I have been sick since yesterday, stuck in bed all day yesterday, and have only managed to reach my computer do to the help of modern medicine. So now it is a proper time for the "Whence Commith Evil?" thread.
So were does "evil" come from? And I am not speaking for human evil, I am speaking for natural disasters, sickness, and other things that are "evil" but not caused by humans. Why would your god create that? And if it wasn't your god who created it, who was it? And why doesn't your god simply stop it? And if your god is for some reason unable to stop disease, then why can modern medicine stop what your god can't? And if your god causes it, then why can modern medicine stop it? Is medicine more powerful than your god?
I would say, being a devils advocate right now, that its all part of gods plan and with this answer completely sidestep what you ask.
What kind of plan involves sending a Tsunami or a hurricane to kill thousands of people? Or a plague, killing thousands painfully? Why wouldn't he make it less painful? He has the power, if he wanted some one dead why not just let them go painlessly in there sleep? And if everything is part of his plan, how can he justify people going to hell, if he planned it that way?
I suppose theologically the cause of evil is the ancestral sin (a.k.a. original sin). God told Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Yet when the snake tempted them they disobeyed him and they ate the fruit. After that God banned them from the Garden of Eden, due to this they lost their immortality. Before the original sin God had "shielded" man from sickness and pain. It's like Pandora's Box.
As an Atheist I'd say it is to keep things balanced. If we didn't had disasters like that, we would have no change, and no change means no progression. Though humans progress without disasters too, they too need to be kept balanced. Unfortunately, the humans aren't balanced by far anymore, since we're spread all over the world and have too many fellow humans. I don't mind, but it disrupts the balance.
Hm, since when are diseases evil? It's just an other organism that wants food. And natural disasters are just chemical and physical changes. It has nothing to do with evil. I mean if you light up fire and then burn yourself is it really evil? Nature hits everything. "Evil" is just something people say to stuff that hurt them in a way
I suppose theologically the cause of evil is the ancestral sin (a.k.a. original sin). God told Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Yet when the snake tempted them they disobeyed him and they ate the fruit. After that God banned them from the Garden of Eden, due to this they lost their immortality. Before the original sin God had "shielded" man from sickness and pain. It's like Pandora's Box.
I would never punish my great-grandchild for the time when my son ate out of the cookie jar without asking. I would instead punish my son directly. Why would it have to be my great-grandchild? She herself didn't do it. Is it something we are all responsible for? If so, this is all one big excuse for God not slapping Eve and/or Adam's hand for reaching up the tree. Oh and making Satan into a pair of boots for tempting them. If they did indeed eat the "fruit of knowledge", why punish the descendants up to 20,000 years later with disease, pain, and severe bad luck that causes premature deaths? It just doesn't make sense. But of course, he is god and "we cannot possibly comprehend his intentions" right?
If He has the power to do it, but has not the will, He is malevolent. If He has the will to do it, but has not the power, He is not omnipotent. If He has neither the will nor the power, why then is He God? If He has both the will and the power, then whence cometh evil?
I think we may have differing definitions of Evil... i believe that an "evil" force is one that does things with malicious intent... or does things with the intention of harming someone/something just to get a jolly out of it or for spits and giggles... or just to do it
i believe that if there is a God then he placed us here in a world and universe that has the potential for self evolution and change. when the world changes and shifts around there is a potential for harm/death for those that live near and around the affected area. although such a circumstance is unexpected they did in fact choose to live there. preventing consequence would seem like it would take away from the responsibility of dealing with the results of your actions... I think that if there is a God then we were placed here so that we would become the masters of our own universe and existence.... to find our own cures and to resolve our own problems. I have no idea of "miracles" truly happen for those that claim them or if it was just out of sheer luck of being in the right place at the right time... or just having something happen that wasn't supposed to (...like a tumor disappearing)
something i left out... if a force doesn't have anything purposefully directing it towards any means then I don't think it is neither "Good" nor "Evil"... (good being the opposite of evil and not being the "beneficial" definition in this instance)... if there is nothing directing a tsunami and it was just created b/c of the shifting of our world then it is neutral... even tho it does bad things. its just a force. It has no ill intentions
i believe that if there is a God then he placed us here in a world and universe that has the potential for self evolution and change. when the world changes and shifts around there is a potential for harm/death for those that live near and around the affected area. if there is nothing directing a tsunami and it was just created b/c of the shifting of our world then it is neutral... even tho it does bad things. its just a force. It has no ill intentions
If theologically, God created this world we live in, he also created the detriments that come with it, therefore he is responsible for natural disasters, which include droughts and flash floods that "just happen" to come pouring down after a drought. If he was seriously omnipotent or had a soft heart for the human race, he would negate said disasters from occurring, or just not have the conditions happen altogether.
as far as i know the only thing that we Have to do in this live is die.
if we ever get to teh point were we've mastered our realm then that may not even have to be. all natural disasters would be predictable... all health hazards curable
but if we must die then there must be ways by which it occurs.... as for why things are the way they are... dunno
why not just let them go painlessly in there sleep?
I dunno bout you but if you get hurt in ur dream, dosen't it seem like it still hurts like hell in ur mind? (sorry for language) Yes you can look at it in the way that this is like god's sandbox and everything that happens in it is done by god and god only, or you can think that that is all natural disasters and it has nothing to do with god. But if god dosen't have to do with natural disasters, then what DOSE he have anything to do with? But then you switch this argument to if there's a god or not.
I dunno bout you but if you get hurt in ur dream, dosen't it seem like it still hurts like hell in ur mind?
This is God we're talking about. He can make it so we die from snoo-snoo in our dreams. Instead, examples from above happen. He instead takes people by dismemberment, maim, natural disasters, propaganda, holy wars, etc. And his followers claim it is all justified. If all the natural disasters and premature deaths by some kind of accident are all from "his will", which it isn't, then he is also responsible for these deaths. If he wants to take people earlier than their lifespans, why do it in such a way? Why so gruesome, painful, and cruel? Granted there are less-painful and exaggerated deaths also claiming to be god's will, but that is beside the point.
Actually, evil is considered "detrimenting others for personal gain". That's as basic a definition I can give you. We see stealing, ****, murder, and other "evil" actions as evil because you gain something while you hurt others, sometimes in a high or "ultimate" degree.
