VivaHedone

For the purposes of argument, I am going to accept, despite all proof to the contrary, that the Bible is the word of 'god'. But even accepting this, what can anyone actually know about god?

Christians may say that we know that god is omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent. They get this from the Bible. But the Bible is the word of god... so they just accept god's word on this.

If I told you I was omni-everything, you would be right to feel a little scepticism. You would no doubt demand something in the way of proof. I would have no right whatsoever to demand that you believe what I tell you if I refuse to prove it.

However, a mystical being calling himself 'god' reveals himself to us in the form of a book... and Christians believe every word without question. How can they possibly know whether 'god' is telling the truth? Surely this 'god' may be bad, and lying about his attributes?

It is therefore illogical to believe 'god'. If god was good, why would he create a situation in which it was illogical to believe in him?

What's more, god tells us that if we don't believe him, we will be punished in the most horrible way possible. What right does god have to expect us to believe him without proof? What right does he have to punish us if we refuse?

I don't believe in god. Is this my fault? How can it be - my brain assesses the evidence and comes to a conclusion. I cannot help this. So how could a good god punish me for something I have no power over?

From the evidence, it seems that if there is a god, he is more likely to be bad and manipulative rather than good.

Can a Christian answer any of these queries?