How can evil exist if god is good and all powerful?

Answer 1

= = Omnipotence is all enveloping, it includes every thing as a result of this there can, could, and will never be anything outside of God. evil is the way we see the actions of those that we feel are not a part of us because we don't like what we see. Benevolence has nothing to do with any thing, we get whatever we deserve until we don't get it any more at which point we understand and have ceased to distinguish ourselves from God. In the end it all depends on the choices we make and are free to make and we are ultimately responsible part of this process it to allow others their opinion as well because after all this is just matter of opinion.

= = : C S Lewis partly s this question in a discussion about free will: : "God created things which had free will. That means creatures which can go either wrong or right. Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but which had no possibility of going wrong; I cannot. If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automata - of creatures that worked like machines - would hardly be worth creating.... : The better stuff a creature is made of - the cleverer and stronger and freer it is - then the better it will be if it goes right, but also the worse it will be if it goes wrong. A cow cannot be very good or very bad; a dog can be both better and worse; a child better and worse still; an ordinary man still more so; a man of genius still more so..." * C S Lewis, Mere Christianity, Collins, Glasgow 1978. p. 48-49. *

* The inherent assumption behind the idea that because evil exists God is not therefore either benevolent or not omnipotent is flawed. The assumption is that we humans know better than God what is right and good. So, as C.S. Lewis states elsewhere God evidently considered the 'risk' of free will worth taking, and so evil can exist in the presence of a God who is both omnipotent and benevolent, without compromise or question to either of these characteristics. It is also presumed that God, although He allows evil, is not grieved by it. This is also false. How much He is grieved by evil was demonstrated in the great flood of judgment at the time of Noah and will be again demonstrated at the end of time. His omnipotence will most certainly be evident in both of these, as it was in the creation in the beginning. In summary, the God who is both omnipotent and benevolent allowed the possibility of evil by giving His creatures freedom. The fact that they chose evil is history and does not in any way reflect on God, but it certainly reflects on the perverseness of man, who still turns away, though eternal love stares him in the face. = = The question assumes that a god exists. There is not a single shred of evidence to suggest this is the case, and the universe as a whole (including evil acts) behaves in the exact way you would expect if there was no god. Theists may feel free to debate why their all-loving god allows such gross evil, and indeed comitted evil acts himself. But their explanations will tie themselves in complex logical knots (see above), when the much simpler is: there is no god. Clearly.

The Epicurean postulation puts your question quite well:

Is God willing to prevent evil but not able? Then is he impotent.

Is God able but not willing? Then is He malevolent.

Is God both able and willing? Whence then is evil?

It pretty much boils down to: god likes evil, god is unable to prevent evil, or god does not exist. Take your pick Many times this question and the s to it are put in such a way as to suggest or even prove the prior assumptions of the person asking and ing the question. The assumptions behind this are firstly, that God does not exist. This is by no means proven. Secondly, another assumption is that humans in their reasonings know better than God. Thirdly, (as a further consequence of the previous) it is assumed that since God is allowing evil to exist in the present time that He must therefore Himself be evil and commits evil. The fact that there is no consideration of alternative possibilities indicates that God has already been judged and found wanting, since the various possibilities exclude any alternative understanding and are designed from an anti-God presupposition where the has already been determined.

It could also be possible that God is grieved by evil, including those who, instead of taking personal responsibility wish to blame God. It is also possible that God has provided a way for man to escape from evil. It is also possible that the way which God provided for man to escape from evil was very painful and costly to God. I defy anyone to read the gory details of a crucifixion (since we are hopefully unlikely to see one first hand) and to remain unmoved by the scene. among other things, the nails were driven through the median nerve running through the wrist so as to cause maximum pain.

It is also possible that humans are in a state of rebellion against God and so will deiliberately refuse any or all of the remedies for evil that God has provided. Yet, absolutely none of these possibilities is considered at least as an alternative, they are rejected without evidence. This only seems to reinforce the idea that some have that The Bible may just be right in the way in repeatedly talks in theory and demonstrates in practice how people turn away from the right way, with the resultant consequences, even down through generations. The Bible also describes how this even affects people's thinking ability.

This is indeed a difficult question and it must not be assumed that God and those who follow Him think evil is good just because God allows it.

What this also demonstrates to a degree is that people are willing to blame God for anything and everything. Were not Hitler and his followers to blame? Were not Stalin and Pol Pot and Bin Laden to blame? Does this mean that God thinks evil is good? If so then why did He judge the world with the great flood? This is also seen as a type of a future judgment to come when all evil will cease to exist in terms of it having any power or effect or relevance. It will in a sense be quarantined in one place called hell where it belongs. This is what God thinks of evil.

Answer 2

Another answer from our community:

Knowing the meaning of both words gives us the answer to your question. Benevolent means showing or motivated by sympathy, understanding, and generosity. Omnipotent means having unlimited power. Putting it simply, God has the power to be kind and generous at all times, whether a person is good or evil.

Answer 3

This question raises the philosophical problem known as the problem of evil. If God is (i) omnipotent or all-powerful, (ii) omniscient or all-knowing, (iii) benevolent or all-good, and (iv) the sole creator of the world, then why is there evil in the world? The problem can only be resolved if at least one of these propositions is false.