Would God have the Right to Rule the Earth?

I had no doubt that you had an "earth-centric," Christianity-centric point of view coming into this, so you didn't need to point that out. Not only is your premise about the alleged god flawed, but this thread does not even point (at least not honestly) to the subject which you actually wish to discuss, which is an absolute, objective morality. When you finally admit that that is what you've wanted to discuss all along, i will be gone. There's no such thing as an absolute, objective morality, and it is a topic which not only has been done to death here, but which bores me.

For just this once, I agree with everything Set has said. This discussion is pointless and meaningless. If one posits an omnipotent god, there can be no question of "right" and "wrong."

I do not state my beliefs as fact, as they are only a conglomerate of my own perceptions, flawed or otherwise.
I opted for a diplomatic question in order to open the conversation up to more people, therefore inviting more opinion. This thread was not intended to be railroaded.

I can only apologise for your misconception and wish you well.

Yes, no Smi, not always

All right Smi but you were asking about God not Government

To the extent that She created the Universe out of nothing, then interfers once in a while when things aren't going according to her preconceptions

The pantheist points out however that the idea of creation is full of paradox and contradiction, suggesting She and It had always existed in one form or another, "creation" is an ongoing process indefinitely, while the laws of chance and evolution are Her way of "running" things; that is, to just let it all happen

What misconception are you referring to? I can't see where Setanta has misconceived anything.

(And, btw, so far nobody has as yet hijacked this thread.)

The only misconception is that of my motive for the question. It really was intended as an open discussion. I just have a habit of allowing coherence to escape me from time to time.

OK,fair enough. I don't question peoples' motives in posting threads (or in anything else, as a rule).

But Setanta is spot on in pointing out that if you believe in the kind of god that the Bible posits, it's meaningless to ask about this super-creator having a "right" to anything. By the definition of 'god' and the definition of 'omnipotence' the question is absurdly meaningless.

Unless the family is challenging the Old MAn's will.

Pls suggest a court that would have jurisdiction.

...that was fun to read !

SO you think a God would worry about a will? Hed just " make it so"

...at warp speed

If a creator God destroyed anyone who raises a challenge without answering the question asked, surely that would leave a huge question mark over his rule?

Rather, by letting the scenario play out he can highlight the flaws of the challenge through experience, thus closing the door on the question being raised again.

You continue to ignore that you are setting up an absolute, objective morality which is apart from and superior to your god.

I am trying to understand what you mean by absolute objective morality. By definition, I do not believe morality to be absolute at all.

Is not what we call morality an expectation based on behavioral boundaries, relative to he that sets its parameters? That would make morality flexible according to incident and subject to fluctuation.

What you're describing is situational morality. That is not a response to my criticism, you're dodging the issue. You write: "Is not what we call morality an expectation based on behavioral boundaries, relative to he that sets its parameters?" Who is the "he" who sets the parameters? The implication is that there is someone or something greater than your god who is setting the boundaries, and that is the issue you're dodging.

Sorry Set, I didnt dodge your question intentionally, I intended that morality is not greater than God, but something that is measured by Gods expectations, or indeed by society. It is a stick against which God or society measure behavior.

Then i will point out once again that your "god" is omnipotent in that it has created a cosmos and set the laws by which that cosmos functions, and therefore would also set the standards by which it could be judged. Further, i am pointing out that there are no other sentient beings in that cosmos competent to judge that "god."

Only if his wife said it was ok.

Yes, but he would find George Bush ruined it and leave for a more enlightened world.