How to Answer the Problem of Evil in 5 Steps 😨 

Cookiecrusher08 Amazing, your more principled than many other atheist in keeping an open mind. I would include if your truly interested in these topics, C.S Lewis mere Christianity, the audio book is here online. Also inspiring philosophy is a RU-vid channel who is great at making difficult ideas digestible.

Thank you! I will for sure look into those. I sure appreciate you taking the time to send those to me:)

Cookiecrusher08 Hey friend! Just checking in to see how you’re doing. I prayed for you as you seek answers to your questions. Email me any time if you want to chat or need a friend! Smb.7520@gmail.com. :)

Cookiecrusher08 I will be glad to have a detailed discussion of this subject with you. Sadly, most people don't have good answers to these questions. Be Blessed.

Cookiecrusher08 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-N0f0Nlnl_2A.html

Thank you so much for sharing your story. I'm sorry for the loss of your son ❤️ Thank you also for ministering to so many in your life 🙋🏃🏽‍♂️

Because god is not the ruler of this current system. He allows pain injustice and suffering for the time being. But he is not the cause. 1 john 5 :19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. Also matthew 4 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Would the devil have offered Jesus all these kingdoms if they werent under his control? Ecclesiastes 9:11 I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. 12 Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so people are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.

Thank you for sharing

Thank you for a life of ministry. Can only imagine the ripple effect you've had on others benefiting the Kingdom.

Sorry for your loss, but If God did exist, he would have prevented the death of your baby. But your baby was killed. Therefore, God does not exist. You can be compassionate towards others without God or without belief in God. Yes, if God did exist, he could and would bring good out of evil ALWAYS, but this often does not happen. The conclusion is obvious -- God does not exist.

That's interesting! It sounds like you believed in God before going to church, right? Because you said you were angry at God for various reasons? What were those reasons, if you don't mind me asking?

Oh my. The goodness of God is amazing.

Give yourself time. It’s not your fault.

No need to suffer alone. There are atheists who would be compassionate with you. God does not exist, and this has now been proven.

There is no good evidence for the existence of spirits, a holy spirt, the divinity of Jesus, or even God. Sorry.

+kevin wynn thank you Kevin. Me too

@@MikeWinger you are wrong in every aspect of this and it actually saddens me to hear this eye opening to anyone. Let me just debunk one thing out of the multitude you said. Moral evil is evidence for god. You argues moral is only understandable if god exists other wise we can do whatever we want. That is just not the case as subjective morality is still real and use objective measurements to determine the morality of the action. You contradicts yourself because all i really need to point out is that the argument is circular as well. Morality exists because god exists. god exists therefor morality must exits. neither prove the other. You haven't said one thing about morality being shown outside of the observer which is objective. Even if you did this would not get you to a god only a absolute morality but we havent even got that far. The best point to argue this is if you christian I only need to point to the moral failings of the bible such as slavery and you will twist yourselves to make it fit your current understand of morality. That would not have been the case 1000 years ago. it would have just been seen as not immoral at all. You would think it is though. Contradiction Morality has changed over time and not absolute then. that is different then what the bible preaches. Honestly i could go on but you can also just google the worst things written in the bible and read. You can also listen to the apologitcs to those versus but that is the thing. Why is there any confusion at all. Would a god have the power to clear this all up? yes. does he? no. then I am supposed to believe without evidence of thing. at no point in our lives would this be a good thing practicing this thinking. please watch some matt dillahunty or something because this is pretty awful apologetics.

@@MikeWinger The only problem with the doctrine of eternal punishment for the unsaved is that it’s unbiblical. The Bible says over and over that to have eternal life we must believe in Christ. Those who don’t believe in Christ *do not have eternal life* . Hell is eternal and the lake of fire is eternal, but not any particular visitor stays there forever. It says they die, face “destruction”, are “completely destroyed”, burn up like stubble, will not last, perish, “disappear like smoke”, etc. etc. It says we should “fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mat 10-28). Do people not know what the word “destroy” means? The only possible argument you could make is that false prophets go to Hell and continue to exist forever: Rev 20-10 “The Devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” But even there the beast and Devil and false prophet could be archetypes, because just a few verses later death and Hell are thrown in the lake of fire to burn forever. And there is ONE verse about those who blaspheme the Holt Spirit (covered later) but that is unclear. That’s the sum total evidence that the unsaved burn forever. Yep. That’s it. Counted against almost 100 verses that imply, or directly and emphatically say, the opposite. It’s easy to say “Oh people don’t like Hell so they deny it.” I agree that “wanting it to be true” isn’t evidence that it’s in the Bible. But “NOT WANTING IT TO BE TRUE” ... isn’t evidence it’s in the Bible either! Everlasting punishment for infinite time is simply not Biblical. Eternal life is. Not having eternal life means you don’t live forever. If you don’t live forever you cannot be tormented forever. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” “..whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” “..you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” “broad is the road that leads to destruction.. narrow the road that leads to life” “..the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” “Whoever sows to please their flesh.. will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit.. will reap eternal life.” “.. those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.” “..as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that ENDURES to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” “For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!” “Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life, but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.” “..we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” “..the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” “..the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” “..They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” (The opposite of lasting forever is not lasting forever.) “..for me and the gospel will.. receive a hundred times as much in this present age.. and in the age to come eternal life.” And in case it isn’t clear: “..will not forsake his faithful ones. Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed; the offspring of the wicked will perish.” Can we really argue that “perish” and “completely destroyed” are unclear? --- “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” This might say blaspheming the Holy Spirit does, but the age to come is not generally infinite time and often just means after death. Addressing those who go through the tribulation/apocalypse, the second death is used for the result of judgment after physical death (“second death” not “second live forever in endless torment”): Rev 2:10-11 I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. 11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death. Rev 20:6 (still those alive during tribulation): Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of the Messiah, and they will reign with Him for 1,000 years. Rev 20 (Judgment) 14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And anyone not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (To, as we have seen: die, perish, be destroyed, be completely destroyed and perish, disappear like smoke, not last,

@@pfc_church It isn’t circular to say “If *you* believe in moral evil it is evidence for God”. Which is what he said. And it is evidence for God if someone believes in it. There must be a ground for value judgments. Most people dont think it is just popular opinion or personal opinion or preference. Therefore is evidence there is a deeper grounding.

@@ibperson7765 the ground is objective measurements. The result will always be subjective. Why? because context. Murder? Well how do u handle the trolly paradox? Lying? What if a lie saves lives. You can't say every everything u do is in harently right or wrong. You base whats write or wrong on objective measurements set to yout goals. Its why some people can persecute or even kill gay people and feel morally in the right. Their action is objectively measured to their goal. Next issue You dont get to start at God exist therefore morality exists while also saying morality exists therefore God. Thats the definition of circular. You have to either A: prove God exist; or B: prove objective morality exists. This does neither.

God bless you Josef!

If someone had the clear ability to save your drowning child, yet simply stood by and watched your child die with zero effort to save her, i highly doubt you'd say "well he never PROMISED he wouldn't stand by and watch my child drown. My child wasn't ENTITLED to any effort to save her life." How does the lack of a prior promise absolve someone of any moral obligation to anyone else? That's absurd

@@jonathanjones770 Now lets say the "person" knows that this life is finite, and that beyond it is a place where suffering, pain, and etc do not exist and that is eternal. So how bad is that finite suffering when compared to a painless joyfilled eternity? While we may not like finite life being taken from us by any means it's only absolutely terrible if that eternal place does not exist.

@@JohnDoe-bt4ps suffering in any quantity is bad. Regardless of how much good occurs later, the fact remains that the person just stood by and watched as a child drowned to death for no reason.

Amen

@@person8064 what if that child drowning allowed both the child and the parent to experience eternal happiness. Is the child experiencing a small amount of pain worth the parent experiencing eternal happiness as well?

Never, ever stop expecting answers. Anyone who does not want you to ask questions is not your friend.

My brother suffers debilitating pain all of the time. It affects his sleep, moods, and health. He has prayed but it has only gotten worse. Yet, he has more faith than I do. His abiding faith helps me get out of myself and back to God. I will pray that you have relief, as well as a deeper sense of God and His Love for you.

hey any update on ur situation?

​@@megalopolis2015 Thanks so much for your response! I'm just seeing it now. Two years late. Ha ha. talk about procrastination. I thank you deeply for your words and care and prayers. My leg pain is still there - but, over the last two years, HAS IMPROVED and so has my attitude. I'm so so so grateful. I just pray I now USE this for God and character and growth and to help others. Blessings to you !!!

@@ForexHokage Very very kind of you to inquire about my leg situation.. Thank you for caring. Get this, my leg pain is still there - however, over the last two years, it HAS IMPROVED and so has my attitude/perspective. I'm so so so grateful that I have had a measure of healing both physically and emotionally. the pain is still there. Daily. Every moment. But, it's a lower level pain and it is more manageable. Bottom line is, I can live with it even though it's not ideal. I pray I now USE this for God improvement and situation to build character/relationship and help others. I pray you BLESSINGS in every way for taking the time to ask a total stranger. That reflects a caring heart. YOU are a blessing.

@@infomercialguy thats so good to hear, God is good indeed. Glad your situation is improving :)

😢

Mike's speech was not logical. If God did exist, he would not sit by and allow so much harm in our world. No perfectly moral and all powerful person would do that.

​@@whittfamily1he doesnt allow, why do you think people die? He's offered us a way out of this though through Jesus Christ otherwise we will be condemned to hell if we stay in our sins. He's given us this time to be forgiven through him

@@thesterrave S1: he doesnt allow, why do you think people die? GW1: If God did exist, he would not allow horrible harms, like the Holocaust. All people die eventually, but it is morally wrong to intentionally cause the death of another person or to allow that to happen when you could prevent or stop it. And so, if God were to allow the Holocaust, then he would be morally wrong. But, by definition God is perfectly moral. This is how we know that God does not exist. S1: He's offered us a way out of this though through Jesus Christ otherwise we will be condemned to hell if we stay in our sins. GW1: That is complete nonsense! First, if God did exist, he would never send anybody to eternal torment for their sins, as a punishment. That would be immoral. Secondly, God would never arrange for his own son to be tortured, humiliated, and murdered in order to set up an atonement. That would also be immoral. Thirdly, God would always justly punish people for their sins, not forgive them. So, you are mistaken on every point. S1: He's given us this time to be forgiven through him GW1: No. If God wanted to forgive anybody (he wouldn’t), then he would just say “I forgive you” and exempt them from punishment. That would be the end of it. He would not use his son as a scapegoat in an atonement system. That would be immoral.

@@thesterrave then why did he not cure my mom's cancer in Jan?....

There is nothing there to see!

Hello Lola. Please accept my response knowing my heart is coming from grace and not rebuke. I would like to offer a reason to be hesitant about telling people who are ill that God wants them for Himself. While we don't know what to say at times to comfort those in need, we must approach these situations with truth. Pastor Mike covered pain and suffering very well however, he did not say that God takes people or causes sickness and death because He wants people; ie: "for work in Heaven" (which I've heard people say many times in my life). Yes, God wants all of us to be with Him one day but He is also eternal and self-sufficient; He doesn't need us for anything. We know sickness and death are ultimately because of a broken/fallen world, but now that we are under His grace, He deals with us in a different way. God does allow bad things to happen but it's important to remember He does not cause bad things to happen. You are absolutely correct, all is for God's glory, but please be careful about letting people think God causes or lets bad things happen because He wants them to be with Him. He is the God of life and His will is for all to be healed of every sickness, through faith, in believers in Jesus' name. God bless you Sister.

Bs. God Doesn't exist

Most of the pain, suffering, harm, and loss you do experience wouldn't happen, if God did exist. He would prevent it.

@@whittfamily1 that's a lie. Don't believe it. Praying for you, God to soften your heart, and remove the scales from your eyes.

@@homewardbound799 H: that's a lie. GW: Prove it. H: Don't believe it. GW: I believe it and everyone else should too. H: Praying for you, God to soften your heart, and remove the scales from your eyes. GW: That’s useless. As Dan Barker has said “Nothing fails like prayer.” GW: God does not exist, and this has been proven.

+SenorTqco thank you

Job is a terrible book. It teaches that God would allow suffering to engage in a bet with Satan. If God did exist, that would never happen.

@@whittfamily1 or it teaches that Satan would willingly destroy and murder if he thinks he can cause someone to fall. Which he does all the time. God was protecting Job and blessing him. Without God, we would all be dead. I'm very certain that God only allowed it in Job's case because he knew Job would be faithful despite the suffering and his story could be an example for billions of people. I don't believe God is regularly allowing Satan to cause suffering "in a bet" situation.

@@thadofalltrades TT: or it teaches that Satan would willingly destroy and murder if he thinks he can cause someone to fall. Which he does all the time. GW: No. Belief in Satan is just a superstition. If God did exist, he would not create Satan, or if he did create him, then he would destroy Satan after his first mischief. TT: God was protecting Job and blessing him. GW: No. In the story God was allowing Satan to cause major harms to Job. That is not protection. TT: Without God, we would all be dead. GW: False again. We are all alive without God. God does not exist. TT: I'm very certain that God only allowed it in Job's case because he knew Job would be faithful despite the suffering and his story could be an example for billions of people. GW: That is not a morally justified reason. Since God would be perfectly moral if he did exist, he would have a morally justified reason for everything he did and did not do. TT: I don't believe God is regularly allowing Satan to cause suffering "in a bet" situation. GW: “Regularly” does not matter here. If God did exist, Satan would not exist OR God would never make a bet with Satan, as described in the book of Job.

@@whittfamily1 the assertion that Satan would not exist if God existed is specious at best. How do you arrive at such a conclusion? God didn't create Satan as Satan, Satan made his own choices.

@@thadofalltrades TT: the assertion that Satan would not exist if God existed is specious at best. GW: No. It is a rational inference. TT: How do you arrive at such a conclusion? GW: It’s easy. If God did exist, he would be the all-knowing, all-powerful, and perfectly moral creator. Agree? Given those traits, he would never create a supernatural person who would cause major harms to human persons or tempt human persons to behave immorally. No way! TT: God didn't create Satan as Satan, Satan made his own choices. GW: But God would not allow the angel who became Satan to make choices to cause major harms to human persons or tempt human persons to behave immorally. No way! I don’t know why you can’t understand this. If God did exist, Satan would not exist. Also, there is no good evidence that Satan exists anyway.

So, why do you think your ADHD children should suffer? They suffer to in order to teach you a lesson? What a cruel God.

@@sjsupa this is a twisted comment what you have said. We are in an imperfect world and there are all sorts of illnesses and problems. God didn't give me ADHD children to teach me a lesson. Trials bring us closer to God that is what I said. He is ultimately working everything together for good to those who love him. This life is not the end.

@@kim09031957 OK，but you still haven't answer my question. Why do you think your ADHD children should suffer? Oh, you said Imperfect world, so the illness happens naturally. A perfect God created a imperfect world? Who is doing the twisting?

The BIG picture… oh boy can’t wait… why did that innocent child need bone cancer???? This should be good!!!!

Some fundamental questions concerning your post: 1) how is "evil" defined, and what/who determines what "evil" is? Christian Answer: God defines and determines what "evil" is. He sets the standards for goodness/holiness/righteousness, as well as for what is evil (anything opposed to what God commands via His Law). 2) who sets the standard for what "love" (benevolence) is? Christian Answer: again, God ALONE sets the standard of what His love is, as well as how humans are to think, speak, and behave. Anything outside of His standard is not "love," but "evil". Jn. 3:16 gives us the 'how' of God's demonstration of love. 3) why does God 'allow' evil in His creation? Christian Answer: the word "allow" can only be used of the Omniprescient, Omnipotent [Triune] God of Scripture in a temporal context. In eternity, however, God decisively decreed 'whatsoever would come to pass in time in His creation'...and that includes the wickedness of Satan, by whom the creation and creatures fell from their original, holy state. So, God's omnipotence is maintained because He is a God of PURPOSE (even for evil, God has a purpose); and He is benevolent in the sense that all those who believe in His Son Jesus Christ would not perish (by the Law, and under the condemnation of it) but would have eternal life (impeccable, and without deception, falsehoods and lies). Just a short answer. *Soli Deo Gloria*

@@ryangallmeier6647 I don't consider special pleading as a serious argument. If your god gets to redefine anything in our out of existence just so he keeps his status, then why even bother? "Well, /this/ genocide isn't evil because god says it's okay." Not even worth arguing.

God doesn't "redefine" stuff; He gives the proper definitions of terms, and provides the proper context for all the He does. For example, the damnation of the wicked and unbelieving in the eschatological judgement is justified because God is the ultimate Lawgiver, Judge, and executioner of all who fall short of the perfection that His Law demands. It's not too difficult to understand.

​@@ryangallmeier6647 Context? So then things can be evil sometimes, but not other times?

Example?

You are brave

Is it impossible for a population of beings to exist with no suffering or evil yet still with free will?

@@jonathanjones770 Yes, free will necessarily includes the ability to do evil and evil necessarily ceates suffering.

@@ReasonedAnswers No, i didn't mean no ABILITY to commit evil and cause suffering. Obviously free will precludes that ability. What I'm asking is if it's possible for there to exist a population of beings who possess free will but who never choose to commit evil acts

@@jonathanjones770 _"if it's possible for there to exist a population of beings who possess free will but who never choose to commit evil acts"_ No, I don't think it is possible to create a population of free creatures of any significant size such that none of them chose to exercise their ability to do evil.

@@ReasonedAnswershow do?

Feel like having a family will bring true joy and happiness im trying to put it all into christ but man this is difficult its hard being alone in a house and looking at families it stings a little and seeing post online like my kids are my everything im like man must be nice here I am trying all new hobbies and change my ways to get a true joy but its not happening idk why

@@caviestcaveman8691 having a family doesn’t necessarily bring happiness. At least it’s not the happiness i expected. But it allowed me to understand certain things about the Bible and I gained a different sensitivity while reading the scriptures. At this point in time I read and understand the Bible very differently from when I was single without children. It’s a process I believe. It might seem strange to you but once you understand why you are in this world and why Jesus came time just doesn’t matter anymore and things just fall into place. Once you get there you will realize happiness is much more simple than you thought.

@@redinsart oh I know it just would be nice for a change

our Father also feels pain and sorrow 😩 forgive us Father. You are worthy

So 40 years of abuse…. No biggie in the long run