Existence of evil?

Question

If we assume that our conception of God is all good, all powerful and all loving then how can we explain the existence of evil? An implied belief in the existence of God and in Evil is included.....

Answer 1

Way back at the beginning in the Garden of Eden, God gave humans- His greatest creation- free will, choice. Their choices sucked and heralded the first sin into the world. Evil around us is human's choices still sucking. We are influenced by satan and deamons, but we still have to take responsibility for the choices we make because they are our choices!

Answer 2

The usual counterargument to the existence of evil problem is that we cannot appreciate good without evil.

A typical counterargument to this is to bring up the amount of evil in the world. If there is a necessity for evil, it is understandable. But is there a necessity for Adolf Hitler? That is a lot of evil that makes us appreciate our lives just as much as a Jack the Ripper, who killed far fewer people. Is there a need for killing at all? A terribly bad virus would be enough, even, or especially, if it does not kill.

My big problem with the evil issue is that, if bad is needed to appreciate good, then just how much of a paradise is Heaven? It can't be all bunnies and posies. A bad element would bring fear with it, and it wouldn't be a brilliant paradise anymore. And then, if we need good to appreciate bad, how terrible can Hell be? It can't all be burning pits of lava and fiery lakes, for we wouldn't appreciate the pain unless we had good to compare it to. And the existence of good would bring hope with it, and Hell would be not so bad anymore.

A counterargument to "evil is the abscence of God" is the Crusades. The Crusades, as is well known, were lengthy invasions of nations and communities in the name of God. It was evil to destroy small groups of people. Yet it also had God involved. Evil without the abscence of God.

Another way to counter the problem of evil is to say God is testing us. Evil is here to tempt us away from his appeal.
Counterargument questions: Why can't an infinitely powerful God tempt us with his love? Why do we need to be tested anyway? I don't have the proposed answers to these questions, but I am sure they exist somewhere.

In the end, I don't see the concept of God as a logical one, and certainly not the existence of the Christian God. The evil problem is one of many issues. So I don't believe. But some chalk up the problem of evil to the limits of the human mind. We are unable to understand what God's plan is. He is infinite, and we are not. The problem of evil might be a part of the 'master plan,' and we do not have the capacity to understand it.

Answer 3

The standard philosophical response is that while God is not limited, he is in a sense bound by logic (this does, of course, defy the concept that God is totally boundless, but there's no way to have a concept of the Western God without some contradiction in there somewhere). Therefore, he is faced with two options: (1) give humans free will, which will allow them to introduce evil into the world, or (2) make them unalterably good, but by so doing, limit their free will so they are not really mentally free to choose good over evil.

The theory says that God is a moral agent (that is why He can be described as being all good), and He wanted humans to be moral agents as well. In order to achieve this, He had to give us free will so that we could choose good over evil- otherwise we would be "programmed" to do good, and would therefore lose our ability to practice morality. Moral agency consists in choosing good or evil.

This does explain away the contradiction in the existence of evil in a world with an all good God, but it introduces the new contradiction that God is bound by logic, such that He could not make us both all good and give us free will.

Answer 4

Evil and god are two very different things.

I've always thought personally that evil is the projection of humanity's problems projected onto a force or being.

Evil is a representation of everything we hate, that is dangerous, destructive, consuming - all the primitive feelings associated with human's consistency to find that everything somewhat revolves around them.

For those who believe in god, he exists to make the world a better place. Evil in the biblical context is a reminder to stay on a morally right path.

Answer 5

Creation was once perfect, but the evil one came and deceived God's creation in the Garden. The evil one was once an angel in heaven with God and His angels, who rose up with the intent to over throw that which was perfect in Heaven. His plan failed and was cast out along with him a 1/3 of the angels.
There are three heavens... the one we see... a third which GOD himself resides... and the second which is between the first and third' There is where the evil one resides with him and his followers who a wait for the Son of God to come so he can rule on the earth, which will only be a short time.
There is God and his angels, and evil as you call it and his angels... they forever battle for our souls.
Evil happens because we live in a fallen world since the garden of Eden when evil found the opportunity to deceive mankind. But, there is a day which is sure to come in a twinkling of an eye when our Redeemer will come. Do you know Him, if so stop doubting! Just hold on to your beliefs.

Answer 6

You are correct, the modern xian concept of a god is so logically flawed as to be laughable. There is no god anyway, but theirs really cracks me up.

A. God makes Adam and Eve, within a month or so, they break his only rules.
B. God makes Satan, Satan flips out.
C. God destroys almost all of mankind in a flood b/c they are so evil. This plan works so well, it takes all of 3 generations for some good old fashioined genocide to start.

Yet in all this, god is innocent? Isn't he the "perfect engineer"? I have to say, I think I'd go back to the drawing board.

Answer 7

We live in a dualistic reality. What is white, has to have a black, in order for it to be white. If you have good, then you have to have evil/bad. You can not know the existence of something manifested without its opposite.

If all the world was good, then how would we know that we were good? You wouldn't know/experience the manifestation. And in this case the manifestation is good and bad.

Once in meditation I was in an all white space. I had no body, and couldn't really say I was looking with my eyes (no body). I was just me in a white cloud. Freaked me out. I kept looking for anything that was different. Just a speck of black. Anywhere. None to be found. Thus the concept of all good is not a reality I want to be in.

On a side note, your perception of evil is your own perception of evil. And your perception of good is your own perception of good. You may be influenced by your environment, but it your mind that either accepts it or rejects it. Because of dualistic reality, the spectrum runs from one extreme to the other. You have God on the supreme Good side, and the Devil on the supreme Bad side, and all the colors of the rainbow are in between. Your perception, your free will of choice, is for you to experience.

Answer 8

If you believe in god then should you not believe that anything other than his word is false and anything that defys (sp?) his wishes to be evil.

Personaly I think its a man made concept and the boundaries of good and bad has evolved with the human race. For example it was once not considered immoral (though not be everyone) to hate black people, kill gays or keep black people as slaves. In todays society these things are all considered wrong and even evil.

Answer 9

The correct answer from a religious perspective is that God created the universe including Man. Since he wanted someone to revere him without him being forced to, God gave Man the freedom/free-will to act as he chose. Man chose to not follow the way of his Maker. this is the source of evil.

A much better view in my mind is that there is no evil. Fear is the driving force in all we do-the source of our morality and thus all actions we take are based upon Fear. With this in mind we can do no evil. The things that are considered to be evil are so conscrued by others within society because they themselves Fear the results of your actions.

Answer 10

Dart is right, the world relies on balence. Black and White, men and women, good an evil. You cant have something without its opposite. Its like there is no day without a night to contridict it. If there is a God then he wouldnt be good without something to make him good. What would you think of God if there was no evil? Would he be a big part of pplz life if they didnt have something to fear by not living in the way God tells them to? Everything has to have balence in order for us to exist.