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The problem of evil in the world has to do with more than an unjust God or God not being in control of everything. It has more to do with humanity and its plight since the garden and the choices man made that have affected all of mankind as a result. Evil being present in the world does not change any aspect of GOD or His Power. In fact, it actually proves He really is a loving
God who is in full control because He allows man the freedom of choice.
Why do bad things happen to good people?
The question ‘Why do bad things happen to good people?’ brings to mind the accident I was in on July 17, 2010. About an hour prior to the accident I had given a ride to a lady that lived in the shelter with me. In fact, I was
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Dr. David Jeremiah states, “One of the main issues we must understand is humanity is in a fallen state. Unfortunately, this is due to choices made in the garden that we have no control over.” The Bible says, “It is in the heart of man to do evil.” Hence, the scriptures are given to us for guidance and instruction on morality and relationships. (Ecclesiastes 8:11)
Time and Chance
In Ecclesiastes 8:14 the bible states clearly, “there are just men unto whom it happens according to the work of the wicked; again there be wicked men unto whom it happens according to the work of the righteous.’ To paraphrase another verse in Ecclesiastes, very simply put, ‘it’s not the swiftness of a runner that wins him the race, or ones skills that gets him favor, nor riches to men of understanding but ‘Time and chance’ happens to them all.’ So, I don’t think the question is ‘why do bad things happen to good people?’ I think the questions are, ‘what do I do in this situation?’ or ‘How do I react or respond in this tragedy?’ ‘What is God using this situation to tell
of dangerous things happening for an example war, not being safe in the environment, not
The lines that define good and evil are not written in black and white; these lines tend to blur allowing good and evil to intermingle with each another in a single human being.
The simultaneous presence of evil and God has been an ongoing debate for a long time. Evil is defined as being morally wrong and by definition, God is the supreme; he is morally perfect and has the power to control everything and everyone. He should then be able to prevent evil from existing or get rid of the evil that does exist, but this is not the case. The question that arises, is if there is a God and he is morally perfect, why does God allow for evil in the world if? The problem is that there is no straightforward answer to this question. Or as some philosophers argue, this is only a problem for those who believe in God and that God is morally perfect and omnipotent (J.L Mackie).
Either element of the conclusion is damaging to the traditional understanding of a Judeo-Christian God. It seems simple enough. A benevolent Creator appears incompatible with what we understand to be the existence of evil. Evil is opposed to God’s will, eventually cumulating in the crucifixion of God’s son, Jesus. One must then wonder how an all-loving and all-powerful God would allow such pain to occur to both his creation and Jesus. A perfect God’s world should be similarly perfect. The world is not perfect so it seems that God must not be all-loving or He must not be all-powerful. Rejecting the existence of evil, immediately rejects too much of the Judeo-Christian tradition to be considered, though some philosophers have considered it.
In a world of chaos, he who lives, lives by his own laws and values. Who is to say that the death of millions is any worse or better, for that matter, than injuring a cockroach. And in the case of an existing power in the form of God, who is presumed to be all which is good, presiding and ruling an organized universe, why then does evil exist? The prosaic response of “without evil, there is no good” no longer holds any validity in this argument as the admitted goal of good is to reach an existence without evil. So even if a God does exist, I think it is fair, at this point, to say that he is the embodiment of both good and evil. And if humoring those who would answer the previous question with the response that there can be no good without evil, then can we assume that evil is simply a subsection of a defined good? Or perhaps even a good thing? If it is essential, those who chose the side of evil are simply abiding by good values. In the case of a world ruled by Chaos, evil is a non-existent word or value, rather. The system upon which a person’s actions are judged also disappears leaving nothing but an instinct for natural survival as basic and primary as the life within the forests which we tear down to build our houses.
There is so much evil in the world such as: murder, child mortality, torture, rape, assault and more. So how can there be an all loving God if these things are constantly happening? In this paper, I will be arguing that there is in fact no such thing as an all loving and all powerful God due to Evil. When I think of an all-loving God, I think of God as someone who would never allow a child to be kidnapped, raped, tortured and killed. I think of God as someone who would not allow anything bad or evil to happen in this world. I am not saying people would not get their fair share of misfortune now and again, but they would never experience evil, pain or suffering. That being said, there would be no evil or vindictive people in this world
there are evils that exist not as a direct result of human choice. Natural evils
In order to understand The Problem of Evil, we must first understand the concept of God. The God that this problem addresses is what we call a PKM god. This god is accepted in multiple religions, such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Over half of the world population claims to be followers of any of
After creating a pure and perfect world which he declared “good,” God experienced His first disappointment in humans. When He placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and instructed them not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam and Eve made the decision to disobey God and eat from it. According to the Old Testament, this decision gave Adam and Eve’s descendants (all humans) their sinful human nature, which as a result separated those who did not repent from God’s grace. Eventually the world was full of wickedness and a new side of YHWH came out. The God of unconditional love who is often thought of tended to be a God ...
God is the source of evil. He created natural evil, and gave humans the ability to do moral evil by giving them a free will. However, had he not given people free will, then their actions would not be good or evil; nor could God reward or punish man for his actions since they had no choice in what to do. Therefore, by giving humans choice and free will, God allowed humanity to decide whether to reward themselves with temporary physical goods, and suffer in the long run from unhappiness, or forsake bodily pleasures for eternal happiness.
English poet John Milton once wrote, “…good and evil we know in the field of this world grow up together almost inseparably; and the knowledge of good is so involved and interwoven with the knowledge of evil.” With this interwoven information, modern audiences are usually able to differentiate the “good guys” from the “bad guys” in a movie or television show. A murderous meth kingpin, a rebellious teenage rapist, and a Los Angeles hit man who quotes Holy Scripture before killing his targets — not your typical group of likeable personalities. However, these individuals (Walter White, Alex DeLarge, and Jules Winnfield) are among film and television’s most beloved characters. Often, society shuns people who fall under these deviant categories. Why then do audiences support, sympathize with, and even root for these “bad” characters? Many factors come into play when audiences decide whom they like and why they like them. Through easily identifiable characters, viewers relate to and support the “bad guys” and find ways to justify their deviant behavior; this pattern can be seen in the soci...
There are two general types of evil. There is natural evil and moral evil (Erickson, 2000, p.437). Natural evil does not involve the willingness or actions of man. It is simply a part of nature that seems to create an obstacle against the well-being of man. Examples of natural evil would be tsunamis, hurric...
“No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good” (Lewis, C.S., 2001). We see the futile attempts of men and women in the Old Testament who eagerly intended to be good. They aimed to abide by the law of God, but as soon as something shiny, pleasurable, and of earthly value flashed before their eyes, their obedience to God’s commands went out the window. Some did not even try. God’s people compromised their beliefs and committed spiritual adultery against Him by esteeming handmade idols. All the while, they religiously offered sacrifices, and therefore, polluted the House of God. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, our sinful nature has been beckoning us to choose evil, to embrace worldly counterfeits, and to seek a life of selfish ambition. However, Jesus steps on the scene and changes everything.
more than evil is capable of what seems to be good. More often in the story, God
God and the Bible’s teachings are used as a framework to find meaning in life and purpose of human presence. Purpose resides in every human’s potential to strive for peace, seek equality, nurture relationships and the environment to achieve harmony with the earth (Valk, 2012). “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior and my hope is in you all day long” (Ps 25:5). The Holy Spirit, known as God’s active force and His power in action (Lk 1:35), is used as a guide by Christians to ascertain and determine what is right. “We choose to act based on good thinking, scripture and prayer, and the Holy Spirit helps us discern the right alternatives” (Shelly & Miller, 2006, p. 89). In seeing others as the image of God, choosing what is right from wrong is influenced by beliefs cultural background and respect for one another. In this religious culture, the tendency to do wrong is seen as sinfulness. However, it is the admission of sin that leads Christians to Jesus Christ to find and experience God’s forgiveness (Shelly & Miller, 2006). The recognition of sin and eventual redemption strengthens the relationship with God which directs a life of service to humanity (Shelly & Miller,