If God is all-powerful, all-knowing and benevolent, why is there evil?

Answer 1

I can answer this in one word: freewill. Just like darkness was not created, it is just the absence of light and coldness was not created, it is simply the absence of heat, evil was not created, evil is the absence of good, the absence of God.

Here's something else to think about: if we really believe God is all-powerful and all-knowing and basically way too big for any of us to understand, how could we even begin to question the things that does when we have such a minuscule view of everything.?

Answer 2

Five options:

1. Evil does not exist.
2. God is not all-powerful.
3. God is not all-knowing.
4. God is not benevolent.
5. God does not exist.

OK:

1. is absurd. Evil obviously exists, though there are philosophers and theologians who play fast and loose with this one.
2. is the option taken by process philosophers and theologians such as A.N. Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne.
3. is an interesting possibility; I don't know of any theological discussions about it.
4. is the answer proposed by C.G. Jung in his "Answer to Job." I sure as hell hope it's not true. An omnipotent, omniscient God who's morally ambivalent would make the universe hell, I think.
5. is the answer proposed by atheists.

I go halfway between atheism and theism. I think that there is an empirically observable creative power in the universe, and it's that to which I give my ultimate commitment. But I see no evidence that that creative power is personal, and therefore no evidence that it's omniscient (and certainly not omnipotent). My big theological influence in this respect is the Unitarian theologian Henry Nelson Wieman.

But your basic point is certainly correct: theodicy is the death-knell for traditional theism, end of discussion.

Answer 3

Genesis 3:1 beginning:
Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said. Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shalll not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Eve has a choice. She choose evil.
God only wants people to worship him if they want to. He will NOT make you. Neither did he make Adam and Eve.

Answer 4

you're surely acceptable. No loving God ought to ever submit anybody to countless years of torture for sins that we are not even attentive to one/2 the time. Even those who commit undesirable crimes will in no way burn in hell. The scriptures obviously say in Ecclesiastics that the "lifeless are concious of no longer some thing in any respect." because the lifeless haven't any unsleeping existence, hell won't be able to be a fiery position of torment the position the depraved struggle through after lack of life. Adam changed into even instructed that from airborne dirt and dirt he got here and to airborne dirt and dirt he ought to go back, no longer some thing changed into ever stated to him or Eve about their sould being punished for eternity. as well, on a more advantageous logical theory..... A burning hell must be run by making use of devil. If God despatched human beings to hell, he ought to have devil as an worker. The Bible obviously says that devil will be destoyed, so hell won't be able to be an portion of literal torment. The Hebrew word for Hell is Sheol, which wisely interprets to grave. regrettably, "Christians" instituted the pagan education of hell to scare individuals into submission.

Answer 5

Because man chose evil over the love of God.

Answer 6

because satan is around Satan is a fallen angel who took a third of the angels with him they and mankind themselves do most of the evil. Satan wants noone to have good he wants to destroy everyone and everything. mankind rebeled against God in the Garden of Eden with adam& eve when sin entered in so did evil.God will soon send Jesus and clear everything up and make things right. .He hates evil and sin and it's almost time to set things right.

Answer 7

God created Satan, once his most beautiful Angel, who now owns the earth and is the King of evil, the Prince of lies and darkness. (It's in the Bible)

Answer 8

To see how strong one's faith is in God. God wants to see how much we trust in him and turn away evil.

Answer 9

cause he created evil (yes it says this in the bible)

Isaiah 45:7
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Answer 10

It goes back to original sin. We are born with a tendency to sin and if you sin you make sin your own. Then you must repent for the remission of sins. Man is born into evils of all kinds and thus man is born into hell as man's first state.