Why is God not held to the same moral standard that man is?

[Cieza]

If God knows the future, can do anything, cares about us all and loves us all (as Christians say), then why didn't he alert the folks of Haiti that there would be a massive earthquake which would kill some 200,000 people and destroy their largest city? Perhaps he could have saved thousands of lives and averted the pain and suffering a lot of loved ones had to go through?

If you were standing on a bluff 200 feet above the ocean, you knew a tsunami was coming in and saw some people on the beach, it would be your moral obligation to alert those people below that a tsunami was on it's way and would kill them if they didn't get to higher ground.

Yet God is not expected to alert the folks of Haiti that a deadly earthquake is about to occur? Seems like God doesn't follow the same moral standard that we are expected to follow.

 

[Davian]

Should you not be posting in the Exploring Christianity forum?

 

[Cieza]

Should you not be posting in the Exploring Christianity[/URL] forum?

Feel free to have the moderators move it there if you feel that is a more appropriate place for it.

 

[Davian]

Feel free to have the moderators move it there if you feel that is a more appropriate place for it.

It's up to you, as only you know what you are trying to find.

I do have a short answer for all of your questions above:

...because he is just a character in a book.

 

[AlexBP]

God is not held to the same moral standard as humans are because God is not merely a human being, but instead exists on a level far above the level of human beings. Christians believe, centrally, first that God created the universe and everything in it, including humanity. We believe second that humanity chose sinfulness. We believe third that as a result of human sinfulness, God chose to separate this world of His creation some distance from himself. We believe fourth that God has appeared on earth in the person of Jesus Christ to be the savior of humanity and to open the possibility for ourselves to eventually be reunited with God, via the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ were the ultimate revelation of God's desire and purpose to humankind. We treat the free offer of salvation as a gift. Any other intrusions by God into human history through the Holy Spirit are additional gifts and should be treated as such. When one receives a gift, one does not generally abuse the gift-giver for not giving even more gifts.

It is worth noting that, at least according to some, God has repeatedly warned humanity about dangers such as communism, fascism, and environmental destruction, and that humanity generally hasn't listened.

 

[Nooj]

God is held to the same moral standard that man is. By you. You made this thread didn't you?

Who cares what Christians think. Seriously. Just live and let live.

 

[Ken-1122]

It has been my experience that theists do hold Gods to the same moral standard as humans; they just don’t hold their OWN God to such standards. I’ve seen Christians (for example) who can be just as critical of the claims of Allah, Vinishu, (and a plethora of other gods they don’t recognize) as I am but when it comes to their own God they make up excuses, and the same for other theists. Muslims can pick apart all others except their own (to include the Christian God) Hindu’s doing the same etc.
Why don’t they use the same standard of morality for their God as they do others? Probably because they are afraid they will wind up like me (LOL)

Ken

 

[The Paul]

God is not held to the same moral standard as humans are because God is not merely a human being, but instead exists on a level far above the level of human beings. Christians believe, centrally, first that God created the universe and everything in it, including humanity. We believe second that humanity chose sinfulness. We believe third that as a result of human sinfulness, God chose to separate this world of His creation some distance from himself. We believe fourth that God has appeared on earth in the person of Jesus Christ to be the savior of humanity and to open the possibility for ourselves to eventually be reunited with God, via the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ were the ultimate revelation of God's desire and purpose to humankind. We treat the free offer of salvation as a gift. Any other intrusions by God into human history through the Holy Spirit are additional gifts and should be treated as such. When one receives a gift, one does not generally abuse the gift-giver for not giving even more gifts.

It is worth noting that, at least according to some, God has repeatedly warned humanity about dangers such as communism, fascism, and environmental destruction, and that humanity generally hasn't listened.

Ha, "cause they deserved it."

But of course that doesn't answer the question. If I stood on a cliff and watched an approaching tsunami, did nothing to warn anyone, but explained later there were a lot of people down there I didn't really care for...

...well we wouldn't say, "Oh, you didn't like the thousands of people you allowed to die very much. I guess you're the pinnacle of morality."

 

[AlexBP]

...well we wouldn't say, "Oh, you didn't like the thousands of people you allowed to die very much. I guess you're the pinnacle of morality."

Nobody says to God "Oh, you didn't like the thousands of people you allowed to die very much. I guess you're the pinnacle of morality."

 

[Cuddles333]

If God knows the future, can do anything, cares about us all and loves us all (as Christians say), then why didn't he alert the folks of Haiti that there would be a massive earthquake which would kill some 200,000 people and destroy their largest city? Perhaps he could have saved thousands of lives and averted the pain and suffering a lot of loved ones had to go through?

If you were standing on a bluff 200 feet above the ocean, you knew a tsunami was coming in and saw some people on the beach, it would be your moral obligation to alert those people below that a tsunami was on it's way and would kill them if they didn't get to higher ground.

Yet God is not expected to alert the folks of Haiti that a deadly earthquake is about to occur? Seems like God doesn't follow the same moral standard that we are expected to follow.

God did give us a way to know if a natural disaster was about to occur. He gave us animals and the ability to read the weather around us. Before every tsunami, the animals will be trying to get as far away from the ocean as possible. People instead tend to want to let technology detect the problem. Before an earthquake, it is the animals that sound the warning. If your dog starts going crazy, like trying to break down the door to get out and it's the middle of the night, beware. Many people, such as the older farmers, have learned to read the weather and can tell that a terrible storm is coming.

God has not left us defenseless when it comes to natural disasters.

 

[The Paul]

God did give us a way to know if a natural disaster was about to occur. He gave us animals and the ability to read the weather around us. Before every tsunami, the animals will be trying to get as far away from the ocean as possible. People instead tend to want to let technology detect the problem. Before an earthquake, it is the animals that sound the warning. If your dog starts going crazy, like trying to break down the door to get out and it's the middle of the night, beware. Many people, such as the older farmers, have learned to read the weather and can tell that a terrible storm is coming.

God has not left us defenseless when it comes to natural disasters.

Ah, spoken like someone who doesn't keep pets.

 

[Neochristian]

Because to the pure all things are pure and God is the Most Pure.