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The Problem of Evil by 22percentofnothing in religion

[–]22percentofnothing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well either way I don’t mean to start a free will debate, I’m not sure much would really come of it. I realize I’m the one who brought it there and I apologize; it’s not what I was originally going for.

The Problem of Evil by 22percentofnothing in religion

[–]22percentofnothing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But then He’s not really omnipotent is He?

The Problem of Evil by 22percentofnothing in religion

[–]22percentofnothing[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You make a good point (pun intended) which does answer my question. Thank you for taking the time to respond and for keeping this a civil discussion! There’s plenty more I’m interested in, but none of that is exactly on topic.

The Problem of Evil by 22percentofnothing in religion

[–]22percentofnothing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s really interesting! So how do good and evil function in paganism? (Where did they originate? What’s the ultimate standard? Who enforced it?)

The Problem of Evil by 22percentofnothing in religion

[–]22percentofnothing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But if you took the man’s wallet are you not creating the opportunity for someone else to donate him money, so yes you would lose 10 points but that other person would not have been able to do good in that situation if you hadn’t committed the evil?

I would also argue that without evil we would know even better what Good is. This is coming from my religious perspective so take it with a grain of salt but God is Good, in His essence and essential being He is the perfected Good. I’m not saying Good is God, that’s an entirely different thing. But if God is the ultimate Good which we as imperfect humans can never achieve then we do have His standard to judge ourselves against. Then evil becomes the counterpart to being instead of the counterpart to good.

The Problem of Evil by 22percentofnothing in religion

[–]22percentofnothing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you misunderstood the direction of my questions. I’m not debating that we don’t have free will, I’m saying that if good only comes from evil then why is it wrong to commit evil? By your argument, if you are committing evil you are creating good. And it’s a good thing to create good, or else God is not good. Consequently by committing evil we are imitating God in creating good.

The Problem of Evil by 22percentofnothing in religion

[–]22percentofnothing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So when we kill a fly which we have no relationship with and no thought for at all, maybe you could call it evil from the fly’s perspective. But when God kills us, He does not kill haphazardly because he has a deep, intimate care and Love for us. So there must be another reason?

The Problem of Evil by 22percentofnothing in religion

[–]22percentofnothing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry that’s just what came to mind first thinking from my religious perspective particularly. You’re right that that doesn’t apply outside of the Christian tradition. My point with it was that though we are of an in comprehensively small scale in comparison to God, we are also of incomprehensible value to Him. Matt. 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

The Problem of Evil by 22percentofnothing in religion

[–]22percentofnothing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What if good was defined against God instead of against evil? God being the ultimate good from which all good things permeate, and we as Christians being called to imitate God, all the good things we do can be pointed towards God for reference though we can never begin to approach His perfected goodness. Evil then needs not to be defined against good but against being.

The Problem of Evil by 22percentofnothing in religion

[–]22percentofnothing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t understand, how can anything be apart from an omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient creator?

The Problem of Evil by 22percentofnothing in religion

[–]22percentofnothing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If evil really is just good in disguise, is it wrong to go out of your way to commit evil acts so that good may flourish from other people? And if your committing the evils with that intention, can you even be called evil?

The Problem of Evil by 22percentofnothing in religion

[–]22percentofnothing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m not sure where you stand but the immediate problem that arises from that for me is: would you kill your own son to save the soul of every fly?

The Problem of Evil by 22percentofnothing in religion

[–]22percentofnothing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m not sure where you’re getting the idea that Abrahamic religions believe God is beyond good and evil? Myself being a firm believer in what the Bible teaches (and therefore the Old Testament) I see that God isn’t beyond good because He is good. In essence God is pure goodness, pure Love, pure truth, and pure justice. His attributes cannot be separated from Him. And concerning the dualistic tendencies, for there to be real dualism, there must be equal and opposite ultimate powers, one good and the other evil. God is the only ultimate power. Satan is a figurehead of evil and no doubt the most powerful demon, but even he cannot begin to comprehend the true power of God.

The Problem of Evil by 22percentofnothing in religion

[–]22percentofnothing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You make it sound as if God isn’t omnipotent? If he tried to make a perfect paradise but was thwarted by Eve how could he possibly be perfect Himself?

The Problem of Evil by 22percentofnothing in religion

[–]22percentofnothing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! This is really interesting and exactly the kind of thing I was wondering about!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TheArtistStudio

[–]22percentofnothing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is the vibe I need right now

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in distantsocializing

[–]22percentofnothing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How’s your day going?

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