2.18.2009

french press....

....a day off and 5 hours of sleep is what is fueling this one.

haven't posted in awhile but i want to hear from everyone on this one because i am curious.

what, or who, is the origin of evil?

my faith and belief lead me to an overall conclusion that i feel to be correct but i am curious to hear the other side.....or the same side but a new perspective perhaps.

and if the atheist doesn't believe in inherit good or evil how could they have an opinion on this one? not to peg anyone, that's not my intention here, just a thought really.

take it easy.

11 comments:

Lee said...

what, or who, is the origin of evil?

What evil? Earthquakes, Floods, forest fires?

and if the atheist doesn't believe in inherit good or evil how could they have an opinion on this one?

Can I have an opinion on who is the better football team? I think I can... but there isn't any absolute in that.

I was about to write a post on morals... maybe I will just bounce them off here.

Do you believe that God is All-Good? Then don’t you have a problem

Lee

ryan said...

What kind of evil?? I assumed that was maybe a given. Evil of people.

And if I believe in an all good God how is that a problem?

Lee said...

Hi Ryan,

What kind of evil?? I assumed that was maybe a given. Evil of people.
So floods, disease, bush fires, earthquakes, lightning strikes etc etc etc are not evil?

Fair enough…

What about tigers killing babies? Are tigers evil?

It seems you are saying only man can do evil – what makes us different?

Just curious how you define evil

And if I believe in an all good God how is that a problem?

Oh, it was just something I have been thinking about lately.
I’ve just created a post on the subject.

The problem I see it is that by defining God as all-good, you have no means of getting an understanding of right and wrong from God. This means God cannot (even if He existed) be the cause of man’s knowledge of right and wrong. God cannot be the source of any absolute morals since, by the definition of an all-good God, there is no example of wrong.

I thought this might be a problem for some theists. Maybe, maybe not.

Can you think of an act from God that could be deemed as wrong/evil?

Lee

ryan said...

Hey Lee,

Lighting strikes, bush fires (that are caused by nature), tigers eating babies etc....could be argued as being....well...nature really. To say that a tiger being a tiger is evil is seemingly off to me. They, just like the lightning strike and the bush fire, have no cognitive thought or ability to delineate between good and evil. Man on the other hand does. And this was, and is, the type of that I am referring too.

So, given more clarity on the subject at hand, where did evil originate?

Lee said...

Busy, Busy... sorry.

I will return :-)

Did you take a look at the post I wrote on God's morals?

Lee said...

Hi Ryan,

Man on the other hand does. And this was, and is, the type of that I am referring too.

So am I to understand – given your example of a tiger eating babies isn’t evil with your definition – that what allows man to commit evil is his ability to reason that an act could be wrong, by knowing what is good?

So, given more clarity on the subject at hand, where did evil originate?

You have answered your own question have you not? According to your definition of evil (or an evil act), it is when man understood the difference between right and wrong. Or, in your own words “cognitive thought or ability to delineate between good and evil” You have not allowed any other creature this ability, it would seem.

So how you have defined evil, you have also answered it. Best of all, I think you have created yourself a problem.

1) You have as much stated that man’s morals come from within from his ability to reason what is right and wrong.
2) if you still maintain the literal interpretation of Adam and Eve in Genesis – you have another problem. They didn’t have this ability, therefore they do not do an evil act; did not do wrong… so what is all this Original sin business?

None of this is not to say I agree with your definition of evil of course – the very idea of ‘evil’ is a strange one to me, I would sooner discuss ideas of ‘unnecessary suffering’ and not evil.

The fact that unnecessary suffering exists proves that an all-loving, all-powerful and all-knowing God cannot exist.

You might call it the problem of evil :-)

Lee

Lee said...

Hi Ryan,

Hope all is well... the blogs have gone quiet at the moment.

CF said...

Hi guys!

LEE: The fact that unnecessary suffering exists proves that an all-loving, all-powerful and all-knowing God cannot exist.

In what way does 'unnecessary suffering' prove there's no God? How are the two related?

By the way...I just want to let you guys know that I've added two more hours into the day. Mark your calendars.

Lee said...

Hi CF,

In what way does 'unnecessary suffering' prove there's no God? How are the two related?

The wording is important.

I did not say it proves 'no God', just that unnecessary suffering proves that an all-loving, all-powerful and all-knowing God does not exist.

There could be a lazy god who just doesn't care about mankind out there... unnecessary suffering would have nothing to say about such a god :-)

Oh, and glad you have more time in the day… I have less. Just moved sites at my job and now have an increase commute of 90 mins per day. Still, cannot complain

Lee

ryan said...

Out of curiousity do any yous guys twitter?

Lee said...

Out of curiousity do any yous guys twitter?

Heard of it... never tried it.