Absolute power corrupts absolutely. God is all powerful. Is God corrupt?
God created us in his own image. We seem to be corrupted by power. Can God be corrupted by power?
What would it mean for God to be corrupt?
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Lies, existence alone is a theoretical impossibility. In that sense, god itself is not perfect. There is absolutely nothing ever that's perfect. It's the natural order of things. I'm sure he/she/it is more perfect than us but you'll find the closer you get to infinity(perfect in this case), you'll never quite reach it~ We were created in the image and likeness of God. After the fall of man (Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit... i.e. Humans sinned), we kept his image, but lost his likeness, thus becoming creatures capable of sin. Corruption is a form of sinning. Also, God is all-loving and pure good. Therefore, corruption would not make sense here; it is illogical. But I like the debate topic. Very interesting spin on things. Side: Not at all
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To comment on logic, God himself is illogical. No being can be all knowing, all loving and forgiving, all good, and all powerful. The traits contradict themselves. God would at most have to be a divine energy that fuels big bangs that create universes. Who knows? But my point is that the traditional God himself is not logical therefore you cannot support him with logic. Side: Somewhat More distant
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But what if human logic is flawed? After all, humans are not perfect. Maybe human values don't enter into the equation. For example, humans value life and if a person dies some humans would say, "It is illogical that God let that person die." Maybe in the grand scheme of things it makes total sense for that person to die. Side: Somewhat More distant
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Maybe. But that still makes him a corrupt, a-hole who is too good to help out. I hate God because he is too powerful, and no power should be concentrated in one place. God does not deserve my respect because God is too high and mighty to come down off his high throne to help. End of story Side: Somewhat More distant
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If God were corrupt, he would abuse his power. But God loves us. He wouldn't mess with us just because he can. He wouldn't tell us to sacrifice our child and then when we try to do so say, "Stop! I was just messing with you man! I was just pulling a JC." Nor would he create global warming or ..... wait ..... ;) Side: Somewhat More distant
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Yes, but according to the Bible, he's already used his power to drown the earth, to destroy cities, and every natural disaster today could be stopped by him, yet he does nothing. In fact, maybe they are supernatural disasters caused by him. If there was a god, then according to real life, the fact that EVERYONE dies no matter what, and according to the Bible, where he has killed the world, cities, brought plagues upon people, killed first born sons of people, then yes, he is completely and utterly corrupted. Side: Somewhat More distant
I think this depends on your idea of God and your definition of corruption. Corruption: 1) dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery : the journalist who wants to expose corruption in high places. • the action of making someone or something morally depraved or the state of being so : the word “addict” conjures up evil and corruption. • archaic decay; putrefaction : the potato turned black and rotten with corruption. 2) the process by which something, typically a word or expression, is changed from its original use or meaning to one that is regarded as erroneous or debased. • the process of causing errors to appear in a computer program or database. This is essentially the same as the Problem of Evil. If God created everything in existence, and if everything only exists because of God, then the very idea of corruption is a creation of God. There are a lot of things that humans cannot handle, one of them is power, but why? We have different motives, I think, and different reasons to having power. Is God fighting to stay in power? Does God need to be dishonest or fraudulent? Does God need to bribe? No, an infinitely powerful being would not need to lie, would not need to commit fraud, and would not need to bride. He is of infinite power! God being the source of corruption is also all-knowing and has infinite power, meaning God can overcome the corruption. People aren't all-knowing and aren't all-powerful. We are just people, and sometimes we lack the ability or desire to catch corruption before it sets in. We fight for power, and then we want more power. We bribe to get or keep power, and we lie for the same reason. Corruption is in our nature because we are human. God is not corrupt because he has the power and knowledge to fight it. I'm sort of playing devils advocate here, so I hope I make sense outside of my own head :^/ Side: Power and Knowledge beat corruption
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I get what you are saying but, a dictator always tries to portray himself as something good. All the evil a dictator does, he tries to cover up or explain away. Effectively, a dictator has to lie about how powerful he is and all the bad things he has done. How do we know that God is all powerful? I mean, Satan should have known that and not challenged him. If Satan challenged him, then maybe he knows something that we don't know. I think it is I who is really playing the Devils advocate :) Side: Power and Knowledge beat corruption
What would it mean for God to be corrupt? That God would infinitely add to and revise His law. Oops, that's what Kings and governments do. Well,,, my answer would then be: That God would infinitely add to and revise His law. God's law: the natural immutable law between man and man: what is mine is not thine, and what is thine is not mine. (toddlers demonstrate this law) Have you seen a toddler bite or strike another toddler whom has stolen his/her toy? Side: Not my God
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"Absolute power corrupts absolutely." • Unbacked claim: power can be absolute. • Statement does not adress frequency of occurrence. You have implied "always" unprompted. - "God is all powerful." • Unbacked claim: there is a God. • Statement neglects the possibility of traits other than omnipotence. You have assumed a sole trait of an object is in fact that object. Expansive properties require every essence of an object to have the same trait. ___________ [relation null] Side: Not my God
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Firstly I feel it is important to recognise that God does not create corruption...corruption is merely consequences of the fact that God gave us free will, an omni-benevolent God would not design corruption. Many would argue that if God was omniscient then he would know of the evil and suffering in the world and remove it, however the actual source of evil is satan. God does not destroy evil because that would take away the free choice he has given to everyone. Furthermore as humans we need to experience evil and suffering in order to appreciate compassion. In human instances absolute power can lead to corruption. However, God should not be linked to human actions as he is divine. obviously God is all powerful. Firstly because anything that has been designed needs a designer, the only possible designer of something as beautiful and complex in the world would be God; therefore the appearance of design in the world proves God exists. Secondly the natural world contains many features that can only be explained properly by belief in God. For example laws of science, a reason why some people think the universe is designed is because the universe works according to laws. The laws of gravity, magnetism, light and sound all involve complex things working together, all showing evidence of a designer, an all-powerful God!! Side: Not my God
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