there needn't be nearly as much unjust suffering as there presently is. Share this quote: Like Quote. As indicated above, as a result of the sin of man, God has somehow withdrawn partially from the earth, and Satan has taken over the control of the world. If omnipotent God exists, there can be no evil ; God is all good If omnibenificent God exists , there can be no evil ; Evil exists . What about those 20 innocent kids, in Newtown, Connecticut, or those innocent kids killed by bombings in Af. So, this argument technically states that there is no God because suffering and evil are qualities that would not be present . It is the defense of God's goodness and omnipotence in view of the existence of evil. In this message, Teaching Pastor Chase Gardner offers a powerful perspective on suffering in t. However, it would have been one of robots and puppets—creatures who could not love Him or anyone else. The answer is two-fold. God may be giving you the biggest megaphone of your life in your suffering. Finally, unjust suffering may cause compassion, but it also breeds resentment. tags: atheism , god , religion. be able to do something about the suffering. In times of suffering, we often turn to God for understanding. The answer is two-fold. And when your sin is deep, the suffering is strong, and your resolve is weak, remember: He gives more grace (James 4:6). The argument for the problem of evil assumes that God does not have any reason as to why evil and suffering should be permitted. Since God . This assumption is a misinterpretation of the Islamic concept of God. 2. Milk from cows is also used in religious rituals and prayers. Scripture tells us every day of our lives are recorded in His book. For one thing, God could have made a world with no evil in it. Don't get me wrong it's a valid question but after this you'll not see the question so solid. Physical suffering, pain, can come from growth or healing, as in growing pains in childhood or being sore after a surgery. A good God that is all powerful exists. Therefore, belief in GG is unreasonable. When the argument from evil is formulated in this way, it involves five premises, set out at steps (1), (3), (5), (7) and (9). So, this argument technically states that there is no God because suffering and evil are qualities that would not be present . Mackie argued that given the awful reality of evil believing that God is both omnipotent and benevolent is logically inconsistent. There is no explicit or implicit logical inconsistency with the presence of such evil and with the existence of an omnipotent, loving, all-powerful God because there is no reason to believe that God could not possibly have a morally adequate reason for permitting suffering. If God Exists, Why Is There Evil? Meaning it is a logical impossibility, or in possible world semantics, there is no possible world in which God, evil, and suffering exist. There are different explanations for why God allows suffering, but none of them can satisfy everyone. Love is possible only for free moral creatures; forced love is a contradiction. It is to answer the question of why a good God permits the manifestation of evil, thus resolving the issue of the problem of evil. For one thing, God could have made a world with no evil in it. Now, whether or not it makes sense to worship a being that is missing . If God is benevolent then he cannot be omnipotent. God's Omnipotence is our ultimate place of safety. The fact of random human suffering has always been the thorniest problem for theologians and great thinkers to reconcile with the belief in an all-powerful, benevolent personal deity--the God of . "See," they say, "since evil and suffering exist, God must not exist.". The argument goes as follows: A God that allows suffering to continue is either a) not all-powerful (not omnipotent) and is thus unable to prevent the suffering; b) not loving because this God has the power to prevent suffering but is unwilling to do so; and/or c) not all-knowing (not omniscient) because God only is aware of the suffering after . Premise 3 does commit one to saying there are things that even God—the all-powerful, sovereign, omnipotent Creator and Sustainer of all things—cannot do. This means He knows every attack we'll encounter and challenge we'll face. be willing to do something about the suffering. The fact of random human suffering has always been the thorniest problem for theologians and great thinkers to reconcile with the belief in an all-powerful, benevolent personal deity--the God of . If god is missing one of these traits then they could still exist but not be able to prevent suffering. Proponents of the problem of evil rarely realize that they are presenting a logical argument that seeks to show the existence of God, evil, and suffering are logically incompatible. For a god to end suffering that god would need to: know about the suffering. For if God does exist, and if he allows suffering in the world, then he would be neither benevolent, omniscient or omnipotent. Now, whether or not it makes sense to worship a being that is missing . Well, God created humanity, and therefore created a capacity for evil within humanity. 0. In the same way, God reigns high above every force and views the past, present, and future as if each were unfolding today. If there is an omnipotent and omniscient being, that being is not morally perfect. This is when God's omnipotence becomes a problem. A benevolent God wants to eliminate evil but apparently God cannot. But, there are a variety of causes for suffering: morally corrupt (evil) people, disease, earthquakes, floods, famine, etc. Therefore, from (8) and (9): God does not exist. How Job Is a Puzzle. God is by definition an omnipotent, omniscient, and morally perfect person. The problem of evil is the question of how to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with an omnipotent, omnibenevolent, and omniscient God. The Purpose of Evil. Advocates of this theodicy leave unexplained why God created such potentially dangerous situations at all. Answer (1 of 9): There are many ways to answer this question. To his friends, Job's guilt was so obvious that they can see his suffering from a distance. Milk from a cow is also good for protein and calcium to help nourish our bodies. Is he neither able nor willing? This means He knows every attack we'll encounter and challenge we'll face. For a god to end suffering that god would need to: know about the suffering. Sometimes they will argue that God may exist, but perhaps He is a weak god, an incompetent one or even an evil one! Short answer will be down in the bottom. A total contradiction of a all-good God. In fact, some might even wonder why, if God knew ahead of time all the trouble they would cause, He made them in the first place. For instance, it assumes that: 1. Kola Abimbola examines an ancient problem. The question about evil and suffering has no easy answer because it is not about logical possibilities or impossibilities. However, the above conclusion assumes some further hidden premises that are not directly mentioned. Although God is good, and All-Powerful, He has many other attributes as well. For if God does exist, and if he allows suffering in the world, then he would be neither benevolent, omniscient or omnipotent. 1 John 5:19 states that "We know that we are children of God, and that the whole . is god willing to prevent evil, but not able. February 17, 2019. Rather, it is an issue of the heart—we want to understand why people go through various difficulties. The best known presentation of the problem is attributed to the Greek philosopher Epicurus. Here's the problem in a meme: Some think of this as a perfect argument against God. Satan controls the world. Answer (1 of 9): There are many ways to answer this question. . In times of suffering, we often turn to God for understanding. Meaning it is a logical impossibility, or in possible world semantics, there is no possible world in which God, evil, and suffering exist. ― Epicurus. This is why Ecclesiastes 9:11 states that time and chance can happen to everyone. God and Evil If God is such a nice guy, why is there so much misery and suffering in the world? Read more quotes from Epicurus. OK, so God is an all-powerful, omniscient being who created everything, and made man in his image. Therefore, I will simply list various reasons offered to account for suffering and evil in the world. God is omniscient ( Psalm 139:1-6 ), and He knows the future ( Isaiah 46:10 ). Others have tried to deny that God is, in fact, Almighty, or omnipotent, and therefore when there is evil or suffering, he is just powerless to do anything about it. Certain ones would say that God punishes those that do evil. God is further held to have the properties of holiness, justice, omnibenevolence and omnipresence. Therefore a good God that is all powerful does not exist. Then why call him God?". However, Theists believe that God has a justifiable explanation for both human and natural suffering in the world. You could say that both "he didn't create suffering" and you could say "he created suffering for x reasons." Let us get into the reasons on why he both did, and did not create suffering, and how there can be an apparent contradiction . If god is missing one of these traits then they could still exist but not be able to prevent suffering. There is a story in Hindu Scriptures about the god Krishna, who was a cowherd and therefore cows are associated with this form of God/Brahman. For example, one of His attributes is that … Continue reading If God is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Just, why is . However, it would have been one of robots and puppets—creatures who could not love Him or anyone else. The other is, "the challenge is to explain why the hypothesis that there exists an omnipotent, omniscient and all-good god should be considered significantly more reasonable than the hypothesis that there exists an omnipotent, omniscient and all-evil god" (Law 2010, p. 353). There are different explanations for why God allows suffering, but none of them can satisfy everyone. Much later, god, in a garden, prayed to himself to "take this cup" away from himself, though he himself knew that he himself had planned the coming events from the beginning and knew that not even he himself could save himself, even though he was god and omnipotent, omniscient, etc. Accepting this, he said, in effect, "Not my will, but my will." First, we need to distinguish between evil and suffering, as they are actually mutually exclusive. Evil exists. And if God does not have one (or any) of these qualities, then that being is not a "God". The Abrahamic God in this sense is the conception of God that remains a common attribute of all three traditions. We find ourselves staring down the barrel of two equally unappealing options; either God can't fix things because He isn't all powerful, or He is all powerful and perfectly capable of taking our pain away but for some reason doesn't. Whenever pain touches us deeply we come face to face with the . 2. Let us explore why. The Purpose of Evil. In this message, Teaching Pastor Chase Gardner offers a powerful perspective on suffering in t. J.L. Love is possible only for free moral creatures; forced love is a contradiction. So He definitely knew that Adam and Eve would sin. But the God of the Bible charts a different course. There are currently differing definitions of these concepts. The question about evil and suffering has no easy answer because it is not about logical possibilities or impossibilities. But, there are a variety of causes for suffering: morally corrupt (evil) people, disease, earthquakes, floods, famine, etc. Theodicy means vindication of God. If God is omnipotent (all powerful), then He can create any world He wants -. what is ability in organizational behavior; Therefore, I will simply list various reasons offered to account for suffering and evil in the world. God's Omnipotence is our ultimate place of safety. In the same way, God reigns high above every force and views the past, present, and future as if each were unfolding today. Given the reality of evil we have the following problem. And if God does not have one (or any) of these qualities, then that being is not a "God". Atheists argue that God, if he is omnipotent, is powerful enough to stop moral atrocities, and if he is good, should be willing to stop moral . The argument goes as follows: A God that allows suffering to continue is either a) not all-powerful (not omnipotent) and is thus unable to prevent the suffering; b) not loving because this God has the power to prevent suffering but is unwilling to do so; and/or c) not all-knowing (not omniscient) because God only is aware of the suffering after . The loving, omnipotent God of our imagination would move swiftly from creation to new creation, from the garden of Eden of Genesis to the heavenly Jerusalem of Revelation. 1. But, look at all the bad and evil in the world. It states that God being all-good means that he only wants good to exist. Besides the philosophy of religion, the problem of evil is . Granted, yes but what about those good people that suffer devastating tragedies. Please, go on reading, it'll be worth your time. Published by at May 14, 2022. God is transcendent and therefore some of His actions and the events that He allows are unfathomable and cannot be fully comprehended by the finite human mind. Categories . Emotional suffering can be similarly . Australian philosopher J.L. The argument for the problem of evil states that there is a all-good, all-powerful God. A miniscule amount of suffering would do just as well. Rather, it is an issue of the heart—we want to understand why people go through various difficulties. Then whence cometh evil? Answer (1 of 990): That's a very good question. Answer (1 of 28): I think the question has a minor inconsistency. Scripture tells us every day of our lives are recorded in His book. 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