God is good despite evil.

“Faith is cold as ice, why are little ones born only to suffer for the want of immunity or a bowl of rice? Well, who would hold a price on the heads of the innocent children if there’s some immortal power to control the dice?” – Neil Peart, Roll the Bones, 1991 Thanks to my opponent for his thoughtful opening. I would like to begin my response and counter-arguments by addressing Pro’s statement regarding the name of YHWH. First, I realize that many may be offended by the fact that I use a lower case “g” when I refer to Yahweh. And I respectfully say that it makes no difference to me if one prefers YHWH, Yahweh, or Jehovah. To me they are one and the same. His name could be Drake Tungsten and we would still be talking about the same deity. I want to make it clear that if there is a God, I don’t want to equate him to YHWH. YHWH IS IMMORAL As a secular agnostic, it is clearly evident that the morality of secular humanism is superior biblical morality. While there are good tidbits of wisdom in the Bible, it is so laden with nightmares and brutalities that any unbiased reader wouldn’t be able to take it seriously as a moral guide for living. While my opponent says that it is impossible to accuse YHWH of immorality of any kind, if one reads the Bible from an unbiased perspective they will be convinced that he is a fabrication by ancient Jewish ancestors as a way to justify their violence against neighboring nations. My opponent says that, “All of what is truly good is defined by God.” With this in mind, I would like to critically examine this statement in light of YHWH’s commandments, many of which are inane, but many of which command slavery, rape, and infanticide. I think it would be safe to say that my opponent would agree with me that these actions are highly immoral. SLAVERY Most people would agree that slavery is wrong. It continues to be a topic that is hotly debated as non-believers confront the faithful with verses that clearly illustrate that YHWH commanded the Israelites to take slaves regardless of gender or age. Christians try to soften the image of slavery by using terms like "servant" or "bondservant". Even if a passage refers to a slave as a bondservant, such a concept is still immoral and inexcusable. Let's look at a few verses on slavery and examine if these passages truly come from the mind of a good, loving God. “Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.” – Leviticus 25:44-46 “And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do. If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.” – Exodus 21:7-8 While these verses are troubling for believers, perhaps the most egregious passages regarding to slavery is Exodus 21:20-21. “And if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished. Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his property." This passage is very clear; you can legally beat another human being to death so long as they survive a few days. What difference does it make if the slave dies within 24 hours or 48? Every time I read this passage, I think of the author who beats a slave death and fabricated a law in order to evade a death sentence himself. No matter how many ways or how vigorously believers try to defend this passage, it's just another example of YHWH's failure as the author of morality. Note that it draws no distinction between slaves and so-called indentured servants. Also note that the passage refers to a human being as "property". Another horrifying and heartbreaking example of YHWH's moral depravity is Exodus 21:2-6. In this passage, if a male slave has a wife who bears him children during his six years as a slave, the male is free to leave, but his wife and kids are forced to remain with their master. Is this a presentation of freedom? I'd like my opponent to imagine himself in such a situation where he would choose personal freedom over his loved ones. RAPE Another topic that I think my opponent would agree is heinous is rape. Try as Christians might to justify the Bible, it depicts YHWH as commanding rape and even death to rape victims. As such, I would like my opponent to justify passages like Deuteronomy 22:23-29, 21:10-14, Zechariah 14:1-2, Judges 21:10-14 and Numbers 31:7-18. INFANTICIDE Christians pride themselves for being pro-life, often scorning and humiliating pro-choice advocates. However, the god they worship commanded the ancient Israelites to kill children, infants, and even pregnant women. Hosea depicts such scenarios. In 9:13-16 we read, “Though they [Ephraim] bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left: yea, woe also to them when I depart from them… O Lord…give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts…though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb.” Hosea 13:16 says, “Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.” Numbers 31:17 says, “Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every women that hath known man by lying with him." If Pro considers himself pro-life, does he feel a sense of digust when he reads these verses, or will he justify them, insisting that these commandments are somehow moral because they are defined by God?YHWH: THE CANAANITE WAR GOD Popular belief says that YHWH is the one true God who created the universe. The truth, however, is that YHWH is worshiped by Christians today who have little to no idea that he was first worshiped as a war/storm god from the ancient Canaanite pantheon. Therefore, Christians are actually worshiping a pagan god [1][2].Moreover, though Christians believe that YHWH is not the source of evil, even if he does exist, he is guilty of creating evil by default since, if he is omniscient, then he knew that evil would enter the world as soon as he created Lucifer who supposedly fell from grace due to pride. Other horrifying passages include Deuteronomy 22:20-21, Romans 1:24-32, 2 Kings 2:23-24, Ezekiel 9:5-7, Isaiah 13:15-18, Exodus 21:15 and 22:18, and the Book of Joshua, among many others. CLOSINGContrary to my opponent’s personal beliefs, Scripture clearly indicates that YHWH is anything but a moral God. The passages I mentioned are abhorrent and should offend anyone with even an ounce of decency. So, if he truly believes that if YHWH is a moral being, I would like to ask Pro these questions: Why would a moral being give such horrible commandments to his followers? Would he be willing to obey the commandments of YHWH that include killing homosexuals (Leviticus 20:13), witches (Exodus 22:18), and children who strike their parents (Exodus 21:15)? Would he practice slavery? Would he kill a rape victim because no one could hear her call for help (Deuteronomy 22:23-24)? Does he think it's morally acceptable to beat a slave to death? If he has a daughter(s), would he sell them into sexual slavery? BIBLIOGRAPHY[1] Wikipedia. Yahweh. Retrieved February 8, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org...(Canaanite_deity)[2] Wikipedia. Canaanite religion. Retrieved February 8, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org...;