There are like, two millenia of God not killing Egyptian firstborns since then.
I estimate the probability of God wanting me to kill Egyptian newborns as much lower than the probability of God wanting me to do whatever the Church says.
I agree that the mere fact that God is said to have killed the Egyptian firstborns is strong evidence against His existence (as you already pointed out).
I would add to pay close attention to the part about God hardening Pharoah’s heart in order to ensure that he will refuse to let Moses’ people go. God deliberately ensures the course of events that leads to the genocide of the newborns.
Also, the story of the fall from Eden starts from the premise that before the fall, man was incapable of knowing good from evil. Which, if God decides which is which, means man was incapable of knowing he was supposed to obey God. Then man disobeys god, and all humanity forever must suffer for it, because God said so. This isn’t a God that wants people not to suffer, it is one who sets things up so that great suffering is inevitable.
How are actions like killing all firstborn Egyptian children that much different?
There are like, two millenia of God not killing Egyptian firstborns since then. I estimate the probability of God wanting me to kill Egyptian newborns as much lower than the probability of God wanting me to do whatever the Church says.
I agree that the mere fact that God is said to have killed the Egyptian firstborns is strong evidence against His existence (as you already pointed out).
I would add to pay close attention to the part about God hardening Pharoah’s heart in order to ensure that he will refuse to let Moses’ people go. God deliberately ensures the course of events that leads to the genocide of the newborns.
Also, the story of the fall from Eden starts from the premise that before the fall, man was incapable of knowing good from evil. Which, if God decides which is which, means man was incapable of knowing he was supposed to obey God. Then man disobeys god, and all humanity forever must suffer for it, because God said so. This isn’t a God that wants people not to suffer, it is one who sets things up so that great suffering is inevitable.