I have read this thread with interest and enjoyed all your comments.
AK-Jeff's opening post is very simple. It poses a question that is of fundamental importance to all humans. Whether we believe God to be the Jehovah or Yahweh of the Bible, Christ Jesus, Jaheshua or a nameless all powerful force the question remains the same. Arguing about the name of God is a red herring. The argument about free will and the right to self determination is also a red herring. This is because humans have much less free will than we are credited with.
For example Let’s just look at the destruction and death caused so called ‘by acts of God.’ Earth quakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis. We now know that they are the result movement or ruptures in the earths crust. They are not the result of man’s greed, atheism or angry gods.
This leaves just 2 possibilities:
A) Is there a being or God powerful enough to stop these natural disasters? The answer for many is No. End of story.
B) If your answer is YES and this being, cosmic intelligence or God that created us and put us on this planet but now just floats around in outer space in retirement, when it could stop these pointless disasters, then it does not deserve the worship of humans.
There really is no alternative conclusion that we can come to without appearing as callous and cold hearted as the absent God. For me plan a works well and makes more sense.