The Idea of God is Tyrannical

Thank you Schopenhauer for opening this debate, looking forward to it. I must begin with some definitions I hope my opponent will find agreeable. As stated, we are defining “god” as an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent being. In layman’s terms this means a being who has unlimited power, unlimited wisdom, and is all around. I must clarify that we are not arguing about a specific god (Allah, Zeus, Yahweh…), nor are we arguing about the likelihood of a god’s existence. We are debating that if such a being as described could exist they must be a tyrant. A tyrant, as defined for this debate, is one who is cruel, arbitrary, oppressive, and unjust. My opponent therefore claims that an all-powerful, all wise, all present being must be by nature cruel, oppressive, and unjust. This claim is false. The mere presence of unlimited power and wisdom does not indicate tyranny. Surely there are many cases in history where power is misused, and we do typically call these people “tyrants.” But when unlimited power is combined WITH unlimited wisdom, tyranny is not possible. Applying power unwisely implies limited wisdom. Knowing what is right but lacking the ability to do it implies limited power. Knowing what is right and doing what is wrong is unjust. An omniscient being cannot choose what is wrong because they always know what is right, and the right decision is always the wise decision. Therefore, an omniscient being cannot be unjust. Furthermore, an all-powerful and omniscient being cannot be cruel. When we refer to “all-powerful” tyrants and dictators, we are actually referring to people who have strong but narrow powers. They cannot harvest so they steal. They cannot give life so they kill it. They force because they cannot persuade. They instill fear because they cannot instill love. They cannot be everywhere and cannot protect everyone. This is not limitless power, it is power limited to achieving certain outcomes in certain ways. Limitless power implies an ability to achieve any outcome through any method. This means an omnipotent deity has unlimited power to do both right as well as wrong, and if doing right is wise then an all-powerful and all wise being must always create correct outcomes through correct methods. Finally, an all-powerful, all wise, and ever present god cannot be labeled as cruel and unjust because those terms have no meaning beyond humanity. If we can agree that even the best and brightest humans are imperfect with limited power and limited understanding, then such a creature cannot accurately label something they can never fully understand. We define “tyranny,” “cruel,” and “unjust” based on how we understand these qualities to manifest in other humans through human understandings of justice, freedom, and kindness. These definitions do not apply to realms beyond humanity. No one can apply a complete definition to something they do not fully understand. To summarize, truly unlimited wisdom combined with unlimited power must mean unlimited good because what is wise is also good. Even if this was not the case, the argument is futile because it is impossible for creatures of limited wisdom and knowledge to accurately define what they can never fully understand.