How can god exist if there is evil?

[BigChrisfilm]

Hi, I am back for now. Until I get banned again, you know the bible talks alot about Christians being.... well, never mind.

Evil is the absence of God. Not the absence of God in this world, but in your heart.

 

[azmurath]

Then why are so many Christians doing evil, including yourself?

 

[BigChrisfilm]

Then why are so many Christians doing evil, including yourself?

what evil am I doing?

 

[azmurath]

what evil am I doing?

You are defaming other people, making them feel like crap. Just look at what you did on the FSTDT forums, you blatantly said they were a "work of ****ing art" and a "bunch of losers". Is that good? You purposly come here to try and convert people to your own religion, forcing your own brainwashed beliefs on them as if they were the absolute truth and if they do not believe in them, they are lesser than you.

 

[BigChrisfilm]

You are defaming other people, making them feel like crap. Just look at what you did on the FSTDT forums, you blatantly said they were a "work of ****ing art" and a "bunch of losers". Is that good? You purposly come here to try and convert people to your own religion, forcing your own brainwashed beliefs on them as if they were the absolute truth and if they do not believe in them, they are lesser than you.

So, you are one of those FSTDT. You have a site called Fundies Say The Darndest Things, and I am supossed to respect that, and not feel offended? BTW, I appologized many times for that, and I have even changed my doctrineal views since. So, while I agree with what I did was wrong, it was a time in my life, where there was an absence of God. So, your statement doesn't hold ground.

 

[azmurath]

So, you are one of those FSTDT. You have a site called Fundies Say The Darndest Things, and I am supossed to respect that, and not feel offended? BTW, I appologized many times for that, and I have even changed my doctrineal views since. So, while I agree with what I did was wrong, it was a time in my life, where there was an absence of God. So, your statement doesn't hold ground.

That was 3 weeks ago, who is to say you have changed?

 

[BigChrisfilm]

That was 3 weeks ago, who is to say you have changed?

That was like 2 months ago. You skipped my comment about that being a time where I lacked God in my heart.

 

[FadingWhispers3]

Evil is the absence of God. Not the absence of God in this world, but in your heart.

Ah. So God is not omnipresent? Good to know.

 

[arunma]

Hi, I am back for now. Until I get banned again, you know the bible talks alot about Christians being.... well, never mind.

Evil is the absence of God. Not the absence of God in this world, but in your heart.

I have bigger theological fish to fry than "why does God allow evil in the world?" If people choose not to believe in God, I can certainly respect this on the basis that everyone has the right to believe (or disbelieve) whatever he chooses. But I find it very difficult to take most atheist arguments seriously. They seem very simplistic.

 

[BigChrisfilm]

Evil is the absence of God. Not the absence of God in this world, but in your heart.

Ah. So God is not omnipresent? Good to know.

This seems to come up everytime I make this statement. God is omnipresent, but he isn't working in your life. You have taken him, and put him in the back of you heart. You put him in a box, and lost the key. That means God might as WELL not be in your heart.

 

[BigChrisfilm]

I have bigger theological fish to fry than "why does God allow evil in the world?" If people choose not to believe in God, I can certainly respect this on the basis that everyone has the right to believe (or disbelieve) whatever he chooses. But I find it very difficult to take most atheist arguments seriously. They seem very simplistic.

Yea, but I try. Otherwise, I have nothing better to do. It is easy to come up with answers to their questions, but it is like using a dead fish as a hammer to bulid a house to get them to understand them.

 

[azmurath]

That was like 2 months ago. You skipped my comment about that being a time where I lacked God in my heart.

Ok, how much can a person really change in 2 months?

Even though the post was made at least a week after May 2, so that is at most 6 weeks.

 

[azmurath]

This seems to come up everytime I make this statement. God is omnipresent, but he isn't working in your life. You have taken him, and put him in the back of you heart. You put him in a box, and lost the key. That means God might as WELL not be in your heart.

No, I forcible cut my chest open and removed God. I dont want him, he is my enemy.

 

[FadingWhispers3]

This seems to come up everytime I make this statement. God is omnipresent, but he isn't working in your life. You have taken him, and put him in the back of you heart. You put him in a box, and lost the key. That means God might as WELL not be in your heart.

What make sense to you might make no sense at all to someone whom you hope to reach. Therefore it behooves you to explain what you mean. Can sight be described to one born blind? Can God 'in someone's heart' be described to someone who has never had God 'in their heart'? Nevertheless, you must try.

Does it mean that God chooses not to work unless the person's will is aligned with God? Does it mean that God can achieve a greater good by allowing sin and evil into the world temporarily? Does it mean that God's foreknowledge does not prevent the responsibility of human beings?

There are some things only christians understand... but christians aren't the ones you need to worry about, are they?

 

[arunma]

Yea, but I try. Otherwise, I have nothing better to do. It is easy to come up with answers to their questions, but it is like using a dead fish as a hammer to bulid a house to get them to understand them.

Well, when people ask why God allows evil, I usually respond that God allows bad things to happen to good people not in order to punish them for their sins (since God often causes Christians to suffer), but to give humans an earthly allegory to what fate awaits those who do not repent of their sins and turn to Christ. I also cite St. Luke 13:1-5. They often tell me that my answer does not excuse God for allowing evil.

And therein lies the problem. At this point, we are no longer asking why God allows evil, but rather we are trying to judge God for doing so. Anyone who believes in a sovereign God (and who knows what it means to believe in a sovereign God) essentially believes that the universe is run by a dictator. Granted, God is a benevolent dictator who is full of compassion, but he is a dictator nonetheless. As humans, we are not given the privilege of questioning God's actions. We can certainly ask him for an explanation (which he sometimes provides), but we may not stand in judgment over him. The atheist commits folly by concluding the nonexistence of God on the basis that God does not act according to the atheist's moral standards.

Again, I'm not attempting to judge atheists for their beliefs. I'm only trying to explain why an atheist will have a hard time converting me to his faith (though he is always welcome to try).

 

[BigChrisfilm]

Ok, how much can a person really change in 2 months?

Even though the post was made at least a week after May 2, so that is at most 6 weeks.

Turned from a drug addict into a recovering addict in two months. I turned from a non biblical God to a bible believing, baptised with water and the holy spirit Christian in 2 months. You would be surprised what you can do in two months.

 

[BigChrisfilm]

No, I forcible cut my chest open and removed God. I dont want him, he is my enemy.

You are right, he is your enemy.

 

[BigChrisfilm]

This seems to come up everytime I make this statement. God is omnipresent, but he isn't working in your life. You have taken him, and put him in the back of you heart. You put him in a box, and lost the key. That means God might as WELL not be in your heart.

What make sense to you might make no sense at all to someone whom you hope to reach. Therefore it behooves you to explain what you mean. Can sight be described to one born blind? Can God 'in someone's heart' be described to someone who has never had God 'in their heart'? Nevertheless, you must try.

Does it mean that God chooses not to work unless the person's will is aligned with God? Does it mean that God can achieve a greater good by allowing sin and evil into the world temporarily? Does it mean that God's foreknowledge does not prevent the responsibility of human beings?

There are some things only christians understand... but christians aren't the ones you need to worry about, are they?

I agree, I am not worried about any of that. I am worried about them.

 

[BigChrisfilm]

Well, when people ask why God allows evil, I usually respond that God allows bad things to happen to good people not in order to punish them for their sins (since God often causes Christians to suffer), but to give humans an earthly allegory to what fate awaits those who do not repent of their sins and turn to Christ. I also cite St. Luke 13:1-5. They often tell me that my answer does not excuse God for allowing evil.

And therein lies the problem. At this point, we are no longer asking why God allows evil, but rather we are trying to judge God for doing so. Anyone who believes in a sovereign God (and who knows what it means to believe in a sovereign God) essentially believes that the universe is run by a dictator. Granted, God is a benevolent dictator who is full of compassion, but he is a dictator nonetheless. As humans, we are not given the privilege of questioning God's actions. We can certainly ask him for an explanation (which he sometimes provides), but we may not stand in judgment over him. The atheist commits folly by concluding the nonexistence of God on the basis that God does not act according to the atheist's moral standards.

Again, I'm not attempting to judge atheists for their beliefs. I'm only trying to explain why an atheist will have a hard time converting me to his faith (though he is always welcome to try).

I think the real problem is the something I can relate to. I was the master at shifting the blame. I could have made everyone in the world be wrong for everything I was doing. I stole 2,000 dollars because my mom made me quit college, lol. I have a storied past, and know far more about them then they ever will about me. I have been there, done that. I know how they think, I have thought that way before. They think it is God's fault for what they do. If Man didn't exist, evil wouldn't exist either. They don't want to take responsiblity for what they do. If something bad happens to them, the first thing they say is, see, God made this happen to me. God isn't real, because he will not rescue me, and let me do it again. They want an enablor. That is what I wanted while I was a drug addict. That is what they want, someone that is going to let them sin all they want, and give, give, give.

 

[azmurath]

Turned from a drug addict into a recovering addict in two months. I turned from a non biblical God to a bible believing, baptised with water and the holy spirit Christian in 2 months. You would be surprised what you can do in two months.

And apparently before then you were a good, Bible reading Christian, and now you are a... good, Bible reading Christian. What has changed? How can a person not do evil? According to Islam, you are committing evil by being non-Islamic, is their evil not as justifiable as your evil?