(April 11, 2010 at 11:44 am)Archbow Wrote: “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?”
Opinions on this riddle?
As pointed out this is known as the epicurean paradox. This so call paradox was written 341 years before Christ was born. which means this paradox was not written by epicrus, was not written in effect to the God of Christianity or the Jews, and or does not describe a paradox found in either of those two religions. Therefore if it was written by Epicrus it was directed at his personal understanding of how his greek gods worked.
Ok, that said why can these values be carried over to Christianity or Judaism you ask?
The paradox presupposes that God is Omnipotent, omniscience, and Omnibenevolent. The problem with that? These are not All biblical attributes of God. The key to the Paradox is Omni benevolence, because it is this all consuming love that would demand that sin be removed from the presence of a 'loved one.' Which is the one Omni-aspect of God listed here Not found in the bible. God does not love everyone. That is a religious teaching (man's description/belief about God) Not a attribute God labels himself with in the bible. In fact the opposite is true. Their are those in whom God is reported to hate in scripture. Not to mention the 'conditions' of God's love found hiding in verses like John 3:16. That said for those in whom God does love his love is without bounds.
Without this idea of Omni benevolence the paradox is broken concerning the God of the bible. So then the question becomes why call Him God? Simple answer: The word God describes a being who is in total authority and control of all of what he has created (everything) not a being who must yield to a broken philosophers limited ability to reason.
