If there is no God then how do we define evil. Without God the concept of Evil/Suffering is a societal construct. Pain cannot be the source for the definition as some societies have relished pain as a way of improvement. “No Pain No Gain”.
There are presumptions associated with any definition of Evil. One such presumption is that there must be something that is not evil. Evil as a concept must be relative to the opposite,i.e., Not Evil (Good).
Without defining the opposite of evil the term is meaningless. Society cannot define the opposite as that definition would need to be defined by consensus. As such anyone with any amount of freedom could disagree and redefine Evil as something else hoping that the consensus would change. If in fact that is the case then Ted Bundy and and Charles Manson were individuals exercising their freedom to change the definition of Evil. Islam defines murder of non-Muslim innocents as a “Good”. Most of the world disagrees with them but that too is irrelevant. Humankind has no right to impose its values on Islam or so Islam says.
The only way you can concretely define Evil is to have a moral standard outside humankind that can be used to compare an action to so as to define its relative value. God provides that standard. In the Ten Words of Exodus 19 and 20 we learn of God’s character traits. He works and He rests. He respects family just as He respects the persons of the Trinity. He is life and therefore abhors murder. He is faithful in His relationships in the trinity and expects faithfulness in our relationships in the family. He provides everything and abhors theft and covetousness. He is truth and abhors lies. These characteristics are the basis of defining evil.
The atheist will not accept this definition not because it is false but rather because it is true and that would require them view themselves as accountable to God. Contrary to their belief, they are already accountable to God and will see that when they leave this life.
[[Without God the concept of Evil/Suffering is a societal construct]]
Subjective societal construct at hat- We’re at the whims of those that think they know better than we do what our morality should be- but the problem is their idea of morality is purely subjective- not objective- Only a truly moral agent can construct a truly objective and fair morality- ie God-
[[Society cannot define the opposite as that definition would need to be defined by consensus.]]
Subjective consensus- just look at the ‘consensus’ on gay marriage (by the supreme court)- they threw out objective morality and decided based solely on their subjective feelings on the issue which were contrary to the word of God and His objective morality
[[As such anyone with any amount of freedom could disagree and redefine Evil as something else]]
Exactly- subjective decisions-
[[The only way you can concretely define Evil is to have a moral standard outside humankind that can be used to compare an action to so as to define its relative value.]]
Exactly- a God incapable of immorality is the only One capable of objective morality 100% of the time
[[covetousness]]
The root of all evil- A Word we don’t think about often- people will often say “Pray for me I am an ____ fill in blank- ie angry person, hateful person, jealous person etc” but we seldom admit to being covetous- but most sins stem from coveting when it comes right down to it-
[[The atheist will not accept this definition not because it is false but rather because it is true and that would require them view themselves as accountable to God.]]
Bingo- there are no true atheists- there are only those who ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and declare that God doesn’t exist- for the very reason you stated- The Holy spirit witnesses to EVERY soul the existence of God- Even to atheists- There are no exceptions- The Atheist however has learned to ignore this witness of the Holy Spirit in their lives, again, for the very reason you point out