god and shuns evil."  Satan answers: "does Job fear god for nothing? Have you not made hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!" At the end of this conversation God allows Satan to do whatever he wants to his family as well as everything in Job's possession, except for Job himself, initiating the bet between the prince of darkness and the lord. What is the most interesting part of the story is God's reason for the bet. The point of this bet was to prove no matter what Satan through before him, he would not curse God for what was happening to his life. The whole reason for this bet was built on the bases of God's own arrogance, displaying another human emotion; pride. What's even more interesting is God's willingness to give something evil to ruin a mans life with zero empathy for it. How was it ruined? Satan burned Job's sheep, made Sabeans, inhabitants of the ancient kingdom of Sheba in southeastern Arabia, raid the area, taking all of his oxen and donkeys, had his camels taken away by Chaldeans, people who lived in the southern part of Babylonia, which is now known as the southern part of Iraq. He even made him kill his own son. 

Christian Pastors have said all the things Job went through was a test of his faith in God. The message is simple; no matter how much is thrown in your way, never lose your faith in him, the devil is always present trying to weaken you to fall to his side. Of course this explanation seems flawed in light of  God's ability to "know all", rendering the point of the exercise to be meaningless display of him proving he couldn't lose faith in him. Another issue with the explanation given comes from the fact Satan technically succeeded in making Job lose faith or at least question it. 

In reality it's not Job who has benefitted from any of the atrocities committed against his family, it is only God who has, because throughout all he has endured, god relished in the fact he was able to get him to reconcile by repenting, renewing his faith as well as feeding his ego.    

Final thoughts:

    After looking over the evidence, God appears to be arrogant and self-centered, expecting others to recognize him as superior, believing he is better than others, holds expectations of special treatment that are unrealistic, expecting constant attention, admiration, and positive reinforcement from others, as well as being jealous of others who receive praise instead of him; all of which are symptoms of narcissism. With that being said;  I have come to one conclusion; God is a narcissistic tyrant. So now the question remains: is he evil? In truth; definitions for evil vary with a tendency of depending on ones interpretation, so I leave that for you to decide for yourself, but Based on the most basic, commonly accepted definition of the word it would be safe to say yes; his actions would be considered as evil.

As I begin to close the book on this theory, I urge you to keep an open mind and remember this is just a theory.