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Originally Posted by Neo
Stuff I posted earlier:
7) Is God all-powerfull and all-good? If he is all-powerful, then he would be able to prevent evil. If he is all-good, then he would want to prevent evil. But are not pain and suffering woven into the very fabric of our life? Why is there pain and suffering?
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God gave us free will. Having free will and preventing evil cannot logically work together.
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8) Does God allow evil so we can develop good characteristics? Does he permit pain and suffering so we can become better? Is it owing to poverty that we become charitable, owing to cruelty that we become kind? Does evil build souls? But why are built souls a virtue? Why are the traits of charity and kindness good? Isn't that they help us prevent evil, pain, and suffering? But if there was no evil in the first place, why would we need these traits? Would they still remain virtues?
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There is redemptive suffering. Suffering has value. We learn and struggle from suffering. It makes us who we are.
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10) Doesn't evil destroy character more often than building it? Do not abused children themselves abuse children?
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Well, now you're into transcendentalism and anti-transcendentalism.
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11) Must we have pain so we can know joy? Must we suffer in order to know what happiness is?
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Well, yes, that's entirely possible.
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12) Does pain and suffering come from the misuse of our freedom? If God is all-powerful couldn't he have made us both free and so that we always did good?
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No. You can't have free will, but yet be forced to always do the right thing.
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13) If a parent gives a child freedom to roam in the street and child gets injured, is it the child or the parent who is guilty?
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Both. But you can't compare the parent with God and the child with humanity.