Christian Paradox

[Eilonnwy]

The whole "problem of evil" thing is certainly not limited to Christians, though.

Correct, hence I'm an atheist.

And while a Christian might not have an answer that you would find satisfactory, I wonder how you address the issue.

Specifically, from a Christian perspective given the propositions:

1.God is omnipotent.
2.God is omnibenevolent.
3.God is omniscient.
4.Evil exists

We can draw the conclusion:

5. God has a benevolent reason for the evil that exists.

While we do not know what that reason is for any or all evil that exists, there does not appear to be any logical contradictions given the conclusion 5.

That essentially sounds like a cop out answer. God, in general, is a proposition that I view to be humanity's attempt to explain away things they can answer and in doing so they planted logically contradicting qualities on to a supreme being. They are logically contradicting on their own, but then even more so when you consider evil. This answer seems to once more be a weak attempt to weasel out of a real answer. Any answer that requires I state I do and don't know at the same time is absurd. You're essentially saying I have to accept, without any evidence, that God has a reason and it's good yet you're unable to provide any justification. So the way I see it, the answer is useless.

There is also a destructive line of belief that comes from that answer. Mother Theresa is considered a holy woman, on the fast track to sainthood because she cared for the dying. I think she was an abominable woman. She thought suffering was the way to be closer to God. As a result she built hospices and did nothing to ease the actual pain and suffering or try to save the dying. Instead she told them they were closer to God and would go to heaven. She was given money, millions, and instead of building hospitals that could have cured people of common ailments, she built monasteries and homes for the dying. People suffered and died in agony when simple medicines could have saved their lives.

I believe Mother Theresa to be one of the most evil people to ever exist, but most people view her as holy because what she did was in the service of God. It's disgusting. Somehow applying it to God makes it okay to sit and watch as people die while people give you millions and millions of dollars.

So no, I don't think saying there is a benevolent reason for evil is a sufficient answer at all. It's an attempt at whitewashin

From the perspective of the unbeliever, however, proposition 4 seems to create a problem.

Saying "evil exists" presupposes an objective, universal standard for what is evil and what is good. On the other hand, as far as I can tell, most if not all of the atheists here do not think there is any such objective and universal standard for evil or good. If that is the case then, it appears then that from an unbeliever's perspective there really is no "problem of evil" to assert against a Christian. If that is not the case, then I question what this objective and universal standard for evil and good is and where it came from.

To say good and evil exists merely asserts there are qualities with which we assert is good and others we assert as evil. It's true that what others consider evil might be considered good by another. However, objectively we can all agree that something is evil if it is morally wrong, and every person has their own morals. Therefore, evil exists.

However, in this instance I don't view evil is only one person doing an immoral act, but also as naturally occurring atrocities. Children die every day from terrible diseases. I understand that as a world that operates with no deity that this is the natural order of things, which doesn't at all mean I think it's good and I like to do everything in my power to help, like donate to charity, etc... However, if there is a God out there that has the power to do something and chooses to do nothing, then he is evil. There's no way around it. There's nothing good out of bringing a child into the world and watching it starve to death before it's even a year old. Nothing. And as the proposition states, if he is not powerful enough to ensure every child has food then why worship? Why continue asking a God for peace on earth and helping the poor and starving, when either he can't do anything or chooses not to? It's absurd.

I learned a long time ago that if I care about the world and want to help, then my actions through volunteer work and donations to charity do far more than clasping my hands together and talking to a deity I have no proof exists and if exists, a consistent track record of doing nothing at all.