Assuming you believe God is benevolent and thus has such a thing as preference: Because God also is all-GIVING, providing us with the free will to do what we choose. Thus some of us, for balance, will be more or less deviant from the norm, and even violent or hurtful, because of psychological/social/emotional/spiritual damage. As an example, people's beliefs will guide their motives for EVERYTHING, because that is how they structure their worldview. Most define themselves as an individual not as who they are, but what they know. So you can see why one might go to any length just to protect that. Those who are not self-aware, and thus cannot comprehend our interconnectedness (ie what they do will eventually have an effect on them as well) will inevitably perform some action of great violence or calamity to secure an idea of themselves as individuals, or to protect what they believe is a threat to their earthly existence. Why not make us all good? God is all-powerful, and all-knowing in the question. Making him one-dimensional would reflect a limit on God's power. Like all things in life, there must be a balance for the sake of relativity. How do you know bad in a world of all good? What IS good in a world of all bad? It's like eating the same thing everyday. See how long it stays your favorite food. If God is going to have us know -experientially- what God already knows to Godself, he would want to experience every facet of that, with things having no meaning save the ones we give them as we go about creating our own realities. Perhaps God is all things in the universe, and there is nothing that is not God. So that which we refer to as good and evil (which are only defined by their quality of being opposite the other) are both pieces of God, and if we're smaller offspring (not necessarily literally) of God we must have the ability to be the same as God/ in God's image.

Christians believe God has given all the beings that he has created free will. That includes humans, animals, and angels. So, we have a choice to be "evil". But nothing happens without God's consent. If you read the Bible, then you will see that there are times when God let his chosen people, the Jews, be conquered, and other times when he let the Jews conquer, or he stopped people from conquering them. And he let the Jews be conquered because they may have been disobbedient, or for other reasons. God lets you make the choice, but he may stop you along the way. Factoid #11- Christians believe that a person doesn't need a reason for what God does, or what he lets happen. He is God, all powerful, and it is his choice. If you were ment to know, then you would.

Well okay, lets start by stating that God does not create evil, (God can not be tempted by evil, neither he tempteth any man.) James 1:13. This is a testing time; a time to prove ourselves, God has given us the answers to this test. We must find them then apply them. The Devil, wants us to fail this test, he creates evil he leads us away from the answers. Are we strong enough to but evil behind us and pass this test? Yes! God provides a way for all to complete that which he commands. The evil that exists is to make us stronger, to grow and develop, how can we triumph over evil if evil isn't present? We can't triumph over evil is just one of the questions/activities to accomplish on this test.

Over the past two thousand years, many great minds have grappled with this question, and none have come up with a satisfactory answer. The best, though unsatisfactory answer is that "Now we see through a glass darkly, but then we shall know, even as also we are known." The question of evil is a mystery beyond human understanding. Rather than futilely trying to answer this question, perhaps we should consider a different question. In the Garden, God asked Adam, "Who told you that you were naked?" Who told us what evil is, that we may attempt to address the question of evil in the first place? Too often, the question of evil is viewed by believers as an affront to God, but I would suggest that is in fact evidence of God's existence and his nature. Take for example the viewpoint most antithetical to the Christian - say, the atheist. The atheist says that there is no God. This essentially means that the universe, and by extension life, and specifically us, all happened by chance. They reason that if you let the clock run indefinitely, that sooner or later the "cosmic glop", so to speak, would be subject to just the right conditions so that life would begin, and through a series of chemical, biological, and physical chain reactions, we have come to exist. Now imagine we are in such a world. If I do something that we would normally call evil - say I pull out a gun and blow a person's head off for no reason - can we truly call it evil in the context of such a world? No! We could not call anything evil - in such a world the concept of good and evil is meaningless because in such a world WE are meaningless - having no purpose, and being the mere product of a chance series of chain reactions. By extension in such a world, any action we take is just the result of cause and effect reactions, the sum of which has no greater meaning. In summary, evil only exists if it is defined, and in the godless world of chance I described above, it is meaningless to call something evil. The fact that we recognize evil suggests that there is indeed a higher being - and not just any being - but a moral being that enables us to recognize right from wrong. One may stop me at this point and say "Wait a minute - people don't agree on what is right and wrong, do they?" I grant that is so on the specifics, but they do agree that there are some limits. To borrow an analogy made by C.S. Lewis on the subject, cultures may differ on how many wives a man may have, but none that I know of says he can have any woman he wants! Though, regrettably, I am still unable to answer the question of evil, I can at least take comfort in the fact that the question not only vexes believers, but unbelievers alike.

The all powerful god, the benevolent and all knowing gods whatever form a god takes, it is a representation of the culture in which it exists. There is good because people live in a way that is beneficial and harmonious with their surroundings and the other people around them. There is evil, because someone has been badly hurt and has learned to live in a hurtful way to survive. They recreate the hurt they have come from until someone who understands and has the inner strength to do so steps in to stop the cycle. Taking the responsiblility for good and hurtful acts out of the hands of humans and placing them into the hands of unreachable gods has been used by cultures time and again to repress, control, and take land from another cultures. They think we are 'evil' We believe we are 'good' the truth in this is, we want their land, they want to control their land, they have fought for their land as long as they can remember, fighting for their land is the only thing they know how to do. What do they have that we want? Is it worth fighting with someone who will never stop fighting? Evil is a choice that we make. It's our decision, don't wait for god.

Evil came about because of Satan. Satan or Lucifer was one of Gods highest ranked angels. He was in charge of music in Heaven. He then decided that he wanted to be like God and that was the beginning of the end. Satan was then cast out of Heaven because he had pride in his heart, along with one third of the angels, and sent to earth. Satan is now determand to stop people from becomming belevers in Jesus Christ and to do that he has bought evil to the world.

God's end is to glorify Himself. In John 9, the disciples ask Jesus if a blind man sinned or his parents did, causing him to be born blind. Jesus answers, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." And heals him. The critics of the passion said it portrays the Jews as killing Jesus. Much of the Church responded by saying that, in fact, WE killed Jesus with our sin. The biblical truth is that God killed Jesus. As our all-powerful savior prays that God's will be done (and God's all-powerful will may not be upset by man, for certain), men were coming to arrest Him. Then Jesus Christ, the only sinless man and least deserving of all of punishment, had the sin of the world strapped to His back as he was tortured, crucified, and murdered. BECAUSE GOD ORDAINED IT. The greatest sin ever commited was the intentional will of God, and through it Christ bought back His adulterous bride (Hosea 3). Evil exists, by God's will (though statan, "in check" by God (see Job), causes much of it), because it ultimately glorifies Him. He "makes foolish the wisdom of the wise" (1 Corinthians) and who are we to question are creator (Romans 9). Through evil, righteousness shines.

Because we have free will. Animals are not by nature evil but humans can choose to be. Dont blame God for our actions. Maybe the earth is a form of hell and a place we learn to grow up. Evil will always exist in some form as long as mankind holds to his ego consciousness. Considering man seperates himself by name, family, religion and nationality there will always be division which is the seed of conflict.

If God (assuming that there is only one god) is omnipotent, omniscient, and additionally if evil does exist, than good and evil must both exist within the godhead, or at least He must allow evil to exist. The latter view (that God allows evil to exist) would in necessity imply that their are two gods, rather than one, since the darkness has the same creative ability as the light; the 'struggle' between good and evil couldn't exist unless both good and evil have equal power. The book of Job in the Old Testiment is an example of the need for these contrasting forces (good and evil) to be differentiated within the deity. Because Satan and Yahweh exist so closely (that is, on speaking terms; more specifically, part of the same hierarchy of gods) Yahweh is unable to correctly administer his justice in a manner that is truly just. He torments his servant Job under the misdirection of Satan; all the while Job remains faithfully obediant. Yahweah only accepts this fact, however, after Job is reduced to a whimpering shell of a man. It is a commonly held belief that the Christ came to Earth in order to save humanity from Satan (sin, evil, etc.), but this idea is, at best, an oversimplification. If it was God's intent to completely destroy Satan's influence on Earth, and one continues to presume that God is omnipotent, then the most direct coarse of action would be to destroy Satan. However, He cannot do this because the darkness (Satan) is a part of his nature. Rather it is God's intent to justify Job's suffering by differentiating the light and shadow within his being. This seperation is similar to the seperation of subject and object, which will consequently allow the godhead to obtain consciousness. God is refered to in Job as Yahweh in one instance, and as "Elohim" in another instance. It is a common misconception that Elohim means 'God,' but the word is actually plural. The term "Elohim" is used when the god finally concludes that Job is, in fact, a loyal servant. This fact would imply that God could only know the truth of Job's loyalty after the darkness and the light were reconciled into one (the 'higher third' of the Buddha). But this interpretation is jumping a head a bit, because the reconciliation of the opposites could only occur after they opposites are seperated (i.e. made conscious, in the incarnation of Christ). In a monotheistic model evil must exist within the god. The serpent was, of course, a part of Eden (the state within God's complete perfection). Edit: To believe that evil is only a lack of good (a doctrine known as 'privatio boni'), one MUST consistantly ignore the scriptural fact that devils do exist, as in my example of Eden stated immediately above. Here's to quoting passages from the Bible to support one's claim: Isaiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. Exodus 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. Joshua 23:15 Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the LORD your God promised you; so shall the LORD bring upon you all evil things. Judges 9:23 Then God sent an evil spirit 1 Samuel 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. 2 Samuel 12:11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house 1 Kings 9:9 ...therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil. 1 Kings 14:10 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam 2 Kings 6:33 ...Behold, this evil is of the LORD; 2 Kings 21:12 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. 2 Kings 22:16 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place 2 Chronicles 34:24 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof... Nehemiah 13:18 Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? Jeremiah 4:6 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. Jeremiah 6:19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people Jeremiah 11:11 Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them Jeremiah 25:29 For, lo, I begin to bring evil Jeremiah 35:17 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: Jeremiah 44:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah Jeremiah 45:5 ...behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: Jeremiah 49:37 ...I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them: Micah 1:12 .... evil came down from the LORD Micah 2:3 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil Furthermore, if you think a benevolent justice exists in killing the children of an entire people because of the action's of a people's ruler (Exodus) I would have to disagree with you on that point. It seems there would be a more direct course of action in exacting one's divine will, like killing the ruler in question. Finally, my intent is not simply to push the burden of sin onto God (though it could be argued that this is technically the primary function of Christ in Christianity), but rather I'm trying to elucidate the redeemability of that part of creation, divinity, and humanity that has been oppressed and scapegoated for centuries, but was always an equally legitimate part of said creation: the darkness. I intend in this instance to do so by illuminating the weakness of the arguements that allows the impoverishment of this shadow to continue in the name of the very god who created it.

God also gives us freedom to choose. Eve chose to eat the apple in the garden even though God told her to eat from any other tree but that one.

God has given man freedom of choice between light and darkness because without CHOICE man is only given ONE option and this is FORCE not CHOICE, without being able to make a choice between one thing and another man would be a robot and not a man, A person is truly a person when they can make a choice between good and evil in life, and know the actual difference!

The existence of evil in the world has been used to disprove the existence of God for centuries. However, the Bible shows that God allows evil for a time, but will eventually eradicate it. Also, as people themselves are inherently evil and sinners, if God was to rid the world of evil people would cease to exist. Those who are saved through Jesus have everlasting life in Heaven, while those who are not saved and therefore still seen as evil in the eyes of the Lord...well you know what happens to them... It's the choice and the free will God gives to each and every person that allows evil in the world.

I think it was best said in the movie "SOUTH PARK" "Without evil there would be no good so it must be good to be evil sometimes"

Well i feel that god has given us life he has given us brain and a world to live in its just the way u live it!!! ex: there,s a man who goes in to a barbers shop the baber and him disuss many things together then theycome to the topic of god the barber started to say things like there is no god and if there was why is there horrible things happeining in the world etc and the man just sat quitely bcs he didnt wnt to be rude so he sat quietly on the way out (the man whom was getting the hair cut) spotted another man who had longgg hair and looked untidy and over grown beard. (Then the man who just got a hair cut)went back in to the barbers shop and said ''u know what there are no barbers'' the barber was supirsed and answered ofcourse there are what am i? the man said no there are not if there were barbers then that man over there wouldnt look so untidy and have over grown hair etc. the barber replied i am here but its just they dont come to me. The man replid (hair cut 1) thats the thing there is god but its the matter of ppl going to him and excepting him!! then there wouldnt be evill. did u understand tht hehe im sorry if u didnt. but its just tht if ppl accept god and worship him then im sure there wont be evil. sumiii

the answer to this is simple. its about balance. life is like a song. it is composed of highs and lows, just like life is, but the end result is the song. god sees the song which comes out from the highs and lows in life. therefore a song cannot be made with just highs. And if we dont have pain, then we truly cannot know what pleasure is.

The question supposes that God is omnipotent and omniscient. I will enlarge it slightly and say He is also omnipresent and not simply benevolent but perfect good. You see the nature of God is not at issue here. Its the nature of evil that is the issue. Is darkness the opposite of light? If you turn off the a light what are you doing? Increasing the level of darkness? No, you are removing the lightsource and thereby removing the light from the room. Darkness then is not the opposite of light, but rather a word we use to describe the absence of light. Is cold the opposite of heat? Do you measure coldness when you use a thermometer to measure the tempurature of something? No, you use a thermometer to measure the amount of heat present in an substance. When something cools off is it gaining coldness or loosing heat. Naturally, the amount of heat is dimenishing. Therefore cold is not the opposite of heat, but rather a word we use commonly to describe a lack of heat. Does darkness and cold exist? Are they things? No they are words used to describe a lack of something. A society has a set of rules, called morals. These rules are generally used to measure the rightness of any action or event. These morals are generally agreed upon by said society to be good. We measure compliance with these rules and call it morality. When we see a lack of compliance we call it immorality. Is immorality then the opposite of morality? No, it is a lack of morality. Immorality is then not the opposite of morality, but rather a word commonly used to describe a lack of morality. It is the same with good and evil. The standard by which call something evil or good is based on our idea of goodness. We call something good that fits our definition of goodness and something evil that does not. Just as darkness is the absence of light and cold the absence of heat; evil is the absence of goodness. Evil therefore is not the opposite of good but rather a term by which we describe the relative lack of goodness. God made us free and with God there are no partial gifts. Since God is perfect he gave us perfect freedom. In order to have freedom of any kind one must not impose your set of rules on another. Therefore God didn't impose His rules on us. He made the unrighteous as well as the righteous, because to do otherwise would not have made us free. In other words, if I make only the people who agree with me have I really made a free group of people. For Adam and Eve to be free He had to make them even knowing they would eventually go there own way. Satan did not fall because he was evil or because he had evil in him nor is he the opposite of God. Like Adam, he was created perfect and free. He fell because he wanted to be God and imposed his own will over God's and in so doing he separated himself from God and in that separation there became no God in him. This lack of God in Satan is what we call evil. So, the answer is that evil doesn't really exist. Its not a thing. Its a word we use to describe a lack of something. Ultimately the lack of God. So, the question "Why is there evil?" becomes sort of meaningless. Adam and Eve did the same thing. They decided in garden that they could be Mormon and become gods. All they had to do was eat of the tree. When they did they separated their wills from God. This lack of God in then is what we call evil and it is the curse that has been handed down to us. It is called in church terms the sinful nature of man. It is our separation from God. Since we lack the capacity to undo and event, the stain of sin is permanent. Our own wills lack the life of God and cannot grant life. When we decided to follow our own wills we chose sin, death over life. The penalty of sin is death. Death is an existence totally and eternally separated from God. Thankfully, the story doesn't end there though. God loved Adam and God loves us so rather than leave us he made a way for us to come back. A means of redemption. Where we were the promise breakers Jesus Christ was the promise keeper and he paid the death price of our sin with his own body and blood. Only God could have done that for us. When we place our faith and trust in Christ we receive as a gift of God's mercy the gift of Christ's sinlessness. So that in the end we may come home to our Father who loves so. It is the only way to pay the debt owed to God for our selfishness. Satan has no hope of redemption. There is no angel Jesus to restore him. So his jealous hatred of us and all of God's creation is extreme. God has allowed Satan to roam the earth as an act of mercy to us. I know it seems weird, but Satan drives people to God. The suffering he causes moves some to the knowledge of salvation. God also has for whatever reason decided that we are to minister to each other, and so he made us over time instead of everybody at once. This gives everyone some time to see God and recognize Christ for who He is. But in the end, it is God who decides who He extends mercy to and who He does not. Who are we to argue, the plants, to argue with the gardener. [quaternity] - The argument does not ignore the serpent. It simply not necessary to address it. Most denominations, that I have had contact with, believe that the serpent was Satan. Satan was created by God and imbued with a will. He chose to separate from God, thus separating himself from the source of all goodness. Even if you believe that the serpent was just a smart snake, he still was embued with a will and chose to separate from God. Either way it was not nesecessary for the snake/Satan to "created" with evil, just a freewill. Evil is not the opposite of good. It is a word used to describe a lack of goodness. [David] - Sorry I thought I did answer the question: There is evil even with a perfect good God when we choose to separate ourselves from that God. It is in that separation - from the wellspring of goodness:God - that evil occurs. We are the authors of evil, not God. Evil does not exist as a thing in and of itself, but rather is like darkness and cold. It is a word we use to describe a state that is lacking something. It was necessary to define that, even if it was a long winded definition.

I noticed that the question itself goes on the assumption that God is all-powerful, all-knowing and benevolent. I am an ex-Christian who lost faith in the church. After reading vast chunks of the bible myself I came to realise that the teachings of the church were not in line with what the bible actually said. Nowhere in the bible does it say that God is an omnipotent being. Very powerful, yes, but omnipotent, no. The concept of an all-powerful, all-knowing, benevolent God is an invention of the church to justify their own power. 'Give your money to us, all- powerful God said so', has a more powerful message than 'Give your money to us, really-powerful God said so'. I have found that the teachings of the church are not for the benefit of your soul, rather for the benefit of religious institutions. Today the Vatican is a £50,000,000 a year industry, and although I do not doubt the righteous intentions of the clergy involved, I do believe the underlying reasons for the existence of organised religious institutions have their roots in a millenia old pursuit of profit and power. Although hidden from view, even hidden from the view of the very organisers of these religions, the pursuit of power still underpins their very existence, and it is so much easier to say "believe what my church says, my god isn't just powerful, he's omnipotent'. This is a long winded way of illustrating that the Bible does not describe god as being omnipotent, the church authorities do. Therefore if the Biblical god is not omnipotent, as the Bible says, then why shouldn't evil exist?

First of all, let me define evil. Evil is that which is contrary to God and His Word. Evil is also defined as sin which is again anything contrary to God and/or His word. Now, when God created all things, one of those things were angels. Angels are not people who have died like some people think. No one turns into an angel when they die.They are Heavenly beings that God created for a few reasons one of which was to be helpers and guardians for us. When He made these Heavenly Hosts, He made them with free wills, much like our own. One such angel named Lucifer wanted to be God. He wanted the highest position in Heaven. Of course God, being God, said no. Lucifer rebelled and God cast him out of Heaven. God gave all the angels the choice to follow Lucifer or God. One third of all the angels chose to follow Lucifer (whom we now call Satan, the Devil or the Evil One, The Prince of Darkness) and they were cast out with Satan. They are what we now refer to as demons. Satan represents darkness which means without light and God is considered The Light. The Light represents Good and the Darkness represents Evil. Darkness is a state without light. Both light and darkness can not exist in the same place. It is either light or it is dark. It can't be both. Now God, in the same sense, gave each of us a free will to choose good or evil. We can choose good being God or we can choose evil being Satan. In other words, we can choose to sin or not to sin. God desires our love, but He wants US to make the choice to love Him not because He programmed us to love Him. Satan has challenged God that we would choose him over God. There is a constant spiritual war going on all the time in each of us. Ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve ate the Forbidden Fruit, man has been born with a sinful nature. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. It is so much easier to do the wrong thing most of the time than it is to do the right thing. It is second nature for us to automatically sin. Of course we don't like to admit it but it is true. Think about it for just a moment. If you bought something and gave the cashier a $20. bill and not thinking, she / he gave you change back for a $50. bill it would be much easier to put the money in your pocket and walk out like nothing was wrong. Who's to know. Hey, afterall, it isn't your fault that the cashier made a mistake. Some would think that that was the making of a good day. Some wouldn't give it a second thought. Give it back? What are you crazy? It's found money, right? This is normal for most people I'm sorry to say. It is much harder to turn and say, you gave me too much. Or better yet, not notice until you got home and then go back the next day and tell the cashier that she made a mistake and gave you the wrong change. You see, it is our nature. The Bible says that we are born with a sinful nature and so when we choose good over evil, then God knows that we truly love Him and want to please Him. One day, evil will be done away with and God will win the victory over Satan who is the ruler over sin and darkness. Until then, evil will be alive and well on planet earth.

There are two answers to this. Either there is no God, or he is not all-knowing and all-powerful. If he is all-powerful, that means he could change the future. If he was all-knowing, that means he would know the future. He can't change it if he knows something will happen someway, and if he does know how it's going to happen, he can't change it, otherwise he would be wrong. The most likely answer is that there is no God, and that it is nothing more than a ceation of humans. If there is a God, then he just isn't powerful enough to stop evil.

If I remember correctly,I read that God looked at the rainbow (The covenent) and said"Never again will I smite man on Earth for man's heart is evil from his youth." I remember reading God made us in HIS image,so with this we have free will. That is why we were taught by our parents, and as we teach our children to be obedient, use common sense and pray for guidance and wisdom. Hope that helps.

The christian idea of God seems to be illogical when considering evil. Here are some exspanation's for evil i've heard... 1. "Free Will" How can you account for all the suffering caused by natural disasters such as disease or earthquakes? Those have NOTHING to do with free will yet they still occur. Great suffering to innocents is the result, seemingly (sp?) under the omnicent and omnipresent God. No theist has ever been able to exsplain this to me. Some argue that God "works in mysterious ways" or "God has a plan" but this is little more then conceding defeat. God's will dosn't even make sense to you? That isn't very inspiring to the average person. 2. "God punishing us" Why then are some children stricken with painful disease or crippling disfigurement, doomed to live short, tragic lives? Why punish the innocent for the sins of the adult? I don't see any justice in that. 3. "So we can learn to do good" If this is true, why does god dish out the suffering like he does? Why do murderious dictators and ruthless buisinessmen live out their lives in luxury? Why are good people stricken with disease or die in earthquakes? God does not seem to have a plan for the distribution of torment. It appears to me that God either does not exist >< or does not posess the three properties that you listed: "...all-powerful, all-knowing and benevolent..." {}==(]:::::::::::::::>

Without evil you have no God!

Another facet: There is evil because God gave us choice. The reason God gave us choice is because He desires (not needs) our love. If there is no choice, it is not true love. If you made a robot and programmed it to "love" you then it could never be true love because it never had a choice. God knew before He created us that we would fall into evil. But He also knew that there would be those who loved Him in spite of it all, and this is what true love is about: for better or for worse. Here is a link to an article that explains why there had to be free choice which results in evil: http://www.thebereancall.org/Newsletters/2005+Newsletters/105671.aspx

God gave us the choice of free will. The world creates its own evil because they choose not to follow the path of God. When Eve ate the apple from the tree, she betrayed God and he closed the gates of Heaven.

We are told through the bible that it is not for man to know all that God does .

I have some good news for you. As for the God thing it falls in to category of belief or faith and that means it has no rules for thinking so you can make up any rules you want and who is say you are right or wrong. Have a go at it. You can have all the nasty thoughts you want. You can even have world peace in your mind if you like. Just do not take to seriously if a person or group want you to join there group of mind benders that they call themselves a religion it will cost you $$$ As for your question. Just make up any answer you want and it will be the right one.I promise you will not be hit with a bolt of lightening when you step outside. And here is the reason lightening has rules in science.

Here is some good news. The god thing is a belief or faith thing and requries NO rules so you can answer your own question any way you choose and be 100 percent correct.

Pareto asks why God can punish people for disobedience and not Satan. People are flesh and blood. Satan is not. But Satan HAS been punished. In three ways. He has been evicted from heaven by Jesus [ Michael] Revelation 12; 7-9, 12 . Satan is now limited to the vicinity of the earth. He is stuck here awaiting Armageddon and He knows that when that occurs, he will be locked up for a thousand years, rendered impotent, but not destroyed. Revelation 20;3. And then at the end of the thousand years, will be let loose for ' a little while'. Then finally He will be totally destroyed by being rendered impotent permanently. Revelation 20;10 indicates that He will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Not tortured, but tormented. To be tormented implies awareness of being tormented. Non-awareness would be no punishment at all. The bottom line is that He will no longer be an influence in the world. Neither will be ' the wild beast' and 'the false prophet'. These are separate from Satan, so must be earthly organisation. The false prophet implies religion, and that only leaves government..the wild beast. Government and religion in the same situation as Satan. Impotent, done away with. So what will be left on the earth?. The only thing left is God's KINGDOM. What Jesus asked us to pray for at Matthew 6. 9-15. The Lord's prayer.

Here's my answers to both the problem of evil and free will as previously posted here: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=15376777&blogID=76478774&MyToken=5b5fea07-e220-465b-8397-6a556d42d5d9 Atheists have 2 major arguments against Christianity it seems. First I'll present a quick explanation of the 2 from my handy Desk Reference and then offer a refutation. Here is the following from page 329 of the 3rd ed. Desk Reference which is authored by the New York Public Library: ========================================= One of the most influential and powerful "proofs" that there is no God proceeds from "The Problem from Evil." This argument claims that the following three statements cannot all be true: (a) evil exists; (b) God is omnipotent; (c) God is all-loving. The argument is as follows: * If God can prevent evil, but doesn't, then He isn't all-loving. * If God intends to prevent evil, but cannot, then He isn't omnipotent. * If God both intends to prevent evil and is capable of doing so, then how can evil exist? Another argument claims that the existence of an all-knowing God is incompatible with the fact of free will-that humans do make choices. If God is omniscient, He must know beforehand exactly what a person will do in a given situation. In that case, a person is not in fact free to do the alternative to what God knows he or she will do, and free will must be an illusion. To take this one step further, if one chooses to commit a sin, how can it then be said that one sinned freely? ========================================= First, free will. Every time I see this argument, a huge, glaring error jumps out at me. It assumes that because God has the power to know everything, He must know everything. However, if God didn't have the choice to NOT KNOW He could not be all-powerful. You see, omniscience without choice contradicts omnipotence. It may surprise some to learn that while the Bible calls God "omnipotent," (Revelation 19:6), nowhere is He called omniscient. What the Bible does say is that "the ways of man are before the lord, and He pondereth all His goings," (Proverbs 5:21) "He looketh unto the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven," (Job 28:24), "Hell and destruction are before the Lord: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?," (Proverbs 15:11), and "In whom [God] are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Herein lies another error in reasoning, my friends. God is omniscient in that He sees all that is occurring, but it would seem He is not necessarily when it comes to knowing the future. But it is upon that presumption which the above argument depends. For you see, God must have the choice of whether to know something or not for Him to be all-powerful. His knowledge is conditioned thus on His looking, or choosing to see it. Take these verses for example: "The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one." -Psalms 14:2 As you can see, God looks that He may understand. The Bible clearly shows that God CAN see the future. It stands to reason, however, that such knowledge of the future is conditioned on His looking, even as it is with the present. And, it is an error in reasoning to assume that just because God can see future events, that He always chooses to do so. Now for "The Problem from Evil." It seems to me the gist of such a question is to ask why God permits us to suffer the consequences of us breaking His moral Law, as if He owes us a perfect life. Let me turn this around though, and examine our own accountability as well as that of our Creator. Would not a better question be "Why does a just God put up with us when we wrong Him and wrong other people?" The human race is a race of jerks. Let's face it, we all fail God and other people. And this brings me to my point. Why is there evil and suffering in this world? Because of us. There is a story circulating that has the following quote: ================================ Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life," the student continues. "Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?" Now uncertain, the professor responds, "Of course, there is. We see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil." To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light." The professor sat down. ================================ If we were all to perfectly abide by God's moral Law, two things would happen: 1) We wouldn't harm God, but love Him. 2) We wouldn't harm other people, but love them. Jesus in Matthew 22:37-40 points out that the great commandment is to love God with all our hearts, minds, and souls. The second, He says, is to love our neighbor as ourselves. On these two commandments, says He, hang all the Law and the prophets. Paul, in Romans 13:10, takes this one step further in pointing out that love fulfils God's moral Law precisely because it does no harm to others. So, can God prevent evil? Of course He can! Ever hear of the giant flood, and of Noah's ark? God came very close to exterminating evil right there. And therein lies my whole point. We are the source of evil. When one asks why God allows evil to exist, they are unconsciously asking why God allows us to exist. We are the ones who've polluted God's once-perfect universe. If we lived like God wants us to, there would be no suffering. It's disobedience to God's will that brings in problems. The concept everyone calls Heaven is, according to the Bible, God's destruction of this flawed universe to bring in a new, perfect one. But we'll just destroy it again, how then can God let us enter it? Wouldn't we just be a bunch of eternal jerks who go on harming each other? This is why one "must be born again." (John 3:7) What it takes is an inward change of our very nature, so that we will have God's love in us, as well as an eternal commitment to growing more in accordance to God's will. All this cannot happen if we cannot acknowledge we are evil and need to change. It is why in Luke 13:3 Jesus says that unless we repent, we will all likewise perish. And so, God permits our pathetic, evil-causing human race to continue to exist because He loves us, and sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins so that through repenting and trusting in His sacrifice alone to save us we can indeed be "born again" and find eternal life. God permits us to exist because through Jesus He has made a chance for us to escape the consequences of our sin and to be born again within so that we will keep changing to become more and more like God, with the end result being our becoming people who will not harm Him or other people, and thus, not cause evil, pain, or suffering to others. It is a just God who can't waffle on sin, and must pronounce the judgement of eternal separation from Him for the harm we do to Him and to others. It is a loving God who sent His only begotten Son from on high to do the only thing capable of making us new people who can spend eternity with Him.

Evil is here because god wants to test you. Think about it say if god came to earth everybody would act so good and righteous(excused my spelling). Not because thats there real self because they would want ot go into heaven. So what i am saying is that there were no evil god wouldn't know the real side of his followers.

God has given complete authority to evil and the purpose of this evil is that god tries His followers and creatures that how much they follow and worship him.so we r obliged to obey our god and completely worship him.

The reason there is evil in the world is because of mankind. God created a perfect world and man chose to rebel against Him in the Garden Of Eden.Since then man has lived with a sinful nature and has beed seperated from God through disobediance. God wants to restore that though.He sent His son Jesus Christ into the world to restore what had been lost. Christ died on the cross for our sins that seperated us from God.He took our punishment for sin."For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (II Corinthians 5:21) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Romans 10:9)

I'll give it to you straight. If God is all good, then the only thing opposite of Him is all bad. Therefore, for God to take away evil on earth would also be for God to take away His free will of the human conscious. Since God is a loving God, for Him to take away free will would not be an act of love. He might as well have made robots. So, God allows for us to distinguish between what's right and wrong. Also, since God is eternal, so must be his love and forgiveness. Therefore, anyone who has done evil, if truly sorry, will be forgiven.

The story of adam and eve in the book of GENEISS tells you the reason. When God planted a garden in eden he \"made to grow every tree that is plesent to the sight and good for food'the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowedge of good and evil.God told adam that he could eat from any of the trees but could not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil caause he would die the day he ate it. God created eve then and one day eve was at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, there was a snake and he told her that if she ate from it she would not die but her eyes would open,she would be smarter and be like god.she ate some and so did her husband.they then saw that they were naked and hence they knew evil.God threw them out of the garden made life harder for them.read the book.

We don't know that God is benevolent. Perhaps he's not interested in good or evil. Perhaps good and evil are just human inventions. When a male lion takes over a pride he kills all the kittens of the previous father. We would say that was evil, but I doubt a lion knows what evil is.

Maybe there isn't a god. That would be a fairly logical explanation.

god does not exist

God has given everyone free will. Including the angel who became Satan. Satan chose NOT to obey God. When you are 'forced' to do anything, even worship, it cannot be genuine.

Where would be the fun without the evil? or the good? everything wud just b the same Edit: I know, why don't we make it a game? Lets see if we can get me down to a D by the end of the week eh?

Because when Adam and Eve ate the fruit and disobeyed God, and therefore commited the first sin, God banished them from the garden. He gave them minds of their own to decide. They ate the fruit of the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil and so they know what evil is an fell to temptation. We, their decendants are proof of that. I hope this answer isn't absolutely boring and just like the other answers (what with the adam and eve thing) but I beleive it to be the truth. I am not God and I am not all-knowing so I cannot speak for him. I beleive this is the answer. You could seek out a pastor who has had expirience and studied the bible. He/she would be able to answer your question more throughouly.

Many of these answers seem weak because they consider only evil originating from the choice (exercise of free will) of humans. Consider, for instance, a being that is all-knowing and all-powerful, but who chooses either to create or not to stop a Tsunami that causes horrific suffering, including the death of at least 80,000 innocent children (who were not even old enough to make the choice to believe or reject God)? Doesn't this massive, preventable (by the all-knowing and all powerful) human suffering, caused through no evil action or intent by humans themselves, suggest either that (a) God is indifferent to the fate of humans, or (b) God does not exist? In either case, why would God be the object of worship?

There's evil because God doesn't exist! Why can't people form their own opinion about things, instead of using a stupid book.

Who ever invented the god thing knew that you can not disprove the non-existence of something. If you do not believe this just ask any lawyer. Its to bad there is not a language within a language that when we speak of believe things we all know where the person is coming from and we do not confuse it reality. I believe in god, angles. and the capability of the mind to create boogie men but I have the sense to know it is all make believe. Read about ethics and be kind to other and your self. thats what its really all about.

Does COLD exist? Does DARKNESS exist? NO, they don't. Cold is only the ABSENCE of heat, and darkness is only the ABSENCE of light. When you are standing in a room full of light, and you open a door to a room full of darkness ... does the darkness creep in to the room full of light? NO. The light spreads out into the darkness. Evil does not exist unto itself. In other words, evil is like darkness ... it is only the ABSENCE of God. Without God there is NO good, and we call the absence of good ... evil. In order for TRUE love to exist there has to be a choice involved. If you force someone to have intercourse with you ... is that love? No, that is rape! Much like God wanting us to CHOOSE to love him ... not to be forced or pre programmed to do it. But in that choice there is the choice to NOT love him, or in other words, to shun his goodness ... and evict him from your heart and life. In the absence of God's presence ... there is only evil. Therefore, evil does not exist unto itself, but is only an absence of God's goodness ... and is necessary in God's overall plan. He is God after all! ... so isn't it HIS right to do whatever he pleases with His creation? YES! In the book of Romans the apostle Paul speaks of this: Romans 9:20 - "On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?" God has the right and authority to do things HIS way and with HIS purposes. What right does a simple minded human have to question the God of the universe's motives or methods? He is in control, and has a plan laid out. Trust and faith are the lessons to be learned in this situation. Thank you. ...

God is PERFECT, NO SIN, and RULER of everything. He owns the earth and heaven. But right when adam and eve sinned, there was evil in there bodies. They could not go to heaven, because they are "dirty" and god is clean. Lucifer was a fallen angel, and made hell. Lucifer passes the evil, so its everywhere. But God provided an entryway to heaven, before Jesus died, it was sacrifices, but after, since Jesus died for out sins, we just ask

because god gave everybody free will and people choose themselves how to live.

evil is just a label people use, for example what was evil 1000 years ago is culteral now, like sex before marraige. so god gave man free will, and thoguhts, and minds, then mad got inteligent enuff to create right and wrong, then evil

God gave man choice.

Because you can't have one without the other. The Chinese call it 'ying/yang'. Good and evil are merely two sides of the same coin.

He allowed evil in our life to make our lives more complex.He allows us to make sides so to test our belief in him....That is my belief..:D take care!

yawn

Because evil results from our own free will. God seems to want us to have freedom of thought above all else. There must be a reason for that, but we can only guess what it is.

No story is good without a bad guy. We are all in his little make-believe story and he wouldn't enjoy it if there wasn't a little evil.

The good old problem of evil. There are many possible answers to your question. Perhaps god is all powerful, but he doesn't care. Perhaps he is all powerful, cares, but isn't aware of the evil. Maybe he is not all powerful, or, perhaps he just doesn't exist.

The Bible teaches that Christ was manifested as our redeemer before the Devil manifested evil. That means that before even the Devil became evil God knew what would transpire, and so God's begotten Son also became the Son of Man. As for why God allows evil, because God created free will. It also goes without saying you cannot punish someone for what they don't do. So, God affords us every opportunity to do what is right, and along with the independence to do that comes the will to do things we should not. So, when we do that, and only if we do that we are punished. So, it is not like God allows evil, not absolute evil. Evil comes with the territory of being a fallible mortal human. The only path to perfection and absolute righteousness is through God, and (if you are a Christian) through Christ.

How do you make a coin that has only one side to it?

God gave us Free Will, which allows us to choose between Good or Evil, a necessary decision process that illustrates the nature of our individual character. There must always be such a choice for us to demonstrate our willingness to follow Him. It would be easy for Him to do away with all Evil, but He doesn't want mindless obedience or love...He wants us to make our own decisions that reflect our choices. Love is more significant when freely and deliberately given, so is Faith. Good question...pondered by Man for centuries.

Because since he is all powerful then evil is no threat to him. Why should god or anybody else go around wiping things out that can't harm him. It would be like a person killing every earthworm he sees just for the hell of it - since the worms poses no threat to him his actions would be deemed cruel if not sycophantically insane. If god isn't insane, and he is all powerful, then he has no good reason to destroy evil - so he doesn't.

Here are links to two good articles about evil, why it exists, and how it will finally be overcome: http://www.watchtower.org/e/20040322/article_01.htm http://www.watchtower.org/e/20060101/article_02.htm

...Its free will. Men choose to be evil, and Evil is no more than a lack of Goodness and love. Then they lack God, when God is all that is good, and God is love. Darkness is a LACK of Light. Coldness is a Lack of Heat. and Evilness is a Lack of Good.

If there is a god, maybe, he wants us to sin. And in his own convulated way wants us to go to hell, where we will have more fun. Think about it, heaven is all praying. Living a bland life in eternity. Hell is gambling, drinking and partying. I believe god wants me to choose hell.

When Adam and Eve ate the fruit of Satan in the Garden of Eden, which god told them not to, they became aware of their 'nakedness' and attempted to cover, and ran from the garden in shame. This is also the supposed reason for childbirth pains. Jesus may of died for our sins, but not to stop what had already unfolded from Adam and Eve's wrongness in the Garden of Eden.

Because both good and evil must exist in order for the universe to function.

Because If God is NOT all-powerful, all-knowing and benevolent ! Duh

it would be a pretty dull comic book with just one of them, now, wouldn't it?

...free will. Hey its what man wanted. To know the difference between good and evil...and now that left them with choice. God is always there, hes always around...and he knows evrything past present future...but that doesnt mean he changes choices. and Bad choices made by men causes evil which is a lack of good. Or...a lack of love. We lie in our own shit... as a whole of man kind. THAT is why it is important each and every one of us make the right choice every day to turn the tables and make things right again. God is there to help us when we choose to ask for his help. Through patience, understanding, wisdom, kindness, charitable motives, and love.

An answer to the question would not make sense for one unless one accepts the fact that one is Soul and that he/she, as Soul, is in a journey to gather experiences from this reality. Only from a perspective of Soul in the school of Life could we give intelligible answer about the relative existence of evil. With the above paragraph in mind God would not be all-powerful if It is not capable of creating everything including the evil. Neither would God be benevolent if it withholds from Soul experiences which are beneficial for Its growth. Besides by not experiencing the dark side of Life Soul would become limited in Its scope of experiences. That which endures of all tribulations and difficult is Soul. Soul is the real journeyman which is everyone of us and it is through experiences It (everyone as Soul) matures and grows to mighty being that eventually serves creation in love, benevolence and in compassion. Though from the temporal existence of man enduring evil is painful still from the perspective of Soul every experience is valuable. The Awakener2

It is your choice what you want to do in your life. Choose, thus an all powerful GOD and all knowing and Benovolent GOD, Loves you so much that HE will not MAKE you do anything, but will give you the way to Heaven FREELY. John 3:14 on... . the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." / +3 GOD BLESS

There isn't.