How Would I Answer This?

[YEARNING4TRUTH]

Recently, me and a number of my co-workers had an interchange about God. This happened after I tried defending the sanctity of God’s name and they responded with questions, questions that I didn’t have the answers to. Here are the questions that they posed.

If God is all-powerful, why can’t He just get rid of the devil? Maybe its just because God and the devil are the same person.
If God really loves us as His children, then why does He send them to Hell?

So how would I go about answering their questions, especially the first one. I mean, it’s not like the first time I’ve heard these questions posed, especially the first one (I heard that Nietzsche made the same statement when he said that the devil who came on the seventh day is God who was resting, or something like that). How do I even refute such a statement.

 

[Mary_Estelle]

Interesting questions; For every positive there must be a negative or opposing polarity. God had and has a nemesis and we call him satin and all that ascribe to him.
God doesn’t send us to hell per se. We do that in cutting the cord between He and we. Hell is at absence of God in our lives. It is our own torture and damnation, if you will.
I always seek the way the waters flow. Rivers, generally do not flow uphill. I will seek the source of the river. It is different for many, but we are all trying to row the boat. You can tell I will never be a theologian! Peace.

 

[thephilosopher6]

Recently, me and a number of my co-workers had an interchange about God. This happened after I tried defending the sanctity of God’s name and they responded with questions, questions that I didn’t have the answers to. Here are the questions that they posed.

If God is all-powerful, why can’t He just get rid of the devil? Maybe its just because God and the devil are the same person.
If God really loves us as His children, then why does He send them to Hell?

So how would I go about answering their questions, especially the first one. I mean, it’s not like the first time I’ve heard these questions posed, especially the first one (I heard that Nietzsche made the same statement when he said that the devil who came on the seventh day is God who was resting, or something like that). How do I even refute such a statement.

1. Because God cannot limit free will, if he did, then we’d just be nothing more than mindless slaves. In fact, that’s what the devil tries to do to us, he tries to make us slaves of sin (John 8:34). Freedom is inherently apart of God’s goodness, whereas bondage is inherently what evil leads to. If God tried to destroy the devil, he’d be forcing his power and thus going against freedom, which would go against his own goodness, and that is impossible for God to do.
2. God doesn’t send anybody to hell, on the contrary, God is actively trying to save us from hell. Hell is utterly devoid of God, it is something we become lost to when we entrench ourselves deeper and deeper into the bondage of sin. God did not create hell because how can something absolutely devoid exist? It is like dark to light, darkness doesn’t really exist, it’s just the absence of light. So too with hell, it doesn’t really exist, it’s just the absence of God. And everything depends on God to exist, and because God is not present in hell, then it doesn’t truly exist as something, rather it is the ultimate end goal of evil, which is the absence of goodness, and God is good.

 

[IWantGod]

Recently, me and a number of my co-workers had an interchange about God. This happened after I tried defending the sanctity of God’s name and they responded with questions, questions that I didn’t have the answers to. Here are the questions that they posed.

If God is all-powerful, why can’t He just get rid of the devil?

God loves the devil. The devil is one of his children, why would he get rid of him?

 

[Dorothy]

God has the devil on a leash, so to speak. He allows us to be tempted, and when we resist the temptation with His grace, we become stronger. By resisting temptation we are choosing God thereby showing our love for Him.

Temptations, when resisted, can help make us holier.

How do we resist temptations? We fortify ourselves with daily prayer, and make use of the sacraments.

 

[Techno2000]

If God is all-powerful, why can’t He just get rid of the devil? .

God uses the devil to see which path a person wants to take… Good or Evil .

 

[Dorothy]

God uses the devil to see which path a person wants to take… Good or Evil .

And, we have so many helps that Jesus Christ our Lord paid such a high price for! He taught us what we need to know, and gave us Himself as our food on the journey.