I found a man on twitter who welcomed any atheist to address issues they have about Christianity with him. I was intrigued and hoped I would have an illuminating discussion with someone who knew their stuff. Alas, I was wrong. He had no idea how to prove his claims or really how to make a point. One topic that did come up however was the perfection of the god of the Bible. Now as an atheist, I obviously don't believe that God exists, but what if he did? Would this god be perfect? My answer is a resounding "NO" because frankly, I think I could do better. In this post I'm going to list 10 things I would do differently if I was God.
1. I would provide irrefutable proof of my existence.
If I was God, there would be no such thing as an atheist. While I can't speak for all atheists, I feel rather confident in saying that the majority of atheists are atheist because they feel that there is insufficient evidence to prove there is a god. Not only would there be no atheists, but there would only be one religion because as an omnipotent being, I can convince anyone and everyone to believe that I exist. This would remove what I consider to be the greatest source of division in today's world. I would like to make it clear that I would not force people to believe I exist. I would provide the proof they needed so they could willingly believe in me. Even the Ken Hams of the world would accept my existence as I would be able to convince them due to my omnipotence.
2. I would write a holy book that is not open to interpretation.
The biggest problem with the Bible, the Quran or indeed any holy book is that they were all written by flawed men. This has led to not only different religions, but different religious denominations within the same religion. In Christianity alone you've got Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, Anglicans and that is only scratching the surface. An omniscient god writing a holy book that is crystal clear in its message would eliminate the possibility of different branches, thus removing yet another division from society.
3. I would drop the demand that people worship me.
Kim Jong-un demands that people worship him. Josef Stalin demanded that people worship him. Adolf Hitler demanded that people worship him. People who demand worship are not worthy of worship. I myself am more likely to worship you than god. If I demanded worship as a god, I would not be worthy of it.
4. I would revise the Ten Commandments.
The first (no other gods), second (no graven images), third (Lord's name in vain), fourth (sabbath day), fifth (honouring parents), seventh (adultery), ninth (false witness) and tenth (no coveting) commandments all need to be straight up abolished. I would add things like no owning slaves and no raping to this special list of ten things I'd want people to adhere to. An omniscient god should have come up with a list of ten that can't be made better by a guy like me.
5. I would abolish Heaven and Hell.
I would have good people reincarnated so they could live another life and continue to do good in the world. Evil people would simply be dead and left that way. Infinite punishment for a finite crime is immoral no matter how you phrase it so eternal torture in hell is unacceptable to me. Now I'm not stupid enough to believe people are good or evil. I'm aware that many people would fall somewhere in between. I would observe these people, see how likely they are to lead a good second life and make my decision from there. This may sound like too big a task, but no task is too big for an omnipotent and omniscient god.
6. I would end the requirement for circumcision.
I'll make this simple. What you do with your fun parts is not my business, even if I was God.
7. I would cease setting people up to fail.
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden were set up to fail. An omniscient god would've known that they would eat from the tree of knowledge even with the command not to eat from it. Every time God tests somebody, he already knows if they'd pass or fail. Therefore he is setting some people up to fail. I myself would cut the pointless wastes of people's time and instead direct them on paths of self improvement, but that's just me.
8. I would enforce my own laws.
In addition to being omnipotent and omniscient, God is also omnipresent. This means if he wanted to, he could enforce his own laws any time one of them is broken no matter where. So if you're about to rape someone, you can bet that Steven Almighty will know about it and stop you. This is not a violation of free will unless the concept of a police force is also a violation of free will. Hell, even if it is, I'm alright with interfering with the free will of a rapist or anyone else who would violate another person's free will.
9. I would end inequality of all kinds.
One thing I would make crystal clear to all people is that everyone must be treated equally under the law. I would make clear that no race, gender, sexual orientation or whatever else makes someone superior or inferior to another. This is an area where God has clearly failed miserably given what he says about women. I certainly would not have a chosen people who I give the special privileges of owning other people.
10. As long as my laws were obeyed, I would mind my own business.
Being omnipotent, I would make sure I knew nothing about you up until the moment you decide to break one of my rules. See I don't care what you do and it's not my business either. Of all the things I loathe about the God of the Bible, the worst one is how he can convict you of thought crime and will damn you to hell for thinking the wrong thing. Your thoughts are yours alone and I want and would have no part of them. Think what you will.
So that's ten. I think I would do a better job than God, but then again, he hasn't set the bar very high. Hell, I imagine there's a great many things I haven't mentioned that you've thought of. If so, I'm another step closer to worshipping you my potential deities.
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