Solve the Problem of Evil

[Gary Childress]

Going back to my college days as a philosophy student, I remember a particular formulation of the problem of evil which still sticks in my head to this day.

Assuming there is a God:

1. God created everything which exists.
2. God does not create evil.
3. Evil exists.

One or more of the three statements above MUST be false. If they are all correct then they logically contradict each other. But which one(s) is/are false? According to the Bible, God created everything, heaven, earth, the whole deal. According to many theologians God is benevolent and does not create evil. According to most observations of the world Evil exists.

If God created everything but does not create evil then there must not be such a thing as evil.

If God created everything and there is evil then God must have created the evil.

If God does not create evil and yet there is evil then God must not have created everything.

Which of the three statements in the poll above do you think is/are FALSE, or are they somehow all true? I encourage those who vote to share their answers as I am very interested in this problem. Quite frankly I don't think it can be solved.

I apologize to the athiests out there. This poll is mainly directed at the faithful as I haven't given the option of voting whether or not there is a God.

Thank you for participating.

NOTE: Multiple choice is enabled. Therefore you can choose more than one statement as being false.

 

[Phlegmak]

Going back to my college days as a philosophy student, I remember a particular formulation of the problem of evil which still sticks in my head to this day.

Assuming there is a God:

1. God created everything which exists.
2. God does not create evil.
3. Evil exists.

One or more of the three statements above MUST be false. If they are all correct then they logically contradict each other. But which one(s) is/are false? According to the Bible, God created everything, heaven, earth, the whole deal. According to many theologians God is benevolent and does not create evil. According to most observations of the world Evil exists.

If God created everything but does not create evil then there must not be such a thing as evil.

If God created everything and there is evil then God must have created the evil.

If God does not create evil and yet there is evil then God must not have created everything.

Which of the three statements in the poll above do you think are FALSE, or are they somehow all true? I encourage those who vote to share their answers as I am very interested in this problem. Quite frankly I don't think it can be solved.

I apologize to the athiests out there. This poll is mainly directed at the faithful as I haven't given the option of voting whether or not there is a God.

Thank you for participating.

NOTE: Multiple choice is enabled. Therefore you can choose more than one statement as being false.

#2 can be false. Believers can believe that their god created evil. I believed it when I was a Christian.

 

[Fayadi]

Is not so much that God created evil.
God created Free-Will
Evil is possible because of free-will

No free-will = No evil

So God is implicit in creating the tools possible for evil
But he does not create evil.

 

[Gary Childress]

#2 can be false. Believers can believe that their god created evil. I believed it when I was a Christian.

If God creates evil then he isn't a benevolent God.

Is not so much that God created evil.
God created Free-Will
Evil is possible because of free-will

No free-will = No evil

So God is implicit in creating the tools possible for evil
But he does not create evil.

But if God created everything and evil exists then literally God created evil by creating its possibility. To say God does not create evil and yet God creates evil is contradictory. Did God create evil or did he not?

 

[holy king]

if parents would love their children they wouldnt ground them.

 

[Phlegmak]

Is not so much that God created evil.
God created Free-Will
Evil is possible because of free-will

No free-will = No evil

So God is implicit in creating the tools possible for evil
But he does not create evil.

Not possible. god created the tree of knowledge of good and evil; therefore, god created evil. If god didn't create evil, and god knew about evil, then evil existed before god.

If God creates evil then he isn't a benevolent God.

Sure he is. As long as you can simultaneously believe that these two statements are true, which I used to believe:
god created evil.
god is benevolent.



Sure, logically what I just said makes no sense, but when you're dealing with faith, logic is meaningless.

 

[Gigaz]

God is evil. Every good thing must therefor be manmade

 

[Gary Childress]

Sure, logically what I just said makes no sense, but when you're dealing with faith, logic is meaningless.

Unfortunately logic is all we mortals have to go on. If God is benevolent then he does not by definition create evil. If God creates evil then he is not by definition benevolent. If God is benevolent and yet creates evil then perhaps Charles Manson is benevolent and yet practices evil.

I don't see how you can have it both ways. If you throw out logic then you open the door to almost any absurdity.

if parents would love their children they wouldnt ground them.

The problem of grounding a child you love is not a problem of definition, however. Parents can love their children and ground them. A benevolent being, by definition does not create evil.

 

[Ammar]

Since I am an atheist I selected option one - but the old testament claims that option two is the right one.

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

 

[Gary Childress]

Since I am an atheist I selected option one - but the old testament claims that option two is the right one.

Then the problem is solved. God creates evil. He/she/it is therefore not a benevolent God.

 

[bhsup]

Then the problem is solved. God creates evil. He/she/it is therefore not a benevolent God.

So you think that allowing us free will and the ability to CHOOSE him is not an act of benevolence? Without evil, would there really be a choice?

 

[Shekwan]

I would assume the athiest option is ticking all three as false.

 

[Earthling]

No, the athiest option would be to not care about what the thread was discussing and whine about grammar nazii

Spoiler :

Vote is not public... I went with 1 and 3 - cause the Christian definition of "evil" this is being based on probably isn't agreeable to me either.

 

[Gary Childress]

So you think that allowing us free will and the ability to CHOOSE him is not an act of benevolence? Without evil, would there really be a choice?

Well think of it this way. If there are those who choose evil, and they commit evil, such as Charles Manson did, then does that make God benevolent in the eyes of the victims of Charles Manson? There is of course also the issue of omnipotence which is commonly attributed to God which is not covered in the formulation above.

If God is omnipotent then he can stop evil from occuring. If he is omniscient then he would know it was about to happen. If he is benevolent then he would seek to stop it. Therefore evil should never occur.

 

[bhsup]

If God is omnipotent then he can stop evil from occuring. If he is omniscient then he would know it was about to happen. If he is benevolent then he would seek to stop it. Therefore evil should never occur.

You are making assumptions about the nature of God and declaring them fact. You're imposing our limited human morality on him when we are unaware of the wholeness of his majesty and being. That's not cool.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

God allows evil, so indirectly He created it. The reason He allows it is not because He is incapable of stopping it but because He is incapable of giving us the benefits of free will without the drawbacks - including our ability to directly create evil.

 

[Gary Childress]

You are making assumptions about the nature of God and declaring them fact. You're imposing our limited human morality on him when we are unaware of the wholeness of his majesty and being. That's not cool.

Sorry to be "uncool" but as I say logic is about the only thing I as a mortal have to go on. If God creates evil then he is not benevolent.

 

[Phlegmak]

Unfortunately logic is all we mortals have to go on.

I don't see how you can have it both ways. If you throw out logic then you open the door to almost any absurdity.

You can have it both ways! Simply abandon the logical things that conflict with faith, and keep logic for the things that don't conflict with faith! The faithful do that all the time! (In my opinion, faith is the exact opposite of logic. When a theist says, "I have faith in such and such", then the conversation has ended, in my opinion.)

 

[bhsup]

Sorry to be "uncool" but as I say logic is about the only thing I as a mortal have to go on. If God creates evil then he is not benevolent.

And you are who to make that determination?

 

[Fayadi]

But you are seeing good and evil from a human perspective.

What makes good and bad?
What makes ugly and beautiful?

Let say every woman on Earth looks the same. Will there be such thing as beautiful woman or ugly woman? The problem of judging positive and negative is based mostly on the objective outcome.
If everyone on Earth thinks and behave the same way. Will there be such thing as stupid people or smart people?

Let say the God of Bible made two Universe. Universe A is our present reality, humans has free-will. Universe B is made up of humans that are mindless robots. Thinks and acts the same way. Universe B has a planetary society with no conflicts. Humans in Universe B are automatically programmed to love God. Theoretically, there is no concept of good and evil in Universe B.

One must know what things are good before understanding what things are bad and vice versa.

I think understanding whether or not God exists with logic is a futile attempt.