Franky, P.E.T. and the Problem of a Good God.

This is my 1 1/2 year old Basset Hound dog. His name is Franklin J. Loftus, Franky for short. Any dog lover knows that dogs have character, and so does Franky. One thing about him is that he loves to be with us wherever we're in the house. If we get up and go somewhere he just has to follow us. He loves to touch us and to lay down beside us. He also loves to play. When he wants to play he'll start bringing in one of his toys, then another, then another into the room we're at. Before long all of his toys will be where we're at, and he demands that we play with him, so we do; one toy at a time.

One other thing about him is that he loves to please us. He likes to make us happy. When we're happy, he's happy. And this is a point I want to make about the problem of a good God.

My wife trained him to potty outside with very few mistakes by having him in a comfortable cage while we were gone. He wouldn't go in his cage. She also bought plenty of toys for him so he had enough of them to chew on so he wouldn't chew on the couch or shoes. She was great at training him. We have only had to yell at him a few times. When we did, he voluntarily went into his cage. We didn't hit him, spank him, or pluck out his eyes. We didn't burn him, bust his jaw, or break his leg. We taught him gently (for the most part), and we punished him within reason just to let him know we were not pleased. That was enough.

There is a child rearing method known as Parent Effectiveness Training (P.E.T.) that has been around for a few decades. Children are not to be spanked, but loved. Discipline is done by taking away priviledges alone. Again, no spanking (which stands in stark contrast to the Biblical injunction "spare the rod, spoil the child")! If this method is done consistently and in love these children are well adjusted youths and adults. [Just read the reviews of the revised editon of this book if you don't believe me].

If something can show the barbaric nature of the Biblical God it's my dog Franky along with P.E.T. While I reject the Garden of Eden story as myth, even if it happened, just compare how God teaches humans and compare that to how my wife taught Franky, or how parents could raise heathy children. The punishments do not have to be so draconian in scope, especially if the goal is to teach us to do better. Just God's displeasure alone could be enough. Just taking away priviledges could be enough.

Christians will respond that we cannot conceive what it's like for a Holy God to be slighted in the ways we do, and that because he is so Holy he must severely punish any indiscretion, with an everlasting Hell if needed. Well, Christians are indeed correct about this, if true. I cannot fathom having to send my kids to hell for anything, and I cannot fathom having to pluck out Franky's eyes for anything he would do wrong to teach him to obey. But that's what we see in the Bible. So the Bible provides me a reason to reject it along with the God described in its pages.

No loving parent would punish her children like the way God does in the Bible, and no good dog owner would train her dog like God purportedly trains us. It does not make any sense at all, even supposing God is Holy. For if God is so damn Holy, then he also knew he would have to punish us if we slighted him in the ways we do. And if that's the case he should never have created us in the first place, because he apparently has a problem with understanding finite creatures like us!

Even if God created us anyway, then he should be at least omniscient enough to know our sins for what they are on our level. We simply do not intend to commit an infinte sin against such a God! It's impossible for us to do. If God is to properly judge us and he knows our inner motivations, then he should see sin for what it is to us, and then teach us to do better. Any parent or dog owner would. We do not expect Franky to obey like a responsible adult, for instance. We judge him based on what he is expected to do as a dog, and good parents of children do likewise. We humans do the best we can with what we've got. We need help. We need trained. We don't need the severe punishments God purportedly sends us. Since an omniscient God should know what to expect from us just like we only expect Franky to behave on his level of understanding, it seems we're smarter than God!

Can any Christian make sense of how God purportedly treats us when compared to how my wife trained Franky, or how any loving parent could train her children? I'd rather be treated like a dog in my wife's house than a human being in God's world! My wife is better than God!