Why does God permit evil????

@Caroline,

Caroline;119611 wrote:

Actually earthquakes and hurricanes are necessary to make the planet habitable, if we didn't didn't have hurricanes there would be no heat exchange, if we didn't have earthquakes then the earth would be flat and nothing would grow or live.

I think we have enough now Caroline, dont you? I think the point is, why or how could a benevolent god stand by and watch, acting as if he was as impotent as us?

1 Reply

@Caroline,

Caroline;119611 wrote:

Actually earthquakes and hurricanes are necessary to make the planet habitable, if we didn't didn't have hurricanes there would be no heat exchange, if we didn't have earthquakes then the earth would be flat and nothing would grow or live.

I am sure another way could be found by an omnipotent God. But, anyway, as you see, that isn't the point. God could rescue people, and the earthquakes are not caused by free will. (Except maybe, God's who created the world with earthquakes).

---------- Post added 01-13-2010 at 08:10 AM ----------

xris;119613 wrote:

I think we have enough now Caroline, dont you? I think the point is, why or how could a benevolent god stand by and watch, acting as if he was as impotent as us?

Unless, of course, the earthquake is logically necessary for some greater good which compensates for the evils of the earthquake. Since it is not logically impossible that should be so, there is no contradiction between there being earthquakes and an all-good, all-powerful, God. The question is whether, even if there is no contradiction, there is any evidence that this is so.

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@xris,

xris;119613 wrote:

I think we have enough now Caroline, dont you? I think the point is, why or how could a benevolent god stand by and watch, acting as if he was as impotent as us?

What do you mean by "enough"? It is a continous cycle. I can't answer your question to why God stands by and watches innocent people die, all I know is that natural disasters are caused by the planets natural cycles, if it they didn't occur then the world like I explained would be inhabitable

---------- Post added 01-13-2010 at 09:17 AM ----------

If I push someone off the wall knowing that God may or may not intervene then I would be without morals. I could go around bashing heads in all the time then where would we be, without morals that's where. You can't have one rule for natural disasters and it's not applied to intervening say a rape, if God intervened all the time how would we be moralistic?

1 Reply

@Caroline,

Caroline;119617 wrote:

What do you mean "enough"? It is a continous cycle. I can't answer your question to why God stands by and watches innocent people die, all I know is that natural disasters are caused by the planets natural cycles, if it they didn't occur then the world like I explained wouldn't be inhabitable

---------- Post added 01-13-2010 at 09:17 AM ----------

If I push someone off the wall knowing that God may or may not intervene then I would be without morals. I could go around bashing heads in all the time then where would we be, without morals that's where. You can't have one rule for natural disasters and it's not applied to intervening say a rape, if God intervened all the time how would we be moralistic?

You seem to think that morality consists only in not doing what it is forbidden to do.

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@Alan McDougall,

Not sure what you mean K.

1 Reply

@Caroline,

Caroline;119623 wrote:

Not sure what you mean K.

We could be moral even if God intervened all the time by doing good things, even if there were no bad things to avoid.

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@Alan McDougall,

Yes but how would we learn to be moral if God intervened everytime I pushed someone off a wall for instance.

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@Alan McDougall,

In my opinion natural disasters can't be considered evil, evil is an act of free Will by bad people against their fellow humans and animals

S: (n) evil, immorality, wickedness, iniquity (morally objectionable behavior)
S: (n) evil (that which causes harm or destruction or misfortune) "the evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones"- Shakespeare
S: (n) evil, evilness (the quality of being morally wrong in principle or practice) "attempts to explain the origin of evil in the world"

Adjective

S: (adj) evil (morally bad or wrong) "evil purposes"; "an evil influence"; "evil deeds"
S: (adj) evil, vicious (having the nature of vice)
S: (adj) malefic, malevolent, malign, evil (having or exerting a malignant influence) "malevolent stars"; "a malefic force"

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@Caroline,

Caroline;119625 wrote:

Yes but how would we learn to be moral if God intervened everytime I pushed someone off a wall for instance.

By doing things for people. You don't have to push people. We don't learn to be moral only by not doing bad things. In any case, God could arrange to give you an electric shock every time you pushed a person off a wall, while He saved the person from injury. I am sure God could think of something if He really put his mind to it. Don't you?

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@Caroline,

Caroline;119625 wrote:

Yes but how would we learn to be moral if God intervened everytime I pushed someone off a wall for instance.

So god never answers prayers? He never observes these horrors?

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@Alan McDougall,

I don't think God has the power to give electric shocks to people, you have to define God. Besides most people know it's wrong to do bad things to people because of the consequences which we learn from a very young age, those who do not have generally lost their way somewhere along the line. We learn from a very young age what actions are wrong, if God intervened everytime not only would we not learn but he'd be a very busy God, which is jusst not possible. I think you're asking for the impossible in this case, besides like I've already pointed out if God intervened everytime we would not learn, some may like the electric shock, some may think it's worth it, people have killed others with far more worse consequences then a shock, I think I might try just for the buzz.

1 Reply

@Caroline,

Caroline;119631 wrote:

I don't think God has the power to give electric shocks to people, you have to define God. Besides most people know it's wrong to do bad things to people because of the consequences which we learn from a very young age, those who do not have generally lost their way somewhere along the line. We learn from a very young age what actions are wrong, if God intervened everytime not only would we not learn but he'd be a very busy God, which is jusst not possible. I think you're asking for the impossible in this case, besides like I've already pointed out if God intervened everytime we would not learn, some may like the electric shock, some may think it's worth it, people have killed others with far more worse consequences then a shock, I think I might try just for the buzz.

Why would God not have the power to give electric shocks (unless you think that God has run out of electric power)? And God does not mind being busy helping people. After all, what does He have to do now He has created the universe? I imagine He can just relax and intervene when necessary. I hear He has all kinds of help too. As I pointed out, too, you really should not expect other people to suffer so that you could learn to be moral. That's not very nice. Maybe you should suffer to learn, but why other people?

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@Alan McDougall,

I didn't say people should suffer for us to gain morals I said we should understand the consequences of our actions to learn morals, this is why we don't have anarchy and chaos because most people know it is wrong to murder and rape and not Kennethmy by going out and doing it first but through morals that we learn from a very young age. You don't have to do something to know it's wrong.

1 Reply

@Caroline,

Caroline;119633 wrote:

I didn't say people should suffer for us to gain morals I said we should understand the consequences of our actions to learn morals, this is why we don't have anarchy and chaos because most people know it is wrong to murder and rape and not Kennethmy by going out and doing it first but through morals that we learn from a very young age. You don't have to do something to know it's wrong.

But I thought you were arguing that unless there are consequences of pushing someone off the wall, we could not learn that it was wrong to do that. And that, therefore, we should not expect God to intervene. What are you arguing, then?

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@Alan McDougall,

We don't need an electric shock because most of us know it's wrong to do it because of the consequences, if there was no consequences because God intervened all of the time we'd live in chaos.

1 Reply

@Caroline,

Caroline;119637 wrote:

We don't need an electric shock because most of us know it's wrong to do it because of the consequences, if there was no consequences because God intervened all of the time we'd live in chaos.

But what consequences have you in mind. The injury of the person we push, or something unpleasant happening to us?

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@Alan McDougall,

Both......................

1 Reply

@Caroline,

Caroline;119640 wrote:

Both......................

But then other people will suffer so that we can learn to be moral. That is what I pointed out earlier. And that isn't very nice.

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@Alan McDougall,

No we don't do it though do we, I don't push someone off a wall because I've done it before, really, I don't do it because I know it's wrong and can see the consequences without actually doing it but if God intervened I could do it to my hearts content then we'd live in chaos.

1 Reply

@Caroline,

Caroline;119643 wrote:

No we don't do it though do we, I don't push someone off a wall because I've done it before, really, I don't do it because I know it's wrong and can see the consequences without actually doing it but if God intervened I could do it to my hearts content then we'd live in chaos.

People do do it, though. And, I thought you argued that unless there were consequences you would not learn it was wrong.

1 Reply

Why does God permit evil????

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