Theist Essay On There Is A God

Before we can dive into the problem of evil, we must define a term. Whenever the word “God” is used in this paper, it is referring to the classical theistic conception of God. In this view of God, God is that, “than which nothing greater can be conceived” in your mind. Any attributes or qualities that make a being great, God has to the maximum. This means that, among many other qualities, God is benevolent(all good), omnipotent(all powerful), and omniscient(all knowing). Furthermore, God is the creator of the universe and is personally connected to the human race.

God cannot determine the outcome of our free choice. So either there is no omniscient god or we are created without free will and therefore are forced/unable to avoid doing evil. Again this shows that god is not benevolent, nor omniscient, therefore he is non-existent. Theists may argue the following reason for god to have granted humans free will. It is possible that god raised homo sapiens to rationality giving the gift of abstract thought, language and disinterested love. And so it is arguable that god gave us free will to allow for love, as free will is necessary for love. Although this may be one of many reasons that god granted us free will, it is one that we may understand. Free will is necessary for both erotic and platonic love. One may argue that evil is only trumped by love. And that the existence of evil, although in its masses is worth it for the sake of

If there is a God, horrendous things wouldn’t happen. According to Inwagen, there is sufficient reason behind why God allows evil or even created it in the first place. This argument provides an anchor to the argument of God’s existence. God has outweighed reasons to allow evil and has a very real logical motivation why it might be. God being the omnipresent prefect being he is wouldn’t want evil. The key word is ‘want’ in this context, because want is a strong desire for something, doesn’t mean obtaining it or getting it are two very different things.

If god was all good, all powerful and all knowing, he would not allow the existence of evil.

The only thing that God can do, and does all of the time, is to draw good from any evil

The argument for the existence of God has been a debate for many centuries. God, in terms of philosophy, must be a supernatural being that: is all-knowing, is all-powerful, and is all-good. Theists believe God exists based on these terms; atheists on the other hand don’t believe in God. Atheists believe that if there is evil present in the universe, then there is no possible way God can exist if he is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent. Evil is defined in three different categories: human evil (evil we humans cause), natural evil (not in our control, of the Earth), and sufferings of the heart (not necessarily human/natural evil). The argument for the problem of evil is that God doesn’t exist because evil exists. In

An argument against the existence of God is based on the presence of evil in the world. This deductively valid argument is divided into two categories; human action and natural evil (Sober, 2005, p. 120). Human action discusses how experiences makes us better people, while natural evil are tragic events that are not under the control of humans. Each category is used as evidence to refute God as an all-powerful omniscient, omnibenevolent, or omnipotent being. In order to understand the strengths of this argument, it is important for an overall assessment of how the presence of evil questions if a Supreme Being actually exists, by arguing why a being of all-good would allow evil, importance of evil in a good world, and questioning God’s intervention in evil.

there would only be good to choose from. With God allowing evil and free will

Therefore, it is not the case that God is an omnipotent and wholly good being.

Now that I have discussed where evil originated, I want to provide a brief definition of evil. Most people will agree that evil is any cruel act, serious harm to another person mentally or physically. It can also be identified in a level of evil meaning people tend to feel that the more harm done to a person the greater the level of evil. Some examples of evil are acts of murder or abuse that harms another human being or animals. While I do agree with this definition of evil, I also think there is another crucial part of the definition. It is that evil itself is an act against the law of God. The Bible uses the word evil to define anything that is in violation of God’ law. In the connection between good and bad, evil is also seen as the absence of goodness. A simple way to understand the connection is that evil is a “fundamental and troubling departure from goodness” (Alcorn, 2009, p. 25). Alcorn’s view of evil is a complete absence and rejection of God’s goodness. I completely agree with this definition of evil, but I also understand that not all people believe in my God or any God for that matter. Atheists also identify evil in the world and they would agree with me on some acts that I think are evil. However, their definition does not include God. For example, Humanists believe there is good without God. They see the evil in the world and believe they must

The second portion asks if he is able but not willing. This would make him malevolent. God is supposed to be omnimalevolent, all loving and all good. A God who is able to stop all evil but doesn’t is clearly not loving then, correct? Christians would respond that this apparent ignorance from God is actually human sin and not God turning his back on us.

The problem of evil questions the nature of God and threatens his status as a figure worthy of worship. Surely human beings would not wish to worship a God that is neither all good nor all-powerful? The figure we call God is seen to be entirely perfect and flawless in every way. The problem of evil also questions God’s omniscience, in respects that he is all knowing. If God is omniscient then he must know the harm that evil does and the suffering it will cause. The attributes in question are the essence of the nature of God and without them he becomes more like a human than a God. If any of God’s characteristics are omitted, he

How we view the presence of God and evil depends on why we believe the world was created. If man is a fully created creature then the world was created for him to live in, a comfortable, pleasant place. Our world is obviously filled with suffering, danger, hardship of all kinds, so an all-powerful God could not have created it. To Christians the world is not a paradise where one can experience the maximum of pleasure and a minimum of pain. The world is a place of “soul making” or person making. As we try and understand the challenges of our lives, and our environment we may become “Children Of God”.

2. Is God both able and willing to prevent evil? Then where does evil come from? 3. Is God neither able nor willing to prevent evil? Then why call him God?

The existence of God and the battle between good and evil has been a topic of much discussion for centuries. Through the philosophical scope, there is a “Problem of Evil” that challenges the existence an all-powerful God if there is evil in the world. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, was a German philosopher who argued about the topic of the problem of evil. Leibniz argued that (1) evil is not necessary; (2) that there is evil in the world because as humans we are restricted in our knowledge since we are merely made in the image of God, but we are not God and thus we are exposed to evil; and (3) God didn’t create evil but evil exists because of the free will of humans; all of which I believe provides a clear solution to the problem of evil.