Why Does God Allow Evil

SacredScoop ^ | 04/07/08 | CottShop

[CottShop]

I know the issue of why God allows evil is a tough one to ponder, but the Glen Miller link I think can help quite a bit in understanding the issue more thoroughly

[clamper1797]

So we can know good ....

[2harddrive]

Why DOES God allow evil? For that matter, why does He allow Democrats?

[sageb1]

Yes. Without the one, we would not recognize the other.

[Vicki]

Saw an interview with Rev. Billy Graham some time again with David Frost and he was asked this question. He responded by saying that Satan and his demons are constantly at work here on earth. In fact, if I recall correctly he said that Satan currently had control over the earth.

People tend to forget the existence of Satan. I would imagine it's all about free will. All of us are tempted at times and we can either go with it or resist.

[CottShop]

true- Glen goes into this in more depth and detail- be sure to give his link a look- very interesting

[CottShop]

Dems? So that the good of hte Reps can be compared agianst hte evil of the Dems.

[CottShop]

Yup- there definately is a spiritual realm and there is a war goign on that we know very little about. Satan only has partial restrained control here on earth though- thankfully, because if he had more control- unparralled evil would be unbearable upon us.

[onewhowatches]

So we can know good ....

I'd go a step further. Without evil, there could be no good. To be capable of one is to be capable of the other. Without the Ted Bundys of the world, there could be no Mozarts. Without Mengeles, there could be no Salks. Without Hitlers, there could be no Washingtons. Even natural disasters play a role. How much of our technology that makes lives more enjoyable is the result of our attempts to avert destruction by nature?

Frankly, this works whether or not God exists. As some who believes God exists, however, I have to conclude that God set up the world and human species to have free will, which is our potential for evil. Whether He personally introduced it or not, it was His intent that evil exist. It had to, if we were not to remain mindless animals.

[elpadre]

“Why DOES God allow evil? For that matter, why does He allow Democrats?”

Because he made man with the potential to be good, but with the wonderful power of “choice.” I can choose good, or I can choose evil, or I can choose to be a Democrat. He is not in the business of making robots or puppets to heed His beck and call.

[proudofthesouth]

I have been seriously struggling with this ever since I became a Christian just over a year ago. Its something that is keeping me from totally trusting God.

IMO to say that its because of free will is an excuse because God created EVERYTHING and isn’t bound by rules or laws. Why does he allow Satan to run loose?

If anyone can enlighten me on this issue please do so. I’m so sick of thinking and struggling with this issue.

[metesky]

Because He can. Never heard of the concept of “free will”, eh?

[RobRoy]

C. S. Lewis’ books “Mere Christianity” and “The Problem of Pain” address this issue very nicely.

It is actually logically much simpler than one would think.

[P.O.E.]

Try some Boethius, pages 110 etc...

[Radix]

If you were unfamiliar with evil, and if you only knew good things, then you might be one mindless being living in a reality of ignorant bliss.

 

The fruit of "The tree of the knowledge of good and evil" is what the Bible in Genesis suggests that we all partake of.

 

It is very simple stuff.

[aruanan]

I'd go a step further. Without evil, there could be no good. To be capable of one is to be capable of the other. Without the Ted Bundys of the world, there could be no Mozarts. Without Mengeles, there could be no Salks. Without Hitlers, there could be no Washingtons. Even natural disasters play a role. How much of our technology that makes lives more enjoyable is the result of our attempts to avert destruction by nature?

Yeah, and without Ahriman there would be no Ahura Mazda.

[tokenatheist]

For what reason, other than to have a betting partner, did your god create satan?

[fr_freak]

There are actually a couple of logical inconsistencies which have always bothered me about this question. Maybe someone out there can provide an answer:

1) God could have made us to be exactly as He wants us to be, to think as He wants, and to behave as He wants. Instead, He chose to give us free will, yet at the end of all things, He will judge us on whether we thought as He wants and acted as He wants, and will then either cast the rest away, or send them to Hell. If the desired end result is to bring souls to Heaven who believe and act a certain way, why not simply make them that way to begin with?

2) Is there really a Hell? Because it seems rather wasteful and cruel to create a soul from nothing, and to deliberately create it as imperfect, just so you can see whether or not it will behave as it would if you had made it perfect, then take those that fail the test and cast them to a place of eternal torment. Wouldn't it be better to simply destroy the failed ones? Why create a being from nothing just so you can torture it for eternity?

3) If we each get only one life, how can we possibly be judged equitably, given the drastically unequal distribution of circumstances? For example, one person could be born into a godless family of thieves, while another born into a middle-class family of devout church-goers. Either person could choose the right or wrong path, but wouldn't the child born to thieves be at a much higher risk for choosing the wrong path? It is like having a contest between two people to see who can carry a glass of water to the finish line without spilling it, except that one person travels on foot and the other has to travel by pogo stick.

Anyone have any good answers?

[timm22]

God has allowed evil to exist, as some of you might know, so that grace can abound all the more. Without evil, there would be no free will, and without free will, there would be no occasion for true love to exist.

We assume that God is all-powerful and all-good. Why would God resort to any means that involved something "not good" if He is not bound by logic or the rules of this universe?

For example, it is said that God allows evil so that we'll have a point of comparison for appreciating the good. Or it is said that God allows evil so that we will be able to exercise free will. The underlying assumption is that if God did not order the universe this way, neither of these objectives (appreciation of the good or exercise of free will) would be possible.

But why wouldn't they be possible? Why couldn't an all-powerful God, who created the universe and all the rules governing it, make it so that we could simulataneously enjoy free will AND not have the ability to make the wrong choices? Why can't an all powerful God give us the ability to appreciate the good WITHOUT ever having to experience evil?

I know those questions seem illogical, but remember that God is the creator of logic and is not bound by logic. An all powerful God, by definition, can achieve any objective by any means. So why would He choose means that involved evil?

The only possible answers I can think of are

a). God is not all-poweful
b). There is no such thing as good or evil (or God is indifferent to good/evil)
c). God doesn't exist

Is there any other possible answer?

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

The fruit of "The tree of the knowledge of good and evil" is what the Bible in Genesis suggests that we all partake of.

I thought God orders Adam and Eve NOT to partake of the tree

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying: 'Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.'