The Problem of Evil: The Free Will Defence (Arguments For God Episode #1)

[@paulburt4167]

I'm mad that you're like 15 and can explain these arguments so much more eloquently than I can.

[@acupanraphaelgio7925]

He's 15?! I thought he was 18?!

[@aa-to6ws]

@@acupanraphaelgio7925 Well... He is now lol.

[@acupanraphaelgio7925]

@@aa-to6ws That's crazy

[@deepyaa3392]

@@acupanraphaelgio7925 hes 21 now and at the time of the video he was 17 or 18

[@AdamSmith75th]

@@Cecilia-ky3uw ...you alright pal?

[@IsomerMashups]

Before watching your response: An all-powerful god could eliminate evil _without_ disrupting free will. If not, we have found something they cannot do. Thus, they are not all-powerful. Game over. After watching it: Ha! My response is simpler and equally valid (because thinking is hard for some people). :D

[@IsomerMashups]

***** ...what? "He lets evil happen out of love." That makes about as much sense as "I drank some milk because my fish can't breathe oxygen." In any case, there's a clear difference between "a struggle" and "being sold as a sex slave" or "starving to death with no hope of survival."

[@IsomerMashups]

***** Okay, then. That being said, if there was a god, they could have made us enjoy perfection.

[@IsomerMashups]

***** Of course it wouldn't be possible in reality, however an omnipotent being could do it.

[@IsomerMashups]

***** Yes. I'm explaining how it would theoretically work.

[@IsomerMashups]

***** What are you even arguing about? I'm an atheist and I'm pointing out that a god can never be omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent.

[@daltonthompson6870]

Hay cosmic. If it means anything I think this is a wonderful idea for a series. Having a play list of debunked Christan arguments will be very useful.

[@daltonthompson6870]

I like your picture thingy lol

[@jeannemoore9843]

I second this motion!

[@Bingbangboompowwham]

KZbin search The Atheist Experience, a radio call-in show. It serves as a sort of play book of theistic arguments and counterarguments and if you enjoy watching reasonable people occasionally lose their minds trying to communicate with less-than-reasonable people, it's a lot of fun.

[@Yooooooooo77]

You people should watch Logicked, EazyOnMe, AronRa, ArmouredSkeptic and more people in the community...

[@AaronWilkerson]

Theron Guard: I can't look too highly on recommendations for White Nationalist misogynists. Aron Ra? Sure. But EazyOnMe?

[@Swished]

Liking the new quality!

[@CosmicSkeptic]

[@73chenj]

Fascinating. I was just about to say I don't like the new quality. Different opinions I guess.

[@Swished]

How come?

[@73chenj]

It's a lot darker and less clear.

[@ryanharleston1941]

CosmicSkeptic what happened to all the content on this channel and on casualalex they were really good and now they are gone why?

[@CosmicSkeptic]

Did you hear about Pastor Tony Perkins who once claimed that floods were sent by God as a result of homosexuality, whose house was later flooded leaving him stranded in a canoe? www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/christian-home-destroyed-flood-tony-perkins-natural-disasters-gods-punishment-homosexuality-a7196786.html

[@WAKEISLAND99]

CosmicSkeptic Daddy your intellect turns me on

[@NarwhalNuke]

CosmicSkeptic He'll surely turn a blind eye, just so he can uphold his biased point of view. Good video, I recently just found your videos and I love how you address theists.

[@ByzantineBob96]

#ThanksPoseidon

[@Arrakiz666]

"Me thinks that the Lady doth protests too much".

[@TurtleFul]

So either he is Gay or a hypocrite.. nice.

[@burnttoast111]

Biblical "good" and "evil" is really "obedience to God" and "disobedience to God". I can't remember who said it, but I recently came across the idea that free will was this thing God gave humans, and demands them to never use. Theologically speaking, in Christianity, free will only exists to condemn people to hell.

[@danasmith1165]

Burnt Toast not true. You know God gave you free will cause you are exercising it now. You are choosing separation from God. I choose God. You can too but you love your sin too much. Why love evil ?

[@rjonesx]

Thank you for your post. You are correct that "obedience to God" is the definition of moral behavior (we would say conforming to God's Will). But that in no way says "theologically speaking, in Christianity, free will only exists to condemn people to hell." Free Will has given us so much. We are creative beings producing art and music and architecture. We are loving beings that choose to do things above and beyond our moral duties (like self-sacrifice). Without Free Will, we are just puppets.

[@kevinlitton1399]

Dana Smith you just proved that statement correct. Choosing separation equals using free will to be condemned. You are not using this free will, and are therefore not condemned. Although i would be interested in hearing how an omnipotent, omniscient creator could allow free will, while at the same time knowing every possible outcome and knowing precisely how to bring about every possible outcome.

[@anna-flora999]

@@rjonesx "without free will, we are just puppets" Which is exactly what God wanted us to be

[@TheNinthGeneration1]

Dana Smith what I love is irrelevant, what I accept is based on evidence and experimentation, if god is omniscient, he knows what would convince me, if he is omnipotent he would have the power to show me that evidence, if he is omnibenevolent he would have shown it to me in the 18 years I was a Christian and especially in the last 5 when I was slowly losing my faith and terrified of losing faith and praying for god to help me and save me from my thoughts of doubt, but even after the last year of my faith I kept praying for another 7 years because I didn’t know how to continue without faith, until eventually I decided that I wasn’t going to get an answer from him so why not just make my own meaning and I decided “why not try and make the world as good of a world as possible” and that’s what I’ve been doing for the last 4 years of my life trying to rediscover god or simply make the world as good as it can get

[@raquanwilliams5572]

I am a new subscriber to your channel, and I must say your content is SUPERB. You articulate your points concisely, clearly and respectfully. I was shocked to learn that you were 17, because most 17 year olds I know are nowhere near as intelligent and level headed as you. I'm 19, however I would be unable to put forth such comprehensive content. Keep up the good work m8. SPREAD THE GOOD WORD OF CRITICAL THINKING🙌🙌🙌^_^

[@BertGrink]

RaQuan Williams I were as surprised as you, when i learned his age a few weeks ago. This "kid" - although he is more mature than many so-called grown-ups, is one of the smartest youtubers i have yet seen, and as you point out, also totally respectful. We need more of his kind in the world.

[@gotdamn_tarantino]

Your content is always spot-on. I sincerely hope you reach 100,000 subscribers or more this year.

[@BertGrink]

The number is currently around 127.000, or over 1/8th of a million.

[@sullivanmanning4743]

Can you do the watchmaker argument? I know it's been debunked a bunch, I just want to hear it from you because you are very articulate and nail down what you are trying to say. I really love your channel and can't wait to watch it grow! I would love to see more videos like this. Thank you so much!!!

[@CosmicSkeptic]

That's definitely one that I'm going to so! I've actually already touched on it before though, in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJavi2ynorCCf6s

[@darinb.3273]

@@CosmicSkeptic Reply for a video you did 5 something years ago, there's an answer tou didn't give/consider. That is free will 100% exist in Heaven with ZERO DESIRE to entertain thoughts of evil. The same idea of people who decide NOT to take another life, as your analogy of a murderer. If you seek the truth you will find the truth. Happy New Year (2022).

[@ratoh1710]

@@darinb.3273 Two objections to this one. First, removing desire could be seen as inhibiting free will, as you would no longer be free to desire evil. Second, if that is possible without infringing upon free will, why is it not the case on earth as well?

[@darinb.3273]

@@ratoh1710 You can sure object, so I'll ask were you free to object or were you forced to do so? Were you a completely free agent to reply to me as well? Just as I'm free to choose in replying to you now I could have just as easily decided to not to reply and its absolutely amazing I chose the words in my reply too. Just as you chose the words you wanted as well. Now you can choose what to think of my response to your objections.

[@ratoh1710]

@@darinb.3273 Firstly, not an answer to my objection. You basically just said that I had free will, which is completely irrelevant. Secondly, I don't know if free will exists or if we are in a purely deterministic universe, and I don't think we have any way of knowing.

[@BabiesTasteOfChicken]

I'm always a fan of watching intelligent and articulate rebuttals of theistic arguments. Including this one.

[@DominiqueKooper666]

here's a fun video idea: try to prove religion right. try to prove that a god exists. try your absolute hardest to find anything that makes sense and can be right; which is how most people become atheists, and this would be very entertaining to see in my humble opinion. if anyone agrees with this idea, could you give my comment a thumbs up so it'll go to the top? thanks :)

[@micahhenley589]

+Dominique kooper Hi, He can prove that God exists. In fact he already knows God is real. He is smart. But if he, along with every other human, admits to God then he would be exposed for his evil. It would be like shining a bright light in a dark room with rats.The rats run from the light because they do not want to be exposed. Jesus is the only Light and He wants people to follow the light so they do not go into darkness(evil). When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."John 8:12 Also some of ComicSkeptic video thumbnails have an old man on them. That is not God it is just a drawing of an old man.

[@SerahValentine]

I'm pretty sure the guy just doesn't believe in god. If he's smart he wouldn't waste days of his life creating these videos. A lot goes into videos, more than people would think, a smart person just wouldn't waste their time like that. So simply, what he says in his videos is what he sincerely believes.

[@Tylerthety]

I have been losing my faith as a result of this very activity. I tried as hard as I could to find evidence for God's existence and for the divine inspiration of the Bible, but to no avail.

[@jakedcruz7057]

It is probably better to try to disprove that there is no God

[@azuregriffin1116]

Godzilla John yes, but in order for this to be valid, you must first show the bible as true.

[@reshii231]

*in hell, after satan throws me into a blazing fire* "thanks, satan"

[@Adenisbestwrestler]

You're probably one of my favorite youtubers right now. Thanks for being great Alex!

[@v2ike6udik]

"Someone once asked William James if he believed in free will. He said, 'Of course, what choice do I have?'” Extra nice when played by Hugh Laurie.

[@konyvnyelv.]

Extra extra nice when played by Christopher Hitchens

[@joeysteffanelli8502]

Alex!! You're channel is getting HUGE!!! Well done man!

[@ericthecartrider6651]

At first I thought the title said "The Free Wii U Defense".

[@Salih_Swag]

the new camera is doing it's job, great quality. and yeah please make this a series! i would love to see a playlist full of these where you debunk the religious excuses for such things. make it happen Alex :)

[@mohammedfahadnyc1385]

“I have free will. I didn’t choose it, I couldn’t but to have it. Therefore, I don’t have a free will.”

[@anchorthesun3438]

Except you have free will to choose quite literally every action you take , you have proved nothing

[@mohammedfahadnyc1385]

@@anchorthesun3438 i feel sorry that you have comprehension skills of a toddler. My deep apologies for you.

[@trrblv3]

I just discovered your channel and now I'm binge watching.

[@bunbun007]

It's so refreshing to see someone my age that can form a competent counter argument and consistently keep cool calm and collected whilst tackling topics that can often require a lot of maturity and knowledge. I aspire to be more like you!

[@eXemptCallum]

How did you not acknowledge your explosion in subscribers?! Subscribed to you about 10 days ago Alex and the amount you've grown is crazy! Love the vids, keep it up!

[@Chew1964]

The god of the Bible can override free will. As god said in Exodus 7:3 he hardened pharaoh's heart. So god can suspend humans from behaving according to their free will and therefore stop people from committing evil acts. But for some reason he hasn't bothered to employ this ability a single time in last ~3500 years?

[@alltheworldsastage4785]

Chew Bird, That's not what the scripture is saying.

[@viktor7536]

Fun fact: he hardened pharaoh's heart, and then punished him for having a hardened heart. God logic.

[@matthewwynn3207]

Viktor Balan do your research before you make illogical claims

[@metalhead0274]

Actually the pharoah example was not the only example of thos god deity violating free will. There are several other examples in biblical old testement scriptural texts. Those of you who are denying this or refuting it..your just in denial.. It is exacywhat these texts say... Word for word it tells where this god co.mitted an act that MADE whatever person..this case the pharoah .. To do a certain thing and action. Go read the texts..go read the bible.. It litterally says god caused...even in mew testement it prophesies that this god will defy human "free will". Your misunderstanding and or lack of education in the bible or scripture does not make others wrong.. The factyou speak out without any such studying or befor studied knowledge just makes you ignorant.

[@liamrodriguez4265]

Actually, if you fo your own research, it was originally pharaoh that hardened his own heart. After that, it was God's miracles that caused him to harden his heart. Sinfull people run from God the same way a theif runs from the police.

[@toastysauze]

I recently found this channel, and I'm absolutely loving it! Science is one of my favourite things in life, and I've always thought Christianity (and religion in general) are a little bit stupid.This is definately one of my favourite channels on KZbin, keep up the great work, man!

[@PhoenixMarco5]

Toasty You do realize that Christianity is largely responsible for the rise of modern science right?

[@johnhammond6423]

Prosper Bakiny _'You do realize that Christianity is largely responsible for the rise of modern science right?'_ Before Darwin most scientists were also theists that's all? It was the only game in town back then. Now most scientists know better.

[@mullm5375]

Prosper Bakiny No it wasn't. Religion has absolutely nothing to do with science, or any discoveries ever made. The fact that someone makes a scientific discovery, doesn't mean they get to claim the win for their particular religion.

[@PhoenixMarco5]

That isn't exactly true. Modern science was born in the Christian west. There were other civilizations at the time (with different metaphysical beliefs), and the west was not particularly more advanced than these other civilizations. But it is in the west that modern science was born, and that fact alone is suggestive. The history books tell us that it is not merely a coincidence. The Christian worldview provides the necessary assumptions for science to be done, and that's what what fueled the rise of modern science; that's a fact!

[@PhoenixMarco5]

Like I told the other guy, modern science was born in the Christian west because the Christian faith provides the necessary assumptions for science to be done. Assumptions that may be obvious to us today, but that are not prima facie self-evident. Christianity is largely responsible for the rise of modern science.

[@цветок-ш7п]

God created Adam and Eve as perfect without sin. They were in his image and they didn't know what "sin" was, thus by limiting their awareness and moral compass they were essentially slaves without free will. They were put on Earth to worship him and fellowship with him when he came down to Eden from Heaven. Worship slaves. That's what humans were. It was only when they ate if the fruit that they could _choose_ that they wanted to sin. But then again, we run into a problem. Eve "sinned" by eating the fruit of good and evil, because eating the fruit was evil, but how was she supposed to know that if she didn't know what evil was since she hadn't eaten the fruit of good and evil? Second question: Would you create a murderer, a theif and oppressor, allow them to go into your home and wreak havoc on your own child? I wouldn't. God would. In the story of Job, God "tests" Job by allowing the Devil to ruin his entire life. This is somewhat similar to how some Christians view catastrophes on Earth, alongside the theory of it being due to humanity's own sins. My mother used to "protect" us from the devil through prayers at night. And it got me thinking: If he's a threat to God's children why does he exist? Do angel have free will? I thought they were servants of God, but it seemed Lucifer had enough to challenge God and be cast down to Earth. Upon reaching there he tempted God's own children and God punished his children by banishing them, for listening to the snake that he created... Hm... God knows all things and all our lives are predestined by him. If this were not true, he would not be omniscient and thus would not be God. He knew what his potential creation Lucifer would amount to, so why not just _not_ create Lucifer? It's not like he's aborting a baby that's already been born, if he knows the effects of him letting Lucifer live, just make Lucifer cease to exist before he even exists. After all, he is the creator of this universe. This was not a mistake. This was not a test. He knew that Lucifer was going to hurt his own children, yet allowed Lucifer to exist, yet allowed him to interact with his own children, yet allowed him to sway his children. And then who does he punish for creating Lucifer? His own children. Idc what anyone says. If you bring in omniscience into the logical question then it will be treated differently. It's as if I place a radiator in my baby's crib, wait for him to touch it and cry - and EVEN THOUGH I KNEW that it would hurt him, I don't do anything. He knew and he let Lucifer exist. That in itself shows the complete opposite of benevolence. God is supposed to be the master of the Universe. He controls everything. By effectively giving an evil entity which hates you dominion over your own children and creation, you are not showing free will, you are CREATING the evil temptation to exist, therefore creating the evil. How stupid. This sounds like modern day life. God made the Devil. God allowed the Devil to persuade his children. God's children lose faith. God puts them in hell for being persuaded by his own product which he willfully created and allowed to exist. Is this a fucking game? Lol I always used to be told that doing nothing makes you part of the problem. Standing by as someone gets hurt on the street and not doing anything to help makes you a part of the problem. Even if you don't want to admit the contradictions in the creation story and would wish to see God as an innocent bystander - as the Almighty ruler and creator of everything in the Universe, including the devil, he is very much still accountable for his lack of giving a bloody shit. Lmao.

[@margaretbarrett7469]

Faith I know this is very late - but excellent logic

[@Merializer]

Adam and eve were not slaves, they were free to do what they wanted, they could eat from whatever tree they wanted, sleep wherever they wanted, build whatever they wanted. is that slavery ? God warned not to eat that fruit, that they would die, so eve knew before she ate. Would you eat from something if your father tells you it will get you killed, but a stranger tells you it won't ? God allowed it to happen, but he didn't cause it. God currently allows evil in this world, but people forget the bible mentions it is not forever, he promised to make things right, forever, never again will it be like this. He created Lucifer, in the beginning Satan was Lucifer (“morning star”) only later he became evil and Satan (“adversary”). He was not evil when created. it was not yet proven that Satan was wrong, he could have killed Satan instantly but then the other angels could still have doubted if God was right to do so. Hence what is happening now. Before they just ate from the fruit, nothing much was proven. But now history has proven that Satan etc were wrong and their choices cause all suffering, and now it will soon end. Revelation 21:3:4 "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” So he does care.

[@duckietheduck]

@@Merializer yes but they still did not know what morality or sin was, they may have been created with free will but you cannot choose to sin if you don't even know sin exists.

[@Merializer]

​@@duckietheduck One definition of sin is: "transgression of the law of God". www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sin

[@lucofparis4819]

@@Merializer This whole "not yet proven" narrative you're constructing is contradictory to the omniscience of God. Further, if God decided to let other angels witness Lucifer's transgression before punishing him, then it means it was a show of force in order to keep them in the ranks, plain and simple. This behaviour is contradictory to what an omnipotent God would do, as all he would have to do was either know Lucifer's turn before creating him, and choosing not to, or "fix" him after the fact... Or just share his knowledge of Lucifer's evil choice with other angels. Now, on top of his poor handling of Lucifer, God made things even worse by sending him down to Earth instead of any other planet, _and_ let him free, _and_ let Eden open to him, _and_ did not prevent Lucifer from deceiving Eve, even though it was clear interference and yet another disobedience and crime from him. Not contempt with letting all that happened, God never allowed Adam and Eve to know that infringing upon his one commandment was bad, since he deprived them from that very knowledge. Not knowing that, Eve wasn't prepared to Lucifer's deception either, since she would have no clue what a lie even is. Finally, God never told Adam and Eve about Lucifer, or the rest of his angels and Creation fro that matter. From all that, and given his supposed omnipotence and omniscience, we can infer that God has knowingly put Adam and Eve in the path to sin and evil, which is contradictory to his supposed omnibelevolence. In fact, Genesis makes it very clear from the get go that God is, in fact, neither of those three. He needed time to create, and rest after that, thus wasn't omnipotent. He wasn't willing to handle Lucifer without creating the cycle of evilness, thus wasn't omnibelevolent. He decided that humans would have free will, which couldn't be the case if everything was knowable, thus God can't possibly be omniscient, at the very least out of his own volition regarding his creation. The Problem of Evil, and everything circling around it is definitely one of the least compelling arguments for God's inexistence as the being described by Christianity and Judaism.

[@NatNatey]

I also like the "Does God have free will?" line of thought when it comes to this question. If God does not have free will, then he can't be said to be all powerful because he is governed by an authority to do and say certain things without the option of not doing them. If God does have free will, and is perfect, why can't humans have free will and be perfect? I had people tell me that it's God's nature to be perfect, and human nature to sin. But why give us such nature? Why make us in his image, and make us imperfect? Why give Eve a nature that would have her believe the snake? Why give Adam a nature that would have him follow in Eve's footsteps? Could an allpowerful, allknowing, omnibenevolent being not make it possible for us to never want to sin? I know that I would buy chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla ice cream because I never want vanilla ice cream, but I still have the choice of buying the vanilla ice cream. Thus, my desire does not interfere with my free will and how I use it. And if that isn't good enough, why can't a perfect being find a perfect way of doing things? Of course, you have the issue of God messing with free will multiple times. Abimelech not touching Sarah, hardening pharaohs heart, giving people hearts that would follow God (thinking of Jeremiah 24:7 atm, but there's others), and there's definitely more. And people claim God intervenes in their lives all the time, either as result of prayer or their "close relationship" with him. How is that exempt from the problem of free will?

[@notan_alien881]

Nat if god is omnipotent then he would already know what he’s going to end up doing, i think

[@therealgospelofchrist6823]

The answer to the problem of free will is that it doesn't exist. Humans have a will but it isn't free and if anyone wants to argue against that I'd like to know what our choices are free from?

[@therealgospelofchrist6823]

@@louisdrouard9211 God plays no role in what?

[@lanazak773]

Excellent comment, I agree, thank you! Best argument I've seen/heard so far on youtube.

[@brettvv7475]

This is the third time through your videos which is not a common thing for me (sometimes twice at the most). I know you've read it a million times and I also know age has little to do with ability or intelligence, but I do find myself surprised that you are so young and producing such quality content. I hope you keep this up.

[@Shorey]

Your growing so fast. keep up the good work!

[@temtemtemtemtemtem]

You're*

[@maccekeychain]

Cute, English, intelligently debating atheistic ideas, and denouncing religious hypocrisy... truly the man for me

[@lepidlover0557]

@Super Franky Maybe she's doing it for herself. Dang , not everything a woman does is to impress a man, and same thing goes for men.

[@joseloredo2083]

I just want to say i’m amazed with how good you made your video. You’ve definitely helped alot of people out whether you realize it or not so thank you for your work

[@EJ-bn3tc]

Honestly this is my new favorite channel, I feel like he says all of what I'm thinking but in a much more articulate way

[@DonarKanal]

I really liked your Bible studies. Is another episode comming soon?

[@realtedbear]

*study

[@DonarKanal]

I wanted to write studies. We have one episode out, but still the name has "studies" in it.

[@cosmicslice7267]

Yes - I too miss Atheist Al, my secular pal :-)

[@DonarKanal]

thanks for a tip

[@kneevalienor4337]

Really liked this video, recently found your channel and love it

[@azurevv7855]

Yay new video 😃😃

[@KD-yu8jw]

Yes! I would love to see more content like this. Thank you, CosmicSkeptic!

[@chairmanmeow3390]

Please keep making videos, please just keep making them. You have no idea how greatly you have helped me on the path to atheism. It can feel overwhelming to be an atheist in a predominantly theistic world. However, with every video of yours that I watch, I can feel assured that I am not alone. Thank you very much!

[@Jaime-vs4eo]

what if we assume that, because all people who go to heaven are wholly virtuous, there wouldnt be any evil simply because the "citizens" of heaven wouldnt *want* to harm anyone? not a Christian btw, just exploring the concept

[@lauraj8429]

I'm not a christian either and this is what I thought too - this is what theists would argue. Which is annoying so I'm trying to think of a counter-argument....

[@JohnSmith-xf1zu]

Also, another question I've been asking along the lines of this free will argument. If we "flawed, sinful" humans are moral enough to realize there should be exceptions or violations to free will sometimes, like intervening in things like rape and murder, why isn't God? Imagine if you were walking down the street, and saw someone being raped. You have the _guaranteed_ power to stop the rape, with a gun, your huge muscles, or body guards. Do you... a) Intervene and stop it, violating the free will of the assailant. b) Stand around and _maybe_ report the rapist to the authorities later. I know which one, I would pick, and I know which one God supposedly picks.

[@jimsstuff2201]

In these types of discussions concerning the behavior of a god, the one thing that strikes me is the argument has gone beyond the evidence of a god existing and for some reason assumes the god is out there somewhere, handing down laws and making things more difficult than need be. An analogy would be that I would not bother debating the physical appearance of extraterrestrials as though they existed until I knew that they existed. The other thing that comes to mind is all of this talk about a theoretical philosophy of a god is a philosophy that comes from a human perspective, with the worldly restrictions known to mankind. Why can't god make an environment of fun and enjoyment without any suffering whatsoever? If you think that might be boring, well you are thinking in worldly terms. Use your imagination. Boredom could simply be an emotion that god never concocted.

[@waltermiller1480]

I have been checking your channel very often for a new video. I am pleased.

[@donovanclerk2418]

Love these videos, it's amazing to me to see such a young person fighting for rationality and helping educate people.

[@andresvillarreal9271]

My problem with the Abrahamic religions is that we were perfect, and yet we, or should I say Adam and Eve, fell for the simplest trick in the book. Yet, God was angry, which means he did not expect it. If I have a dog and I know he will destroy my sofa, the only two halfway intelligent things to do are avoid the problem by getting rid of the dog or the sofa or something in those lines, or accept that the destruction is inevitable. Either way, I cannot be angry because I know the consequences of my actions, and I am not even a God. But God was angry. He condemned his creations to eventual death, the need to kill animals to survive, the loss of Paradise and so much more. By getting angry he showed he is not much more intelligent or omniscient than any human being. And he got angry so many times...

[@warwickthekingmaker7281]

Yes, sin doesn´t imply punishment for the sake of punishment which is exactly what god does. inflicting evil to combat evil could work ut in utilitaristic equations but inflicting evil because somebody else inflicted evil is a complete nonsequitur. Just because Adam and Eve commited sin doesn´t mean God commits good actions when he creates natural catastrophes. Because by definition, an act of evil cannot be good unless it decreases the amount of evil in the world, or is aimed at decreasing the evil of the world, or is never ok depending on the theory. The only solution out of this is that the atrocities commited by god aren´t in fact evil at all and that murdering is moral. I don´t think I nee to point out how counter inuitive that is to the theist stance.

[@margaretbarrett7469]

God really should have taken an “anger management “ course before he set the ball rolling

[@danasmith1165]

L you are doing the same thing now that Adam and Eve did. You are rebelling against a perfect God.

[@margaretbarrett7469]

Dana Smith A perfect god would not have made such a cock up of creation

[@Merializer]

​@@user-lw5zt6ie9e I can't remember if the bible mentions free will, but God did warn them not to eat from that fruit, that they would die if they would. So if you have free will, you can do a lot, so many things, just that one thing you can't, is that so bad ? There are very attractive mushrooms to the eye in the woods, but would you eat one of them if you were told you would die ? They made a big mistake. it was pretty stupid, but they were not alone of coarse. Satan was there. It's like father forbids you to drive his attractive mustang, you are warned that you will be punished, but your girlfriend tries to convince you to do it, to come visit her. You can still say no. As a result you crash and kill yourselves. The point of our suffering is that all angels and humans see it, so that it is clear that rebelling against God leads to suffering. God could have killed Adam and Eve and Satan and his companions, but then the angels would not have known what would have happened. The angels could then have thought: hey, he kills them, maybe it would have turned out better if they did what they want. But he kills them. And the questioning if God is needed would not have been solved. Satan questioned Gods authority. Said he knew better. It's like you are a father with many kids, and a couple rebel against you, because they wanna do things you don't want them to do. Instead of setting things straight right away, you give them a time to run things like they want, and over the weeks they eat lot's of pizza's in their rooms and never clean which creates a bug infestation, and because of all the crap they eat half of them is sick. But all the kids in the neighborhood hear about it and learn a lesson. So Satan has his chance to play God for a while along with his companions. And after a period it will be done, and God will never allow it to happen again, since everybody now knows how that went.... It sucks for us now yes. But the bible says it is temporarily. I did my best to explain it as best as i think the situation is, let me know what you think.

[@ironiks7]

Hey alex, first of all thank you for your videos. I discovered your channel not long ago but I already watched a bunch of your videos. I have a question for you since you seem to know the topic pretty well : I'm an atheist and used to be christian a long time ago and I would like so start reading books on evolution or atheism. Could you recommend some that you enjoyed? I heard you talk about richard dawkins a few times and you once mentionned "letter for a christian nation". I hope you see this comment, great video

[@CosmicSkeptic]

I'm planning to make a video discussing some of my favourite books in the near future; it seems to be a popular suggestion!

[@ironiks7]

Great I'll be waiting for it then. Thanks a lot, it's nice to see that you even read comments

[@reformCopyright]

Can you be thrown out of Heaven if you try to do something evil there? Regardless, if evil thoughts are tolerated, but God will stop evil acts in Heaven, he could do the same on Earth without making free will impossible. The important thing is preventing harm to innocent people.

[@johnnycastellanetta7183]

I like Hitchens: "of course we have free will, the boss made it so". The kind of joke that gets the ball rolling and alludes to the problems you have outlined.

[@cosmicslice7267]

Glad to see you starting on a series like this. And congrats on yet another massive subscriber boom! Start planning your 50,000 special (almost halfway to that playbutton!) :-)

[@leen8374]

I have becomed a Atheist and I'm 17 years-old girl I was a Muslim!!! and I will get killed if any one knew that!😭

[@brandonwebb327]

What country do you live in?

[@leen8374]

Oman

[@Shijaru64]

If only Muslim countries would finally abandon such archaic and obsolete beliefs. But yeah, as someone who lives in a Muslim country you can't really go around saying you're an Atheist. if you ever plan on leaving your country save that confession till you have left your land.

[@casualperson4314]

Leen just go away from there

[@Thebodfitness]

In the end, God will destroy the devil and cast him into hell. He will have no power over humans anymore. This isn't stopping people from having free will, they can still think how they please, but they will not be tempted by the devil. So there will be no sin in heaven because the devil along with evil will be gone.

[@scotte4765]

Yet somehow the devil himself managed to sin just of his own free will in the first place, without having another devil tempting him to do it. Why should humans in heaven, having free will as you say, be unable to do so as well?

[@Thebodfitness]

Scott E yes, angels are more powerful than humans in the first place. But if u read the Bible it says that Lucifer wanted to be like God, he was jealous that he couldn't do the stuff he could do. He made a decision to go against God. But in heaven there will be no sin, God will get rid of the devil and all evil. It won't be allowed to exist. Right now it exists because he allows it. But good question

[@scotte4765]

Caleb Craig As you describe it, in the presence of the devil tempting us, we'll sometimes sin, but without him tempting us, we won't sin, EVER. How is sin then OUR fault, if temptation from the devil is the only factor keeping us from a sinless existence? If that's the case, then there's no reason whatsoever for God not to have removed the devil already, that being the one and only obstacle to an existence free of evil, which God surely wants. This also defeats the whole idea of punishing humans for sin, since without the devil around, nobody would do anything wrong. Since we're obviously still here sinning, either God doesn't actually care about getting rid of evil, or your whole description of the system is wrong. Two other questions: Where in the Bible does it actually say the things you described? Why should I believe the Bible contains an accurate description of all this in the first place?

[@Thebodfitness]

Scott E because u can still make a choice to resist him through God. It's your fault for listening and following him

[@Thebodfitness]

Scott E free will isn't bad it's that god allows sin to still exist. When God destroys the devil and sin then we won't have anything to be temped when we still make our own decisions. The big problem is that people believe God isn't real just because bad things happen. God won't make the world perfect until after judgement day. This is just a big tests to see how we chose to live our lives.

[@ziggystardust1973]

Does the bible ever claim that god os omnipotent, omnibenevolent or omniscient? Remeber we are talking about the guy who killed the first born son of all egyptians?

[@sovietbot6708]

He's not omniscient. If he was, he wouldn't have regretted creating humanity.

[@poeterritory]

Just discovered your channel and love it. Well thought out arguments and interesting subject matter. Wishing your channel grows for 2017.

[@TheDecWhale]

Must say, you and Armoured Skeptic are two of my favourite youtubers... best helmets on youtube.

[@tronmonitor]

Free will does exist in heaven, I believe. Satan rebelled and had an opinion about god's ruling. So I guess you could say that even Angels had free will. And the angels that left with had chosen to follow him. The bible is not specific about humans having any free will in heaven, but it certainly doesn't say otherwise. That is up for further analysis

[@danielessex2162]

Basically Flying Productions for humans who have freewill is what created sin and sin is not allowed in heaven how could you still have free will?

[@tronmonitor]

+Daniel Essex well devoting yourself to Jesus would certainly erase all sin(or some shit like that, I really care little about religion. I'm basing that statement off of what Paul had said in one of his letters. Something along the lines of "...new personality". Really don't recall at the moment). I honestly don't get the point you're trying to make lol Please elaborate so I may understand

[@marianpalko2531]

Basically Flying Productions You know what's funny? Free will doesn't exist at all.

[@tronmonitor]

+Marian Palko that's a narrow point of view imo lol I'm pretty sure you're free to do whatever you please, however you see fit.

[@chaos_incarnate5131]

Uh, not that I'm Muslim, but I'm pretty sure that in the Quran, that Lucifer was made out of fire, unlike the other angels, who were made out of light.

[@Arrakiz666]

This is actually a really poor way to refute the Free Will argument because Christians who actually use it aren't going to follow you with the thought experiment. At all. So you're not gonna convince them. And trained philosophers, such as Craig (although the word "sophist" comes to mind), can refute it handily by stating that Evil can exist in Heaven in potentiality but not in actuality (terms he has used in the past), which basically means people COULD, theoretically, choose to be evil, but they're not going to, because through God's moral character we know Evil does not exist in Heaven actually. No, the best way to win an argument like this, like any semantic argument... *Is to not have it at all*. Because in essence, this is a pointless and stupid discussion to be had. The terms are arbitrary and undefined and when you engage in this kind of discussion, you and the person you're arguing with never seem to have them clearly defined. What is Evil? What is good? How can we tell? CAN we tell? What is Heaven? What is Hell? How do we know? Etc. Save yourself the time people.

[@inventorofhotwater1501]

Arrakiz666 If it really were true that this type of discussion is pointless and won't convince anyone, then most people wouldn't become atheists. When engaging in this type of discussion, the goal isn't to change your opponent's opinion on the spot, but it's to make them think and challenge their views. Just because they don't openly acknowledge the validity of your points doesn't mean that there is no progress. The point of these discussions is to make people think, to show them that there is a more reasonable position.

[@Arrakiz666]

God of Gains "If it really were true that this type of discussion is pointless and won't convince anyone" Which it is. That's why you don't delve into semantic discussions, you start of by clearly and rigorously defining your terms and then you talk about those. That's how philosophers do it baby. " then most people wouldn't become atheists." Most people become atheists because of reasons that have nothing to do with formal logic. "it's to make them think and challenge their views. Just because they don't openly acknowledge the validity of your points doesn't mean that there is no progress. The point of these discussions is to make people think, to show them that there is a more reasonable position." Exactly. It's to shake them up so that they might be inclined to change their definitions. I don't waste my time like that, I prefer to skip the process and state clearly "we define the terms NOW and we either agree on them and THEN talk or there's no talk at all". Do you have any idea how much time this saves me? That's not to even mention frustration.

[@inventorofhotwater1501]

Arrakiz666​ I missunderstood what you said. I thought you were saying that arguing with religious people is a waste of time in general. My mistake. But I do think semantic discussions could be productive even if it's not a preferable way of discussing.

[@Arrakiz666]

God of Gains Productive in what sense? They can, on occasion, shake someone a bit. It happens often enough and they just might be willing to actually adjust their definitions and next time you'll save yourself the time. But secular education has been statistically shown to do it to, BETTER and you're not frustrated in the process. As for, "what do we do about people who can't be educated anymore?" Well, you limit their reach and wait until they die off. Again, historically this has been shown to work far, far better than waging semantic discussions with anyone. Which, don't get me wrong, is absolutely AWFUL. It's horrible. I think it's a clear shortcoming of human species. But that's a fact, an observable pattern of things. You either accept it and use it, maybe in time we'll be able to change that fact about human nature, ooooor you bash your head against the wall of reality until you start bleeding.

[@paradoxblade9741]

I think that one of the Free Will argument's flaws is that it ignores God's supposed omniscience and his hand in the creation of human beings. Now, if a person were all-knowing and they knew what we were going to do, this wouldn't be problem. However, it IS a problem when God not only has omniscience, but he is ALSO responsible for CREATING us. God is all-knowing, meaning that before he created us, he would know everything how our brains will be wired, how we will be react to stimuli, everything down to the last molecule -- all according to his design. And if his design is as perfect as some theists like to profess, this means that it could not have been done any other way. He knew all the consequences that would occur before he decided to finalize his "divine plan." Therefore, we would be like biological robots adhering to the creator's design even though it SEEMS like we have free will.

[@joep5627]

40,000+ Subscribers!! Congratulations CS. Great channel you have made here. Thank you and keep up the good work

[@joep5627]

50,000 now.

[@ledzep6569]

I say keep doing this style of video. I enjoy learning these things plus it opens my eyes to look at things in different ways.

[@JamieJosef]

I think this is my favorite of all his videos so far.

[@dougkelso2706]

I like the problem of evil argument not when I'm actively debating somebody who is religious and very convinced of their religion but when I'm attempting to steer somebody who is starting to doubt their religion towards athiesm, because the problem of evil argument as you said is often one of the first things that drives people away from religion, it's a simple argument against the existence of God that is easily understandable and really hits home for a lot of people.

[@AndrewDaviesJA]

I've always thought about this problem of Heaven & Free Will but never this deeply. Thanks for elaborating on it.

[@shanebennis6914]

this is my new favorite channel

[@abc6716]

Eres un pequeño genio, el mundo necesita más jóvenes cómo tu!

[@Bingbangboompowwham]

Hey CosmicSkeptic, really enjoy your channel. I wanted to recommend to you The Atheist Experience, an Austin, Texas radio/internet call-in show with videos on several KZbin channels. It's good fun to watch both sides occasionally lose their cool trying to reason with one another, and every so often you hear an original (albeit unsound) argument for theism. Great work, look forward to more videos.

[@nickd.9955]

You, sir, have just earned yourself a new loyal subscriber!

[@tabberbarlow6795]

Yes Cosmic I love it! I always get this argument often, I often argument the will of God and his actions phrases Jesus spoke. I always start the argument with the will of God and the words of Jesus.

[@kennethfrawley]

Once again, another well thought out and presented vid. Well done, Alex!

[@anthonythomas1735]

Another great video making me think about something that I normally wouldn't, this a huge part of why I subbed to your channel in the first place. I very recently heard this comment made by Ricky Gervais and I think it's just brilliant, he said "There are 7,000 Gods that I don't believe in, Christians don't believe in 6,999 of those Gods! So you see Christians are almost as Atheist as me"!....Like I said...Brilliant!!

[@bluebrook32]

Alex you are very logical, well spoken, and intelligent. You should participate in organized debates with theists. I think you would excel in that venue

[@olly311]

Really like this idea of individual rebuttal I'd quite like to see one refuting the argument about the cosmological constants. This is seen as part of the design argument, but the only bit I haven't seen a good rebuttal of so far Cheers

[@calvinlong1265]

Great video! I asked a religious person once in a text exchange if the Egyptian pharaoh or Lucifer had free will. They responded that both of those people were in the old testament and that it was no longer valid. That really surprised me, so I asked him if the 10 commandments were no longer valid as they're in the old testament. Not surprisingly, I never got an answer.

[@scotte4765]

Another question you wouldn't get an answer to is why a perfect, eternal, unchanging God would put out information and rules that he knew would become invalid and lead to confusion.

[@kalsarchive7853]

I freaking love you, this is one of my favourite channels. I love how down to earth you are, and that you listen to all the facts, ugh, so happy I subscribed. Love from Australia. XD

[@frederickfairlieesq5316]

If I were to use the free will defense, I would argue that free will does not exist in heaven because free will necessarily leads to sin. That’s why there is evil in the world today according to those that employ the free will defense. Therefore free will and a sinless heaven are logically incompatible.

[@totallyanalien7181]

Its sad how such a brilliant mind doesn't have a lot of subscribers compared to big youtubers. CosmicSkeptic is honestly one of my favorite youtube channels, I really enjoy your work!

[@veronicah7735]

Congrats on 40k!

[@izil5552]

You should start shooting a 100K special mate ... this channel is fucking AMAZING HHHHHH

[@scavi]

50k! Congrats! You really deserve it, keep up the great work.

[@camelxravennova]

You took the words out of my mouth, heaven isn't heaven without free will

[@elimueller777]

that trilemma argument was fucking solid

[@Bruh-uf4et]

Congrats on 50,000 you're blowing up!

[@Dude-vr1gp]

Just found your channel today. Watched at least a half dozen so far. I liked all them. Good stuff. Subscribed!

[@intsfeos8737]

Looking great cosmic. Keep up the good work

[@BrocNerd]

I like you, you're very intelligent and really make me challenge my beliefs, but I now am just stronger in them because of these vids.

[@hooligan7574]

I really liked this video! I watch lots of Atheist youtubers, but i've never seen anything really like this.

[@cademclean7947]

would like you to do more of these specific rebuttals, you're great :3

[@SaladVonBaco]

Dude you have 40,000 subscribers..that's great! Last I looked you had just gotten 20,000. Keep up the great videos.

[@davidbacon1844]

I just found your videos today and subscribed immediately. Awesome videos and sound arguments

[@davidcdebaca7048]

These are great. Keep them coming.

[@obviouslydead6971]

As a Christian it may surprise you to hear that I really enjoy your polite and refreshing perspective. Although I feel that some of your opinions are unfortunate, you never insult our differences. Thank you and please do not stop.

[@bryanh8292]

As a Christian this is acutally a solid rebuttal. I always appreciate alternatives view points.

[@demieadam2898]

Definitely love the idea. And for everyone who says that there are so many others doing it; yes, it's true but Alex has his own ideas, his own way of expressing them and I'm personally always interested in hearing what he has to say :) thank you Alex.

[@dersitzpinkler2027]

I liked this style of video! A series on simple ways to debate issues like this would be very helpful to newer atheists/secularists.

[@conner8319]

The thing that struck me against any argument for free will was a man who asked a priest “why do parasites that burrow through the eyes of children exist?” Which I personally found very jarring at the time

[@prestonfinger3873]

Great Vid! I have often found myself when conversing with a theist about God and the arguments for him that when using logic that often times I have to reiterate my argument for something they chose to ignore or forgot as the debate went on. Honestly I find visuals as a great way of logical organization so why not have a flow chart for each specific argument for god, intelligent design, so on. Have every possible argument for that idea stem off and the possible counter arguments stemming off of those. Then go a step further and continue on until every possible argument is extinguished. That way anyone can go trough the flow chart. It's hard to argue with words on a page so maybe everyone will simply read it. Some may improve it and it could evolve overtime. Just a thought.

[@zengalileo]

Yes, this was great. Do more like this too. I appreciate your brevity btw. I've seen videos on this topic run for an hour and didn't add anything more than what you have here.

[@zazawitch]

This is a cool series idea. Happy new year and thank you for your content!!

[@KatoffeLP]

Wow your channel really has been blowing up in the past days/weeks :D ! You really do deserve the recognition, keep it up !

[@Jordan21Michael]

So one response to the trilema is that mankind becomes enlightened. It isn't that free will is limited or that evil is inflicted. But it is that man becomes enlightened enough to overcome his own negative tendencies and therefore free will is attained while evil is still not inflicted. Of course someone COULD do bad to another... but it just wouldn't happen. Either way that's one response i got talking about your video. Keep up the good work!

[@nacaratjester458]

An interesting point, and well explained, too. Even though I personally do not believe in free will to begin with. This would be a nice series to continue, I wonder what the next will be about.

[@Starhawke_Gaming]

Congratulations on 50k subscribers!

[@luminyam6145]

I love these videos. I have a hard time with some of these concepts and have to get my sons to sit down and go over these videos with me.

[@TheMadMedek]

This is a good concept for a new series of videos

[@nickmaag1294]

Congrats on 40k, man. I love your videos. Keep up the good work