If your christian read this question please!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Question

OK. Now as I went to a catholic school I was taught that God is all knowing all loving and all powerfull. But that cant be true.
Because if god was all knowing he would know there is evil in the world and if he was all powerfull he would have the power to stop it and if he was all loving he would use that power. Wouldnt he.
Well obviously not because there is still plenty of famine war and just plain evil in the world and god allows that to happen.
But I know if I had the power to stop all the evil in the world I would use it. So does that mean I am a nicer "person" than god

But if the bible is to be believed god obviously wants there to be evil. because he choses not to stop it doesnt he???
and please dont just say he gave us free will. if you are going to say that at least explain it to me.
Also why didnt god give us free will but not give us the power to use that free will to do evil things??


Why did god give humans the need to eat food and then make 90 percent of humans go hungry??

Also if god created EVERYTHING then he must have created cancer and AIDS and all the other diseases in the world. And why is it that it is the poorer people in the world who usually suffer the most because of these God created diseases??

Answer 1

You will receive the 'free will is a beotch" answer.



But the truth is that God simply doesn't exist, and through time, men have adapted the belief in God to support him as loving, and it isn't what the original creators of God believed, so there are tremendous contradictions in the belief.



Ancient man experienced a plague, didn't understand viruses, randomly killed people, life became a much scarrier proposition. So they developed rules for the deity, so that when bad things happened to people, they could blame the people, and absolve the God, that made life a little safer, and gave control back to the human.



Bad things kept happening, so the rules got more detailed until they were unattainable. This worked well because when someone was killed by a random event, there was always something in his life of imperfection that could be blamed for his early demise.



Then the Greeks came along and changed all of that through reason, which eventually lead to OT/NT Christianity that takes doctrinal gymnastics to patch together.



A loving God who committed Genocide? Numbers 31?



Humans are fun

Its kinda neat to explore.

Answer 2

Some good answers. I'll add mine to the pile as food for thought...

How's this: If God did not allow us a free will, that would make him a sort of egomaniacal dictator, wouldn't it? And we would be forced to love and obey him and not have a choice. Everyone has that choice.

You're probably also not going to want to hear this either: the world is a fallible and fallen place. What God made perfect has been corrupted. Being catholic you were taught about Satan and demons, right? Right now, they have free reign over the earth to make our lives miserable. You either believe or you don't. There really is a lot more to be said on the subject, but at the risk of making a dissertation, I'll stop there.

Answer 3

I went to Catholic school all my life and I had the same questions. Nobody can answer those without giving the tired 'God's plan' answer.



Yes, they say God gave us free will, so that would explain why some people do bad things. Yes, people are poor and it's not fair. Who made them poor though? 80 percent of America's wealth belongs to 10 percent of the population. Did God make those people poor? Or did greedy corporate America make them poor by paying them minimum wage while they outsource and take in all the income for themselves. Some would say that it's 'their test' and that God will reward them later for their suffering. There are numerous little pretty answers that you're supposed to just swallow and accept because we don't know any better. That's what faith is.



Have you considered the alternative answer though? Maybe there is no God, or if there is some higher consciousness, maybe it is not all powerful. Maybe we evolved from violent animals in the past, and it's just in our nature to be territorial, violent, and greedy. It's not because some red guy with horns is telling us to, it's because we've been doing it for centuries as a way to survive. You take a wolf out of the forest he's going to still be violent because he wants to survive, he doesn't know that he'll be fed and kept warm. It's called instinct. Millions of years of evolution that kept the victorious animals alive long enough to pass their genes and knowledge down until here we are, still kicking and screaming to survive.



Creationist don't like evolution because it makes us feel unimportant. We were just lucky and were born. Where as if God mad us, we're special, and he loves us. Does it matter? Ok, so God made them, they're special. God made everyone else. He made gay people gay, and made black people black. Do they see them as special? No, they kick and scream and try to take their rights away. They oppress and say it's God's will, but they don't know what God wants, they're a mere mortal and could not even imagine what God wants. But they try to anyway and say it's not a sin.



It's hypocritical crap that turns good people into hateful monsters because they think they know better than everyone else. You sound like you're losing your faith. Religion is a great place to learn morality to help you become a better person. But ORGANIZED religion is run by HUMANS and is subject to MISTAKES. You don't need to believe in everything someone tells you. If you find yourself questioning God, look towards alternative theories. Read books. Read the Bible, read the Koran, and other religious documents. Read A Brief History of Time, and other science books. Read as much as you can and make an educated decision that feels right for you. Ignorance only creates hate and that always leads down a dark path, whether you're religious or not.

Answer 4

Good questions and really important ones; they also help reveal what the gospel message is all about.



The truth of the matter is, we do have free will. God gave us that free will so that we could live out our purpose of loving Him - for if we didn't have a free will, and were in fact designed as "robots" who were programmed to love God without a choice, we wouldn't really be loving God; we would be forced to do so - and that doesn't seem to me like real love.



Of course, we sinned, choosing to disobey God and to not love Him. Sin entered the world and perfection was marred; disease, hate, violence and all evils things today are a result of sin and people acting on their sinful nature. This is the world we live in.



Once again, God gives us the choice to love Him; instead of coming down and putting a stop to everything, He still wants us to live to our full potential - that is, to live a life in which we love God and enjoy His love.



God sent His Son to die for our sins, so that we might be reconciled with Him, despite the sin that puts a wall up between us and Him. And so, though we may suffer in this imperfect life, God has given us a way to still love Him and be loved by Him, even in a marred world. And more than that, our brief time on earth will seem miniscule when we spend eternity living out to the fullest - in the very presence of our Creator.



If you have any questions, please feel free to message me.

Answer 5

YOU ARE RIGHT! Congrats on thinking outside of the brainwashing box you were put in. God did create the good and the bad... but I doubt god had a mind, or even resembled man. The universe is much older than man itself. The creation story is not to be taken literally but metaphorically. "God" was a burst of energy that has continuously propelled itself through time and space. I call the energy god. It does not think and feel. It is a chain of action and reaction, but it is still god. So whatever happens on earth is not a result of god's doing. In my opinion is it is a result of HUMAN BEINGS doing with god's energy. We create the wars, and disease is just a natural occurrence due to nature. Famine is humanity's fault. There is enough food to feed the entire world...it is just very unevenly distributed (again, the work of man). Very unfair. Be positive, and make positive energy to help balance out all the negativity in the world. Praying, chanting, signing, dancing (things people might do in church) send out positive energy. Continue to question the loop holes in your faith, but don't stop adding positive energy to the world. We need it. Obviously God isn't helping everyone, if you know what I mean.

Answer 6

In Isaiah 45:7 we read these words: "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things". Here the biblical God claims responsibility for 'evil'.



In this verse God says that He makes peace and creates evil (KJV). Different versions of scripture use different words for evil. It comes from the Hebrew word 'ra' meaning 'adversity' and 'calamity'.



It may help to realise that the Bible was heavily influenced by the much older Egyptian religious myths. The original names of Hebrew deity are actually plural but were translated by later Old Testament editors into singular names to give the illusion of monotheism.



This is why many have abandoned the Bible as inconsistent, forged and barbaric in places. The earliest true Christians were probably those within Gnosticism who knew the Old Testament as allegory written by men. Gnosis or inner spiritual knowledge was seen by them as a superior path to follow over ancient biblical fables taken as literal history.

Answer 7

Even Jesus was tempted by evil, It is our test of faith to do what is right and Wrong, Heven isn't a night club where only the posh are chosen to come in, Your intellect has you clouded,

Yes there are millions of poor in the world, God has given us the responsibility in faith to help them, satan has given us the choice to ignore them, Aids and the like are created from man thru acts against God. How can He help if he is not respected. Satan and evil surround us, waiting for the opening to sepperate us from God, I Know I have been there.



Try reading about or listening to Father John Corapi, He will tell you Himself how easy it is to get lost in satan's world. If nothing else you may learn somthing you never knew. www.fathercorapi.com

Answer 8

Certainly, you were also taught about free will and the fact that evil exists in this world because of human decisions and actions, not because G-d is a negligent caretaker.



Your logic is filled with assumptions about why G-d isn't what you were taught He was in school. You think your wisdom is greater and your ethics superior to your Creator's? Do you think your little, childish argument that sounds like whining will shame G-d into taking care of the world the way YOU think He should?

Answer 9

1. If you're going to make this argument then you're assuming that somehow we as humans understand everything that God does. The fact is that we are nowhere near understanding God or its actions. Sorry but while we're not stupid, we're not as intelligent as God.



2. You're also assuming that God said "Let's sprinkle some famine here, and maybe some AIDs and Cancer there" . God created the universe and then sat back to watch and see how it would develop. AIDs and Cancer and famine developed naturally. It's not as if God has it out for us.

Answer 10

God is not behind evil, it is man. Hate and evil is rooted in ego and greed. God did not make anyone go hungry...that is man again. There is plenty to go around, but we cant break out of the man made game of society and nations. We like to think that the 'self' is important and meaningful, but it is not. We are just a part of a whole, the same way our cells are in our body. All life is really one and the same energy, the self is only illusion. Death is natural and nothing to fear, what we should fear is ego, greed, and material desire

Answer 11

Have you ever read,



"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made." Genesis 3:1



"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" 1 Peter 5:8



"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints." 1 Corinthians 14:33



"And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?" Exodus 4:11



"Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God." Matthew 22:29



"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9



"I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor." Psalms 140:12



dr_gonzo, part of your problem is being in the catholic church.

Answer 12

Sir,

Jesus is Great. He is Merciful. He shed his blood to wash our sins. He is the only savior. He taught us to love our neighbor, thus spreading the brotherhood in the whole world. Christianity is a peaceful religion. Christians are the people who know how to respect a lady. You will be saved by God only. Have faith in him. --- Merry



Edit :

Bible is the only holy book which depicted everything correctly thousands of years ago; even science is unable to prove today.

Life after death is awaiting you in the heaven of eternity, if you don’t commit a sin or your intentions were good !!

Answer 13

there is alot you do not understand......I do not know if the lack of bible training by the catholic church can be compensated for here...



God does not do evil....satan does....there is evil in the world because there is sin in the world......God did not create us to be puppets....God put us in charge of this earth to take care of it and we have failed......the bad condition of the earth is our fault.....



people go hungry because we do not share what we have with others.



cancer and AIDS are diseases, and disease is the curse for disobedience to God's word.......it is present in the world due to sin......and children do suffer for the sins of their unbelieving parents..



if every adult in the world would accept Jesus as savior. love others and reject sin....this would be a different place.

Answer 14

yea i have to agree with some of these people god lets you do what you want . but everything comes with a good or bad outcome. he doesnt want us to be robots so yea all the bad things happen because of people sinning

Answer 15

This is one of the oldest questions ever asked on YA and beyond. The Bible answers it pretty well. So your question really comes from not understanding the controversy between good and evil. When people give a one sentence "free will" answer it can be sort of frustrating, since it isn't much of an explanation, and most people see it as a cop out. But you have to understand what it is being said.



God gave us a perfect planet. We were perfect beings, and Adam and God would take walks together in the Garden of Eden. But as you know, we fell. There is also a back story before this as well.

Lucifer had tricked 1/3 of the angels out of heaven by lying to them. They were told that God was unfair, and his rules showed that He was a dictator and that intelligent beings weren't truly free unless He removed his laws. A pretty good lie that got a LOT of angels thinking, and they eventually allied themselves with Lucifer. And after a battle with the forces of good, they were kicked out of heaven. But he had made some pretty radical statements that God could not easily disprove.



The intelligent beings HAD to see sin run its course otherwise they would eternally doubt whether Satan had been right in his accusations. Satan had said that if given a choice, the intelligent beings would preferentially follow him, since they only served God out of fear. So God had to prove him wrong.



He placed trees of knowledge of good and evil in EVERY inhabited planet in the universe and gave them all the same instructions. Only one fell. That was us. Once we fell, Satan could say, "See! I was right. They want to be free from your oppression, God. They want me to lead them."



So Satan then became prince of the earth. He was given quite a bit of control, but not ultimate control. There are times when God would reign him in and say,"Nope, you can't do that." Because if it weren't for the grace of God, Satan would have us all wiped out. He knows how to hurt God.



Sin and suffering reign because our planet is not perfect anymore. It is not in the same condition in which it was created. God only creates things that are good. It is sin that corrupts. Even still, Satan likes to point his finger at God, and say, "Look at what you created! How could you do this to your poor creatures?" When really it is entirely his own doing.



But still, the pain and problems we go through can work to make us more like God. He uses bad things for good, and they can help us grow our faith and character. Not only that, but God has given us rules on how to reduce our suffering while on this fallen earth. He gives us ways to shield ourselves from the Tempter. The problem is, we often see them as restricting our fun, and by ignoring them, we gladly reap the awful consequences.



I can't blame everything on Satan. He started the ball rolling, but many, many problems in this world are the result of our own evil. God doesn't control every action because he doesn't want us to be little biological machines, preprogrammed to serve Him. He wants voluntary compliance, out of love. But that means, like the prodigal son, we might run away, and in the process cause harm to ourselves and others. This is what is meant by free will. Having the option to turn away from God, truly shows that when you are serving Him, it is out of love and obedience.



The questions of God's goodness and righteousness were dispelled at the cross. No one will EVER question the motives or integrity of God again. Right now though, the suffering continues because we are waiting for Christ to return. And the reason Christ delays His coming is because he is waiting for more people to be saved. Once every on earth has had the ability to make that choice, it will be finished.

Answer 16

God didn't "create" diseases, suffering, etc. He did however, give people the freedom to choose. This ultimately leads to some people making bad decisions which leads to suffering, diseases, etc.

Answer 17

I agree, but wait for the "its not God its because of sin" or the like answers from the christians



Oh yes I forgot the "Freedom to choose" answer too! Doesnt really answer your question does it?



Either god cant sort it out, wont sort it out, or doesnt exist.

Answer 18

All the things you listed are the reason God also created Heaven. This is not Heaven, dear. If things were so perfect here, who would have the desire for Heaven? And, no, you are not nicer than God.

Answer 19

Sorry I don't own a Christian.....and if I did i wouldn't let it go online....

Answer 20

Hey!



Alright, this is going to be an EXTREMELY controversial answer, but, hey, this is a controversial question. And please don't hate me or insult me because my beliefs differ from yours. Please?



First of all, I'd like to establish the idea of free will. Free will is the capability to choose who you want to be, what you want to do with your life, and how you want to make those things happen. You cannot, I repeat, CANNOT have free will unless their is a choice. Otherwise, if there is only one choice for you to make, you are not really choosing it. You are no better than a machine, an automaton, programmed and forced to do one thing, and one thing only, never choosing anything for yourself. We'd all look the same, have only one color, have the exact same personality, and the exact same way of expressing ourselves. Just like robots do.



Free will sounds better, when put that way, don't you think?



So, in the beginning, Lucifer, Adam, and Eve all had a choice. They could follow the perfect path God had set before them, or they could deviate from that path and make their own.



Now that we have that covered, let's start at the beginning, shall we? Genesis 3:1-4 read:



"Now the serpent proved to be the most cautious of all the wild beast of the field that YHWH had made. So it began to say to the woman: "Is it really so that God said YOU must not eat from every tree of the garden?" At this the woman said to the serpent: "Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat. But as for [eating] of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'YOU must not eat from it, no, YOU must not touch it that YOU do no die.'" At this the serpent said to the woman: "YOU positively will not die.. For God knows that in the very day of YOUR eating from it YOUR eyes are bound to be opened and YOU are bound to be like God, KNOWING good and bad.""



What, exactly, was Satan saying to Eve, through the serpent? Did he not say that she would become 'like God' if she ate from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and bad? And, if we are 'like God', do we need God himself to lead us through our lives?



THAT is what Satan was perpetuating to Eve. He was, in effect, telling her that humanity does not need God to make their decisions for them. That humans themselves can decide what is right and what is wrong and not have any need for God to lead them to the right way.



Well, that was an absolute lie (no surprise there), as proven throughout mankind's history. But, Adam and Eve did eat from the tree of knowledge of good and bad, saying that they, too, did believe that they did not need God to guide their steps.



So, as a just and fair God, what do you think he should have done in that situation? Do you think he should have destroyed Satan, Adam, and Eve right then and there and started all over again from scratch? Wouldn't that have solved the problem and not caused so many so much suffering?



But what about the angels in heaven? They were looking on as God dealt with these usurpers. If God just started from scratch, wouldn't the questions just have stayed in their minds, making them constantly question and wonder, "DO we need God?" And what about those future creations God might have made? What if they someday questioned God's right to rule?



Clearly, this question of God's right to guide his own creation needed to be completely settled. Besides, giving mankind, and even Satan the Devil, a chance to prove that their claims were true, that they didn't, in fact, need God, was only a fair and just thing to do.



And I believe in a fair and just God.



BUT, God set a time limit on Satan and mankind to prove that they didn't need God. That time limit started when Eve was created (after that God started his day of rest, no longer creating anything) and continues until God's 'day' of rest ends. Remember, time is relative. You can't conclude that the way we measure time is the same as God measures it. After all, our measurement of time is based off the sun and the moon, and these are only creations of God. So, we have no concept as to God's view of time. And, also, remember that in the Bible that when it comes to Eve's day of creation, there is no way of tracing a date and time. So, we have no real idea of when the 'end' will come.



So, as I'm sure you know, Jesus Christ died to balance out the scales of Adam's sin in the beginning. That blot on our heads is now gone. BUT, we still are in the time set for us to prove God's right to rule his creation (or the lack there of, but that's never going to happen). THAT is why there is still sin. We still have something to prove. Until the question is settled, we have to tolerate imperfection. After all, it's a path we set ourselves (or, at least, that Adam and Eve set for us). And cancer, diseases, starvation, and all the other horrors of the world are just side-effects of imperfection. In fact, that's EXACTLY what cancer is. An imperfection of the cell.



Just think of how far we are in time since Adam and Eve made the choice that cut all of us off from God. Now, think of a laptop computer. If you cut the cord, the power quits coming in. The laptop runs on the juice it has stored up inside itself for a little while, but gets slower, the lights go dimmer, and it makes more mistakes. Finally, it goes dead. People are like that, since Adam and Eve cut off the connection to God.



Anyway, that's my thinking on the matter. It might not be completely factual. You should look inside a Bible, and draw your own conclusions. Also, if you would like to hear more on this subject, might I suggest the article entitled Jesus Saves--How? that can be found at the following link:



http://www.watchtower.org/e/20011115/article_02.htm



I hope that makes sense to you, and that it helps settle things in your mind.



Luv ya,

Tashi :)



P.S. Sorry, I know this is really, really long, but I noticed no one explained how disease could be a side-effect of imperfection or free will (which explains AIDS, famine, etc.). Remember my computer analogy? Well, think of a perfect immune system. It could fight ANY disease, right? But we're stuck in imperfection because we were cut off from God. No perfect immune system for us.



Hope all that makes sense!



P.P.S. I'm sorry again. I have to correct a statement you've made. God did NOT create Satan. God created Lucifer. Lucifer CHOSE to become Satan (which means 'resist'; appropriate, because he is the ultimate resister of God's rule), and God did not create evil. But there is still the choice, again. You have to have a choice for free will to exist. You can choose good or evil. Because if there was only a good to choose from, it wouldn't be a choice. Hence, no free will.



Anyway, just had to add that in, too! Hope all that helps you! Have a nice day!