Friday, January 31, 2014

Just and Good God

How does a just and good God allow evil to exist?

37 comments:

  1. Evil exists on the sole purpose that there has to be a factor against good. There is light and dark, good and evil, and broncos and seahawks. Without bad or evil we would not recognize the good in the world as good. It's like the lyric " Only know high when you're feeling low." Evil has to exist for us to recognize good is even there.

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  2. God allows evil to exist because people must be able to differ a good day from a bad day so we can appreciate the good days more often. There also must be a balance in the world like yin and yang, heaven and hell, and good and evil. Everything in the world needs an opposite so that we may see both sides to things, whether they are good or bad. God lets there be an opposite to good, evil, so that we will appreciate and recognize all the goods things that happen in our lives.

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  3. The way that both good and evils exists is because both of them are present in our world. With out one how would you have the other? They balance each other out in a way. You know the difference between a good day and a bad day because they work hand and hand.We have many things that compare and contrast, like light and dark, good and evil, and yin and yang. Comparing both sides allows you to see how they work in everyday society. God lets there be an opposite in good and evil, so that we as humans recognize all the good things in life and don't focus on the negative thing and allow the bad things to take us down and to a place we don't want to be.

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  4. I believe that a just god allows evil to exist because, there has to be a balance between the two. There would not be any good, without the evil and the other way around. Another reason that a just and good god would allow evil to exist so that people can have more appreciation for the good in the world.

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  5. A lot of what we’ve been talking about in class is the ability for humans to make their own choices; the power we have given the capacity to reason, and make choices base off of them. When God created man, he did not simply want a mindless creation that he would be able to play puppet-master over, he let us have choice, and therefore, make us independent freethinking beings. With this choice, we are enabled to hurt others, commit violence, betray, lie- in short, sin. God let’s this happen because if he were to intervene, or never have it happen, it would be a violation of the choice we made to commit that act in the first place; he would be intervening on the free will he gave humans. God ultimately wants us to make our own choices, to give the gift of choice is to place trust in the hands of individuals in hope of them making the right choice. This ingenuity is what makes us humans; the fact that we have free will shines light on the fact that God has placed his hope in us as a people to take care of one another. This hope, selfishness, goodness, sacrifice and courage every single person possesses is the light which others are able to look on, and act in turn on because of us being able to think for ourselves.

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  6. Evil only exist because it is the opposite of good. If there were only good in the world then what would evil be? Good can not exist without evil. God makes evil so we can do all the good as best we can and the wrongs like sin would go elsewhere. Good and evil balances our life, we can't have to much of everything or we would be different. God also created good and evil to allow us to make our own choices. We have freewill. Evil is only there to tempt us and we have the choice to take those temptations or ignore them. Just like in the bible, God gave Adam and Eve a choice to eat the apple or not, but god said not to. Then the devil comes in and temps Eve to eat the apple and she did. See this is freewill, she had a choice not to but she did anyways. God believes in us and has faith that we will do the good and will forgive us when we do the bad. This is how we get to choose the way we live.

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  7. It was never God's intent for there to be evil, however, it was also never God's intent to be a puppeteer. He created us for relationship, and just like in any relationship, the other person always has a choice. Out of God's goodness and longing that we might choose him instead of Him forcing us to be his little robots, God gave us our own free-will. Unfortunately, as imperfect beings, it is our nature to make bad decisions. God's choice to grant us free will opened up the world to the bad things that happen. Ultimately, a good and just God allows bad things to happen because he gives his creation choices in the way they live their lives.

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  8. In order for God to exist, you need both the good and the bad. Even God was not good during the Old Testament. He was harsh and cruel to Adam and Eve when they disobeyed him and because of Adam and Eve, the souls mentioned in Dante’s Devine Comedy were sent to limbo because they lived before Jesus, as Jesus opened the gates of heaven when he died. Because of evil in the world, most people will seek comfort in their faith and therefore, God exists. God is dependent on the evil in the world because without people believing in God after something tragic happens, he would not exist.

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  9. God allows evil to exist in the world today, simply because without it there would be no need for God. If there was no evil, then we would not have to choose the right path to take, and when we never have bad days where we get broken down and have to turn to God. The reality of it is, evil is there so we have to make a choice, the choice to either give into that evil, or follow God. So without the evil in this world, and everybody being perfect, we would not need God.

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  10. Man has both good and evil in him. It is up to each individual to decide which side will govern their choices. God cannot take that free agency away from us. If He did, then he would be destroying law and the very basis of life. He allows us to make wrong decisions that hurt. But without this "evil", these mistakes, we could not learn from them. Hugh B. Brown tells a story that I would like to share. He bought a farm in Canada. One day, he went out and found a currant bush that was over six feet tall but did not produce any blossoms or currants. Brown had grown up on a farm and knew that this bush needed to be pruned in order to produce. So, he cut it down to just a few stumps. He thought he saw a tear on the top of each stump and it seemed that the bush was saying, "How could you do this to me? I was making such wonderful growth. I was almost as big as the shade tree and the fruit tree that are inside the fence, and now you have cut me down. Every plant in the garden will look down on me, because I didn't make what I should have made. How could you do this to me? I thought you were the gardener here". In reply to this, Brown said, "Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be. I didn't intend you to be a fruit tree or a shade tree. I want you to be a currant bush, and some day, little currant bush, when you are laden with fruit, you are going to say, 'Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down, for caring enough about me to hurt me.' " I love this story. It represents how God allows things to hurt us because He has knowledge of what we can become and He knows that the things we face in life will help us grow so that we can reach our potential. It's like a butterfly emerging from it's cocoon; it cannot receive help from others or the muscles in it's wings will not develop and it will die. Just as the butterfly, evil and hardship are part of life to help build our muscles and define us. They allow us the chance to grow. God knows this so he allows evil to be in the world so that each person can overcome and progress in their lives.

    Citation:
    Brown, Hugh B. "The Currant Bush." New Era Jan. 1973: n. pag. Lds.org. Web. 2 Feb. 2014. .

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  11. I believe God allows evil to exist because there always has to be a balance between things, such as light and darkness. In addition, if there was no evil, there would be no need for a God because there would be nothing to pray for. Furthermore, I believe that God allows evil to exist because it is a way to test our faith. If people can battle through evil, then their faith is strong.

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  12. God allows evil to exist because he has to. If we truly have free will, then evil is something that will exist regardless of whether or not God thinks it should or shouldn't exist. Also, God allows evil to exist because of it's ability to bring out the good in people. We at Arapahoe know all too well how evil can strike, but we also know how that same evil brought out the best in all of us and, in the end, made us better people. It is natural for us as human to take what is evil and try to make it good. Because of this, evil is something God allows evil to exist, because of the good that it can bring.

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  13. I think that this question actually cannot be answered directly. God doesn't necessarily allow evil to exist, it both inherent to nature, and can be argued that it doesn't really exist at all. To begin, I believe that God does have a plan for each person, but only to a point; every man also has free will, which will, at some point, lead to sin. However, evil itself is just the contrast of good: much as darkness is the contrast of light. Without one, the other cannot exist. Therefore, in order for God to be just and good, there must be inherent evil. But evil doesn't necessarily constitute sin. Many times, evil is just a perception, and could appear good to another person. It again relies upon an internal duality, that one cannot exist without the other. In conclusion, God is good, fair, and just. But he also must understand that the existence of good is predicated upon the presence of evil.

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  14. I believe that even though God is for good there needs to be evil to show the goods in life. If there was no evil then how would people know that being good is a thing? I also believe that without evil there would be no reason to believe in God. I am not saying that without evil God is useless, but I am saying that if Adam and Eve have never sinned then God would't have a reason to teach us. I feel that people need to have some evil in there life so that when they learn how to fight the evil they could also learn from their mistakes and be able to prevent them from happening again.

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  15. I think that god gives us free will and the choice is up to us. I don't believe the saying, "Everything happens for a reason", because its not part of gods plan to have young kids die. He gives us the power to choose for ourselves to choose where we go in life. Everybody has there imperfections and sin is going to happen but what we see is if evil comes from it. There is no distinguishing good from bad if there is no evil in the world and as long as people can choose there path in life.

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  16. Thinking about this religiously, the reasoning that has always come to my head is that God has given us choices, and he allows the actions of our choices to carry out how they would. Giving us the ability to learn to always trust in him when our mistakes lead to our downfall.

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  17. Evil must exist in order to see what is right and what is wrong. God's purpose is not to solve all of our problems and hold our hands all through life, but rather to guide us down the right path. I don't believe god would be doing any good if he did everything for everyone. Evil resides in all of us weather you like it or not. It doesn't even have to be huge, it could simply be not wanting to get out of bed and go to school in the morning, or hating your sibling for taking to long in the shower. We all have a greater purpose in this world and God is there to help us find it, he's not there to do it for us. I believe that if he did then that would in and of it self be evil because it would be keeping each and every person from reaching their fullest potential.

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  18. Good and evil both exist because you can’t have one without the other. If evil didn’t exist, what would be considered good? Good is good compared to what evil is. Evil is evil compared to what good is. It is the same notion that we can’t have light without the dark. With the existence of both good and evil, we as humans are able to have choices. We can be good or evil. We can let good overcome evil, or we can let evil overcome good.

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  19. I believe that there is evil in the world to enhance the goodness. Good and evil are two concepts used to compare what's good and what's bad; so they're can't be a good, just God if there's no evil Satan to compare God to. If our life is nothing but good, then who's to say its all hunky dory if there's no evil or darkness to compare it to, in result goodness becomes extinct.God allows evil to exist as a way for us to find and really focus on whats good in our lives.

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  20. A just and good God allows an evil to exist because if there was no evil no good would be able to thrive or exist. If everything was good all the time, wouldn't that be just mediocre and common. It would not be so special anymore because people would have never experienced how bad things can get and then strive for how good they can be. The light can not exist without the dark because if it was always light, it would be meaningless. If everything that happened in my life was amazing, then wouldn't that just be regular? Everything in this world lives in balance such as the Chinese believe, the Yin and the Yang. In the Yin and the Yang the dark and light exist together and depend on each other but are completely different things, and they need each other so much that they exist within each other. That is why the just God has an evil, to make the choice to choose a good or an evil. They coexist.

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  21. Evil exists because there needs to be a basis to judge good. With light there is dark. With sweet there is salty. Without evil there is no good. With no option for people to do evil things the world wouldn’t work. People can’t only do good things for their entire life. I’m sure that every person has lied or cheated in some way even if they weren’t conscious of it but later they realized that was a bad move and they now have something to strive to get better at. During the beginning of the hell unit I have come to realize how much evil is around me every day but they are things that our society has said are okay. They also show me how much good is around me every day, the evil gives me reason to be a nicer person or to lie less.

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  22. God allows evil to exist in order to provide a contrary to good. Without good there would be no evil, and vice versa without evil there would be no good. In order for people to recognize the good in the world, they must witness and experience evil first hand. Only then do we truly respect and appreciate the true meaning of good. Without evil, the concept of good in the world would be lost and our standard for "good" could be drastically different than we see it today. In other words, our conception of good that we all live with could actually be evil if we didn't have that evil to contrast with it. Evil provides a comparison and opposite that allows the world to truly understand and comprehend what it means to be good. Without one of the two, none would exist, so they both exist together.

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  23. When God created the world, he gave Adam and Eve the choice to choose between good and evil. He gave them a choice because he is not a dictator. Because Adam and Eve sinned, sin is now apart of our world. It was not God's choice for evil to exist. He is still waiting for everyone to change for evil to go away. It is up to us.

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  24. I think the fact that the idea that there is a God and he can let all of these acts of violence and cruelty to happen in the world is the exact reason some people don't believe a God exists. Many people say that God works in mysterious ways or he has a lot of stuff on his plate but it could just be a way to balance the scales. Evil allows there to be good; for example, when we think of a good thing like helping people out that could be the normal if we didn't know the horrible things humans can do to one another. Good and evil cannot exist one without the other because of the balance it holds on the world. Evil can make you think twice about your faith sometimes but it has to exist in order to bring harmony to the world.

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  25. I believe evil is allowed to exist because there is free will. People have a choice how to live their lives. They can choose to do good and help others or they can be evil and selfish. People may not think it but their actions and ways of living greatly impact their future. If you are mean and viscous it will leave you alone sad. If you live kindly and have a soft heart for others you will be more fulfilled. There is evil in the world because people have a choice of it being there. There is always going to be someone who prefers hurting others than helping them. So God/ good allows evil to exist because God/ good allows free will to exist.

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  26. I don't believe in god, but rather I believe evil and good are two inescapable aspects of the human condition. With the evolution of humans, and the complexity of our minds increasing, there came with it not only created feelings of kindness and love, but also their opposites: selfishness and hate.

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  27. A good God allows evil things to give us a choice. Ho fun would the world be if we all had to live by a set of rules? God wants us to be able to make the decision wether or not we will go to hell. God does, however, want us to come to Him when we do sin.

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  28. From my beliefs a just and good God has no choice because humans continuously choose to do evil things. The God gives humans information and a choice. They decide their own fate. A just God gives people the tools to save themselves, that's all he can do because in the end the choice is ours.

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  29. A good and just god can excist with evil, the reason is you need to be able to see evil with your own two eyes people need to know what evil is so they do not become evil. I believe evil is always trying to get a hold of people and tear their life apart, if you can resiste and be a good person you payment will be the best thing imaginable. Another reason I believe evil is out there because I can see how people can become greedy, manipulate peoples feels and idea's, be rude and much more but I choose not to try to act that way. Evil is real and it is a constant fight against it.

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  30. Evil exist everywhere if there was just good then you wouldn't be able to realize the bad. Evil and good balance each other out without having evil then there couldn't be good. God give us a choice and it's our responsibility to choose the path we go down and to make our own decisions he is just there to help us get through it.

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  31. This is a question that I struggle with in my daily life, I wish I could answer it. I actually read over some of these blog posts to see if anyone had a rational reason as to why. But the best explanation I can think of is God doesn't allow bad things to happen, he allows free will and choice which is what leads to bad things happening, human error. But as far as natural disasters and unexpected death from illness, its a nearly impossible question to answer.

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  32. Evil exists because it brings out the good in people. If we didn't know evil, there would be no good. I don't know how God allows this to exist, I've had some trouble with that myself, but it exists to show us what goodness is, and what grace is. We have a choice in live between evil and goodness. Usually, we weave back and forth between the two, but it exists to show us what it means to be good, and what it means to have someone be good to you. We learn what it means to be good and earn our way into the kingdom of heaven.

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  33. I agree with Jack B. God does not facilitate evil, rather he allows his sons and daughters to choose their own way in this world. Sadly, often times people choose the path of evil.

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  34. A just God can allow evil to happen, because how can he expect us to learn without making mistakes. By giving us free will, we can choose either good or evil, and live with the consequences either way. Just think about what the world would be like with no evil! Look at the story "The Giver", by Lois Lowry. In it we can see that the character senses something is missing. He is feeling a disconnect, but doesn't know what it is. Life could go on without evil, it is possible. But we gain so much more out of it with evil being present, and that may sound different, but I believe it is true. A just and good God allows evil to exist because he cares for us.

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  35. Evil must exist to keep a balance in the nature of things (where there is light, there is darkness). Some also believe that an all powerful & loving God allows evil to exist because He is testing His believers to see if they are worthy to fight in the battle of good against evil.

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  36. The best way to describe how a good God can allow evil in the world is the idea that god is like a clock maker, he created the world like a clock maker wines up a clock and then allowed us to create our own destiny as the clock maker allowed his clock to tic. The reason there is evil is because we as humans tend to choose evil over good, not because we are evil but because we do what we must to survive, and God does not interfere because he wants us to have the choice.

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