The Problem of Evil

If God exists, and God is omnipotent, omniscient, and morally perfect, then why did God create the world with physical and mental anguish (evil) in it? Was God powerless to prevent evil from developing in the world? Was God unable to forsee evil developing from creation? Or, did God simply choose to create the world with evil in it?

You are exactly right, on this board there are two possible answers (both of which I find absurd) :
- this is the best world you can possibly live in
OR
- man is responsible for all the evil in the world because God gave him free will

But again, no one has ever given me a convincing answer.

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Or, did God simply choose to create the world with evil in it?

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you are looking for a yes or no answer?

i say yes on that count.

now we have to define evil...

http://www.mantelet.org.nz/vitality01.htm

part 1-8 outline the creation story, "evil" and its "creation" is spoken of.

i found that website recently... i am playing around with any validity contained therin.

read 1-8 and draw conclusions

btw, i'm stating nothing as fact on this website... just as interesting topics of discussion.

How is evil a result of free will? Humans have chosen the evil that exist on earth and not God? Is that to say that God is not omnipotent?

Evilhisical and mental anguish brought on by natural means or by human means.

I Don't know how a smiley face replaced a P.

it replaced a " :" that was next to a capital "P" : P

evil is the lack thereof when referring to god.

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How is evil a result of free will?

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evil is allowed... made possible so it seems- through free will.

if we have a freedom of choice, there MUST be something to choose between.

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Humans have chosen the evil that exist on earth and not God? Is that to say that God is not omnipotent?

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God has ultimate power over his creation.
he was the one that threw "satan" from heaven. he even created satan. his creation also creates.

now as to where this opposing force came from... i've got nothing but speculation (as is the rest of all this)

that paper spoke of a process of acquainting oneself(in that case, satan) with ideas(in that case, pride)... pride cometh before the fall?...

a creation process... something from something else. in that case satan created a wanting for the power/glory/thrown of god.

this, being in opposition of god, caused satanto be separated from Him.

analogy-
if you turn the light on in a dark room, the darkness goes away.

to make the darkness come back, you don't flip on the dark switch do you?

you have to TURN THE LIGHT OFF.

we don't question the existence of darkness... we see it everyday

and again, it's only there when the light isn't

I believe the problem is that there is no resolution between an omnipotent, omniscient, morally perfect God, and a world that has evil in it that was created by God, without admitting that God is either not omnipotent, not omniscient, not morally perfect, or that the world was not created by God. One will forever assert a theodicy without such an admission.

The two argument said, I don't believe in them. Those two arguments are the ones you will hear most on this board though.

what god and free will?

I don't mean to be a smarty, but when we turn the light on, darkness co-exists with the light. Light is a sin wave in which darkness occurs in its troughs while light occurs in its peaks. Without this phenomenon, our eyes could not perceive the wave that we call light. So, if you are using this as an analogy of good and evil, then one would have to say that evil is inseparable from good.

using PRIMITIVE observation of something there (light) and something that isn't seen (so to speak of darkness) when that light is on.
but i'm thinking there is something to say about the co-existing properties.

i happen to agree with the theodicy remark btw...

You only believe the assertion "free will creates evil," but you do not accept the line of reasoning following from your beliefs? How odd.

i am incomplete in any kind of "knowledge"...

i believe this and this alone.

however, it seems to me that whatever i do is a result of a choice i make...

it also seems to me that the only time i am unable to choose what i please is when an institution forces me to do otherwise.

for this reason i think something known as "free will" is a given.

and again, if there is a choice, there must be something to choose between...

speculation starts here-

If an omnipotent, omniscient, and morally perfect God exists and all things function according to Gods divine plan, nothing (to include humans) can function apart from God's divine plan, then how can human will be free from that divine plan? If God forsees Jane doing action X but Jane does actionY instead, then Jane causes God to hold a false belief, thus causing God to be imperfect (at that point God would not be God because of the imperfection). So, either nothing functions according to God's divine plan, or humans have free will.