Originally posted by: xirtam
Originally posted by: Wuffsunie
Originally posted by: Rob9874
For example we know that parents who love their children will do anything to protect them from harm and try to raise them as responsible adults. But when you apply that example to God things start to fall apart. Since every human on Earth is considered a child of God, logically it should mean that we all have the best protection from harm that is possible. But of course thats not the case because people get raped, killed, mutilated and hurt every single minute of the day.
But like a parent, God can't prevent bad things from happening. If you're going to compare a loving parent to God, then why not ask how can a loving parent not protect their child from rape and murder? Life would be pretty meaningless if God dictated our every moves.
*Twitch... blink... LAUGH* God MADE the world! He created the concepts of rape and murder. And every other horrible act we can persue. He permits this by the very design of the universe. God also has the power to circumvent the laws of this universe which he has created. He can bring the dead back to life should He want to and other astounding things. God ALLOWING things is not so much the vital question as why He even permitted them to exist at all!
"He created the concepts of rape and murder. And every other horrible act we can persue. "
Actively (by thinking them) or passively (by allowing His creation to think them)?
He permits this by the very design of the universe.
This implies passively. In other words, since without God the world would not exist, and since some bad things exist now, God has passively introduced bad things into the world. That's not the same thing as actively introducing rape and murder.
My answer to your question as to why He even permitted these bad things to exist at all is the same answer for why he ALLOWS things, since they're one and the same. God allowing something bad to be created is the reason why it exists, therefore the two questions are the same. And the answer: complexity. Consider a game of chess wherein every move is anticipated. Now consider that you are not allowed to make a wrong move, because every time you start making a wrong one, you are forced by your opponent to make the best possible move. Will you ever learn chess? No -- in fact, you would be incredibly bored with it. Will you lose a lot of games of chess before you develop into a stronger chess player if you are not offered this support? Yes.
A couple more questions: if by making you lose a metaphorical chess game, God makes you a better person, has He committed an injustice? Where does intuition come from?