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Cook's Creed

This is the result of an assignment by a discussion group.  It's something I would not have written otherwise.  I'm not into creeds.

I assert that the following statements are necessarily true:

1.  The Supreme Being is that which created the first created thing.

2.  The Supreme Being is personal.  (re: T.A.G. and Argument from Reason).

3.  The following Beings may or may not be identical:
the Supreme Being who created the first created thing
the God who created this universe
the God who created mankind
the God to whom mankind is accountable
4.  The Supreme Being is necessarily omnipotent in the sense of having control of all the power that exists, but may not be omnipotent in the sense of being able to do anything He wants.  He need not be omniscient or perfect in any meaningful sense of the term.  The other three possible Gods in the hierarchy cannot be omnipotent or omniscient unless they are identical to the Supreme Being.

5.  The only God with whom we can and/or must deal is the God to whom we are accountable - assuming that such a God exists.

6.  It is possible that our Creator may not hold us accountable for anything.

7.  The God to whom we are accountable may or may not be in moral agreement with any of the other possible Gods in the God-hierarchy.

8.  The God to whom we are accountable may or may not be good in the sense that our Creator has programmed us to understand good.

9.  Absolute goodness and absolute justice can exist only if the Supreme Being is good and just.

10.  The Supreme Being is good if and only if the sum total of happiness in His creation exceeds the sum total of unhappiness.

11.  The Supreme Being is just if and only if the creatures in His creation receive the pleasure to displeasure ratio they deserve.

12.  A God is absolutely good and/or just if and only if he is in conformity with the will of the Supreme Being, and the Supreme Being is good and/or just.

13.  A God is good relative to his subordinate beings if and only if those beings experience more happiness than unhappiness for the duration of their existence as his subordinates.

14.  A God is just relative to his subordinate beings if and only if they get the ratio of happiness to unhappiness they deserve for the duration of their existence as his subordinates.

15.  A good and just God may or may not communicate with his subordinate beings beyond their initial programming.

16.  The Bible contains a record of man's efforts to deal with the God to whom he is accountable.  Other monotheistic scripture may or may not do the same.

17.  The God to whom we are accountable may or may not have had any direct part in the creation of any body of scripture.

18.  Even if the God to whom we are accountable is good, he may have allowed all scripture to develop without interference, much less overt revelation.


I assert that the denial of any of the following statements necessarily implies nihilism:

1.  The God to whom we are accountable exists, and is good, and is just.  This statement is made not as a pretense of knowledge, but rather as the only sensible bet.

2.  A good and just God might allow members of his creation to suffer undeserved unhappiness, but if he does not compensates them justly for it, then he is not just.  Such compensation may or may not happen in this life.

3.  Only a good God is worthy of respect or service.  It is morally better to burn in the hell of an evil God than to reign in his heaven.

4.  If the God to whom we are accountable is good and/or just, as mankind understands those terms, then:
A.  He would not allow anyone who is trying to get right with him to be deceived beyond what is correctable.

B.  He will accept and reward anyone who persistently tries to get right with him, regardless of how wrong that person may be in the particulars of his belief.

C.  He will either correct any error for which a person asks for correction, or not hold that person accountable for that error.

D.  He would not allow the existence of any body of scripture which causes uncorrectable error.