Here is a very interesting column by professional skeptic James Randi on the cruelty of “God”. Based on the case of an Oregon teenager whose Christian fundamentalist parents let him die a very painful death, rather than take him to a doctor, the column explores similar themes as those that I touched a couple of weeks ago in my On God posting. Basically, what kind of God would let people die painful deaths and do nothing?
From the column:

I am inclined, when hearing about a story like this, to utter the phrase, “What kind of person…?”, but when reading about this one, I instead thought, “What kind of God…?” I’m talking to you, Followers of Christ of Oregon City. I want to know, truly, what kind of God wouldn’t want a person to get better. I want to hear, at length, about exactly what kind of God wants people to die in pain. And, before you tell me that this is not God’s fault, but the devil’s, let me go ahead and say –
It makes exponentially more sense to side with the devil, over and over again, to put your faith in him and believe in him and trust in him, than it does to believe in the kind of God who has the ability to save you and chooses not to do so.
To keep up this fictional argument, I do not want to hear about how death isn’t really so bad and God is just calling us all home. Opioid pain medication was not invented because death is such a peaceful journey into the arms of Christ.
Followers of Christ of Oregon City – this one goes out to you. Your God is a sadist and a torturer. And if He really attempted to make you in His image, then he has done a fine job. Because so are you.