How do you reconcile the Problem of Evil with the existence of God?

Question

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_evil

Answer 1

Free agency cannot exist if there isn't opposition with which to exercise that free agency with.

Answer 2

God didn't create evil. Even the Devil, at first, was not evil, but a good and glorious angel of Heaven. He occupied the highest position just under Christ Himself. However, he let his position and beauty go to his head, and eventually began to believe that he could do a better job of running the universe than God. He eventually led a revolt of the angels, causing him and 1/3 of the angels of Heaven to get kicked out, after which they came to Earth to wreak havoc among humanity, tempting humans to sin against God. We have paid the price the last 6,000 years.
However, God already had a plan to intervene and rescue humanity from evil and permanent death. Two thousand years ago, He sent His Son, who would be the perfect, spotless sacrifice, to pay the death penalty for all of us, so that all we would have to do to be saved from this mess is to believe in Him.
From that point, the devil was permanently defeated. He knows that He has only a little time left, which is why he's trying to take as many humans with him as possible. Which is why it's so important to spread the Gospel so that more people can be saved. Soon Christ will return, rescue His people, destroy Satan, and cleanse the Earth of sin and sinners forever, never to exist again. Those who are saved will live in a physical body, on a newly re-created Earth, and the sufferings of this Earth will be but a distant memory.

Answer 3

God is good, perfectly good. He created the world to have that same goodness. He created man without sin, he was perfect.. Then though rebellion and enticement sin came into the world. Man heart became the most evil thing in all creation. Each person born into the world had a heart was filled with evil.. God knew what we would do, and His plan was to come and and redeem us from sin and it's consequences. Recreate those who would except the gift of life a new nature in Jesus Christ. This is how God reconciled the problem and I agree with His work.. IHS Jim

Answer 4

If, for the purposes of this argument, I must assume that God exists, then the only ways I can reconcile God's existence with the problem of evil is to think that God is either malevolent, apathetic or powerless to stop evil. An all powerful and all good God would not allow evil to exist.

Answer 5

The classic explanation has been that evil exists as a possible outcome from the existence of free will. It seems that this dispensation of time, this era, is for the declaration of each individual's will.

Those that choose to follow the ways of God, find that still they sin, due to a corruptible body and sinful nature. However, God has promised in the future that those who choose to follow his ways will be given an incorruptible body and a sin-free nature. The individuals involved, of their own volition, joyously accept this promise from God, that one day they will be incapable of evil.

So now during this dispensation, we have both good and evil, but God has plans to eradicate evil in the future. In life this is really not that hard to understand. When you grow roses, the thorns are mixed in. In the end when those roses become a part of a beautiful display, the thorns are removed.

Answer 6

People asked this many times before.
1 God wants to stop it.
2 God has power to stop it.

So why hasn't he?
Why he allowed it in the first place.


Those are the two things you really should ask.

Why hasn't he. He knows the answer to that, but an obvious reason for me.
1. he wants us to see that we need him to keep things in order, nature and society. That only he knows who has good intentions and who is really unlawful.
2. He wants to give us enough time to see how evil we are so we can realize that we need to change (more time to repent.)
3. He wants us to know the results of a world without his absolute rule, a world where he doesn't enforce his justice. so we can see the need for him and that ONCE he does take over and keep the universe in line, we will understand why we wanted him..

Kinda like.. If he did that from the beginning, we will revolt and say " who made you king".



Theres more to it than that, but just so you get the idea that there are reasons for it so you seek them YOURSELF.

The first part touched a bit on why he allowed it in the first pllace but theres also this.


1. If God is to stop evil and suffering, God has to end free will.
No evil actions = no evil speech = no evil thoughts.

Therefore we will be all robots.


That is for man made things.

Finally what about the natural disasters.. Even though you didnt ask it, some idiot will. so I might as well say it.

Natural disasters were not built in when God created the earth, it was a result of man's rebellion, nature itself was detatched like mankind was detatched from God.
Kinda like destroying your copy of your warranty.
By man's rebellion from God's one law, mankind basically said " Heres what I think of your warranty".
He had to give them a way out of it, obviously and he made it simple. Eat this and its over..

Now you are asking, those were the first people, but I didn't ask for this. I want everything to be good and to be paradise, no disasters and no evil.

Then good for you, God will one day take people into heaven and also will remake earth the way it was in paradise. Then you get what you ask for.

But for now ...

live your life like you really do want it.

How?

Be the part thats missing.

World is hateful? Be LOVE.
World is polluted? Recycle.

Until the time comes when God takes those who REALLY REALLY WANT paradise, and those who don't really think its worth it.

Grace and Peace.

Answer 7

Well, I read it, thought about it, but the only problem I see is that it didn't really go into the fact that evil exists. I mean, if evil exists, and we know it does, then does not non-evil also exist? In other words, doesn't the very existence of evil demonstrate there is a God?

I don't know, maybe I didn't phrase that correctly, I hope you understood my problem with it :)

Answer 8

Evil existed before angels were created as inhabitants of heaven.

Job 38:4-7,30-32; Angels see ages old earth [ Gen.1:1,2]; prepared ages Gen.1:3-25; for intended inhabitant. Gen.3:1-5; Gen.3:22; Satan Rev.12:9;
and 1/3 angels are partakers in evil, the one we know as Christ Jesus is not,
and the rest of the angels are not. Man even in the imperfections of sin and prone to evil Gen.8:21; many of humankind try to be meek, just and of law and order, ever conscious of God and Christ.

Answer 9

God is able to eliminate all evil, and He will, but not right now. If He eliminated absolutely all traces of evil from the face of the planet then not much would be left behind. Nobody would survive. God can eliminate suffering, but he would loose something of infinite value: His creation. It's not just somebody God wants in His life, it's us.

God will eventually eliminate pain and suffering, but He must first allow the devil to display what he is capable of doing. We shouldn't forget that the devil accused God; he said his government is better. So God now is letting the devil prove that his government is better. (For the devil's progress, read the top news headlines.) Furthermore, God wants us to realize that the devil's government only leads to evil and destruction, and the only way to achieve happiness and peace is to follow His government. He created us, He knows what is best for us. Just like a manufacturing company knows what is best for their car, God knows what is best for us.

I recommend reading the study guide below called "Did God Create the Devil?" which explains this in more detail.
http://www.amazingfacts.org/FreeStuff/BibleStudies/StudyGuides/tabid/105/ctl/ViewMedia/mid/453/IID/2-2/LNG/en/SC/R/3/Sin/Default.aspx?7=Did-God-Create-the-Devil?

Answer 10

It is really only a problem if you believe that God is all good AND all powerful. In order for evil to exist, either God is not all good or he is not all powerful.

Answer 11

that's like asking how to reconcile the existence of heads with tails!

one does not exist without the other. whichever god people choose, from God to Buddha, they all represent the good. so there must be an evil to offset that.