Murderous Gods and Abusive Lovers

I would like to draw some parallels between how God treats his loyal servant, Job, and the way an abusive man treats his partner. It continues to amaze me that Jews and Christians truly believe that God is all loving yet still torments and sadistically tortures mankind. According to the Church, God has that right - God is the Supreme Being. This behavior - torture, torment, rape, murder, infanticide etc. comes from an infallible God. Thus, God's actions are infallible. Why then, do we get so upset when we hear about a woman being raped, beaten or murdered by her partner? God did these very things to thousands of people in the Bible. In many of the Biblical tales God "tested the faith" of his followers by punishing them and, in the end, these followers developed a greater love and understanding of God. Was God just testing Sharon Rocha's faith when he allowed Scott Peterson (or maybe God ordered the Devil to make Scott strangle his 8 months pregnant wife, bing her, tie her feet to cement blocks, and dump her lifeless body in the bay) murder her and her unborn baby? If we are to believe the Bible, then God purposely killed Laci and Connor to test the allegiance of Laci's family. Wow, that sounds like a loving God, doesn't it?

The book of Job is a long story designed to explain the existence of evil and suffering in the world. It falls short. This is it in a nutshell:

Job was a very wealthy man with several children who had families. Job owned livestock, property, and trading companies. On a bet with God, Satan arranged for Job's children and their families to be killed, his livestock stolen and his caravans robbed. Job lost everything he had except his own life. Pressing the bet even more, Satan afflicted Job with a terrible skin disease. Despite these catastrophes, Job did not curse God, even though his own wife urged him to do so. In fact, Job tore his robes as a sign of Grief and due to his immense faith in the Lord he lay down before God worshipped the Creator.

Notice how similar God's actions are to those of an abusive partner:

Abusive individuals need to feel in charge of the relationship. They will make decisions for you and the family, tell you what to do, and expect you to obey without question. Your abuser may treat you like a servant, child, or even as his possession.

Abusers commonly use threats to keep their victims from leaving or to scare them into dropping charges. Your abuser may threaten to hurt or kill you, your children, other family members, or even pets.

The abuser lashes out with aggressive or violent behavior. The abuse is a power play designed to show the victim "who is boss."

Abusers are very good at making excuses for the inexcusable. (Not only does this sound like God but also, the Church's explanations for suffering). They will blame their abusive and violent behavior on a bad childhood, a bad day, and even on the victims of their abuse. (Doesn't God blame evil on Satan??)

The abuser sets up the victim and puts his plan in motion, creating a situation where he can justify abusing her. (How many times in the Bible - OT and NT-does God set people up to be hurt and tortured??)

To be blunt: I fail to see how anyone capable of average cognitive functioning and of sound mind could worship a God who willingly tortures and torments his followers.

-END OF RANT-

Omnipotent & Omnibenevolent-Harold Kushner

Over the past year I have been trying to come to terms with the fact that the Judeo-Christian God does not exist. I have a problem with the entire foundation upon which Christianity (and to some extent, Judaism) is built. I could go on for days but this post concerns the Judeo-Christian belief that God is all-knowing, all-powerful and all-good. Any man with a brain in his skull has undoubtedly asked the question "How can this be?" If God possesses the aforementioned characteristics then why is there such suffering and pain in the world?

http://www.time.com/time/2001/aidsinafrica/ How can an all-loving God, who COULD cure AIDS, stand back and watch these people die?

Many a theologian has tried to explain and make sense of this problem. Harold Kushner simply decided that since he wanted to believe in God he had to make a choice. Kushner is a Jewish Rabbi who desperately wanted to hold onto his faith yet could not reconcile how an all-loving and all-powerful God could let such atrocities befall his people. Kushner decided that God could be either all-powerful OR all-good. Since he wanted to believe in a God that was good and just, he decided that God was all-good but not all-powerful. Sadly he made a critical error in logic when he decided he could just pick and choose the characteristics of the Judeo-Christian God. Kushner made the first step - but he stopped there. Let's assume he is correct: God is all-loving but not all-powerful. If we agree that perfection = omniscience, omnipotence and omnibenevolence, then by using deductive reasoning, we can state with certainty that Kushner's God is an imperfect God. If God is not perfect how can we know which of his commandments we SHOULD follow? How can we know what is true and just if some of what God does is wrong? Imperfection begets mistakes! Furthermore, how could a God who is powerful enough to create human genomes, cellular mitosis, DNA, recessive genes and the complex art of reproduction NOT be able to cure a disease such as AIDS? It doesn't add up. Kushner made excuses for God because he desperately needed to cling to his faith.

For over a year I have grappled with the same issue and have tried to make sense of it. I cannot. I cannot believe in a Judeo-Christian God because such a God cannot exist.