The property or constraint of being morally perfect is as important as omnipotence. God is omnipotent within the constraint of also being morally perfect. It also means that if you use this definition of God, evil not only can exist it must. The philosophers had a lot to say about evil as well. They categorized them as natural evils and man-made ones.
He is malevolent. Is God both able and willing? Then whence commeth the evil. If he is neither able nor willing then why call him god?” This is called the inconsistent triad; if God has all these Omni qualities then why does evil still remain on earth? Augustine’s soul deciding theodicy was the demonstration that God is not responsible for the existence of evil.
If God is all knowing and all powerful and all good, therefore god would not want us to suffer and not put evil on earth. I believe that evil and suffering does exist because of the simple fact that we wouldn’t know the difference between good and bad, sad and happiness, love and hate. We wouldn’t know to appreciate god and everything he does for us. God being an all tri-omni god would not put anything on earth that he knew we couldn’t handle. There are two varieties of evil, moral and natural evil.
Tocqueville argues that the only thing which will keep Americans away from these dangers, which would undoubtedly lead to despotism is religion as source of moral education. He says that all decisions by man are a result of the values which man has received from god and without these values we would be left to a life full of disorder. Religion indirectly affects the state through mores which are described as “the whole moral and intellectual state of a people.”(287) These mores are what prevents democracies from being engulfed by the dangers which are products of tyranny and despotism. In a state without religion “each man gets into the way of having nothing but confused and changing notions about the matters of greatest importance to himself and his fellows”(444) and when combating materialism, the presence of religion “places the
Augustine is quick to clarify that God did not make sin. If God is good and all things he created are good then sin can not be created by God, for sin is evil. Augustine believes that sin is humanity's responsibility. Augustine’s view of the original sin is very complex and does not discuss it completely in Confessions, for his point of writing the book is more of a personal reflection on his view of evil in his own life. Simply stated, original sin is the condition that inclines human beings to selfishness and disobedience, even when they may want to act otherwise.
In an attempt to assess the implications of miracles for the problem of evil, we must look at what the problem of evil consists of. God is said to be wholly benevolent and omnipotent however there is evil and suffering in the world. If God is all loving and all powerful, He has the power to stop evil because He loves His creation yet it still exists. C.S Lewis states that “If God was good, He would wish to make his creatures perfectly happy and if God were almighty He would be able to do what He wished. But the creatures are not happy.
God put rulers over us for a reason. In Article 36 of the Belgic Confession, God says that “he wants the world to be governed by laws and policies so that human lawlessness may be restrained and that everything may be conducted in good order among human beings.” This is exactly what the law is for, to promote good, to protect people’s rights and freedoms, to solve conflicts, and to make a better world. These last few reasons are from a secular point of view, but still have the truth in them. From a Christian point of view, the law is to convict people of their sin, serve as a guide for the Christian mind and conduct, to maintain order and punish wrongdoers, as well as to promote good. In the Ten Commandments, God tells us to honour our father and our mother.
He speaks of how a world with humans is better than a world without, and because of this it is just does not make sense to have a world without evil. But this could also just lead us back to the original problem, bringing to mind the thought that if God is able to do anything and everything, then he should be able to create a perfect world with no evil. The fifth premise states simply “But, there’s evil.” Laurence distinguishes between the two different kinds of evil when explaining this argument. He says that natural evil can
It’s important to address this danger, and although faith can certainly create the benefits described in How God Changes Your Brain, it’s irresponsible to ignore that faith, being a psychological tool, can be used for both positive and negative means. A good part of How God Changes Your Brain is the author’s respect for people who do not share their beliefs. The book is more an explanation for why people like religion, rather than an argument for religion’s existence. Changes Your Brain doesn’t use literary prowess to emphasize a strong tone, but rather keeps a level and clear voice throughout the book, it has the opposite the tone of a preacher. I wish that the book addressed why some people firmly reject or accept faith, on a psychological basis.
(Job 4:17). Here Eliphaz stresses the idea that humans can’t be just. God is too superior, so that in comparison humans are not capable of being just and cannot be pure. Eliphaz also says to Job that “as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same” (Job 4:8) This simply states the theology of the friends that good comes from good and bad from bad. Bildad words to Job are in same vein “ God will not reject a blameless person, nor take the hand of the evil doer” (Job 8:20) and Zophar agrees that God punishes the wicked and rewards the righteous (Job 11; Job 20).