Question many ask: Why Does God Allow Evil?

[Noomi]

God allows evil maybe because he IS evil himself? I can think of no other reason.

 

[Caroljo]

I really find the concept of evil as something of a construct, rather than a tangible thing. Evils seems to be a term thrown around when we cannot understand the motives behind an particularly shocking act. Usually in incidents like what happened in CT it tends to be an act of someone who is mentally unstable not someone who is overtaken by "evil".

In incidents like this people commonly look to god and look for his role in the event. Is he/she/it not supposed to stop this? Where was god?

Well where the fuck were we? We look for answers in the clouds instead of working down here to prevent them.

Now Im not going to go into a rant about what we should do right now; emotions are too raw and the events to close. Rational discussions about preventing tragedies like these will quickly get drowned out by reactionary yelling.

To the highlighted above....
It's the mentally unstable that are the easiest to let evil overtake them. Someone with a strong mind and will is less likely to go over the edge and let evil in.

With that....yes, we DO have to do more for the people with mental problems. As we all know, they are most likely the ones that will do something like the massacres last week and all the others. A sane person wouldn't have done it....

 

[AVG-JOE]

I don't know, that picture isn't exactly the most striking picture of the best nature has to offer.
Are you the ugly one per chance? Cause every time I'm in a group picture, I'm the ugly one.

This is why opinions and truth are relative to the observer.... Personal beliefs and opinions are like nipples - Every Monkey comes equipped with a set of each and, while some sets can be similar, they can also be quite different, and no two sets of nipples or beliefs are ever identical.




Those young Monkeys are the culmination of Natural beauty in these average eyes...
Look at the life and, more importantly the collaboration of life in that photo!

True, this is not the greatest photograph, per se... but the content takes my breath away!

Are you a school teacher Joe?

Looks like a great bunch of kids.

I don't know anyone in that photo - I got it off of Photobucket. It does look like a great bunch of kids though... apparently the pic was taken in 2007 - it would be interesting to see a "where are they now" story on them.

 

[Billo_Really]

Recent video from Fox news:

"Why does God allow evil?"
Why does God allow evil? | Fox News Video



Link regarding this very serious question:
Why does God allow evil?

..partial quote from link..

Perhaps a practical way to look at this question would be to consider some alternative ways people might have God run the world:

1) God could change everyone’s personality so that they cannot sin. This would also mean that we would not have a free will. We would not be able to choose right or wrong because we would be “programmed” to only do right. Had God chosen to do this, there would be no meaningful relationships between Him and His creation.

My personal encouragement: Ask this of the Lord Jesus Christ yourself. Ask Him sincerely for the answers about evil and why the world is the way it is, and why people do what they do. Be prepared for His answers which He WILL answer if you are calling out to Him with all your heart. Because yes, this will mean looking at your own accountability first and foremost..and frankly that is what most unbelievers (including myself before I went to Him) are afraid of.

.

It's a matter of perspective. If there was no evil, how would you know what is good? There would be nothing to compare it to. If you were the only star in the universe, how could you tell where you were in the universe? The Yin is nothing without the Yang. Black is nothing without white. In order to know something is good, you need to compare it to something that isn't. So evil has its' place. It's the flip-side of good.

It's that free will, which is a bitch!

 

[Tuatara]

First of all. The Judeo-Christian God is not good. Anyone who has read the bible can see he promotes hatred, rape, murder, genocide...etc. Second, God does not exist so stop all the useless pondering.

 

[MarcATL]

First of all. The Judeo-Christian God is not good. Anyone who has read the bible can see he promotes hatred, rape, murder, genocide...etc. Second, God does not exist so stop all the useless pondering.

Can you cite the references in the Bible that support the things you just stated?

Thanks.

 

[JohnA]

God promised Noah he would never again attempt to purge the earth of evil for he knew it would not work, so he then commanded Mosses to establish a code of ethics in the form of commandments. As a last resort he sent his only begotten son to chart the path toward spiritual salvation, sacrificed him on the cross to forgive the sins of the world. Man is inherently evil, for he covets domination and power over his fellow man. He now waits, tests, to see if by his sacrafice, one day man will embrace good over evil and finally follow the teachings and commandments he has provided and thus evolve into the creation he envisioned.

what ???

 

[JohnA]

God allows evil maybe because he IS evil himself? I can think of no other reason.

the day the flying spaghetti monster takes over the earth **as he said he would ** all this talk of god will be proven to be exactly what it is a bunch of superstitious bullshit


Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

 

[Tuatara]

First of all. The Judeo-Christian God is not good. Anyone who has read the bible can see he promotes hatred, rape, murder, genocide...etc. Second, God does not exist so stop all the useless pondering.

Can you cite the references in the Bible that support the things you just stated?

Thanks.

Guess you never read the Bible


Rape:


City Rape

If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city. -- Deuteronomy 22:23-24

Country Rape

But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die. ... For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her. -- Deuteronomy 22:25-27

Of an unbetrothed virgin

If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days. -- Deuteronomy 22:28-29

Of prisoners of war

And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? ... Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. -- Numbers 31:15-18

Genocide:


Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images (For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.)

Exodus, Chapter 34, verses 11-14

You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you. For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you. You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new.

Leviticus, Chapter 26, verses 7-9


Also don't forget the worldwide flood.

Murder:



Kill People Who Don't Listen to Priests

Anyone arrogant enough to reject the verdict of the judge or of the priest who represents the LORD your God must be put to death. Such evil must be purged from Israel. (Deuteronomy 17:12 NLT)



Kill Witches

You should not let a sorceress live. (Exodus 22:17 NAB)



Kill Homosexuals
"If a man lies with a male as with a women, both of them shall be put to death for their abominable deed; they have forfeited their lives." (Leviticus 20:13 NAB)



Kill Fortunetellers

A man or a woman who acts as a medium or fortuneteller shall be put to death by stoning; they have no one but themselves to blame for their death. (Leviticus 20:27 NAB)



Death for Hitting Dad

Whoever strikes his father or mother shall be put to death. (Exodus 21:15 NAB)



Death for Cursing Parents

1) If one curses his father or mother, his lamp will go out at the coming of darkness. (Proverbs 20:20 NAB)

2) All who curse their father or mother must be put to death. They are guilty of a capital offense. (Leviticus 20:9 NLT)



Death for Adultery

If a man commits adultery with another man's wife, both the man and the woman must be put to death. (Leviticus 20:10 NLT)



Death for Fornication

A priest's daughter who loses her honor by committing fornication and thereby dishonors her father also, shall be burned to death. (Leviticus 21:9 NAB)



Death to Followers of Other Religions

Whoever sacrifices to any god, except the Lord alone, shall be doomed. (Exodus 22:19 NAB)



Kill Nonbelievers

They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul; and everyone who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. (2 Chronicles 15:12-13 NAB)



Kill False Prophets

If a man still prophesies, his parents, father and mother, shall say to him, "You shall not live, because you have spoken a lie in the name of the Lord." When he prophesies, his parents, father and mother, shall thrust him through. (Zechariah 13:3 NAB)



Kill the Entire Town if One Person Worships Another God

Suppose you hear in one of the towns the LORD your God is giving you that some worthless rabble among you have led their fellow citizens astray by encouraging them to worship foreign gods. In such cases, you must examine the facts carefully. If you find it is true and can prove that such a detestable act has occurred among you, you must attack that town and completely destroy all its inhabitants, as well as all the livestock. Then you must pile all the plunder in the middle of the street and burn it. Put the entire town to the torch as a burnt offering to the LORD your God. That town must remain a ruin forever; it may never be rebuilt. Keep none of the plunder that has been set apart for destruction. Then the LORD will turn from his fierce anger and be merciful to you. He will have compassion on you and make you a great nation, just as he solemnly promised your ancestors. "The LORD your God will be merciful only if you obey him and keep all the commands I am giving you today, doing what is pleasing to him." (Deuteronomy 13:13-19 NLT)



Kill Women Who Are Not Virgins On Their Wedding Night

But if this charge is true (that she wasn't a virgin on her wedding night), and evidence of the girls virginity is not found, they shall bring the girl to the entrance of her fathers house and there her townsman shall stone her to death, because she committed a crime against Israel by her unchasteness in her father's house. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst. (Deuteronomy 22:20-21 NAB)



Kill Followers of Other Religions.

1) If your own full brother, or your son or daughter, or your beloved wife, or you intimate friend, entices you secretly to serve other gods, whom you and your fathers have not known, gods of any other nations, near at hand or far away, from one end of the earth to the other: do not yield to him or listen to him, nor look with pity upon him, to spare or shield him, but kill him. Your hand shall be the first raised to slay him; the rest of the people shall join in with you. You shall stone him to death, because he sought to lead you astray from the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. And all Israel, hearing of this, shall fear and never do such evil as this in your midst. (Deuteronomy 13:7-12 NAB)



2) Suppose a man or woman among you, in one of your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, has done evil in the sight of the LORD your God and has violated the covenant by serving other gods or by worshiping the sun, the moon, or any of the forces of heaven, which I have strictly forbidden. When you hear about it, investigate the matter thoroughly. If it is true that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, then that man or woman must be taken to the gates of the town and stoned to death. (Deuteronomy 17:2-5 NLT)



Death for Blasphemy

One day a man who had an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father got into a fight with one of the Israelite men. During the fight, this son of an Israelite woman blasphemed the LORD's name. So the man was brought to Moses for judgment. His mother's name was Shelomith. She was the daughter of Dibri of the tribe of Dan. They put the man in custody until the LORD's will in the matter should become clear. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and tell all those who heard him to lay their hands on his head. Then let the entire community stone him to death. Say to the people of Israel: Those who blaspheme God will suffer the consequences of their guilt and be punished. Anyone who blasphemes the LORD's name must be stoned to death by the whole community of Israel. Any Israelite or foreigner among you who blasphemes the LORD's name will surely die. (Leviticus 24:10-16 NLT)



Kill False Prophets

1) Suppose there are prophets among you, or those who have dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, and the predicted signs or miracles take place. If the prophets then say, 'Come, let us worship the gods of foreign nations,' do not listen to them. The LORD your God is testing you to see if you love him with all your heart and soul. Serve only the LORD your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him. The false prophets or dreamers who try to lead you astray must be put to death, for they encourage rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of slavery in the land of Egypt. Since they try to keep you from following the LORD your God, you must execute them to remove the evil from among you. (Deuteronomy 13:1-5 NLT)



2) But any prophet who claims to give a message from another god or who falsely claims to speak for me must die.' You may wonder, 'How will we know whether the prophecy is from the LORD or not?' If the prophet predicts something in the LORD's name and it does not happen, the LORD did not give the message. That prophet has spoken on his own and need not be feared. (Deuteronomy 18:20-22 NLT)



Infidels and Gays Should Die

So God let them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies. Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relationships with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men and, as a result, suffered within themselves the penalty they so richly deserved. When they refused to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They are forever inventing new ways of sinning and are disobedient to their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, and are heartless and unforgiving. They are fully aware of God's death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And, worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. (Romans 1:24-32 NLT)



Kill Anyone who Approaches the Tabernacle

For the LORD had said to Moses, 'Exempt the tribe of Levi from the census; do not include them when you count the rest of the Israelites. You must put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle of the Covenant, along with its furnishings and equipment. They must carry the Tabernacle and its equipment as you travel, and they must care for it and camp around it. Whenever the Tabernacle is moved, the Levites will take it down and set it up again. Anyone else who goes too near the Tabernacle will be executed.' (Numbers 1:48-51 NLT)



Kill People for Working on the Sabbath

The LORD then gave these further instructions to Moses: 'Tell the people of Israel to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you forever. It helps you to remember that I am the LORD, who makes you holy. Yes, keep the Sabbath day, for it is holy. Anyone who desecrates it must die; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community. Work six days only, but the seventh day must be a day of total rest. I repeat: Because the LORD considers it a holy day, anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death.' (Exodus 31:12-15 NLT)



If there was a God. I would not want it to be this horrible excuse for a creator.

 

[MDiver]

That which has never existed, can neither allow or disallow.

 

[Billo_Really]

First of all. The Judeo-Christian God is not good. Anyone who has read the bible can see he promotes hatred, rape, murder, genocide...etc. Second, God does not exist so stop all the useless pondering.

That's not what he told me in an email, a week ago, Tuesday.

But since you opened up THAT can of worms, I'd also like to add...

Jesus was never married, either. Because no wife would buy the Resurrection!
First HE leaves on a Friday night with 12 other guys, she doesn't see him for 3 days,
HE comes back looking like HE hasn't slept and say's, "HE WAS DEAD!" What wife would buy that bullshit?​

If HE had been married, HE'd come back and find his cross (and all HIS other shit) out on the front lawn!

 

[JohnA]

First of all. The Judeo-Christian God is not good. Anyone who has read the bible can see he promotes hatred, rape, murder, genocide...etc. Second, God does not exist so stop all the useless pondering.

That's not what he told me in an email, a week ago, Tuesday.

But since you opened up THAT can of worms, I'd also like to add...

Jesus was never married, either. Because no wife would buy the Resurrection!
First HE leaves on a Friday night with 12 other guys, she doesn't see him for 3 days,
HE comes back looking like HE hasn't slept and say's, "HE WAS DEAD!" What wife would buy that bullshit?​

If HE had been married, HE'd come back and find his cross (and all HIS other shit) out on the front lawn!

he went missing for 3 days with 12 guys perhaps he was on a gay fucking spree

 

[JQPublic1]

Recent video from Fox news:

"Why does God allow evil?"

.

GOD doesn't allow evil, He created it!

I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil: I, the Lord, that do all these things. (Isaiah 45:7)

 

[biblical]

Genesis 1:26 - God said, Let Us make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them(humans) have complete authority..........upon the earth.

Did God really give human beings complete authority in the earth to decide their own fate or destiny? And If God gave human beings complete authority in the earth, is God responsible for allowing or forbidding what happens or what does not happen in the earth? What are human beings supposed to do with the complete authority that God gave them in Genesis?

Genesi 2:17 - ..for in the day, that you eat of it, you shall surely die.

If God is responsible for allowing or forbidding, what happens in our lives, why did he warn Adam, the first representative of the human race, against allowing himself to eat of the forbidden tree and therefore violating God's command?
And if God gave Adam the freedom to choose his own fate, without interference, is the same God going to choose our fate or destiny today?

Matthew 18:18 - Assuredly, I(Jesus) say to you(humans), whatever you(humans) forbid on earth, will be fobidden in heaven and whatever you(humans) permit on earth, will be permitted in heaven.

If anyone should know, as to who is responsible for allowing or forbidding, what happens in our lives, wouldn't Jesus know? So, why did Jesus remind His audience, that they were responsible for allowing or forbidding, what happens or does not happen in their lives? And if God, Jesus, the angels or the devil were responsible, wouldn't Jesus know that?

Deuteronomy 30:19 - This day, I(God) call heaven and earth, as witnesses against you(humans), that I(God) have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now you(humans) choose life, so that you and your children may live...

If God was going to choose for us, why did He command us to choose? And if God did not choose the fate or destiny of people in the past, is He going to choose for us today?