# God must be a sadist **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 25, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080 "2012-12-25T01:04:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pchaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/258eb7/32.png) [@pchaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pchaos)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/41 "2012-12-27T00:35:16Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Rather to live in such a way to mitigate the effects of such disasters. Like not building on flood plains, for instance. Or building earthquake-resistant homes. Do you realize that we all end up dead and it’s just a matter of time. In other words, no matter how good we are, we all die. So, if you look at life that way, evil always triumphs. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/42 "2012-12-27T04:11:17Z")
Robert E. Howard said that the natural state of mankind is barbarism. (I’d have said stone-age hunting and gathering, myself. The word “barbarism” has too many uncomfortable connotations.) So, yeah, we all die in the end. Our civilization will die. The planet will die. The human species will die (perhaps leaving some form of offspring.) The whole cosmic shooting-match is going to die. Meanwhile, let’s debate theology, philosophy, and aesthetics. Have you tried cumin on string beans? ---
**Author:** ![pchaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/258eb7/32.png) [@pchaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pchaos)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/43 "2012-12-27T14:31:03Z")
“Have you tried cumin on string beans?” That was your last remark, I like that. Basically, it doesn’t matter what the nature of God is, or whether He’s good, bad, or a sadist. We still need to decide whether it matters that much. I agree, it really doesn’t matter that much. As long as we enjoy our lives while we are alive, isn’t that good enough? Happy New Year. ---
**Author:** ![MybackPacksGotJets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/278dde/32.png) [@MybackPacksGotJets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MybackPacksGotJets)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2012, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/44 "2012-12-29T03:57:09Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > A large percentage of people live where and how they have to-not where and how they want to. And they live that way because the rest of us don’t care.. as long as we got it good. Humanity in general seems to of settled for competition over co-operation. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/45 "2012-12-29T15:07:01Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Rather to live in such a way to mitigate the effects of such disasters. Like not building on flood plains, for instance. Or building earthquake-resistant homes. and of course breed cancer and birth defect proof people. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/46 "2012-12-29T17:09:05Z")
I think perhaps God is not as all-knowing and all-powerful as commonly supposed. Simpler explanation all around. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/47 "2012-12-29T19:27:02Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > and of course breed cancer and birth defect proof people. We’re making inroads into both. ---
**Author:** ![pchaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/258eb7/32.png) [@pchaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pchaos)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/48 "2012-12-30T16:14:50Z")
> [@MybackPacksGotJets](#): > > And they live that way because the rest of us don’t care.. as long as we got it good. Humanity in general seems to of settled for competition over co-operation. It isn’t that we don’t care, it is because it is God’s business and not ours. It is simply outside of our control. I believe in a God that created the entire universe and not just mankind. The Bible and other religious texts focus only on mankind’s spiritual quest and his vision of God. My God created the entire universe and cares about all creatures. It’s unfortunate that a young boy accidentally falls out of a boat and drowns. Without doubt it is unfair and unjust to us as humans, but to the shark in the water it is perfectly just. God in his infinite wisdom cares for both. ---
**Author:** ![Apollo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/41988e/32.png) [@Apollo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/49 "2012-12-31T17:17:27Z")
The Catholic view on the problem of evil [youtube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvqWTx8ykzg) ---
**Author:** ![pchaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/258eb7/32.png) [@pchaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pchaos)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/50 "2013-01-01T14:57:11Z")
Perhaps a Taoist would say without evil, good and good people would not exist. In other words, if the kind and gentle old lady next door did not pass away, we would not fully experience kindness and gentleness. It is sad and perhaps evil for the old lady to die. However, to me there’s a big difference between intellectually saying that people should be kind and gentle and actually experiencing and dealing with an individual that was kind and gentle. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/51 "2013-01-01T15:22:32Z")
> [@pchaos](#): > > My God created the entire universe and cares about all creatures. It’s unfortunate that a young boy accidentally falls out of a boat and drowns. Without doubt it is unfair and unjust to us as humans, but to the shark in the water it is perfectly just. God in his infinite wisdom cares for both. Sharks don’t philosophize about justice, and most dead humans don’t bring about animal food - they just create misery for the surviving humans. And of course your belief is that God created the system that runs on death in the first place. That’s a great deal of suffering - tens of millions of deaths throughout history - with little or no purpose. > [@pchaos](#): > > Perhaps a Taoist would say without evil, good and good people would not exist. No, a Taoist would not say anything like that. My understanding is that Taoists do not go for all of that good and evil stuff. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/52 "2013-01-01T15:25:42Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > I think perhaps God is not as all-knowing and all-powerful as commonly supposed. And not actually responsible for creating anything. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/53 "2013-01-01T15:36:47Z")
Why blame the stars for the faults in ourselves? If you want a better world, make one. It seems like people want a God that will tuck them in bed, hold their hand while they poop, and spoon feed them. ---
**Author:** ![pchaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/258eb7/32.png) [@pchaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pchaos)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/54 "2013-01-01T15:40:59Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Sharks don’t philosophize about justice, and most dead humans don’t bring about animal food - they just create misery for the surviving humans. And of course your belief is that God created the system that runs on death in the first place. That’s a great deal of suffering - tens of millions of deaths throughout history - with little or no purpose. How do you know that Sharks don’t philosophize about justice. Obviously, they don’t perceive reality the way we perceive it, but I’m sure that they appreciate being fed. It’s not just the different religions, but also different world views, most of them focus on man’s view of reality. However, the shark probably looks at the world a lot differently. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/55 "2013-01-01T15:42:48Z")
> [@pchaos](#): > > How do you know that Sharks don’t philosophize about justice. Because they are much, much too stupid to philosophize about anything. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/56 "2013-01-01T15:51:11Z")
> [@pchaos](#): > > How do you know that Sharks don’t philosophize about justice. The tiny forebrain, for starters. Unless you’re going to posit - with no scientific evidence and in violation of most common sense - that all living creatures are capable of philosophizing whether they have large brains, small brains, or none, there’s not much point in nitpicking about sharks. ---
**Author:** ![pchaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/258eb7/32.png) [@pchaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pchaos)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/57 "2013-01-01T16:19:43Z")
All I’m saying is that God cares for both the boy that drowned and for the shark that needs to be fed. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/58 "2013-01-01T16:23:20Z")
> [@pchaos](#): > > All I’m saying is that God cares for both the boy that drowned and for the shark that needs to be fed. So I’ll say this again: > [@Marley23](#): > > most dead humans don’t bring about animal food - they just create misery for the surviving humans. And of course your belief is that God created the system that runs on death in the first place. That’s a great deal of suffering - tens of millions of deaths throughout history - with little or no purpose. ---
**Author:** ![pchaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/258eb7/32.png) [@pchaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pchaos)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/59 "2013-01-10T22:43:48Z")
Or you can look at it the way the British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell did. If all the humans that ever existed on this earth were still alive, there would definitely be an inadequate amount of food to feed them. Therefore, it’s better that some people died. What’s there to be sad about? Why not consider yourself lucky because one particular X chromosome hit the egg in the womb and you were born. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080/60 "2013-01-10T22:46:58Z")
> [@pchaos](#): > > Or you can look at it the way the British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell did. If all the humans that ever existed on this earth were still alive, there would definitely be an inadequate amount of food to feed them. Therefore, it’s better that some people died. Except that a god could feed them easily enough. Or simply create world where food wasn’t an issue. And your argument also ignores how miserable some people’s lives were and how horrible their deaths. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-must-be-a-sadist/645080.md?page=4)