14. As far as I know, Hitchens only referred to Empson in passing, but I think Milton's God must have been formative for Hitchens.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
15. Example of Empson's tone: "I think the traditional God of Christianity very wicked, and have done so since I was at school..."
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Replying to @HeerJeet
16. "....where nearly all my little playmates thought the same."
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Replying to @HeerJeet
17. I sort of picture Empson and his fellow 6-year olds, all in short pants, chatting in the playground about how wicked God is.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
18. But while Empson was a precursor to the New Atheists, he remains superior to them in many ways.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
19. For all his school-boy insolence, Empson had a genuine moral horror at theodicy as a justification for pain and torture.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
20. Here, the excellent
@RonRosenbaum1 applies Empson to critique a facile theodicy:http://observer.com/2005/01/disaster-ignites-debate-was-god-in-the-tsunami/ …2 replies 1 retweet 4 likes -
Replying to @HeerJeet
@HeerJeet@RonRosenbaum1 Wish I'd read Empson before I scribbled this little thing on the Haiti Earthquake: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10c1J2t9FDOG5J6BPPMroMRqUmX1GVs7kKOa66-FZSqc/pub …2 replies 0 retweets 0 likes -
Replying to @matthunte
@matthunte@RonRosenbaum1 On theodicy I like solution of Russian heretical sect: God is good but weak: a well-meaning ineffectual father.2 replies 0 retweets 0 likes -
Replying to @HeerJeet
@HeerJeet@RonRosenbaum1 I've read somewhere that the notion of all powerful God really comes from Greek philosophy.1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
@matthunte @RonRosenbaum1 Hmm. I would be interested in where idea of all-powerful God started. I'm not sure.
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