According to Sam Harris, these are the only options.
I was reading about C.S.Lewis ‘trilemma’, where he says that Jesus is either “Lunatic, Liar, or Lord”.
Critics accuse Lewis of using questionable logic, ambiguous terms and false premises.
I wonder if they also accuse Sam Harris of questionable logic, ambiguous terms and false premises.
God is either impotent, evil or imaginary… Are these the only logical options?
Or the only ones he wants to consider?
His idea of ‘choosing wisely’ seems to be, limit the options, load the deck in your favour.
So what are the other options?
Not wanting to be simplistic (like Sam Harris is), suffice it to say that there may be a lot more information needed to help us make sense of these questions.
Huge issues like: what is God, what are humans, what is reality, what are catastrophes, what is good, what is evil, why do things happen at all, is there order or meaning or purpose, what does it mean to care?
Is it possible that the God that exists is wiser and more caring than we understand or appreciate, and that what doesn’t make sense to us does make sense in the bigger picture?
I think of soldiers on the battlefield, taking order from HQ by people who see and know more than they do.
What may not make sense to the soldiers (and may cause them to question the sanity or goodness of their commanders), may make sense in light of the big maps, and the secret strategies of the enemy.
Is it possible that God knows more than us, that even catastrophes somehow fit into that bigger story?
It certainly is possible… but I doubt Sam Harris wants to include that option.
Yes Sam, take your pick, and choose wisely!
You’re asking some great questions – I always liked the bear trap analogy – where a bear caught in a trap sees a hunter coming. The hunter is actually hunting some other game, and is sympathetic to the bear’s plight, so he approaches the bear. The bear imagines this is the end – and might even lash out, when the hunter is actually going to save him. Pushing the bear’s foot into the trap is painful, and seems to be torture to the bear but is actually part of the release process. The bear experiences pain and fear, because he doesn’t understand the hunter’s intentions. If that kind of misundstanding can happen between a bear and man, imagine what can happen between us and God!