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Why is there evil?

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randompalindrome

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I read a quote the other day, I'll have to paraphrase.
If god is willing to stop evil but is unable he is not omnipotent, if he is able but not willing he is malevelolent (sp), if he is willing and able then where does evil come from and if he is unwilling and unable then he is not god.
right
ok
any responces, I'd prefer it if you responded to the quote logically as opposed to answering the question 'why is there evil'
 
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039

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First of all, recognize that there is no duality of evil and good but rather evil is a lack of good, just as darkness is a lack of light. Evil is neccesary in this world for freewill. Freewill neccesitates the ability to accept what's good, but also holds the ability to reject it. Therefore evil is neccessary and inseperable from freewill. It must also be said that evil didn't come into the world when Adam and Eve sinned, but rather they had the capibility to do it already (or else, how would they have sinned?).

God is going to do something about it - I don't think he would ever get rid of it, since that would take choice from us (but, heh, then again I don't know what the full plan of God is), but he definately is going to close all accounts.
 
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Deren

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This is an old argument that has been proved to be fallacious in nature. In fact, Alvin Plantinga wrote a small book dealing with the question entitled, "God, Freedom, and Evil." The gist of his rebuttal (which he called it the "free will defense"), which no atheist has been able to effectively respond to, any many of the more noted atheist conceded that Plantinga was right, is that both God and evil can co-exist together in the same space and time. That:
  • An omnscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent God created all humans as free moral agents, hence they have the capacity to choose either good or evil.
  • Because of God's omni-attributes, He could only have a good reason for creating the world in the manner that He did.
  • Therefore, even though God created the world with the potential for evil, it was human agents, with the capacity to choose either good or evil, who made evil the actuality. Yet, God was not surprised, but merely exercise him omni-ability to use evil to actualize the ultimate good for the creation He created.
So, evil exists because God allowed it for a greater good, but it was humans that gave evil its actual existence through the free choice they made by rebelling against God in the first place.
 
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Deren

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randompalindrome said:
Then god could do something about it, god could take away free will, why doesn't god do that?
Click to expand...

Because the greater good that God has in store has not been fulfilled yet. But, rest assure, evil will come to an end one day. The question then becomes, whose side will you be on when that day comes?
 
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Atlantians

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Evil exists becaues God wanted to design a being with a will free enouhg to chose to or not to follow His design so that if the being did, it would be genuine and not programed.
This does not justify going against God's will, but allows it to make perfect going with God's will.
Anything against the will of God is evil.

A better question, what is God doing about evil?

God came to save us.

He chose to instead of Glorify Himself by destroying us (which would be a demonstration of stoping evil immediately), to glorify Himself by saving us because He loved His creation.

He then, in His infinity, came as a man and died on a cross.
This ended evil for eternity.
In the macro sense.

Now that end has yet to be actualized.
But it is comming.
 
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Criada

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I am able to protect my children - I could shut them in a nice room with everything they need and no possible danger of harm.
I don't!!

I let them go out and play, fall off things, fall into things, injure themselves, be hurt and upset by others.
Why?
Am I a terrible parent?
No ( well- I try not to be!)
I want them to learn, to make good choices, to grow strong, to know what will hurt them and why.

If I can see the need to give my children that freedom, then surely God can!!
He hates it when we choose evil - just as I hate it when my son chooses to climb onto that rotting branch...
But he wants us to become mature beings, able to choose right for ourselves, not babies who must be protected from wrong choices!
 
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