The existence - or lack of - a God is one of humanity's fundamental questions. Since the first birth, the first sunrise, the first death, humans have sought to explain the world around them. The whole of human existence, in the end, comes down to this: Is there a God?
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On the fence
to the question "if God exist where is there evil?"
Within your question you have two major assumptions that are false...
First of all, you assume that God can contradict himself, which is logically impossible.
Let me state for the record, God absolutely cannot contradict himself. If you think you see a contradiction, check your premises.
God created a world where people had freedom and free will. Hence, it follows logically that God cannot create people with absolutely free will without the possibility that people might choose evil.
Secondly, you assume humans and God share the same definition of "good."
You say that if a person is in poverty that is bad. Yes and no. It is true that they may lead an exceptionally painful existence, but God's measure of good is how many people accept him freely and enter heaven. If the only way a particular person might turn to God is through suffering, then that suffering was good. Since while the short term suffering may seem terrible, it is nothing compared to an eternity away from God.
- mkovach
September 11, 2008 11:08PM
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a reply ...
Free will cannot explain evil for a couple of reasons. Presumably good is inherently better for all than evil; humans do evil things because they are too weak or too ignorant to choose rightly; both our ignorance and our weakness are 'fixable' by God (if God exists). Having chosen to give us free will but not the wisdom or skill to use it rightly is analogous to giving a deadly object to a child, and then blaming the child for the outcome.
Free will also cannot explain the evil that befalls us due to natural events. This is a different category of evil; and is independent of human action. Blaming humans for this is irrational.
If God is all-powerful and Good, it follows logically that along with free-will he would give us the ability to use it rightly. The pervasiveness of suffering and evil show He did not; therefore (logically, again) God is either not all-powerful or not Good.
The argument that our suffering is meant to bring us to God is perverse. Again, we sin out of ignorance or weakness. God does not NEED to "lead" us to him, He could just give us the information we need to come to him. Remember: for God, no infliction of suffering on us is ever NECESSARY; for God, nothing is necessary. Therefore it is a choice. We are how we are because God (if God exists) chose to make us as we are.
- sean s
September 23, 2008 12:30PM
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"Good" and "Not-Good"
Keep in mind that "good" and "not-good" - I reject the notion of "evil" - are completely context dependent. There is no "good" or "not-good" without point of view. The suggestion that anything is "good" or "not-good" inherently outside of point of view is the same mistaken suggestion that there is meaning or purpose behind all. The fact is, the meaning of a thing is individually determined. Without point of view, there is no meaning.
Meaning and the word "meaning" are human invention.
One must and can only act from one's own point of view in specific context. The "good" can be anything. The "not-good" can be anything. You must answer why it is "good" or "not-good" and to whom - every time.
- Naumadd
October 16, 2008 9:30PM
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mkovach
29 May 2009
I like what you had to say about God. What you need to understand is that many people really do not want to know the truth because it would require them to do some soul searching of their own. It is easier to blame God for the ills of the world than to research one's soul and take a good hard look at ourselves. How could there be good w/o bad, right w/o wrong, life w/o death? Remember whenever we become full of ourselves we open the door to true evil, Satan. God wants us to love him because we want to, not because we have to, ie free will. In today's society too much importance is put on money and material things in my humble opinion.
There are people who do not consider themselves poor, although by others standards most likely would be considered poor. If you believe in God, you must also know that Satan is his rival, and will do what it takes to attempt to dehumanize humans in the eyes of other humans. God won't fall for it however many humans will and do. I believe that there are millions of tragedies in this world that could be easily laid at Satan's door. He loves to see people ponder over whether there is a God, it is his mission. We do have choices in this world, whether or not people see that have choices or not is another story. To simply do nothing is a choice, and if Satan can keep us reacting instead of acting, he has us on the fence post.
For me God does exist because when I look back over my life, and I see the many times God was there for me when no one else was. It would not have mattered if I had a lot or money or none, because I was in the hospital on machine that was breathing for me. They were pumping me full of morphine/paralytic drugs so I would remain still because I was told I was fighting the machine to breath on my own. It took me 3 months to be able to get my arms, legs, and hands to function properly. I remember walking around in Walmart for 3 hours trying to gain strengh in my legs.
The wonder of it all was I didn't remember hardly any of it, until I was told. What I remembered was praying in a safe place within myself. I saw my life and my loved ones lives and how much I loved them. I spoke with a woman whom I'm told no one ever saw in my room, yet she was with me all the time. I saw good times and sad times, and things I could have done differently in my past, and a chance to do them differently in the future. I saw violence and dispair and death whirl around me yet I was not afraid.
It is okay with me if others choose to believe God does not exist, probably wouldn't be able to change their minds no matter what I said. I could have easily died in that hospital, but God had other plans, my daughter and my grandchildren needed me to be here for them, which I am. I am with my family, and to me that is worth more than any dollar value. We are not rich, we are not poor, however that is in terms of dollars and cents, we are rich in many other ways. I hope that what I have shared with you will make you think back over your lives, wonder what you might find. Thank you for reading my missive, it is longer than I had planned it to be. Sincerely lfschrawyer
- lfschrawyer1 May 29, 2009 4:14PM
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Maybe some of the praise for your recovery should be reserved for the medical team who were there to help you through it. People generally seem to account all of the good things that happen to them as being attributable to God and discount all of the bad things. It's a ridiculous notion. It's a textbook case of specious reasoning. Why do you curry favour with God more than a child left to die in Africa. Why doesn't he step in to help them? Quite simple really. He doesn't exist.
- RedDragon
June 4, 2009 7:53AM
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And just who do you think provided that medical team with the skills to save anothers life? I have to say I feel sad for people who think as you do. Specious reasoning, ten dollars words won't convince me nor anyone else who has faith and hope by the grace of God that He does not exist. The text book you should be reading is the Bible. You speak of African children , why go so far from home, there are plenty of children in the states who have some of the same problems as those in Africa. Maybe just maybe if you read the bible , you would learn more about God and why things go the way that they do. Exactly what makes you so sure God doesn't help African children or any child for that matter. My niece spent two years of her life in Africa helping and teaching the very children you speak of. God comes in many forms through many people, I am sorry you feel the way that you do. It must be difficult to know what's out there walking around with blinders on all the time.
If you want to know why God does what He does, why don't you go to the source and ask Him?
Have a Blessed Day.......
- lfschrawyer1 June 6, 2009 2:29AM
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Another reply
Before I start, I think it's best to inform you that I had a strong Christian upbringing and education , so I am quite well versed on the Bible. The difference between you and I is that at one point I actually decided to use my brain and to be honest, I couldn't be happier!
There you go with that specious reasoning again! You might want to look up it up before responding next time. I actually feel sorry for people like you who tie their lives to a myth. That's one thing you Christians tend to overlook. The reality is that you do not need a book to tell you the difference between and right and wrong. Granted, there is a lot of value in the message that the Bible spreads (and, sadly, a lot of hatred as well.... see the Old Testament) but it doesn't make the stories any truer. You might want to consider that notion. It's quite liberating I assure you.
I think it's fantastic that your niece went to Africa to help out however you are devaluing the work that she has done and the good person that she is by implying that she is doing it because God told her to.
For the record, my home is in England. I'm sure I can find some disadvantaged children there too if I look hard enough. I fail to see what point you're trying to make though...
- RedDragon
June 9, 2009 5:35AM
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just a comment
Saying that god doesn't exist because he does not step in and counteract problems that humans have brought on themselves is an unreasonable statement. I'm not saying that the that the people that are dying in Africa deserve to die to to genocide or starvation or anything else. I am saying that since god gave man and women free will the things that befall us are the doings of man. We create starvation and war and poverty . Since god gave us free will humans choose their own path whether it is for the bettering of man or for the worsening. It is not his choices that put people in these situations but our own. Why would he step in and change thing when we have the power to change things for ourselves. We create our own world not god he just gave us the power to do so.
- ruralamerican
September 5, 2009 1:13AM
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Have you noticed
that the people that seem to blame God for everything are the ones that don't believe in him?
- mike1948
September 6, 2009 9:58PM
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blame game
It is not blaming God... it is just postulating that if a deity existed with the qualities usually associated with God then why would things happen as they do?
- MrBook
September 11, 2009 7:13PM
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God?
Which is to say that maybe there is a God but he isn't what people think he is. People find it hard to think of God without anthropomorphizing him. This distorts who God really is.
- mike1948
September 11, 2009 11:53PM
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