If God is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good why doesn't he get rid of Evil?

Question

Doesn't seem like an all-good God to me...

Wondering how you guys will answer this one. Classic question I know.

Not looking for the "choice" answer which avoids the question.

Example. A baby is shot and killed by a stray bullet. Where was the choice?

Answer 1

The Greek philosophers logically disproved a good omni-potent god ages ago, but some simply refuse to accept sound doctrine.

Answer 2

Evil is the absence of good. If God were to eliminate all evil, He would by necessity have to eliminate the possibility of anyone rejecting Him as God because that is the root of evil. To do that would negate the gift of free will which is what makes us higher beings capable of accepting Him. So in order for someone to choose good, there has to be the option of evil. The glory for Him in this is from those who choose Him and reject evil even though doing so may be harder, more demanding and earn ridicule.

Oh, and I really don't care what answer you are looking for. You are getting the answer you asked for. We are not avoiding the question, you are avoiding the answer...

Answer 3

Because He gives US the choice to get rid of it, every single day. The one choice Man will be responsible for is Who did you choose to serve. That's the only question anyone needs to be worried about. God calls on men to daily choose who they will serve. He's asked the question over and over in the Bible, in several different ways, but it's the only choice a person truly has. Everything else is determined by that choice. If you choose to serve God, you will do certain things a certain way, and if you don't, it doesn't matter what you do, whether good or bad. Man can, if it decided to, end evil once and for all by choosing, unilaterally, to serve God. That's a thing that, unfortunately, will never happen.

Answer 4

He will get rid of evil, but not just yet. It is very difficult to understand. Especially since the Bible shows that when His servants feel pain he feels pain too. One thing to remember is that although He allows wickedness for a time, that does not mean he approves of it. God does not approve of the wicked things people do. Also, even though we suffer, God does comfort us and help us cope through His Word, the Bible.

There is a major issue that needs to be settled which was raised at the time of Job (from the Bible). When the Devil set his eyes upon Job, a man blameless and upright, he told God that he could turn any man away from God. (Job Chapter 1) He raised the issue of whether God had a right to rule or would humans do well to rule themselves. Job passed the tests that God allowed him to undergo which were brought on by Satan. Job was faithful. He chose to continue to serve God even though he thought that God was the cause of his suffering. He learned later that it was actually Satan who was causing his suffering. In the end Job was blessed tremendously for his faithfulness and endurance. (Job 42:12-17)

God has allowed much time to go by for humans to see that they actually cannot rule themseslves successfully without God's help. Through every kind of government, humans have proven that ruling themselves and turning away from God has proved disasterous. But it does not stop there. God promises to rid the whole earth of wickedness and suffering once and for all. (Psalm 37:10,11,28,29; Revelation 21:4) He is also allowing time to go by so that humans repent and return to Him so that they do not die when He does bring an end to wickedness and those who are wicked. (2 Peter 3:9)

The Bible shows that after God removes wickedness from the world that humans who survive will be happy and enjoy life on earth forever, with no death and no more suffering. Even painful memories will be gone. These things that we've suffered will be forgotten. They will not hurt us anymore, no bad memories. (Isaiah 65:17; Psalm 145:16; Isaiah 35:6; Isaiah 35;5; John 5;28,29; Isaiah 33:24; Psalm 72:16)

Answer 5

He's not a tyrant. He would be if he "got rid of Evil" by any other way than the way that he is. We are living in a period of grace right now, and when the time comes that only he knows in his perfect wisdom he will judge the world and create a new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Answer 6

I wish people would at least admit that there is little to no chance that any god or all-being exists. Don't worry about this kind of stuff. Evil is here because some people are evil make thing worse for other people. It has nothing to do with god. If one religion was actually true, don't you think it would be obvious in life? Nothing has come along to prove anything about god. We shall find out when we die what is going on if anything. I can't waste my life on something that may not be true, and if there was an all knowing and loving god, I'm sure he would understand my situation.

Answer 7

I don't know that much about religion, but from what my grandfather told me Satan was an angel and then turned bad I guess. He's better at explaining this stuff than I am. He creates and then people are given the choice of who to follow. That is how I see it. I hope that makes some sense.

Okay lets say he does get rid of evil, do you think he can program everyone to be peaceful and live in perfect harmony? Do you think no one is going to stand up and question the way things are like you are now? Conflict will come because we have the CHOICE of how to think and how to act. People die from cancer, people die in floods or tornadoes, people die in car crashes or plane crashes, people are raped or abused or neglected or not fed or clothed or bathed or given a home. People suffer because of other people's bad CHOICES. It's not fair, but that's just how it is. You learn to actually value your life when bad things happen.

Answer 8

There are several ways to answer this question. One way would be to ask you this question: How would we know the difference between good and evil if there were no evil? This is sort of the answer that the bible gives you in the old testament. It's kind of curious... Remember that story about Adam and Eve in the Garden, eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Remember the serpent said that eating the fruit would make them like gods. I infer that this might represent not only good and evil but all opposites. Notice that once they ate the fruit, they became aware of their nakedness, and before, they had not known the difference. It is symbolic.

God's goodness is not the kind of goodness that stands in opposition to evil. It is beyond the duality of opposites. It is our ability to judge good from evil that enables us to live without "walking with God" what ever "walking with God" may mean.

So, man wanted to be god, consumed the knowledge of god, and god said "ok, try your best!" Notice all the hardship came as punishment for this knowledge. Again, symbolic of the the pains of knowing the difference.

I suppose another way to answer this question would be who are you to judge? Are you God? lol

This reminds me of a Taoist saying,
"When beauty is abstracted
Then ugliness has been implied;
When good is abstracted
Then evil has been implied.

So alive and dead are abstracted from nature,
Difficult and easy abstracted from progress,
Long and short abstracted from contrast,
High and low abstracted from depth,
Song and speech abstracted from melody,
After and before abstracted from sequence.

The sage experiences without abstraction,
And accomplishes without action;
He accepts the ebb and flow of things,
Nurtures them, but does not own them,
And lives, but does not dwell. "

Answer 9

God has a calendar and agenda and set that time, the more you know the bible the more you see the scheduled, why if Jesus died 2000 years ago and how do we know that now is the end of the time? because there is a prophecy in the book of Daniel that said that seven period of time had to happens and that time finished already and when that happens then we enter to the end time that finish with Armageddon the destruction of evil ´s people.

Answer 10

We are a creation in progress. God is not finished and our free will has caused us to bring sin into this world. It is the reason for the atonement. The day of the lord is coming but we still live under the grace of God to allow all to come to know him.