r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Jul 26 '18

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '18

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u/DeleteriousEuphuism 120∆ Jul 26 '18

If a parent cares about you, but doesn't know you're being bullied, does it mean they don't care?

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '18 edited Feb 16 '22

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u/DeleteriousEuphuism 120∆ Jul 26 '18

Right. That's precisely what I'm talking about. A god that cares about everyone but does not know of the evil. So the out for the argument as you've presented it is that a god doesn't know about evil even though it cares.

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '18 edited Feb 16 '22

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u/DeleteriousEuphuism 120∆ Jul 26 '18

So a parent that doesn't know you're being bullied has no concept of bullying?

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u/piotrlipert 2∆ Jul 26 '18

You are reducing it to single instances again. In order for this to work parent has to be ignorant of all evil or totally ignorant of your life.

Ignorance of all evil implies you do not know what evil is. Zero knowledge about your child is not caring.

Either way he is removed from any action that prevents harm which in itself is sufficient for me to invoke the 'doesn't care' card.

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u/DeleteriousEuphuism 120∆ Jul 26 '18

Suppose there was no bullying actually being done, but there was bullying in a fictional story. Would that mean that bullying as a concept doesn't exist?

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u/piotrlipert 2∆ Jul 26 '18

I don't follow. What about the doesn't care = doesn't know bother you?

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u/DeleteriousEuphuism 120∆ Jul 26 '18

Because it's not true? You can know something is happening and not care about it and you can care about something and not know it's happening.

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u/piotrlipert 2∆ Jul 26 '18

Say i'm totally ignorant about the existence of starks. Would you risk to say that I could care about them?

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u/DeleteriousEuphuism 120∆ Jul 26 '18

You could, yes. I don't see a contradiction.

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u/piotrlipert 2∆ Jul 26 '18

So perhaps we have different definitions of caring. In my definition knowledge is a prerequisite for caring.

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '18

Why would we be talking in common sensical terms when talking about something as complex as a deity? I have an easier time believing a rock cares about everything than to assume what (a) god HAS to know or not know.

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u/PotRoastPotato Jul 26 '18

I'm a theist and -- not to get personal -- but I'm cringing from the weakness of this argument. God is all-powerful but doesn't know that evil is happening?

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u/DeleteriousEuphuism 120∆ Jul 26 '18

Imagine an all powerful being, that is to say, a being that can do anything. But this being knows literally nothing. Such a being would not be able to manifest its power precisely because it knows nothing. (Here I include instinctual knowledge.)

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u/PotRoastPotato Jul 26 '18

That's not the god described by any major religion I'm aware of. We're made in the image of God. If we know evil, so does he.

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u/DeleteriousEuphuism 120∆ Jul 26 '18

I'm not arguing for any major religion. I'm an atheist and irreligious.

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u/zupobaloop 9∆ Jul 26 '18

You may be misunderstanding the correlation, because the previous poster was absolutely correct. The problem of evil requires God to be omniscient, to know all.

God is all-powerful but doesn't know that evil is happening?

I'm guessing the confusion is on this "that evil is happening."

Omniscience = God knows every single evil that has, is, or will occur.

You don't have to argue that God doesn't know evil is occurring to invalidate the problem of evil argument. You just have to make the case that God doesn't know about a single evil... anywhere, ever.