God's Power vs. His Goodness?

Question

How can god be "all-powerful" and yet allow the world to exist full of evil? I know this question has been posed before, and most people respond with the free will arguement. I'm a Christian myself, and I have my own ideas about this, but I was wondering what other people thought. If God is truly all-powerful, should he not be able to design a world which incorporated both goodness and free will? If he's all powerful, he should have the power to go beyond the powers of the universe, right?

Answer 1

To answ your question, God is allowing Satan and people to attempt to rule over themselves. It is God proving to his creation that Satan and people cannot successfully rule. The question came in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve decided to choose what was good for themselves instead of what God provided. In order to prove that God has the right to rule over his creation, it has taken time for him to allow Satan and all the evil that his influence to show that God's people will worship God despite if we die. So it is not because of selfishness that we worship God.
it is out of love for our creator.

Answer 2

Consider this illustration. Imagine that a teacher is telling his students how to solve a difficult problem. A clever but rebellious student claims that the teacher’s way of solving the problem is wrong. Implying that the teacher is not capable, this rebel insists that he knows a much better way to solve the problem. Some students think that he is right, and they also become rebellious. What should the teacher do? If he throws the rebels out of the class, what will be the effect on the other students? Will they not believe that their fellow student and those who joined him are right? All the other students in the class might lose respect for the teacher, thinking that he is afraid of being proved wrong. But suppose that the teacher allows the rebel to show the class how he would solve the problem.

Jehovah has done something similar to what the teacher does. Remember that the rebels in Eden were not the only ones involved. Millions of angels were watching. (Job 38:7; Daniel 7:10) How Jehovah handled the rebellion would greatly affect all those angels and eventually all intelligent creation. So, what has Jehovah done? He has allowed Satan to show how he would rule mankind. God has also allowed humans to govern themselves under Satan’s guidance.

The teacher in our illustration knows that the rebel and the students on his side are wrong. But he also knows that allowing them the opportunity to try to prove their point will benefit the whole class. When the rebels fail, all honest students will see that the teacher is the only one qualified to lead the class. They will understand why the teacher thereafter removes any rebels from the class. Similarly, Jehovah knows that all honesthearted humans and angels will benefit from seeing that Satan and his fellow rebels have failed and that humans cannot govern themselves. Like Jeremiah of old, they will learn this vital truth: “I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.”—Jeremiah 10:23.

Answer 3

Honey
God did design a world which incorporated both goodness and free will.

Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and in doing so, evil entered the earth.

God has stated that our punishment for this is not eternal, He will restore the earth to that original design. The only punishment that is left that is eternal is rejecting God.

Answer 4

Hey - great that you are struggling and thinking. Marvelous. YOU are doing theology along with the other greats of the faith.
The problem isn't w/ God's power, it is with the definition of free will and moral choices. We don't have the word....and few the concept...of free and ONLY ABLE to do good. A toaster might only toast, but free has to be able to do its own thing.
Gravity means gravity, there is no other way to define it and it still be gravity or work. Same w/ free will.
Again, kudos on theologizing. Bravo.

Answer 5

God has a world which incorporated both goodness and free will, and it’s called Heaven. Everything here on Earth is all temporary my friend, including the pain, and sufferings we go through, and the seemingly triumph of evil. Why does God allow evil to continue and a let it happen even when we know He could prevented it? It’s because He knows something good will come out of it at the end. Just look what happened at September 11 2001, after the horrifying death of thousands, people started going back to Church. We’ve asked ourselves how God could let innocent children die at the hands of evil people? If God loves those children, He would have not let it happen? In God’s term, he looks at a bigger picture. God knows all too well the world we live-in is temporary. We all have to face the inevitable someday which is death, since we all have mortal bodies. God allows innocent children to die because He’d rather have them with Him in heaven than letting them suffer more in the hands of this evil world where evil men could corrupt the hearts of these little ones. God knows this world will have to go someday and as a Catholic/Christian we should be prepared to meet him. We should follow Him, Love Him and worship Him. Do well to our neighbors and hurt no one. We’re all accountable and all will face the Big Man to judge us someday. Evil does exist and at times prevails here in the world. God has allowed Satan to roam the Earth to do evil, but it is also up to us to keep up the good fight sticking with God to see who truly loves him (and why He allows free will). It’s not easy, but once we fall down, we’ll just have to get up again and fight the good fight for God. “Evil does exist here on Earth, but everything here is temporary, including evil itself”

Answer 6

The requirement of free will is not a "power of the universe." It is necessary for any being to love. Love can only be freely chosen and in order for it to be a totally free choice, the person has to really be able to choose the opposite.
Even for God, when we make some choices, others are excluded. When God chooses to make creatures who are free, he allows ffor them to make wrong and even evil decisions.

Answer 7

Joseph sums it up when his brothers sold him into slavery: Genesis 50:20
But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
We are foolish if we think we can comprehend the ways of God but He has demonstrated that even when men do evil He is working a greater good even if we don't understand it with our puny sinful minds. Look at the death of Christ. What greater evil could be done than murder of Son of God who had done no sin? Yet this was the will of God to save many people. So the same act where men were sinful God brought about a great work of salvation.
See how God determined this yet they crucified Him lawlessly.
God is far greater than we can comprehend.

Answer 8

He made it that way. He created good and evil. He is all powerful in that He can save you from the evil of this world. Obedience to Acts 2:38 is the key to this.

Answer 9

Not only is it free will, but this world is a test planet, basically to see where you fit.

This perhaps is a level 1 of heaven, then we go to level 2 heaven, 3,4,5 and so on.

Every level your moving closer in becoming more like Jesus, and learning knowledge of God.

God has the power to do it all, but what he wants is for us to come to him, learn and know him, us being sincere, loving compassionate, trustworthy, like him. He wants us to earn the desires of our hearts in Heaven, that our cups would over flow.
That's part of my perspective of it.

Answer 10

Either god has turned his back on all of humanity, or he is simply lazy.