god allows evil? an all powerful deity can't stop it? why is this?

Question

copout answer of the day is "god allows sin and evil to reign"

sounds more like a chicken who can't do a thing about somethign more powerful

actually, there is no god or evil, no satan or good

just us people here and we are judged by our actions or character of helping or hurting

Answer 1

A bit contradictory don`t you think! You say there is no God or evil but we will be judged by our actions.....who will judge us if there is no God??

Answer 2

DEFINE "EVIL".

"Evil" has to be defined according to some standard. What is your standard?

Example #1: The Bible says that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) The standard is the glory of God. When compared to that standard, we ALL fall short.

Example #2; The Bible says that "sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4) There is sin ("evil"), therefore, there must be a law that has been transgressed.

When an atheist, therefore, says that there is "evil', therefore there is no God, the first thing he MUST do is define "evil"!

If "evil" (sin) is just a function of the human mind (likes/dislikes, desires, feelings, etc.), then this proves nothing about whether there is a God.

For example, if a person thinks it is wrong (evil, a sin) to wear a red shirt, and they see me with a red shirt on, they may say "There is evil, therefore I know there is no God!"

I may then walk around the corner and someone else, who thinks it is good to wear a red shirt may see me. That person may say, "Look how much good is in the world. Such good can only come from God, therefore, I know there is a God!"

Neither person has proven anything about the existence of God, because their idea of good or evil is simply based on the desires of a human (or a group of humans, or even a nation of humans). They have no more than human standards by which to compare.

But, if there is a standard of comparison to determine what is good or evil that transcends human desires, then there is proof about God!

If there are things that are inherently evil, then there must be a standard by which this is compared that also transcends the human mind, a higher law! Things that are inherently evil mean that there are also things that are inherently good.

This being the case, the logical statement should be, "there is evil in the world (that transcends human desires), therefore I KNOW THAT GOD EXISTS!"

The true atheist cannot recognize a standard (either evil or good) above the human mind. This being the case, he has no argument other than "There is evil in the world because some human doesn't like so-and-so..." He has nothing that would disprove God because he does not recognize a higher standard.

Such a standard cannot say that anything is wrong. The Nazi system was not wrong because they were following German law when they tortured and killed children, women and men. They were doing what their law said was right and good. They were not subject to the laws of England or the United States. They were subject to German law. If no higher law exists, then we cannot say they were wrong.

If a higher law does exist, then there is an argument for a source of that law. Where there is a law, there must be a law maker, a source of authority.

(By the way, just because God has not yet eliminated evil, that does not mean that He will not and cannot!)

Answer 3

If God is "all loving", why does he enable evil to take place? guy has unfastened will to act and choose how he will stay what's the ingredient in hiding? god isn't hiding Why no longer become in contact and attempt and end the evil? if god tried to end all evil then no person would be evil considering the fact that they does no longer have committed any evil act how come the police can no longer arrest you to steer away from you from committing a criminal offense? through fact till you dedicate the crime your no longer a criminal you have broken no regulations so as which ability he has the skill to end the evil occurring and chooses no longer too? specific what's the ingredient in hiding from each little thing? god isn't hiding from any ingredient your reasoning is the problem Is you're god so susceptible and feeble, that he can't arise with a thank you to end evil, while he's meant to be this powerful? god isn't susceptible in any respect How is it loving for you're god to enable human beings suffocate in a twister, or enable some criminally insane psychopath blow childrens brains out in a school, or enable a majority of those human beings starve to dying common interior the worldwide? god promises human beings help yet fools reject his promises A so called "loving deity" would have stopped that, in spite of unfastened will, if he became that being concerned and that powerful.? yea good such as you may think of and be attentive to how a god would think of and act no ask your self god says Psalm 14:a million uncomplicated-to-examine version (ERV) To the director: A song of David. 14 basically fools think of there is not any God.

Answer 4

It really won't do any good for me to answer this, spiritually that is, since you seem solid in your doubt and very close-minded. But I'll tell you anyway. God doesn't sit back and watch evil and think "Oh I would stop if I could but..." NO, that is not how it goes. WE allow sin into the world. Lucifer is ruler of this world and God is ruler of Heaven. God can do anything but he is so disgusted with sin he won't even look upon sin much less have anything to do with it(although he has stopped it and prevented it before, but doesn't have to). And it isn't about "good" and "evil" It is about God. Just God. I don't worry about the devil, what can he do to me? I've got Jesus. I am not worried about what anyone can do to me when I have got the Creator and all Powerful Father in my heart. And I can't convince you that there is a God. But I can pray for you and God can open up your heart to consider he is there. I don't know you but God says to love your neighbor as you love yourself, so know that I write this not because I am a brainwashed religious fanatic, but because I care about your eternal soul. Truly repent, accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, draw close to God and he will draw close to you!

Answer 5

God can stop evil and sometimes he does. He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because they were so full of evil, He wiped out the world in the time of Noah. God doesn't control people like we are robots. He gives us choices we can either do good or we can do evil. Their is a good and bad. That makes logical sense. If you do wrong you might get put in jail, if you do good you will most likely be rewarded. Killing someone is bad, saving someones life is good. Jesus isn't a coward. A coward does not suffer unbearable pain to save unworthy people ( made worthy by Him) from eternal life in a place called hell. Only one with great courage can or will do something brave like this. Would you die for me? You don't even know me, but if you knew I was going to die would you die in my place? Thats what Jesus did for you and if you were the only person he could have saved by dying he would have still done it. I'll be praying that you might find Jesus Christ as your Savior. Its a battle between Jesus and the devil, you have the ultimate decision on who you will let win in your life. Decide with wisdom

Answer 6

God does not allow evil nor does He disallow it. God does allow the freedom of choice and He has made manifest the results of some of the choices humans make. The freedom to choose is a gift, a divine gift; what you do with it is completely up to you.

Answer 7

Voice of Reason, you are true to your name. Human reasoning is flawed due to sin. Whether or not you would be here if there were no sin we can't know, but one thing we do know. You are. If there is a God, and there is, and he allows you to deny that he is, and you are still alive, then the question is, "Why are you spared?"

Answer 8

He gives us free will because this is a necessary element of love. With free will and a sin nature you get evil. You also get love and all the good things in the world.

Answer 9

Basically, evil can't exist without good. How could you define evil without knowing good or good without knowing what is evil? God has given us free will & many of the other answerers have covered this in detail.

Read this article that a friend of mine from college wrote. I think you will find it enlightening. The title is "The Skeptic’s Faulty Assumption". http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2230

Here's an article on the origin of morals - http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/3308

From the following article:
"Some would argue that since God created all things (John 1:3), and that evil exists, therefore God is responsible for all the evil in the world. POINTS TO NOTE: 1. There is a big difference between what God created and then what man makes of those created things. Many 'good things', when abused or misused by man, become harmful, i.e. when drugs that can heal or alleviate pain, are used for mere recreational purposes. In fact, every work of the flesh, is simply a perversion of something that in itself is good (Galatians 5:19-21). Barclay notes, 'Immorality, impurity, licentiousness are perversions of the sexual instinct which is in itself a lovely thing and part of love. Idolatry is a perversion of worship..Sorcery is a perversion of the use of healing drugs in medicine. Envy, jealousy and strife are perversions of that noble ambition and desire to do well which can be a spur to greatness. Enmity and anger are a perversion of that righteous indignation..Dissension and the party spirit are a perversion of the devotion to principle which can produce the martyr…The awfulness of the power of sin lies precisely in its ability to make the raw material of potential goodness and turn it into the material of evil.' (Flesh and Spirit, p. 39) 2. When the Bible talks about God 'creating evil', it is using the word 'evil' in the sense of calamity, i.e. God does bring judgments upon the unrepentant (Isaiah 45:7 'creating calamity'; Jeremiah 18:11). 3. The Bible makes it clear that God doesn't entice anyone to sin (James 1:13 '..He Himself does not tempt anyone'), and that everything that God initially created was good (Genesis 1:31 'And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.')." http://www.ch-of-christ.beaverton.or.us/Prepared_to_Answer_Suffering.htm

Other articles on this topic:
http://www.apologeticspress.org/rr/reprints/Problem-of-Evil-Pain-and-Suffer.pdf
http://www.apologeticspress.org/pdfs/e-books_pdf/s-hom.pdf
http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/112
http://www.apologeticspress.org/pdfs/e-books_pdf/many_faces.pdf

Also, many years ago C.S. Lewis did a wonderful job answering this question. Here are some quotes from his works:
"Whenever you find a man who says he doesn't believe in a real Right and Wrong, you will find the same man going back on this a moment later."--The Case for Christianity
"Everything except God has some natural superior; everything except unformed matter has some natural inferior."--A Preface to Paradise Lost
"Without sin, the universe is a Solemn Game: and there is no good game without rules."--A Preface to Paradise Lost
"An open mind, in questions that are not ultimate, is useful. But an open mind about the ultimate foundations either of Theoretical or of Practical Reason is idiocy."--The Abolition of Man
"Wherever any precept of traditional morality is simply challenged to produce its credentials, as though the burden of proof lay on it, we have taken the wrong position."--The Abolition of Man
"If we are to have values at all we must accept the ultimate platitudes of Practical Reason as having absolute validity..."--The Abolition of Man
"Truth and falsehood are opposed; but truth is the norm not of truth only but of falsehood also."--The Allegory of Love
"If naturalism were true then all thoughts whatever would be wholly the result of irrational causes...it cuts its own throat."--A Christian Reply to Professor Price
"All that we call human history--money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery--[is] the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy."--Mere Christianity
"The natural life in each of us is something self-centred, something that wants to be petted and admired, to take advantage of other lives, to exploit the whole universe."--Mere Christianity
http://www.comnett.net/~rex/cslewis.htm

Answer 10

God does not allow evil. satan does