If there's a god, why is there evil?

Mr. Dugbug:

My wife is a school teacher. She says if you are really 14, she's impressed, you're a deep thinker for your age.

You are saying that the following of rules makes us good and the breaking of rules makes us bad (evil). It's a lot more complicated then that. When you find time, you study the teachings of Confucius. There is so much more to learn.

Concerning the animals. The more you study them the more you will be amazed. They will have the apearance of evil, but you're right, they are only following the path given to them by mother nature (the law god (a god that is not really god, but a god like law - better yet, like a computer script))

To KrazyGamer. Why are we all not in heaven? If we ain't there yet, we must be bad. To get there, we have to get good. Many will add to this and rightly so. This is very narrow.

To understand this more fully, study the marriage feast.

"A fool says I know and a wise man says I wonder."

The initial question asks if there is a God. To fairly determine this, one would have to rule out evolution, no?

"Woohoo!!Woohoo!!"

Why does everyone think that chatolicism is the only religion, or only thing for that matter that has a single god. You don't always have to agree with a major religion. You can choose to believe or think whatever you want.

"If the opposite of Pro is Con, then is the opposite of Progress, Congress?"

No - I don't know why you would have to rule out evolution inorder to beliieve in God. Couldn't have God created evolution? If there is such a thing.

I don't think everyone does think that chatoclicism is the only religion. Maybe only those around you. God is niether single or many things. God is more than we can understand - So we understand God however we can, for most, that is single. Even when I pray to God, and I know better, I pray to him my father. Even though I know God is more, that's just what my mind understands. I don't think God is insulted.

My understanding is that it doesn't matter how we understand God - God works with what we can understand.

"A fool says I know and a wise man says I wonder."

If there's a god, why is there evil?

More specifically, can there be an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-GOOD god, based on the amount of evil there is in the world?

1:06:41 am - April 16th
[ Edited by think4yourself ]


I will take this thread back to the original question...and share my opinions...

"In the struggle between good and evil...good always prevails"...

For those that believe in "God"....the answer to this question lies in the bible...not sure which page, which verse...etc....but I know it is there...

the story of Satan...and how he came about...and how God created evil to tempt us...

But...the thread seems to have taken a turn to a discussion about evolution vs. creation...which I have mixed feelings about. Science can PROVE evolution...if you get the chance...the Discovery Channel is doing the "Walking with the Caveman"...throughout the month of June...so watch that...

Where is there proof that the bible is not just a novel written many years ago?...

I always believed in God...and maybe I still do...who knows?

For instance when I walk outside and my eyes feast upon the glory around me...the mountains, the flowers, the moon, the sun, the stars....And when I look at my child...I am in awe...and for those reasons, I do believe that there is a "superior being"...or many...that designed and created mankind...the earth...the planets...etc...

BUT...the fact that my mind is not fully able to accept any fact without PROOF...leads me to the "pondering" of "evolution".

And, in reference to Dugbug's question...

"Why does everyone think that chatolicism is the only religion"

I have studied many religions...in my search for the truth...and...according to the "bible"...and varioius studies...all religions have stemmed from "Catholicism"...

I may have talked in circles here....and if I did...I apologize...


~MG

"Just stepped back in to..."ruffle some feathers""

how can all religions come from catholicism, when most of them were created before it. The Jews were the ones that created catholicism. Hinduism and Budism came about way before the European man had stepped a foot into Asian lands.
The only things that came from catholicism is protestants, calvinists, all those Renaissance relgions but they are all grouped under Christianity. What about Islam and Judism?

I kinda feel the same way about how you understand what the bible is trying to say and do, and what they take as their interpretations. Yet, you can't fully agree with them because they lack proof.

"If the opposite of Pro is Con, then is the opposite of Progress, Congress?"

WHAT?

Dugbug:

Is this really you or someone else. I find it hard to believe this coming from a 14 year old.

If it's proof you want, you can't have it. You just have to believe or not believe. There is no proof.

Proof is for the scientist. Believe it or not, some scientists believe they have found proof. However, only believe and it will never be accepted by the scientific community as proof.

Atheist I know struggle with this. Because it has to be difficult to believe there is no God.

However, some believers also struggle, they want proof.

You either believe or you don't believe. I would not be able to prove to you that there is a God. And you would not be able to prove to me that there is not.

Mother Theresa is just one example. Many in the Christian world agree, her doctrinal beliefs were insane. Never-the-less - the women communed with God. Her life was proof of it. Not to many people would argue with me on that. It doesn't matter what doctrine you choose to follow. What's important is how much faith you have in God.

And in other religions, Hindu, Buddhist, Indian, etc. There will be heroes and hypocrites.

Peace and Love : )

"A fool says I know and a wise man says I wonder."

Dear MG:

I wish I hadn't mentioned evolution. I remember I once made a comment about Einstien that it made a young man so angry he was almost in tears. I had to stand back and apologize to him. Concerning Evolution. It depends on what article you read or what channel you watch or what portion of evolution you wish to discuss. The media as it has been proven to me time to time is very poor in stating the facts. The scientific community is mixed almost 50/50 on this subject. There is just as much proof as there is disproof. And in the big bang theory which is a part of the evolution theory, some believe they have proof of God. Maybe they have.

Catholicism is the beginning of all Christian Churches. However the Christian religion is a brake off from the Jewish religion and the jewish religion is a brake off from the Hindu religion. The Moslim religion is a brake off from the Christian Religion. The Buddhist religion is a brake off from the Hindu religion. There are hundreds of smaller religions scattered throughout the world, but most of them unfortunatly have been destroyed by so called holy wars. Many Holy scriptures have lost along with many traditions. Many are trying to recapture these things.

If you study religion you will find it fascinating, and when you understand it, it becomes a magical world, not an enemy so many fear.

You are right. In the bible, several places in different ways it mentions God as the creator of evil.

"A fool says I know and a wise man says I wonder."

I'm a little behind on the conversation, but I figured what the heck..

okcitykid:

Mars is warming up, he told me, and they don' know how or why, they suspect bacteria. The ice is melting and there are small amounts of water. He said that in a 1000 years, Mars might become habitable.

I'm not sure why you think this is a miracle. If habitation of Mars is to save us, it needs to be habitable much sooner than in 1000 years. Even if you chopped that number down to 500 years, within a century we should easily have the technology to get off the planet and inhabit space, the moon, Mars, .. any place you want. The fact that no one knows why it's happening doesn't say much. We recently found out the atmosphere is denser than previously thought. If we knew so little about its atmosphere, why should we know anything about it's changing climate?

The earth is supposed to be in an ice age right now. They don't know why we are not.

I wasn't aware of this fact. When was this ice-age supposed to begin, and when was it supposed to end? If it was going to start within the last few centuries, human world domination should have had enough of an impact of world climate to possibly offset the ice-age.

Have you ever heard of the green house theory - we should not even be alive.

If by green house theory you mean the idea that light easily penetrates the atmosphere, delivering heat to the Earth, but does not let heat escape as easily causing it to heat up, I see no reason why we should be dead. If you are referring to another green house theory, please clarify. I am a skeptic when it comes to religious matters, especially when it comes to miracles and intervention. I hope you don't take it as an attack. I simply want to know how you reached your conclusions. Maybe you'll convert me

ÇåPtÂìÑñ€mØ:

Now add in the fact that a woman would have had to simultaneously evolve alongside the man, chronologically speaking, each step of the way. This is completely implausable.

I think you misunderstood evolution. Men and women do not evolve separately/independently. Women give birth to both men and women, and what comes out is a genetic mix of the mother and father, thus men and women automatically stay close genetic relatives.

If you mean before humans required an opposite sex to reproduce, I would guess the asexual species would've broken off into 2 sexes who were close relatives to begin with, otherwise at least one of the sexes would've been drastically different from the original asexual parent. Major differences are not characteristic of genetic mutation.

Let's look at the probability that man evolved over many years with many changes. It is, in fact, highly improbable.

One theory to explain this is that through many big bang cycles, intelligent life did NOT develop. If in one of billions and billions of cycles it did happen, which it eventually would if it is at all possible, we would be (and are) asking questions about the unlikeliness of our evolutionary existence. Therefore it may be unlikely, but this unlikeliness is perfectly synchronized with our existence in time, that's why we're here. The odds of it happening are low, but the odds of it happening GIVEN that there's someone intelligent there to see it are actually quite high. Does that make any sense?

An alternate explanation for evolution has to do with quantum mechanics (modern physics). In quantum physics, particles have more than one property at any given time, as if several variations of the particle instantly co-exist in parallel universes. These variations interact with each other, and all add up to what you see when you look at a particle. The interesting thing is that if you could create a large enough coherent quantum system, it would be as if all variations of system simultaneously exist in parallel universes.

Scientists are trying to use quantum behavior for use in computation (do a search for quantum computing). The way this relates to evolution is, and I'll simplify things greatly, in a quantum system like this, if one of the parallel universes happened to form something useful (a protein, an amoeba), then that may have been a dominant constituent in the sum of those universes, adding up to what we actually see. It's a shortcut for nature and evolution, because as long as it forms such a quantum system, that system may intelligently design itself, without a God, aliens, or any outside intervention. If ant-like artificial intelligence can ever arise in normal computers, then almost God-like intelligence can arise in quantum computers -- they are so unimaginably more powerful. Anyway, all this may or may not have played a key role in evolution, but you certainly can't dismiss "random mutations" when these are the things building blocks of the universe do.

..on a side note, scientists speculate that the brain may be a type of quantum computer, which may help explain consciousness and intelligence in humans.

Think4yourself

I believe in God, I believe God created evil, and I think the idea of evolution is stupid, I don't believe I came from an ape.

When I believe something is a miracle, it must be a miricle to me.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Nothing further to discuss.

But thank you for starting this thread, I am happy to have expressed my opinion.

"A fool says I know and a wise man says I wonder."

Hi! Still waiting for my avatar, lol!

There are many things to comment to here, but I can only summarize to maybe explain the majority.

The idea of man being asexual is certainly a stretch. There are no warm blooded mammals that are asexual. This is virtually non supportive of evolution.

The idea that evil was created to tempt man is understandable, but is not in accordance to what the Bible says.

The Bible clearly explains that Satan at one time was in good standing with God. He was actually the bearer of light. He conversed with God. He was actually a worshiper of God. Then he became an apostate. He "opposed (Satan)" God. He then "slandered (diabolos -devil)" God.

Satan chose to oppose God based on his own free will. This was not part of God's plan.

If God's plan were to allow evil to run rampant in the earth, you would not have many promises throughout the scriptures that indicate the earth will eventually become a paradise, as God had originally intended, where there will be no more sickness and death. Notice below please:

*** Isaiah 35:5-7 ***

5 At that time the eyes of the blind ones will be opened, and the very ears of the deaf ones will be unstopped. 6 At that time the lame one will climb up just as a stag does, and the tongue of the speechless one will cry out in gladness. For in the wilderness waters will have burst out, and torrents in the desert plain. 7 And the heat-parched ground will have become as a reedy pool, and the thirsty ground as springs of water. In the abiding place of jackals, a resting-place for [them], there will be green grass with reeds and papyrus plants.

*** Revelation 21:3-4 ***

3 With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them. 4 And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”

*** Job 33:25 ***

Let his flesh become fresher than in youth;
Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor.’

*** Isaiah 65:21-25 ***

And they will certainly build houses and have occupancy; and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat [their] fruitage. 22 They will not build and someone else have occupancy; they will not plant and someone else do the eating. For like the days of a tree will the days of my people be; and the work of their own hands my chosen ones will use to the full. 23 They will not toil for nothing, nor will they bring to birth for disturbance; because they are the offspring made up of the blessed ones of Jehovah, and their descendants with them. 24 And it will actually occur that before they call out I myself shall answer; while they are yet speaking, I myself shall hear.

25 “The wolf and the lamb themselves will feed as one, and the lion will eat straw just like the bull; and as for the serpent, his food will be dust. They will do no harm nor cause any ruin in all my holy mountain,” Jehovah has said.

*** Rbi8 Psalm 37:10-11, 29 ***

And just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more;
And you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be.

11 But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth,
And they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.

29 The righteous themselves will possess the earth,
And they will reside forever upon it.

"Woohoo!!Woohoo!!"

A german philosopher, Leibniz thought about this little paradox.
He concluded that because of the very nature of the universe, the world was as perfect as *possible*. That through some evil now, an even greater amount of good will emerge later because of it.

I don't think there really is any other way to explain it.

"AIDS is God's way of sending Catholics to heaven."