Why do bad things happen when God exists?

[The_Fisher_King]

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is impotent, and this does not describe God.

Why not?

Is he able, but not willing? Then he is spiteful, and this is also alien to God's nature.

Why?

 

[The_Fisher_King]

May I answer that? The root of all evil isn't money, power, fame, sex or whatever. People can and do handle those with honor. The root of ALL evil is a moral/legal double standard, from the individual level all the way up to the biggest governments.... the root of ALL evil.

You are entitled to your opinion, of course.

 

[muhammad_isa]

Effectively, yes. This is Satan.

No .. Almighty God created the jinn and mankind. Iblees was a pious jinn who mixed with the angels, and when God created mankind, Iblees felt he was superior and his pride caused him to become satan.
Almighty God is not involved with evil .. He is Holy .. He allows evil so as to test us, and that is all

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

Effectively, yes. This is Satan.[/quote?

Satan, the one whose voice is ni Ya'quub's head?

In the search for Truth, can anything ever be fully settled? If we are certain that we have all the answers, that there is nothing more to be learnt, I believe that is a dangerous position.

I've never said that things can be fully settled, in fact, I think the opposite is the case. But that's often erroneously interpreted to mean that nothing can fully settled, which is not the case either. Just because the pieces of the puzzle are infinite doesn't mean we can't grasp those pieces individually.

I converse with God and Satan all the time.

Yet you wonder which, if not both, emanate from your own psyche.

I have done this, and God has shown me in ways that I find increasingly convincing. But I still have to leave room for doubt, for questioning, not least because of the possibility that the Voices that I attribute to God (and Their Demonstrations of Their Reality) are in fact the voices and actions of the Devil pretending to be God, to lead me astray.

They're neither if your mind is the source. And why would God give you knowledge that you could not know was real, and which could only be experienced by others as hearsay?

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

You are entitled to your opinion, of course.

And what's your alternative?

 

[Bird123]

If there is God and He is good, then why does “bad” exist? What is the reason for God to create all that is bad? Why couldn’t God create a world that has only bliss and happiness? Why has God made suffering? Why has God made problems? Why has God made poverty? Why do we suffer? Why do we fall sick? Why has God made death? If God is such a good God and if He is the creator of the universe, then why has He created this whole concept of suffering? Why has He let people become terrorists? Why has He let people create pain? And this is not just about people. Look at the animal world. Why has He created it in such a way that the tiger kills the deer, the cat eats the mouse, and the dog chases the cat? Why has God made the world like this?

We can go on asking questions as to why God has created the world like this, but the question that we need to ask ourselves is that should we question this way? Should we question His authority – Why He has done this? What He has done? Do we know better about what He has done, or does the Creator know better about what He has done? So from our limited intelligence and viewpoints, is it right to comment on or question and be judgmental about what God has created and why God has created so?

Why are we questioning what God has done? Why do we doubt God’s intentions? Why do we question God’s plan for our life? Why do we question what God has created on Earth? Should we not spend time pondering upon these rather than questioning what God has done? This is the question I ask myself today.

AiR

What is the purpose of this physical world??? Is it really all about having it made? If this physical world exists for the education of God's children then perhaps it makes better sense.

Pain is no more than a signal something is wrong. The greater the pain translates into the greater the need to resolve the problem.

When times are good we sit back and enjoy the ride. When times are bad we have to think, plan, analyze, study and learn so much on the journey to solve the problem. I guess adversity does breed invention.

Death is no more than a change or an exit from the current lesson. If death were not frightening, people running from lessons would be killing themselves to exit when things got hard. Some lessons take work and time rather than easy.

Pain and suffering has limits. If there is too much pain, the human body goes into shock. People in shock have very little pain. The starving hurt worse at first when the body needs the food badly. People at the low end do not hurt so badly. In fact anorexic people will tell you that it actually hurts to eat when the body's resources are very low. That is because it takes energy to digest food. Finally,death does supply a limited lifespan. It is perhaps another limit on how much pain one could possibly endure.

People are free to make their choices. They can bring adversity to themselves through those choices.

Yes, this is a complex world. The dynamics are amazing. It will take much study to understand.

Yes, we should all Question God's every move. A Being capable of creating all this has to be very smart. Perhaps we will too when we understand all God's actions. To question is the start on the journey to Discovery. The only one's who do not want you to question are those who do not want you to know the Real Truth. To date, I have not seen God objecting to anyone questioning.

 

[The_Fisher_King]

No .. Almighty God created the jinn and mankind. Iblees was a pious jinn who mixed with the angels, and when God created mankind, Iblees felt he was superior and his pride caused him to become satan.
Almighty God is not involved with evil .. He is Holy .. He allows evil so as to test us, and that is all

Salaam,

Allaah is all things. The Qur'aanic story of Iblees' 'Fall' is a story - a metaphor, if you will - about Iblees' separation from Allaah.

Wassalaam

 

[The_Fisher_King]

I am now pretty confident which Voices are God's and which are Satan's (it did take me a while though). And some of the things I have seen, others with me have seen or experienced also. But the 'rational', 'scientific' part of me (I was brought up to think in a very rational way, and have a scientific background) is always probing, always questioning. And of course I have my very natural, very human anxieties and fears. Hence the doubts (which are becoming lesser and lesser as time goes on, but never completely go away).

 

[The_Fisher_King]

And what's your alternative?

Sorry? My alternative to what?

 

[look3467]

There is only one God worth believing in, and that's Truth. Believing in other gods based solely on ancient hearsay ignores your reason. A ship without a head at the controls (reason guiding faith), runs off course and eventually onto the rocks. And a ship without an engine (reason motivated by faith), is dead in the water. Life requires your mind and your heart working as a team. To turn one of them off is spiritual suicide.

"Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear."--Thomas Jefferson

Quote: 1Jn_4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

Blessings, AJ

 

[look3467]

I believe a truth is: One that believes in an entity that created all there is, regardless by what name that entity one assigns to it, if love for neighbor and self does not exist, in that order, than that persons religion is erred.

Blessings, AJ

 

[Unfathomable Tao]

God can not intervene because that would undermine our free will to choose to be evil or not--THE sole purpose for the universe.

How many times do I have to point out though that all that says is that god CANNOT create choice without evil? Also, how does a deist verify that is the sole purpose of the universe? Has the deist god been handing out revelations lately?

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

How many times do I have to point out though that all that says is that god CANNOT create choice without evil?

As many times as it takes to convince yourself that creating choice is equivalent with creating evil, I suppose.

Also, how does a deist verify that is the sole purpose of the universe? Has the deist god been handing out revelations lately?

Because an omnipotent God could do anything else instantly, because It wouldn't have to be concerned with It's creations having knowledge of It's existence in any other scenario.

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

Quote: 1Jn_4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

Blessings, AJ

Wait a minute, I thought we were supposed to fear the Lord.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

If there is God and He is good, then why does “bad” exist?

I think this is the exhaustive list of ways to reconcile the existence of "bad" (however we define it) with God:
- "bad" is in accordance with God's will
- "bad" is not in accordance with God's will, but somehow happens anyway
- God exists but has no will
- God does not exist

Why are we questioning what God has done? Why do we doubt God’s intentions?

Because you're more moral than the God you believe in, but assume that he's more moral than you. This means that your experiences don't match your expectations.

 

[urbrother]

Why not?



Why?

Satan is the reason for evil!!

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

Satan is the reason for evil!!

Yeah, we can call if Satan if we want, but people choosing to do evil over good is the reason for evil.

 

[Unfathomable Tao]

As many times as it takes to convince yourself that creating choice is equivalent with creating evil, I suppose.

I am not arguing that choice is equivalent with creating evil- you are. I am saying all you're saying is that god actually cannot create choice without evil. Such a being is weak.

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

I am not arguing that choice is equivalent with creating evil- you are.

Yet you then turn right around and say....

I am saying all you're saying is that god actually cannot create choice without (creating) evil. Such a being is weak.

Man creates evil when he chooses it over good. Does God create good if man chooses that? Enabling creatures with the free will of moral choice, does not create good or evil, it is merely God bestowing the divine gift of free will. You and your spouse create a child who grows up to become a serial murderer, despite your lessons and example to the contrary. Did you create the evil he chose to do? No, you only created the person with an independent free will.

 

[Unfathomable Tao]

Man creates evil when he chooses it over good. Does God create good if man chooses that? Enabling creatures with the free will of moral choice, does not create good or evil, it is merely God bestowing the divine gift of free will. You and your spouse create a child who grows up to become a serial murderer, despite your lessons and example to the contrary. Did you create the evil he chose to do? No, you only created the person with an independent free will.

Actually enabling moral choice that can result in evil makes god create evil by association.