Why does God allow evil?????

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suupah said:
The question by the atheist is why an all powerful and all loving God allows this to happen especially to his faithful
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Please, read THIS article by Jimmy Akin. He is the chief apologist here on Catholic Answers. It may seem the beginning of the article has to do nothing with your question but just go on. Just read it all. There’s much more to say but read it first.
 
suupah said:
A question from an atheist that i don’t have a good answer for…

If God is all powerful and all loving. WHY does evil exist???

thanks for your responses?
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First of all, ask him to define what is evil?

And God sometimes allows evil in order to bring about a greater good. The cross of Jesus was the worse evil ever commited, God allowed it in order to bring about a greater good by Christ’s redemption for our sins. Evil exists from the freedom of mans choice. God made man free otherwise we wouldn’t truly be human and in that freedom WE chose to do evil.
 
Read also these 2 articles from Peter Kreeft. I would give you his talk about evil but I they gave it away from the site it was in…

1. Evil

2. God’s Answer to Suffering

Have you ever thought of this? On the basis of which do you distinguish between good and evil? What’s the yardstick? Hmm?
 
suupah said:
The question by the atheist is why an all powerful and all loving God allows this to happen especially to his faithful
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The answer remains the same. How would God shield the faithful and simultaneously allow free will on the part of the murderer?

You forget that God’s concern is not predominantly for this world, but for our souls.

I have asked before, I shall ask again:

Why did the apostles embrace martyrdom joyfully?

It is the same answer, to the same question.

Atheists ask the question because they cannot conceive of greater good than serving themselves. An atheist is not one whom recognizes no gods, but rather one who worships himself.
 
Maybe the better question is…

Instead of casting the angels out of heaven, why not just destroy them?

Why was the tree of knowledge even put in the garden in the first place?
 
You say in one sentence “God gives us free will”. This I agree upon, however in another sentence you say that God can’t control evil. Is God not omnipotent. He has control of all from what I understand. The statement of God not having the ability to do something and the statement of God giving us free will are either not related or contradictory. Why does God allow evil you ask? I don’t know. He gives us free will. Yes, but what about the person that this evil hurts…the victom?
 
You say in one sentence “God gives us free will”. This I agree upon, however in another sentence you say that God can’t control evil. Is God not omnipotent. He has control of all from what I understand. The statement of God not having the ability to do something and the statement of God giving us free will are either not related or contradictory. Why does God allow evil you ask? I don’t know. He gives us free will. Yes, but what about the person that this evil hurts…the victom?
 
suupah said:
The question by the atheist is why an all powerful and all loving God allows this to happen especially to his faithful
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A number of the responses, will sound to the atheist like this…The reason mommy lets her boyfriend beat me and break my bones, is so that she will know I REALLY love her! If she was just a good mommy, who took care of my needs and told me she loved me, my love would mean nothing to her, because of course I would love that kind of mommy, who wouldn’t? But if she and her boyfriend do terrible things to me, and I STILL love her, well then, that is REAL love, and that is better. I’m so glad mommy let’s her boyfriend do terrible things to me so that I can love her better.

If her boyfriend hadn’t broken my legs, killed my cat, and burned me with cigarettes, Mommy wouldn’t have had the opportunity to bring me comic books in the hospital, buy me a goldfish and a new sweater to hide the burn marks. So, it’s better that the bad stuff happened, so she could show me how much she loved me later.

…just wanted to prepare you for conversation number two with the atheist
 
EndorphMia1 said:
You say in one sentence “God gives us free will”. This I agree upon, however in another sentence you say that God can’t control evil. Is God not omnipotent. He has control of all from what I understand. The statement of God not having the ability to do something and the statement of God giving us free will are either not related or contradictory. Why does God allow evil you ask? I don’t know. He gives us free will. Yes, but what about the person that this evil hurts…the victom?
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You may not receive this answer. But you have a good question. I can only answer you this way. God knows good and evil, there has to be opposition in all things light and darkness, right and wrong, good and evil, for if these things did not exist, so that we could chose, the one or the other, there could be no knowledge, the Chinese call it yin and yang, if there was no evil, God would cease to be God. We had to be tempted between one or the other, that is why the tree of knowledge of Good and evil was placed before Adam and Eve. Think about it. Then ponder it. It is a great plan, that is why there is freedom of choice, peace or unhappiness. Evil had to exist, Satan is the tempter, it is how God weeds us out by allowing Satan to tempt us so that we would have a knowledge of good and evil, and be as the God, Genesis3: 22 And the Lord God, said, behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil:…That is my answer thank you for the question.
 
Thank you very much for your responses! Gave me something to think about.
 
Why is it good that animals suffer and even die horribly - ever seen an antelope be eaten by lions? What does that have to do with God-given free choice? What about the suffering of all the lower creatures -why would a loving God desire that for His glory? Admittedly I didn’t read all 30 posts but the ones I did read were far short of answering the legitemite question posed by the atheist.:twocents:
 
Sparky99 said:
Why is it good that animals suffer and even die horribly - ever seen an antelope be eaten by lions? What does that have to do with God-given free choice? What about the suffering of all the lower creatures -why would a loving God desire that for His glory? Admittedly I didn’t read all 30 posts but the ones I did read were far short of answering the legitemite question posed by the atheist.:twocents:
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One could ask the same question, about Christ. Why did he allow him to be beaten, starve and who know what else that he may go below all thing. It is that he may draw all unto him. I do not know Gods mind but it is interesting to note that he asked Abraham to offer his son Issac upon the alter.
We seem to want a perfect world, and God is suppose to do as we think he should. If I were God, sort of thinking. I understand for those who suffer there is a better, resurrection. I would hope so for the unborn who are aborted, If one could stop seeing the world as Gods punishment. We forget that his counterpart is very actively working to get your thinking to curse God and die. IF God was this, he would do this. Or God wouldn’t do that, we do not know God, nor do we see his wisdom. Isa 55:8-9 But as for the animals what we could do is give the lions guns, that might help your pain in being more humane.
 
One could ask the same question, about Christ. Why did he allow him to be beaten, starve and who know what else that he may go below all thing
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Christ was sacrificed for our salvation period - this is the most basic christian belief and has nothing to do with God allowing all the lower creatures to suffer and die constantly as they do.
I do not know Gods mind but it is interesting to note that he asked Abraham to offer his son Issac upon the alter
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Issac presumably went to heaven (or at least had the chance to) whereas animals that suffer and die do not have immortal souls - (according to Catholic theology). So again- way different.
But as for the animals what we could do is give the lions guns, that might help your pain in being more humane.
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???HUH?
So I repeat…
Why is it good that animals suffer and even die horribly - ever seen an antelope be eaten by lions? What does that have to do with God-given free choice? What about the suffering of all the lower creatures -why would a loving God desire that for His glory? Admittedly I didn’t read all 30 posts but the ones I did read were far short of answering the legitemite question posed by the atheist
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By the way I do not belong to PETA and have no special affinity for animals ( other than how they taste) - it just seems as there is no reasonable reply possible on this point. Any other takers?
 
Sparky99 said:
Christ was sacrificed for our salvation period - this is the most basic christian belief and has nothing to do with God allowing all the lower creatures to suffer and die constantly as they do.

Issac presumably went to heaven (or at least had the chance to) whereas animals that suffer and die do not have immortal souls - (according to Catholic theology). So again- way different.

???HUH?
So I repeat…
By the way I do not belong to PETA and have no special affinity for animals ( other than how they taste) - it just seems as there is no reasonable reply possible on this point. Any other takers?
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I think you feel that you have a question that cannot be answered to your satisfaction, regardless. As for animals, not having immortal souls, is yet to be seen. Just because you may not believe it, does not make so. It is like those who do not believe in God, does not make it so. Giving guns to lions is a way of saying (think) How do expect them to survive. They must survive, We kill animals to eat, some kill for sport some for food but we must survive, we just kill differently but we still kill to eat. Now I have a question for you, why do care???
 
As far as I know, nobody has managed a straightforward answer to Epicurus yet. I have looked, and it has not been done. Sure, there’s lots of contortion and malarkey, but the questions are very plain and simple.
If god is omnipotent and benevolent, then why evil?
If he’s benevolent, then given evil, he’s not omnipotent.
If god is omnipotent yet permits evil, then he is malevolent.
If he’s neither omnipotent nor benevolent…why call him god?

No form of ‘suffering is good, mmkay’ can address this. I often wonder why theists presume their deities are benevolent. Then again, they already presume so many things. I don’t understand these presumptions.
 
Ack, again I screwed up! Mirdath and I share a comp, and that last was my post.

As a lifelong secular, I would not compare my pov to Mirdath’s necessarily. Your atheist friend has invoked a toughie. Best luck to you, and if there are any answers to this problem, well, we’d all just love to hear them.
 
Now I have a question for you, why do care
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…Just searching for answers my friend. Though I didn’t find any here I’ll keep lookin.
Peace
 
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