The evil of Yahweh
It is easy to name things in this world that are bad and you would think would not exist if there were a loving God: Autism, SIDS, HIV, birth defects, OCD, ADD, ADHD, Mental retardation, Wishbone brand French dressing, running out of beer, Mustard, the Common cold, various flus, STDs (STIs), American Idol, the TV show TLC, country music, emo music, Osteoporosis, breast cancer.....
Anyway, when an atheist brings these things up, a theist will respond that man brought it on himself or that it is Satan. Either way, I can easily prove that it is God's fault, meaning that if there is a God, he is an evil, hatefilled tyrant, and if there isn't a God, then all of these "evil" things have a perfectly logical explanation.
If we are to believe the Bible, we are to believe that Eve ate an apple that God told her not to eat and because she ate it, man was cursed for all eternity. Well, if God is all-knowing, He must have known Eve would eat the apple, and because He did not try to stop it, He intended for it to happen and in so doing, intended man to be cursed, thereby making God an evil, hatefilled tyrant.
If it is not God who is causing the great evils of this world, it most certainly is Satan, but if God created everything, God must have created Satan, and if Satan was loyal to God at one point, but later turned to the dark side, God, being all-knowing, must have known this would happen and seeing as He did not stop it, He must have intended it and so anything Satan does is, in fact, God's fault making God an evil, hatefilled tyrant.
If there is no God, which we can deduce seeing as there is no evidence and no one believes without evidence (I tell you I just won a million dollars, you want me to prove it), then we are safe because that means that this world naturally has "bad" things and that if we devout our time to science, we can take care of these "bad" things. I say "bad" because technically, viruses are good for themselves. Autism is a better example because it is simply brain disorder with no known cause (and we can assume that autism does not do itself any good for existing.)
Obviously, I know someone will say, "Well, if you read the bible" which I have "then you will see all of the things God has said and it is obvious that He is evil". But you know what? That's not as much fun, is it? We're free THINKING teens and if we have one hundred different ways to open minds, so be it. The more the marrier.
Yeah, the devil only tempts
Yeah, the devil only tempts you to sin. God kills you and sends you to hell for it.
OK OK
Have you read Job 2:10?
In response to his wife, who tells him to curse God for allowing Satan to (1) take his flocks, (2) kill his sons and daughters, and (3) strike him with "painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head," Job replies:
"You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"
(NIV)
Job is the story of bad things happening to good people, it is the God-inspired answer to your question.
In fact, look at Job 1:20 (again Job speaking)
"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised."
(NIV)
Look here, God is not evil.
Yes, there is evil in the world.
Yes, God allows evil for a time.
My question is how a Just God can allow a sinful world to exist. How is it that He allows those who would live in His world, yet sin against Him daily, continue to live a relativily good life (compared to damnation)?
I am a sinner. I deserve eternal hell for what I've done, for how I have rejected the pure commands of God and turned my back on Him. However, God created both the evil and the cure. He gave Adam and Eve a choice: Obediance or Sin, Everlasting Life or Death, but when they chose death, He did not leave them.
No, the loving God provided a way. He came Himself to die for our sin. He took Eternal Damnation upon Himself so that each of us may accept Him and live.
There is a Loving God, He is also Just and Holy.
He desires (not needs) worship, which can only come from a being that at least feels like it has free choice.
One cannot understand the idea of God without an opposite, just like one cannot understand light without darkness, or silence without sound.
Evil is the pain of society. Just like pain tells us that something is wrong with part of our body, evil shows us that something is wrong with the world. Sinful humans have ruined this place, God offers to heal you.
Please, accept His cure.
OK, there are several
OK, there are several justifications for the existance of Evil. Any injuries suffered from over-thinking are not my responsibility.
1. Why is it that if God foresaw Eve eating the fruit, that He is automatically held responsible for it? Eve, Adam, and God are three seperate persons, so the responsiblity lies with Adam, not God.
God "foreseeing something" does not mean that He is responsible for it. That's just pointing fingers.
2. If God has a reason to justify the existance of Evil, why is he obliged to tell us?
3. Does the "Golden rule" apply to creator-creation relationships? Why should it if it does? Are we not assuming that God isa big man, rather than an omnipotent being?
Finally, how is "evil" defined? If it is the pain of a person, is abortion "evil" the fetus being arguably a person, but arbitrarily by law declared to be a non-person? Could law not define anyone as non-persons arbitrarily, like in euthenasia or eugenics?
Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Phew that was funny.
Can u seriously question what God does with his universe? He created it, He can do whatever he wants. It's not our place to rationalize God's actions. It's not even possible to understand God fully. Know why? Because he's infinite and we aren't.
BTW Alot of those "evil things" you mentioned were brought to us by humans ... let's see now ... HIV yea that was in monkeys until a human raped a monkey, STDs are created through the passing back and forth of various bacteria during intercourse, some mental retardation is caused by the mother smoking or driking or doing drugs while carrying the baby, etc.
[quote]If there is no God, which we can deduce seeing as there is no evidence and no one believes without evidence[/quote]
The whole world, creation, and true science are all evidence of God's existence. Now prove God doesn't exist and maybe i'll give you a cookie.
I think they are ignoring
I think they are ignoring us, but here's a quote to put some things in perspective:
Arthur Schophenhauer "Every man takes the limit of his own field of vision for the limits of the world."