The god that Christians claim exists is NOT the god of the bible. How can that be, you might ask? Well, let’s look at the most common characterization of the Christian deity they call “god™.” Christians define their god as omniscient, omnipotent and omnibenevolent. In order for this to be the same god found in the bible, there cannot be a single line of scripture that contradicts that description. However, one needs to look no further than Genesis to find that the god Christians describe is different than the one of the bible. So, let us examine each character trait one at a time and see if the bible offers any contradictory information.
The Christian god is said to be omniscient; in other words there is nothing that this god does not know. If there is even one thing that this god does not know, then it cannot be omniscient.
Gen 3:9-10 god called to [Adam] “where are you?” “Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
In this passage, god is ignorant to Adam’s whereabouts and appears uncertain as to whether Adam actually ate from the tree. But, wait… what’s this you say? god knew Adam had eaten the apple and was merely posing the question like a parent would to a child?
Even if you want to look at the question of the apple from a parental prospective, when parents interrogate children in this manner, they do so with a good idea of what happened (a hunch or suspicion), but without absolute knowledge. The child’s response is what usually confirms initial suspicions. Unless caught red-handed (which clearly wasn’t the case with the apple) there always remains a sliver of uncertainty/doubt in these situations. With such uncertainty/doubt present, absolute knowledge (omniscience) cannot be claimed.
Gen 4:9 god to Cain: "Where is your brother Able?" Again, a question asked in ignorance or parental disbelief (as seen above).
In the story of Sodom & Gomorrah, god investigates some rumors:
Gen 18:20 Then the lord said “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so great that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me.”
The fact that the matter had to be investigated demonstrates ignorance and thus a lack of knowledge.
These are but a few of many examples that demonstrate that the god of the bible cannot be omniscient. All that is required to disprove the idea of omniscience is one example, but here we have four clear examples.
Now demonstrating that the god of the bible cannot be omniscient is enough to show that this is not the god the Christians worship. Remember that all 3 O’s are required characteristics of their deity. If one is disproven then that deity cannot exist within the bible.
Let’s take a look at omnipotence. This is the idea that there is nothing that god cannot do. It is all-powerful. In order to maintain omnipotence, there can be nothing that interrupts or otherwise interferes with god’s use of power.
Well, one feeble, incestuous, old man by the name of Lot apparently has the ability to interfere with god’s power. Again, we refer back to the story of S&G to find god ready to rain fiery doom down upon the sinful cities… but wait, what’s this? Lot is in the way and god cannot act:
Gen 19:22 “But flee from there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach [safety].”
Well, you may say that god COULD act, but simply refused to do so. That defies the scripture that says that he CANNOT act. The fact that god has to wait at all demonstrates that Lot is actually influencing god’s ability to act and thus is influencing his power. Either way, scripture clearly states that god cannot act, and if there is something that god cannot do, it cannot be omnipotent.
The third and final characteristic of the Christian god is that it is omnibenevolent. It is an all-loving god who cannot act out of anger, spite nor do anything that might be considered morally corrupt. Do I really need to cite specific passages for this one? There are too many examples of vile and disgusting behavior, including genocide, infanticide, slavery, subjugation of women, etc.
So, in examining the characteristics of the god Christians describe, we can see that this is clearly not the god of the bible. If Christians choose to equate the two (the god they describe and the god of the bible), that deity becomes a literal impossibility.
So, if it is your belief that the god of the bible is omniscient, omnipotent and omnibenevolent, then you believe in something that does NOT exist.
