- Mar 16, 2004
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Hi Mark, St. Athanasius is an interesting place to start. How did Saint Athanasius know that without the universe springing from a mind that nothing would be distinct ? I don't think he did no that considering you would need several universes to examine to come to that conclusion.
That's absurd, Even Epicurus knew better then longing to substantiate a single explanation by deferring to the unexplainable. Multiverse comparisons are impossible, even if there is such a thing:
But one must not be so much in love with the explanation by a single way as wrongly to reject all the others from ignorance of what can, and what cannot, be within human knowledge, and consequent longing to discover the indiscoverable. (Epicurus)
Definition of evil, our certainly differ, does a child willfully get drowned by a tsunami ? No obviously but it is still evil that this happens. My definition of evil is needless and preventable human suffering that is allowed to continue. And if God exists in the Christian sense then he has the sceptre and the crown. Not one person can hold blame besides him.
What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” (Rom. 9:14-15)
You haven't defined evil, you have equivocated moral evil with natural disaster.
Essentially, evil is a lack of goodness. Moral evil is not a physical thing; it is a lack or privation of a good thing. As Christian philosopher J. P. Moreland has noted, “Evil is a lack of goodness. It is goodness spoiled. You can have good without evil, but you cannot have evil without good.” Or as Christian apologist Greg Koukl has said, “Human freedom was used in such a way as to diminish goodness in the world, and that diminution, that lack of goodness, that is what we call evil.” (What is the definition of evil?)
Light has physical properties, darkness is simply the absence of light. Evil is the void, the emptiness of the world without God. Tragedy and grief confront us, not because God's divine attributes and eternal nature is lacking but because we lack God in this world due to sin.
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. (Rom. 8:20-22)
God could remove natural disaster, disease and want, the reason he doesn't is that it won't solve the moral evil of the human will. God will remove evil from the world but only after deconstructing creation through the Trumpets and Vials of Wrath, evil does not go quietly. Even after a thousand years of peace and security, no want, no disease or disaster this is how evil inspires unredeemed humanity:
Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Rev. 20:8-10)
You want God to vanquish evil because he can, you grossly underestimate the tenacity of evil. It permeates our world and the true evil is willful rebellion against God. It wraps itself around the ego and makes it conceited, telling us we are gods. If you want to talk about evil then consider the source of evil, instead of these shallow rationalizations.
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