Why does God allow evil to exist on Earth?

loudatheist101 · Feb 24, 2007

God is said to be all knowing, all powerful, and all loving, so why does he allow evil to exist on Earth?

Some of you may say evil exists because of our sins, others say its the devil, however, God is all powerful, so he should have the power to eliminate those things. Why won't he?

Many people say that evil exists on Earth as a punishment from God, so our all loving God kills innocent children and adults because of someone else's sin?

"Well, we all sin" Well, shouldn't our all knowing perfect God know that we would all sin when he created us? So why does he punish us for it?

Thank you! This should be a good debate.

martymonster · Feb 24, 2007

Actually the bible says that God creates evil.

Evil is just the fire that God uses to refine us like gold!

Delphin · Feb 24, 2007

This world is temporary. Evil exists because it shows us what life is like without God. Even though God is with us when we ask for him, he generally stays out of our messes, but still God is in control. This world is but a temporary thing, and he will destroy all that is bad and sinful.

parsa · Feb 24, 2007

I'm not sure what kind of evil you are referring to.

If you are talking about people doing bad things, well then IMO, the answer is simple, because we have 'choice'. I think God respects the right of 'choice' He has given us very much.

loudatheist101 · Feb 24, 2007

So, God kills innocent kids and adults just to show what it's like without him? Why can't he simply stop it all. He can, but he will not.

So, God respects the option of choice more then the lives of his children?

Paisley · Feb 24, 2007

loudatheist101 said:
So, God kills innocent kids and adults just to show what it's like without him? Why can't he simply stop it all. He can, but he will not.

So, God respects the option of choice more then the lives of his children?

Since when does God kill innocent children? I have never seen this happen. For those children and babies who die they go to heaven. They are now living, and are not dead. What a deal... to be able to live in Paradise for eternity.

I had a friend who had a teenage son that rode his friend's motorcycle without a helmet (friend says, "here, try out my new bike!") He gets on the thing without a helmet, nor permission from his parents and proceeds to get hit by a car and dies. My friend says God killed her son. That is ridiculous though, because God didn't get in the car and recklessly hit someone on a motorcyle. Quit blaming God for things he never did. Another story of a girl and her friends that got ran down while they were in the shower at camp by a huge truck. The truck driver was drunk. She lost her leg and her friends. A tragedy. She said God did it. God never got into the driver's seat of a truck after drinking to run people down. If these drivers had been believers of God and his Word they would have respected life a lot more, and not done these things. ("Love thy neighbor as thyself.") God is not responsible for people who do bad things... those people are responsible. We do pray that these people who do bad things will find God and repent and be saved.

loudatheist101 · Feb 24, 2007

RighteousJuliana said:
Since when does God kill innocent children? I have never seen this happen. For those children and babies who die they go to heaven. They are now living, and are not dead. What a deal... to be able to live in Paradise for eternity.

I had a friend who had a teenage son that rode his friend's motorcycle without a helmet (friend says, "here, try out my new bike!") He gets on the thing without a helmet, nor permission from his parents and proceeds to get hit by a car and dies. My friend says God killed her son. That is ridiculous though, because God didn't get in the car and recklessly hit someone on a motorcyle. Quit blaming God for things he never did. Another story of a girl and her friends that got ran down while they were in the shower at camp by a huge truck. The truck driver was drunk. She lost her leg and her friends. A tragedy. She said God did it. God never got into the driver's seat of a truck after drinking to run people down. If these drivers had been believers of God and his Word they would have respected life a lot more, and not done these things. ("Love thy neighbor as thyself.") God is not responsible for people who do bad things... those people are responsible. We do pray that these people who do bad things will find God and repent and be saved.

Umm, sorry but, God lets these bad people do things and he is resposible for us. He created us.

Also, you seem t think all people who do bad things are non Christains, well, did you know that 12% of the U.S. population is atheist, while only .5% of the prison population is atheist? So, most people who do bad things have already been "saved".

Paisley · Feb 24, 2007

loudatheist101 said:
Umm, sorry but, God lets these bad people do things and he is resposible for us. He created us.

Also, you seem t think all people who do bad things are non Christains, well, did you know that 12% of the U.S. population is atheist, while only .5% of the prison population is atheist? So, most people who do bad things have already been "saved".

Your figures mean nothing to me. If Christians do bad things they are not heeding the Word of God. It is also foretold in the Bible that there would be a falling away. That is just more proof of that. Christians cannot keep on sinning and say they are saved in truth.

EverlastingMan · Feb 24, 2007

I really do not understand at all why so many theological topics are posted here, isn't there a section set aside for theology? You'd probably get a better answer there.

Anyhow, the Christian answer has always been quite simple:
1. God wants us to love him.
2. Freewill is necessary to truly love someone.
3. Freewill implies choice.
4. We don't always make the best choices and often choose to disobey or otherwise ignore God.
5. Said (4.) results in sin.

plindboe · Feb 24, 2007

RighteousJuliana said:
Since when does God kill innocent children? I have never seen this happen.

Well, he killed innocent children in Genesis (the Flood). He ordered the killing of innocent children in Exodus as well. If he created cancer, lethal mutations and Aids too (considering that he created everything), then he kills children that way as well.

Peter

EverlastingMan · Feb 24, 2007

Even strict creationists don't hold that God created specifically every single species that exists currently.

loudatheist101 · Feb 24, 2007

God is all powerful, he has the power to stop cancer and AIDS, why won't he? He's all loving, he should have the love to stop these terrible things.

He's all knowing, he knows how to stop these things.

Why won't he?

EverlastingMan · Feb 24, 2007

EverlastingMan said:
I really do not understand at all why so many theological topics are posted here, isn't there a section set aside for theology? You'd probably get a better answer there.

Anyhow, the Christian answer has always been quite simple:
1. God wants us to love him.
2. Freewill is necessary to truly love someone.
3. Freewill implies choice.
4. We don't always make the best choices and often choose to disobey or otherwise ignore God.
5. Said (4.) results in sin.

The Christian holds that we reap what we sow.

loudatheist101 · Feb 24, 2007

EverlastingMan said:
The Christian holds that we reap what we sow.

???

Paisley · Feb 24, 2007

Toxic substances on the earth are known to cause cancer. Greed makes large corporation spoil the earth with toxins, and cigarette smoking, cause lung cancer. These are a direct result of sin. Immorality spreads AIDS.

However, even so, there are some kids that, yes, contract leukemia and other such things. My grandmother passed away with leukemia. People die every day from causes other than manmade things, yet this world is temporary. So what if I died tomorrow? I get to meet my Lord sooner, rather than later. Jesus gave us hope that we would meet our loved ones beyond the grave. Instead of doing all the complaints against God, why not try to understand that sin was ultimately the cause of all degradation to life on this earth. Jesus came to heal us all. If you choose not to believe then you will miss out on Paradise, and life everlasting. What amount of suffering we have here on earth is all worth it, according to the Bible. You want to set blame on a Holy God for making it so, but having a hate relationship with the Almighty is no way to get him to change his mind. This is the way it is.

loudatheist101 · Feb 24, 2007

medley said:
Toxic substances on the earth are known to cause cancer. Greed makes large corporation spoil the earth with toxins, and cigarette smoking, cause lung cancer. These are a direct result of sin. Immorality spreads AIDS.

However, even so, there are some kids that, yes, contract leukemia and other such things. My grandmother passed away with leukemia. People die every day from causes other than manmade things, yet this world is temporary. So what if I died tomorrow? I get to meet my Lord sooner, rather than later. Jesus gave us hope that we would meet our loved ones beyond the grave. Instead of doing all the complaints against God, why not try to understand that sin was ultimately the cause of all degradation to life on this earth. Jesus came to heal us all. If you choose not to believe then you will miss out on Paradise, and life everlasting. What amount of suffering we have here on earth is all worth it, according to the Bible. You want to set blame on a Holy God for making it so, but having a hate relationship with the Almighty is no way to get him to change his mind. This is the way it is.

I do not agree with anything you just said.

So you probably think it's fine kids die of cancer because you believe they are in paradise? Ok.

Well, what stops God from eliminating these things that kill loved ones? Nothing should, unless he really isn't all powerful.

EverlastingMan · Feb 25, 2007

LA let me try to explain this yet again. . . God--more than anything--wants us to Love Him willingly. If, however, He intervenes in our lives and makes everything all pink, fluffy, and happy He would have to take away our will. Thus making us unable to love Him; thus, making it so He doesn't get what He wants.*

There is a reason that this question has been around for as long as humanity itself and yet religion of any sort still survives.
*And since you'll probably now go and hop up and down saying that God must be really selfish to make us go through all this so we can love Him. . . No. A) Christians believe that Loving God and being Loved by Him is the best thing that could possibly happen to us. B) It didn't have to be this way. We messed it up.

I don't understand why people never just, I don't know, Google these things. Or even read some theology. I mean I really don't understand it. It's fun to debate and all but when a question is so incredibly stale and when there is really not much in the way of anything but sarcasm. . .

Cancer and other things like it are caused by the perversion of good. For instance, I know I read in Scientific American or somewhere that it looked like stem cells were a major factor behind cancer. Stem cells are something that can do a large amount of good. It is their perversion or mutation that results in the evil. Then again notice that cancer rates in the 20th centuries and before were phenomenally low. The increase in cancer rates we have experienced over the last century is largely our own fault. We've been using cancer causing chemicals like mad.

loudatheist101 · Feb 25, 2007

EverlastingMan said:
LA let me try to explain this yet again. . . God--more than anything--wants us to Love Him willingly. If, however, He intervenes in our lives and makes everything all pink, fluffy, and happy He would have to take away our will. Thus making us unable to love Him; thus, making it so He doesn't get what He wants.*

There is a reason that this question has been around for as long as humanity itself and yet religion of any sort still survives.
*And since you'll probably now go and hop up and down saying that God must be really selfish to make us go through all this so we can love Him. . . No. A) Christians believe that Loving God and being Loved by Him is the best thing that could possibly happen to us. B) It didn't have to be this way. We messed it up.

I don't understand why people never just, I don't know, Google these things. Or even read some theology. I mean I really don't understand it. It's fun to debate and all but when a question is so incredibly stale and when there is really not much in the way of anything but sarcasm. . .

Cancer and other things like it are caused by the perversion of good. For instance, I know I read in Scientific American or somewhere that it looked like stem cells were a major factor behind cancer. Stem cells are something that can do a large amount of good. It is their perversion or mutation that results in the evil. Then again notice that cancer rates in the 20th centuries and before were phenomenally low. The increase in cancer rates we have experienced over the last century is largely our own fault. We've been using cancer causing chemicals like mad.

We messed up, God is all knowing, he created us, he should've known. Also, why won't he make it an instict to love him? Why does he make life this big test to love some guy, and if they don't, they go to rot and burn forever? If he would simply show himself, I would believe in him and love him, but he won't show himself at all. All he left was a book not even written by him. And we have no science evidence for him. There is more evidence of life on Mars then there is a god existing.

You say if he just let everyone into paradise, it won't be what he wants. Pretty greedy huh.

The reason why we post such hard questions here, is basically to debate.

EverlastingMan · Feb 25, 2007

loudatheist101 said:
We messed up, God is all knowing, he created us, he should've known.

Who's to say He didn't? Certainly He knew; He clearly knows that it is worth it.

Also, why won't he make it an instict to love him?

Because LOVE REQUIRES A FREEWILL! Yes, folks. I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, and I'll continue to attempt to get this very elementary block of Christian Theology pounded into your brains till my own implodes from your utter insistence on ignoring said premise.

Why does he make life this big test to love some guy, and if they don't, they go to rot and burn forever?

I get the feeling that you didn't read my previous post. Or you're just very happy to disregard it. I think this statement summarizes it nicely:
God made evil possible; but free will creatures make evil actual.
That is to say, it didn't have to be this way. In fact, God didn't make it this way--we did. This is again basic theology: the fall and freewill. I suggest you enroll in a Sunday School Class. I mean really, this is such basic theology! (Not to say you're alone here. Just about every single Atheist and other detractor of the Christian faith seems to have about the same understanding.)

If he would simply show himself, I would believe in him and love him, but he won't show himself at all. All he left was a book not even written by him.

And we have no science evidence for him.

Click to expand...

Naturally, we've made it impossible to find any. Science-as we normally think of it-is defined by Webster and Merriam(m-w.com) as:
such knowledge or such a system of knowledge concerned with the physical world and its phenomena

So you know. A spiritual being isn't exactly going to fit in there.

There is more evidence of life on Mars then there is a god existing.

Click to expand...

More scientific evidence. A very different thing.

You say if he just let everyone into paradise, it won't be what he wants. Pretty greedy huh.

Click to expand...

I'm gonna quote myself here:
And since you'll probably now go and hop up and down saying that God must be really selfish [i.e. greedy] to make us go through all this so we can love Him. . . No. A) Christians believe that Loving God and being Loved by Him is the best thing that could possibly happen to us. B) It didn't have to be this way. We messed it up.

The reason why we post such hard questions here, is basically to debate.

Click to expand...

That's the thing though. I really don't think this qualifies. Christian theology hammered out an answer to this centuries ago, and they haven't needed to change their answer yet.

By the way, I probably seem rather ridiculous and pompous. But I'm not trying to be. Most of my comments that seem that way are meant to be sarcastic. I just never bother to get that point across because emoticons seem the only way and I hate them.

loudatheist101 · Feb 25, 2007

EverlastingMan said:
Who's to say He didn't? Certainly He knew; He clearly knows that it is worth it.

Because LOVE REQUIRES A FREEWILL! Yes, folks. I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, and I'll continue to attempt to get this very elementary block of Christian Theology pounded into your brains till my own implodes from your utter insistence on ignoring said premise.

I get the feeling that you didn't read my previous post. Or you're just very happy to disregard it. I think this statement summarizes it nicely:
God made evil possible; but free will creatures make evil actual.
That is to say, it didn't have to be this way. In fact, God didn't make it this way--we did. This is again basic theology: the fall and freewill. I suggest you enroll in a Sunday School Class. I mean really, this is such basic theology! (Not to say you're alone here. Just about every single Atheist and other detractor of the Christian faith seems to have about the same understanding.)

If he would simply show himself, I would believe in him and love him, but he won't show himself at all. All he left was a book not even written by him.

Naturally, we've made it impossible to find any. Science-as we normally think of it-is defined by Webster and Merriam(m-w.com) as:
such knowledge or such a system of knowledge concerned with the physical world and its phenomena

So you know. A spiritual being isn't exactly going to fit in there.

More scientific evidence. A very different thing.

I'm gonna quote myself here:
And since you'll probably now go and hop up and down saying that God must be really selfish [i.e. greedy] to make us go through all this so we can love Him. . . No. A) Christians believe that Loving God and being Loved by Him is the best thing that could possibly happen to us. B) It didn't have to be this way. We messed it up.
That's the thing though. I really don't think this qualifies. Christian theology hammered out an answer to this centuries ago, and they haven't needed to change their answer yet.

By the way, I probably seem rather ridiculous and pompous. But I'm not trying to be. Most of my comments that seem that way are meant to be sarcastic. I just never bother to get that point across because emoticons seem the only way and I hate them.

Click to expand...

How about God makes it so love does not require free will?

You say free will makes evil actual. Why did God make it possible? What is the point?

You say that scientific evidence is different from the evidence of the Christain god, is the "evidence" for the Christain god the same "evidence" for Zues, faries, Santa, Mayan Gods, Egyption Gods, etc?

You say every Non Christain has the same understanding of your religion, I think you have the same delustion of it. Sorry to offend you.

Why does God allow evil to exist on Earth?

Logic is the train, evidence is the track.

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