If there's a god, why is there evil?

More specifically, can there be an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-GOOD god, based on the amount of evil there is in the world?

Evil lives in the harts of men, Its said that god dose not make it men do.

hard to swallow.

God made men, god made hearts, and if he was all knowing (which is the assumption in this thread) it would've all been part of the plan. So how could he be all knowing and all good, if this is the world he created?

I don't think in my personal opinion that god wanted us to be all good and perfect, or we would all be lined with an application to become the next Jesus.

And There always has to be A balance, its like with out hater there would be no love, without bad there would be no good

So he made us bad so he would look good. how nice.

My view of this whole issue is that if God were good and perfect, the universe should be perfect, otherwise why did he make it imperfect? Why would he create suffering?

It's hard to view the world as it is as perfect, as part of some perfect plan, since an all-powerful God is responsible for everything we know, including the rules of logic and reality. You could have the world exactly as is, but add one exception to it -- that good people don't feel pain, let's say. Why not do that?

The only view I see in which the world might be seen as perfect is if it's perfect in its flow, not in its state. In other words, it's not perfect right now, but that through time the world purifies itself. This does not mean that it's going to a perfect state, because why not create that perfect state and maintain it from the very beginning. It means that the flow from bad to good is the the perfection of the world. That change and its structure is perfection. Suffering leads to knowledge and understanding, and perhaps suffering is actually a good thing, I'm just too young to realize it.

I still think the world could've been more heaven-like and people would still learn in it though. The free will arguments don't particularly convince me, because I think there's plenty that people aren't capable of that God didn't give us, that if he took certain other things away like the ability to torture others, I wouldn't particularly care. At present, I'm unable to go anywhere I want any time I want, because of limits placed on my transportation. I cannot exercise my free will to be anywhere I want at any time, so why is it important that I have the opportunity to exercise my free will to kill someone, and make living hell for other people?

Man (the generic term) struggles to define god (or God) within the limits of our knowledge and experience. Centuries ago man feared God as a supreme power and judge, who meted out rewards (good) and punishment (bad), determined by the merits of life. We will struggle with good and evil as long as man has free will, the right to choose our own path. There will be many who respect the value of their fellow man and will share their lives and care for each other (good), and those who will not respect the value of life and will use or abuse those around them for their own selfish reasons (evil).

If we look at God as an entity completely beyond our comprehension, the great creator of the universe and all that is in it, we may look at this God as above those things human. That would give us a god that may be all powerful and all knowing, yet detached from the mundane lives of small creatures in a suburb of a medium sized galaxy in a universe so vast we still can not grasp the concept of its infinity.

There are many who can not live in peace with an impersonal God. They need and want a close relationship with God to satisfy the longing for Heaven (many words for this unknown place of peace and eternal happiness). As literacy and logic progress on our small planet we may come to believe that it is our choices that make us good or evil. God is the subject of thousands of years of inquiry and we still do not have the answers ..... we are only human after all.

I enjoy reading the ideas of the group and thank you for providing a forum for expression ..... john

Ok, but why would *anything* be too mundane for an all powerful God? Space and Time are his inventions, and he should not be limited by them. If he is all powerful, he should be in complete control of and have complete knowledge of things much smaller than humans. The idea that he is all good and all powerful implies that nothing bad should exist, because if he's all good, why would he create it? Also, nothing bad should exist out of a lack of action on his part because if he is all powerful everything should be easy to do. Limitless power is more infinite than space and time, because it controls space and time.

Just as in a debate there is Point and Counter Point there is Good and Evil. One can not be without the other. The balance. Order and Chaos... Light and Shadows... Day and Night. One must have the other to survive. Both Good and Evil are Humanitys potential It is how Mankind Uses that potential that is important.

Why can't one be without the other? It's a property of existence that was created by God. Can there not be a universe where things are chaotic and don't make sense? Einstein once said that the most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible, so I think there can be such a world. Similarly, I think there can be a universe without the good/evil duality.

What are your thoughts on this?

As it seems that you are going on the basis of only one God perhaps the Christian God then I point out that Even God himself is spoken of through various seperate text as Balance between Vengeful and Caring. All Chaos or All Good would be an interesting theory of existance but going on what was created by this God and what we have to go in A strive for Balance would seem more logical than a strive for total peace.

Actually I'm not at all religious, so the God I'm going with here is not one that pertains to any particular religion. I was simply asking the academic question whether or not an all-good, all-knowing, all-powerful god can be the creator of the world we see. I personally don't think so, and I don't know of any good argument against my belief.

On the practical side of things, I totally agree with you about seeking balance. Though I personally don't believe in God, I do believe we should search for a balance in virtually all aspects of life. Aristotle had a good quote about this, but it escapes me at the moment.

I hate getting into religious debates, but this needs my two cents~~ There is evil because the GOOD needs a balance and that is why there is EVIL. Just as there is a God, there is also the Devil~~action & reaction, point & counterpoint, man & woman. One does not exist without the other.

there are other questions that need to be answered:
1. if there is a God(who by definition created all that there is except himself) is God then not able to define good for man and all His creation? 2. is God bound by any of mans ideas or conceits? 3. is God able to suffer mans evil doings and retain His own absolute goodness? 4. does Gods suffering mans evil make Him impotent to step in at anytime to correct the situation?
the real question remains is there a God, one who is personal, who has personality, who is our creator. if man is the measure of all things then are we all not stuck forever in a world of hurt???

The problem with evil is it's exsistance seems to make the christian god impossicle. He shouldn't need to balance anything out if he's all powerful. Why do we need to live a life? he can give us the result of all those experiences without us having to live. Furthermore if it exsists in the heart of men it is his doing, again all powerful. Evil exsists because god doesn't(the christian god) or he's partially evil. I agree with dadaedrum, The way to maneuver this problem is to say god isn't subjected to man's logic.