If the God of Christianity is loving and all powerful, why is there evil?

[kal-el]

A perfectly good, all-powerful God would not allow all of the suffering which humans have had. The amount of suffering we go through is immeasurable. For instance the tsunami in Asia that killed almost a quarter of a million people in 2004, Hurricane katrina that ravaged New Orleans. Those are natural tragedies, but alot of human anguish is brought on by human evil. Evil happens because people can choose. A perfectly loving God would not give humans free choices IF we choose to do evil. It's a bit like arming a criminal. Now this is totally hypothetical, but if you knew your neighbor would go out a shoot up his entire block, killing numerous men, women, and children, would you give him the option to acquire a gun? There's plenty of murder, kidnapping and rape across the world. Drunk drivers constantly play "chicken" with oncoming traffic and end up slamming their cars into others, killing families at a time. How many kids die each day in Africa due to hunger? and the genocide in South Africa? And the list could go on and on. Biblegod could have eliminated all the human evil by creating us that we only choose to do good actions. Would you give your kid the choice to play in traffic, if you knew he was gonna get killed? How can biblegod be thought of as good, if he gave us the freedom to choose, but we abuse it? It's like giving a monkey a gun, now aren't you to blame if he kills someone?

 

[Avatar4321]

Because Good can't exist without evil. They are Coexisting principles. If there was no evil, there would be no good because there would be nothing to differentiate what good was.

See, the beauty of God's plan is it already factors in everything you've mentioned. If someone dies, they will live again. Doesn't matter how they die, we will all be raised in the resurrection to a state of Immortal glory.

Do you ever lift weights? Did you know that when you lift weights you are actually breaking the muscles down? You see by putting them through adversity, they grow stronger and are capable of doing more.

Now, you could choose not to lift weights. But would you reach your potential strength?

 

[hortysir]

HE really doesn't fit in a box, ya know....

 

[kal-el]

Because Good can't exist without evil. They are Coexisting principles. If there was no evil, there would be no good because there would be nothing to differentiate what good was.

Now there is a decent answer, thank you. I will rep you for that.

See, the beauty of God's plan is it already factors in everything you've mentioned. If someone dies, they will live again. Doesn't matter how they die, we will all be raised in the resurrection to a state of Immortal glory.

I don't see the good in that. I mean, if everybody subscribed to that beleif, murder wouldn't be murder because the person isn't really dead, they're all going on. Avatar, when you turn your car off, does the engine continue running in some alternate universe?

Do you ever lift weights? Did you know that when you lift weights you are actually breaking the muscles down? You see by putting them through adversity, they grow stronger and are capable of doing more.

I don't follow that analogy. Let me get this right: you're saying that biblegod is basically putting us through the grinder so we can be good? Please clarify.

Now, you could choose not to lift weights. But would you reach your potential strength?

George Bush could've chosen NOT to invade Iraq. Or the biblegod could've stopped him without infringing upon George's fw. Biblegod could have given him a heart attack and stopped him dead in his tracks. Nobody would suspect that its a divine trick as heart attacks are really common.

 

[hortysir]

Kal, seriously, dude

You're attaching human reasoning to an entity that is so far removed from our reality we can't attempt to fathom Him.


Kinda like an ant trying to guess why that huge thing (we call a shoe) came from the sky and killed 18 of his cousins.

 

[kal-el]

Kal, seriously, dude

You're attaching human reasoning to an entity that is so far removed from our reality we can't attempt to fathom Him.


Kinda like an ant trying to guess why that huge thing (we call a shoe) came from the sky and killed 18 of his cousins.

Maybe, but if you can't understand something, why worship it then? If Christians' God can pass scrutiny and one offers me logical and rational evidence, I'll think about joining up.

 

[hortysir]

It will never happen in a message board, brother.

 

[rdean]

The real question is, "Why is there evolution"?

 

[The Infidel]

Light cant exist w/o darkness

 

[AllieBaba]

Kal, seriously, dude

You're attaching human reasoning to an entity that is so far removed from our reality we can't attempt to fathom Him.


Kinda like an ant trying to guess why that huge thing (we call a shoe) came from the sky and killed 18 of his cousins.

Maybe, but if you can't understand something, why worship it then? If Christians' God can pass scrutiny and one offers me logical and rational evidence, I'll think about joining up.

Because if you could determine the existence of God using logic alone, there would be no need for faith. And God wants our faith.

Other than that, God does not answer to us. He has the plan, he knows the plan, and he gives us what he wants us to know to further the plan. We either have faith or we don't. That's the only test.

 

[Avatar4321]

Kal, seriously, dude

You're attaching human reasoning to an entity that is so far removed from our reality we can't attempt to fathom Him.


Kinda like an ant trying to guess why that huge thing (we call a shoe) came from the sky and killed 18 of his cousins.

Maybe, but if you can't understand something, why worship it then? If Christians' God can pass scrutiny and one offers me logical and rational evidence, I'll think about joining up.

I don't understand women completely. No man does, at least none that i know. Does that mean that as a man I shouldn't try to understand women? or at least A woman? That I shouldn't care for her or love her? Just because I don't understand her?

Or does that mean we won't learn about them at all by trying to get to know them? That we will always be ignorant and unable to explain who they are and how they act?

I believe the Bible. That means I believe Christ when He stated: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3)

This means that in order to have Eternal Life, we will need to know God. That means we have to personally interact with Him. We have to learn from Him. Serve Him, by serving our fellow man.

You don't see how it's possible to know, but the scriptures tell us how we can know for ourselves:

"17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. " (John 7:17).

Look at the example of Peter the Apostle. How did He learn that Jesus was the Christ?

13 ¶ When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 16:13-17)

We can only know God when He reveals Himself to us. And how do we know? We do His will and if it is His will, He will show us.

The Lord's commands to ask and recieve, seek and find, are not just idle promises. They are serious. Anyone can experiment on the Word and learn for themselves whether it's true. But the prerequisites are sincerety and humility. You actually have to have a desire to know whether God is real or not. You have to have a desire to act on what knowledge you recieve and live it.

I didn't always know God existed. It's only by His grace that I do. It took an exercise of Faith. I had to think things out, study them. I had to pray with faith that if there was a God, that He would reveal Himself to me at some point. That I could find the knowledge for myself.

Despite that, I would still be in ignorance if God hadn't hit me over the head with a spiritual 4 by 4. And it showed me that He was always there, I just didn't recognize and acknowledge the times He spoke to me before then. It's very humbling to feel the Spirit so overwhelmingly. To know that God is there, to feel His love and glory suround you and know that He actually has power. It's something I will never forget, as long as i dont get amnesia or lose my mind or something along the lines.

I have no doubt that God is real. He has taught me so much, and yet, I know I am still completely ignorant of so many things. I feel like I am still learning the basics of Faith and Repentence. Hopefully someday He will have some graduate courses for me.

My point is, you can know God is real for yourself. Seek Him out sincerely. Pray. Even if you don't know if there is a God that can hear your prayers, exercise faith that if there is a God that He can hear your prayers and will answer them in His own time. Because you will not recieve a witness until after the trial of your faith.

Faith is like our muscles, we need to exercise it to grow. We have to be challenged and face that challenge with faith for us to gain greater faith. Faith proceeds knowledge, Knowledge proceeds virtue and so on. Grace to Grace we can grow.

My only lament is that so many of us get stuck on the first step of faith that we never realize there is alot more past it that we havent begun to learn.

 

[DDdavis]

Its because when satan, who was made the full pattern in the first earth age wanted to be God, and still does. A third of Gods children followed him, and instead of god destroying a third of his children he came up with this plan, the second earth age where his children could be born of woman in the flesh and gave them all free will who or what they desired to follow, good or evil. Man has brought most of the destruction upon himself, by the toxic materials we put into the air and into the soil. God will not make you love him, or it wouldnt be real. If you love the father, you will seek him and you will find him. There will be a third earth age, that will be forever, after God cleans the earth with fire,( because God is a consuming fire), of all of the unclean things that are on it, including evil people. Because they killed his son on the cross, that was really him in the flesh he will have no regrets now to do away with them. They will be blotted out as if they never were. Then God will set his kingdom up right here on the good old earth, as it was before satan rebeled against God. One earth, one kingdom, three different time periods. But no more satan or his spirit, and no more evil people.

 

[sparky]

well, throw a curveball in this celestial bogeyman scenario, and we can call the CIA bible thumpers......

 

[Hister]

Katrina's destruction of New Orleans was Allah's punishment for falsely invading the middle east. So since god is all powerful, it invented evil for its own purposes.

 

[Gremlin-USA]

Katrina's destruction of New Orleans was Allah's punishment for falsely invading the middle east. So since god is all powerful, it invented evil for its own purposes.

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[Gremlin-USA]

Katrina's destruction of New Orleans was Allah's punishment for falsely invading the middle east. So since god is all powerful, it invented evil for its own purposes.

A Post Turtle means you are an ASS and thanks for the rep



.

 

[Hister]

Katrina's destruction of New Orleans was Allah's punishment for falsely invading the middle east. So since god is all powerful, it invented evil for its own purposes.

A Post Turtle means you are an ASS and thanks for the rep

Thanks for the head's up. The oil slick in the gulf is just Allah messing with your minds.

 

[Gremlin-USA]

Katrina's destruction of New Orleans was Allah's punishment for falsely invading the middle east. So since god is all powerful, it invented evil for its own purposes.

A Post Turtle means you are an ASS and thanks for the rep

Thanks for the head's up. The oil slick in the gulf is just Allah messing with your minds.

It really takes a sick and twisted person to say allah, buddah or any other god would do something spiteful like what you claim.

But as they say, to each his own.......


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[hipeter924]

I never liked the argument from evil, then again I always thought good and evil were too simplistic. You cannot refute the existence of a god by proving it is evil or goes against its said aims in a religious text any more than you can prove Hitler didn't exist because all the Jews weren't wiped out.

 

[froggy]

Because the freewill of mankind is evil.