Why is there evil and why is there good? If God Loved us so much why did he allow Evil to exist?

Question

Everybody talks about free will is it the free will of the people in africa and other third world countries to suffer from starvation? Is it the free will of one child to be born and raped by his father? Is it th free will of a child who was born without arms and legs in the slum areas? Please explain and elaborate your answers...

Answer 1

Good and evil are relative terms. What is good to one person may not be so to another, just as what is evil to one person may not be to another. For example, I think that eating meat and subjecting animals to cruel experiments are evil acts, though I am sure that most other people would disagree with me about that. Also, most of us would agree that the Holocaust is a prime example of evil, but you can be sure that the Nazis thought that their actions were perfectly acceptable. There is no universal concept of good and evil.

Answer 2

Evil only exists because we humans label things (and people) as good/evil. Who are we to decide what is good and what is evil? For all we know, the things that we call 'evil' will produce good results in the long run, and were consequently good all along!

As an example - the war in Iraq. The killing and torture are horrifying to most of us, but if it gets us off our lazy, TV-watching butts and gets us to insist that our 'Representatives' treat other countries with respect, then it is a good thing. If it convinces the U.S. people that war is not the way to settle differences, then it is good. Maybe we all need the horror to shake us up and make us demand that our government operate responsibly.

Good/evil are so relative that (in general) no one can agree where the line between the two actually is. It is relative because it is an opinion and differs from person to person.

Good and Evil are human creations and not creations of any God or Supreme Being/Consciousness.

Answer 3

In Christian belief, God allowed Evil to exist, in fact created it, so that humans could have free will; the choice to do something other than what god would do. In that way a human can experience God. Eg. If you didn't know what cold was, you couldn't really define hot either.

There are many belief systems that don't include the idea of good and evil that are just as justified in terms of a philosophy or religion. The problem with understanding them is that we carry with us, the viewpoint of our families/communities/nations etc. and it becomes very hard to look open-mindedly at something that doesn't at least 50% agree with what we already believe.

I urge you to take a look at other modes of thought as well, to see if you still believe in good and evil. Try Buddhism, the writings of Khalil Gibran, the philosophies of Thomas Aquinas and Bishop George Berkley, native Indian beliefs, as well as history books about the life of Martin Luther and the split of the church into Protestant and Catholic. Read the gnostic texts from the Nag Hammadi cave (Gospels that the early Catholic church decided should not be included in the bible.) Read a biography of the life and beliefs of Mohandas Gandhi. Read the Quran to understand the reasons that Muslims are against many of the actions of westernized countries (and also why many Muslims denounce the terrorist actions of radical sects of Muslims because they often go directly against the teachings of the prophet Mohammed), or even just the serious of books called INTRODUCING (introducing Islam, Introducing Buddha, etc.) These and others will help you get a very wide view of human thought about living the honourable life and following the laws of God. Maybe you will better understand that the idea of Good and Evil is but one way to explain what happens on the earth.

Answer 4

One of the most common reasons skeptics reject the existence of God is due to the presence of evil in this universe. They reason that a perfect God would not create a universe in which evil exists. Skeptics claim that since God created everything that God must have also created evil. They even cite Bible verses, such as:
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. (Isaiah 45:7, KJV)

Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it? (Amos 3:6, KJV)

Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good? (Lamentations 3:38)

However, evil is not really a created thing. You can't see, touch, feel, smell or hear evil. It is not one of the fundamental forces of physics, nor does it consist of matter, energy, or the spatial dimensions of the universe. Still, skeptics like to claim that God created evil and cite the Bible to "prove" their point. The Bible is quite clear that God is not the author of evil and insists that He is incapable of doing so.

Isaiah 45:7 contrasts opposites. Darkness is the opposite of light. However, evil is not the opposite of peace. The Hebrew word translated "peace" is shâlôm,2 which has many meanings, mostly related to the well being of individuals. Râ‛âh,3 the Hebrew word translated "evil" in the KJV often refers to adversity or calamity. There are two forms of the word. Strong's H7451a most often refers to moral evil, whereas Strong's H7451b (the form used here) most often refers to calamity or distress. Obviously, "calamity" is a better antonym of "peace" than "evil."

Likewise, Amos 3:6 uses the same word, râ‛âh, referring to calamity or disaster. the context (a disaster happening to a city) does not refer to moral evil.

The King James Version of Lamentations 3:38 seems to suggest that God speaks both good and evil. However, if one reads the verse in context, the preceding verses indicate that God does not do or approve of evil.4 The verse following indicates that people should not complain in view of their sins.5 What the verse really is saying that God decrees times of good things and times of judgment. Lamentations was written by Jeremiah during a time of judgment, when Judah had gone off into exile. Jeremiah was chosen by God to be the prophet to tell Judah to reform or be judged. The people did not believe Jeremiah, and, therefore, fell under God's judgment. In Lamentations 3:38, the word translated "good" is ṭôb (Strong's H2896).6 The word usually refers to good things5 as opposed to bad things. Again, râ‛âh3 does not refer to moral evil, but calamities, in this verse. Likewise, the Bible commentaries indicate that the verse refers to God's judgment based upon people's sin.7

God is not the author of evil. However, God does reward and punish on the basis of good and bad behavior. Therefore, God does bring judgment and calamity (either directly or through human authorities) on those who rebel. God will ultimately judge all people, since rebels will not be allowed in the new, perfect creation.

Answer 5

Everything in nature has balance. There is an opposite to evrything. Good vs. evil. Hot vs. cold. You get the drift... Life is kind of like a test. God put us here on this Earth to live and test us to see which way we go- follow Him, or follow Satan. Satan repented on his own and was cast down to earth.

The universe is chaos. One thing always balances the other. Good exists because God is good. Evil exists because Satan tricked naiive Eve into eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge and gave Adam a bite. That created sin for the rest of us since we are descendants from them. The one thing we have to worry about now is Judgement Day.

Answer 6

In order to answer biblical questions, we need to go to the source of the question - the Bible.

If you study this question using the Bible, you will find that God did not "allow" evil to exist. In creating the spiritual and human beings, He gave both free moral will. That is, the choice to choose their actions. People make many choices every day because of this gift (otherwise we would only run on instinct like animals). Lucifier (means "morning light") coveted God's position of supreme ruler and tried to overtake His throne. The Bible states that Lucifier also turned a third of the angels against God with him.

God changed Lucifier's name to Satan and the angels became demons. God also banished them to the earth. Satan is referred to the "prince of the power of the air". In his anger, Satan has used every means possible (radio, TV, etc.) turn people away from God as he and his demons have.

Answer 7

'Good' and 'Evil'.... Two words that have tormrnted Mankind since the beginning of history... You ask why Evil exists... Let me tell you...
When do you know the joy of a full stomach...?
When you are Hungry
When do you know the meaning of Joy...?
When you are in Pain
In the same way, Evil is but an essential part of Goodness, as without it Good cannot be understood. (scientifically speaking Good is relative, Good gets better only when it becomes relative to Evil)
I am not God and I cannot answer for Him, but my opinion is that He made both Good and Evil because we will only then understand the beauty and joy of being good. He wanted us to experience the joy of being Good and doing Good and this is possible only when you have sorrow to compae with.

Answer 8

Does Evil Exist???...........


The University professor challenged his students with this question.

"Did God create everything that exists?"

A student bravely replied, "Yes he did!"

"God created everything?" The professor asked.

"Yes sir", the student replied.

The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are, then God is evil."

The student became quiet before such an answer. The professor, quite pleased with himself, boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, "Can I ask you a question professor?"

"Of course", replied the professor.

The student stood up and asked, "Professor does cold exist?"

"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?" The students snickered at the young man's question.

The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit
energy. Absolute zero (-460? F) is the total absence of heat; all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."



The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into
many colors and study the various wave lengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of Darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure
the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"

Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course as I have already said. We see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These
manifestations are nothing else but evil.

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least is does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

The young man's name -- Albert Einstein

Answer 9

Personally I don't think that God exists, I believe in science. As such, "good" and "evil" are in the eye of the beholder, or dictated by the society in which we live.

Most "evil" acts come forth from an instinct to survive, or make life better for yourself.

Answer 10

I have asked myself this many times. I believe God created a world with no eveil and then allowed man to have their freedom to make choices. We screwed up. Now we must deal with the evils until the end of time.