The most difficult reality to explain/justify about God, "why is there so much evil?"

[Meriweather]

Maybe you and God disagree about what is evil and what is not. This is a being that punishes or kills innocent men, women, children, and animals.

Ever been on a competitive sports team where the coach has the entire team run sprints, or laps, due to the misbehavior of one or two? This is because they are a team and they rise and fall as a team--not individuals.

Back in the days of ancient man, they saw their tribe in much the same way. Our view today is much more individualistic, but it those days it was a matter of course that the tribe, not individuals would be punished. In Noah's time, the story flat out begins by admitting the people were misbehaving and out of order. Not knowing about natural disasters, they saw the flood as punishment on the whole tribe because the tribe was misbehaving.

 

[MAGAman]

The most difficult reality to explain/justify about God, "why is there so much evil?"

That's actually quite simple and easy to answer.

God is the embodiment of good. Evil the absence of good (the absence of God), just like cold is the absence of heat.

Hell is being denied God's presence for eternity.

Heaven is enjoying God's presence for eternity.

God gives us free will to choose His path or the path of Evil, because if you don't have the choice, you can't choose God.

 

[diver52]

I'm not just referring to humans, we are certainly the most sadistic of creatures, far too often deliberately, often taking pleasure in others pain. I also think about the Animal Kingdom in which instinctive responses or need to sustain oneself requires hunting and eating other creatures.

I've heard some strong explanations such as "we need evil to know what good is" etc. However, the abundance of suffering, just the physiological system of nerves and sensors that elicit pain, it's always been difficult for me to understand why God created earths creatures this way.

In fairness, I don't even know why this makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint either when I think are probably better ways to have been built (even as the human body and brain is the most complex on earth).

Accepting the assumption there is/was a God, then I would say it created the universe but does not get involved in that creation except perhaps on the most macro levels. We are just a single species sitting on a little speck of a planet on the edge of a vast galaxy that is just one of millions of other galaxies. It seems to me to be the height of hubris to assume the creator gives a damn about us.

 

[MAGAman]

I think you mean , why in the heck didn't he create heaven first. I quite agree. He could of and should of. ​

Tell Him that when you see Him.

 

[Meriweather]

Accepting the assumption there is/was a God, then I would say it created the universe but does not get involved in that creation except perhaps on the most macro levels. We are just a single species sitting on a little speck of a planet on the edge of a vast galaxy that is just one of millions of other galaxies. It seems to me to be the height of hubris to assume the creator gives a damn about us.

I would say micro levels over macro levels.

 

[Penelope]

I think you mean , why in the heck didn't he create heaven first. I quite agree. He could of and should of. ​

Tell Him that when you see Him.

I no longer believe in an afterlife. This life is heaven and hell and is all there is.

 

[alang1216]

That's what the Bible says, you should read it sometime. Punishments are carried across 4 generations so my great-great-grandson will be punished for my sins. And he has yet to be born.

Another Bible passage says the children will not be punished for the sins of the Father. Why the dichotomy? One passage is speaking about what the father owes for his wrong-doing will not be taken out on his children. The other is talking about consequences of acts. I can see this clearly being played out in my own family. An action of my brothers affected him, his children, his grandchildren, and yes, I can see seeds that it might also be affecting his great-grandchildren. That paths we choose in life may indeed have a lasting affect.

Is this what the Bible says or what you wish the Bible says?

 

[alang1216]

Maybe you and God disagree about what is evil and what is not. This is a being that punishes or kills innocent men, women, children, and animals.

Ever been on a competitive sports team where the coach has the entire team run sprints, or laps, due to the misbehavior of one or two? This is because they are a team and they rise and fall as a team--not individuals.

Back in the days of ancient man, they saw their tribe in much the same way. Our view today is much more individualistic, but it those days it was a matter of course that the tribe, not individuals would be punished. In Noah's time, the story flat out begins by admitting the people were misbehaving and out of order. Not knowing about natural disasters, they saw the flood as punishment on the whole tribe because the tribe was misbehaving.

So why the change?

 

[MAGAman]

I think you mean , why in the heck didn't he create heaven first. I quite agree. He could of and should of. ​

Tell Him that when you see Him.

I no longer believe in an afterlife. This life is heaven and hell and is all there is.

So sad for you.

 

[MAGAman]

Accepting the assumption there is/was a God, then I would say it created the universe but does not get involved in that creation except perhaps on the most macro levels. We are just a single species sitting on a little speck of a planet on the edge of a vast galaxy that is just one of millions of other galaxies. It seems to me to be the height of hubris to assume the creator gives a damn about us.

How do you figure?

Do you think God went to all of the trouble to create the Universe without a purpose in mind?

Why wouldn't he give a damn?

 

[diver52]

Accepting the assumption there is/was a God, then I would say it created the universe but does not get involved in that creation except perhaps on the most macro levels. We are just a single species sitting on a little speck of a planet on the edge of a vast galaxy that is just one of millions of other galaxies. It seems to me to be the height of hubris to assume the creator gives a damn about us.

How do you figure?

Do you think God went to all of the trouble to create the Universe without a purpose in mind?

Why wouldn't he give a damn?

Sure. I'll accept that there was a purpose. But it is just silly to think it was us. I go out weekly and mow my lawn, I fertilize it, water it. Do you think I do it because I love the worms?

 

[Penelope]

I think you mean , why in the heck didn't he create heaven first. I quite agree. He could of and should of. ​

Tell Him that when you see Him.

I no longer believe in an afterlife. This life is heaven and hell and is all there is.

So sad for you.

It was like losing your best friend or a member of your family, but losing my parents and real people was much harder for me. Do not be sad for me.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

You and I both know that nobody knows if there is a God or not, nor is the Big Bang theory anything but a theory, with massive holes.

"Nothing but a theory"

When someone utters this dumb phrase about a scientific theory, everyone is immediately made aware that they know less than nothing about science and are not entitled to opinions on it.

It also becomes obvious that the point of this stuoid statement is to then allow the utterer to then fill those holes (that he couldn't ifen2tify if his life depended on it) with anything he feels like making up. Then, like clockwork, the speaker demands that he be provem wrong. Else, he is right, ny his own estimation.

And then, in the other hand, we have empiricism, which allows us to actually know things instead of pretending we do.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Do you think God went to all of the trouble to create the Universe without a purpose in mind?

Aaaand, let me guess...you know what that purpose is.

 

[task0778]

I think you mean , why in the heck didn't he create heaven first. I quite agree. He could of and should of. ​

Tell Him that when you see Him.

I no longer believe in an afterlife. This life is heaven and hell and is all there is.

So sad for you.

It was like losing your best friend or a member of your family, but losing my parents and real people was much harder for me. Do not be sad for me.

Would it not be comforting to realize that it is possible that there is an afterlife, and that you might be reunited with your loved ones? Maybe not physically, but spiritually? Doesn't have to be through Christianity or any other religion really, just the hope that it might be true could help alleviate the pain and sorrow of your loss. True, there's no proof that such is true, but also no proof that it isn't either.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Would it not be comforting to realize that it is possible that there is an afterlife, and that you might be reunited with your loved ones?

Of course it is. We tell lies like this to children when we flush goldfish.

 

[shockedcanadian]

You and I both know that nobody knows if there is a God or not, nor is the Big Bang theory anything but a theory, with massive holes.

"Nothing but a theory"

When someone utters this dumb phrase about a scientific theory, everyone is immediately made aware that they know less than nothing about science and are not entitled to opinions on it.

It also becomes obvious that the point of this stuoid statement is to then allow the utterer to then fill those holes (that he couldn't ifen2tify if his life depended on it) with anything he feels like making up. Then, like clockwork, the speaker demands that he be provem wrong. Else, he is right, ny his own estimation.

And then, in the other hand, we have empiricism, which allows us to actually know things instead of pretending we do.

Reading to your responses, maybe it is you that would prefer to firmly believe in other scientific theories (and they are called theories for a reason, they aren't scientific Laws) for your own purposes. Why do you not want to consider there could be an Almighty Diety? I can at least consider there isn't one.

 

[task0778]

Would it not be comforting to realize that it is possible that there is an afterlife, and that you might be reunited with your loved ones?

Of course it is. We tell lies like this to children when we flush goldfish.

I'm curious, do you have to work hard to be such an asshole, or is it a gift? Listen up dipshit, you don't have the slightest idea about whether there is or isn't an afterlife. So calling anything a lie without knowing jack shit about what the truth is makes you an ignorant asshole.

You agreed that it IS comforting to realize that an afterlife is possible, throughout history that belief has helped a great many people get through some very hard times. Believe whatever you want, but you shouldn't be pissing in someone else's corn flakes.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Why do you not want to consider there could be an Almighty Diety?

There might be. I don't know. I see no need to believe there is or should be. And I certainly would not just play along to hedge bets.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Listen up dipshit, you don't have the slightest idea about whether there is or isn't an afterlife.

Neither do you. So when you assert that there is, you're lying.

When we tell our kids that the dead goldfish is going to goldfish heaven to be with his brothers and sisters, WE ARE LYING.

So, you asked if this lie can be comforting. Sure. But it's still a lie. And if your way of coping with that is to get huffy and pissy, that's your problem, not mine.