Re: PHIL: Re: young atheists

Michael S. Lorrey (retroman@together.net)
Mon, 01 Mar 1999 18:19:42 -0500

Harvey Newstrom wrote:

> > Why would a god have to take away our free will to accomplish
> > feeding the children?
>
> I agree that the argument is faulty. God allows free oxygen to all
> children without taking away free will. Why couldn't food just be
> another free staple on the planet? How would that prevent free will?

Because while food, unlike oxygen, takes a lot of hard work to raise, to prepare, to store, to transport, etc. If oxygen took that much work, you would have to pay for it too. See Heinlein's _The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress_. TANSTAAFL. On Earth, oxygen is about the only free lunch a human being gets in life, and even then it tends to get dirty.....that which is free tends to trend toward lower quality...

You might also argue that the answer to the question of what good is government is just that. Governments use force to make you pay taxes. If you fail to pay your taxes, in the old days, they could deprive you of your ability to breath....with cold iron. Government markets in the sale of the breath of life, and backs it up with force.

If God had meant all children to eat freely, he would have made them with leaves....

Mike Lorrey