The Problem of Evil and God's Existence

[Scott Free]

 

[Uber Genius]

"Logical problem of evil is no longer argued by philosophers.

 

The reason is that God could have morally compelling reasons to allow evil."

 

One of those is God's desire for humans to love and worship him.

 

only free creatures can worship and love. 

 

It it may not be feasible for God to create a world where mankind all freely chooses to love and obey. Remember God can't force someone to freely do something more than he can make a square circle or create a married bachelor. 

For more on the free will defense see Alvin Plantinga.

 

Also see William Lane Craig's animated video here:

 

Edited December 13, 2018 by Steve_S
Removed video. Please post videos in the appropriate video forum.

[Uber Genius]

I like the fact that they point out atheism has no way to provide meaning to suffering. You suffer then you die, end of story. But the Christian suffers, dies, and then RULES AND REIGNS WITH CHRISTMFOR ETERNITY. CHRIST WHO IS OUR SUFFERING SERVANT WHO CAME TO MODEL GOD's servant heart!

 

on a different note I would avoid the response, "We just don't know that God doesn't have a morally sufficient reason." This approach often gets boiled down to, "It a mystery and we just have to trust God." It is not the correct rhetorical strategy to brush someone off this way. 

 

I would piont out that there are many circumstances where we put our children in temporary pain (braces, medical procedures that ultimately heal the child, sacrificing soldiers to suffer in war to prevent greater suffering by weaker members of society). So it is not clear that we don't make choices to increase suffering for a while only to get a better result down the road. If we being fallible do this regularly, why would God, having all knowledge about what causes will lead to what effects in the future, not be able to bring good out of evil and suffering the way we do when we bring our kid to the emergency room to have them set a broken arm in our 3-year old. He doesn't understand why we are putting him or her in greater pain, he or she is 3! I argue that this is analogous to God's allowing evil and suffering.

Edited December 11, 2018 by Uber Genius