About God -- and evil...?

Question

If God is not able to prevent evil, but IS willing to, then doesn't that make him incompetent?

If God isn't willing to prevent evil, but he is able to, then doesn't that makes him malevolent?

If He IS able, AND He IS willing to prevent evil, then why does evil exist at all?

If God ISN'T able OR willing to prevent evil, then why do we call him God?

I want real answers. I am being as serious as I get, and I can get VERY serious; I don't want "Read the bible and it tells you" -- Or "Reported!!" -- Or any other rude answers ... I am being very serious and I want to know about this God of yours. If you have ever said your god is all powerful and all knowing, then you should at LEAST try to answer this question. Support your answers -- Please, and Thanks.

G'nite all!

*If god is all knowing and can see the future*

Then why doesn't he give free will to the people he knows will use it wisely and do good/be good people? Seriously!!??

STOP TELLING ME FREE WILL!!

None of you are answering, you ust say "Free will" -- Seriously, I want an answer and I'm getting impatient!

"kainat -"

You are seriously fυcked up in the head. What gave you that Idea? Seriously? You need to see a shrink! (And, BTW, you didn't answer my question!) Stop jumping to things you don't know to AVOID answering something you KNOW you can't answer!! Don't change the subject!! ANSWER!!

Answer 1

They're gonna answer that evil serves some unexplainable purpose.

That's right, god is so omniscient that he can't get things accomplished without having little children die in natural disasters, or from attacks by wild animals, or by one of his own worldwide floods. Maybe god likes evil? After all, Christians have killed and tortured so many in the name of god.

People will also give you the free will answer. They don't consider God's worldwide flood killing innocent infants as anything evil. They don't consider children suffering from painful diseases as anything to be concerned about. Their religion prevents them from being human.

They may also say that without evil there'd be no good. They say "Well, without death, there's no life!"

In short: You shouldn't look for logical answers from theists. They have to keep their faith, and won't let something as silly as logical thought get in their way of going to happy-ever-after land *after* they die. Think about it from their perspective: if you truly believed the mythology, why would you let any amount of thinking or reality change it?

Answer 2

Many people argue that God wants us to have free-will, so we would not be robots but actually love him. The existance of free-will allows for the possibility of evil.

This argument, in my estimation, is alright. However, Scriptures do not support the modern conception of free will. Our wills are in bondage to sin until God renews our hearts. This argument also does not explain earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.

The early believers rejoiced at suffering. Suffering purifies. It makes us look up. It makes us long for Jesus' return. It makes us desire the things of God. It makes us more productive on this earth for His kingdom. We should long for some suffering, because it keeps the body of Christ healthy.

Also, from a more philosophical perspective, we can't see the Big Picture. God can. It is at least plausible that a greater good will come about because of the existance of evil. For instance, because of the World Trade Center attack, people are more aware of terrorism. They are more likely to implement practices that will prevent even greater calamities in the future.

We do not see the big picture. God sees the big picture. It is impossible to conjecture about the nuances of the big picture. Or to argue against God without seeing the big picture.

The non-intellectual answer and the more honest answer is that I do not know all the answers to this question. I may have glimpses, but that is all. And it is easy to write this at a time when I am not suffering. (May God allow me to hold onto faith while I suffer, grounding me in truth now.)

I do know the following: God the Son became man and came down and suffered with humanity for my sins. We do not worship a God who is distant, unconcerned about my suffering. We worship a God who has participated in our suffering.

Trust in this God. He will not do you wrong.

Answer 3

Evil is sometimes defined as the absence of a good which could and should be present. It is to willingly and knowingly embrace the darkness that is in all of us. To lie, to cheat, to steal, to envy, to cause harm to others...this is also known as "sin", and separates us from God.
God IS all powerful and all knowing, but He has given us free will, the ability to to choose whether we will embrace Him, and accept all that He offers us, or to embrace the "absense of good".
I think it's a good question you've asked...it means you're looking for answers, and I hope you find them.
Bad things happen to good people, not because God wants that, or because He can't do anything about it...a soul in torment will lash out at others, and sometimes, they don't even know they're in pain. God values EVERYONE...the good, the bad and the indifferent. Try reading Luke 11 verses 15 thru 32 about the prodical son. :)

Answer 4

I question your conclusions that God is incompetent and malevolent because He does not suit YOUR definition of Him. Why does evil exist? Because God exists. If there were no God, there would be no "non-God." The atheistic philosophies prove this to be true over and over again. Evil is the "anti-god" to God's "God." He didn't CREATE evil, it exists just as God exists.

As for you not wanting RUDE answers, then you also should not be RUDE to the answerers, as you were.... SHAME SHAME!

And Good night, Mrs. Calabash, whereever you are!

Answer 5

the reason why sin is in the world today is because The Fall of Man . when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden it effected his decedents.(us) God does not like bad things to happen to us but he allows it because of the sin in the world. but good things can come out of sin.
I am a Christan and say i become am alcoholic and then i get right with God again and i use my story to help other people who are going throught this too. so if i never had, had my hard past then i could have never told those people about God and how i am saved.so i used evil in my past to help others

Answer 6

God can do anything, its man that screws it all up...the first time He had to deal with this was when Adam and Eve sinned and ate of the tree of knowledge and became able to know good and evil...before this they only knew good and then right before the flood when man had multiplied and his flesh was stronger than his spirit and evil overcame man continuously...God was sorry for even creating man and He repented and thats when He decided to destroy man and everything on earth except Noah and his family...And the same with Sodom and Gomorrah...God gave man freewill and its up to us whether we do the right thing or not.


Whats your freaking problem anyway? Why dont you pray and see if God will give you the answer if you dont like any of ours!!!!! Ever try that?

Answer 7

The bottom line is that an infinitely good and infinitely sovereign/powerful God does not prevent evil in the world. I believe the answer to this common question lies in the future, not the present. The infinitely good and sovereign God will completely and totally punish evil and prevent it from happening ever again, but we need to be patient because there's another attribute of God we're overlooking.

In order to demonstrate God's attributes of grace, mercy, and unselfish love, He chose to create people with a free will who would commit evil and need salvation from the consequences of it. Rather than provide the total solution to the problem of evil in this world, He chooses to delay that action, so we can learn to put faith in Him (His requirement to extend us that grace and mercy). Once this life is through, those to whom He's extended saving grace and mercy will live in a world free from evil and suffering.

The problem with the solution to the problem of evil is not God. The problem is that we're not patient enough to wait for the day when the problem of evil will be solved forever. We want it now and resist God's timing. Be patient, and endure all sorts of evil with faith in God and hope for the future.

Answer 8

It's not that he's willing to let evil happen, it's that there's something called satan, and we have free will. We can do what we want to, even if it is evil. We've seen this in the last few days =[ When Jesus comes back for his children (born again) we will go to his kingdom where there won't be any evil, sorrow, or anything else that's bad. =]

Answer 9

I am sorry, but the majority of those answering are severely incompetent, much like their God YHWH.

Trust me, your friendly solar deity, to tell you that I have no concern in your goodness or badness, as it is your heart that will be weighed against the feather of Ma'at, not mine.

Also, your insistence on finding the truth through impatience is very good. Patience is the last thing you should give these people. They have had the last 2000 years to answer this question, and still cannot, apparently.

Answer 10

God is able and willing to prevent evil, however, you have to choose him, and be born again in order to allow him to work in your life. The devil is the king of this "world", and he has already been defeated, and he knows it. Once born again your eyes will be opened to understanding because Christ will come to live inside you and his nature will become yours. This is something you must experience to understand. God does not make anyone follow him, you must choose to follow, believe, and obey. Christians must live "in this world, but not be of this world" When Christ is in you, you will have a certain peace and knowledge as you learn his word. The reason there is evil is because we were all given a mind and the ability to choose "just like God", however, man chose to disobey, and there are consequences to that! Jesus was sinless because he made every choice in his life by Gods word...if everyone on earth did that what a difference it would make. The great thing is that because we are all born with a sinful nature and will sin...we have a savior who came to pay our penalty so we would not have to endure the wrath of God, Jesus will intervene for us as long as we repent, ask forgiveness , and are written in the lambs book of life...our sins are erased in a sense and remembered no more because we are a "child of God". If you are not saved then you carry the original sin that all are born with and you are considered "a child of satan"...you have not been washed clean or forgiven. Basically...Jesus is God in human flesh who came to teach us how to live, and he had all the same temptations as any of us, he had God in him in spirit there for he did things according to Gods word...God did miracles through Jesus, just as he does through us as well because we have his spirit in us. The main ingredient is faith! "FAITH CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS" " I DARE YOU TO TRUST JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND SEE WHAT GOD DOES IN YOUR LIFE!!! God Bless

Answer 11

Must Catholics believe in a personal devil? Why did God create the devil? Why if God is all good, does He not destroy the devil?

The devil and other demons were created by God good by nature, but they became bad through their own fault. God did not create the devil, but a pure angelic spirit, Lucifer, who out of pure malice and pride rebelled against Him, and was condemned to Hell with the other angels he seduced. The Scriptures mention him as the tempter of our first parents (Gen. iii. 1; 2 Cor. xi. 3), of David (1 Par. xxi. 1), of our Lord in the desert (Matt. iv. 10), of Judas (Luke xxii. 3), and of all mankind (Luke xxii. 31; John viii. 44; 2 Cor. iv. 4; 1 Peter v. 8).

If God had been forced to change His divine plan because of the conduct of one of His creatures, v. g., by destroying the devil, He would thereby have submitted to the will of a creature, and His action would have been dependent on the action of a creature. That would imply that God would no longer have been God. Satan's power and the power of evil spirits to tempt us is indeed great, as the Apostle teaches (Eph. vi. 11, 12), but "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able; but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it" (1 Cor. x. 13).