The Problem of God

A course called “The Problem of God” a requirement for all incoming freshmen at Georgetown University, or at least it was in the late 1970s when I was a grad student there.

Here’s part of the “problem,” at least for me: I wonder how it’s possible that God is so vain that He threatens eternal punishment for those who don’t believe that He exists. Sounds like strange behavior for an omniscient, omnipotent, and loving being.

It’s especially weird when taken in contrast to Socrates and the Buddha, neither of whom could have possibly cared less if people followed them or not.