The Problem of Evil

[Angrist]

I understand you want to ignore my post, because it wasn't a direct response to other posts, but I really have to defend the Bible here.

Satan exists. The hell doesn't. At least not as a burning place for punishment.

Satan was an angel who turned evil. He wanted to be worshipped like his Creator. Why can't he be symbolic for something that sinful humans have? Because Jezus, the firstborn son of God, was tempted by Satan, and Jezus was perfect, without sin. Satan was even in the heavens, talking with Jehovah God (read the beginning of the book of Job).

The words (Hebrew and Greek) usually translated with hell do not mean a burning place of suffering. The Jews never believed in such a place, they knew that when they died, they just stopped existing (but they also knew that God could and would bring them back to earth one day). Sheol and Hades refer to the common grave of humankind.
In the meanwhile, heithen religions did support the thought of a place of punishment, and a few centuries after Jezus died and the Bible was completed, teachings like a burning hell and eternal soul crept into christianity.

And it's not like nobody knows this. People will even acknowledge that their religion doesn't practise what Jezus taught. I refer to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheol

[Bond]

I'm not sure what you're trying to get at here Angrist. I'm well aware of all the teachings of the Bible, I've read it twice, the New American and King James version.

Now, from a philosophical standpoint, I'd like to stay away from the Bible, because we're going to get into the messy situation of where some believe it is the written word of God and others don't. But don't get me wrong, there is great philosophy in the Bible, it's just that these discussions become hard to respond to, because I certainly do not want to discredit what anyone believes in, but it is hard to have a true argument or something to respond to your Jehovah's article with without doing just that.

Now, I never said hell was a burning place for punishment. And to call other religions heathen was not very nice (depending upon what definition of heathen you are using).

[Professor S]

Typhoid, Angrists posts are a perfect example of the power of faith.

If it is in the Bible it is true. Don't bother arguing about it, because there is no argument. There are no other possibilities beyond that which has been given down by God: His Word is law, and just as there will be no other God's before him, there will also be no other laws before His (natural or otherwise).

There can be no discussion of Evil with Angrist outside of his religion, because his religion dictates both good and evil concepts. There are no questions left unanswered when it comes to this.

Now I don't particularly care for this view of religion, because I do think it lends itself to closed mindedness. Also, citing bible passages as "proof" only works if the person you are conversing with has the same beliefs as you. If not, you might as well be quoting any fictional novel.

I don't like to think that God answered all questions for us. In my mind, ideas and belief go hand in hand, and without examination and overcoming challenges there is no value to either.

That is simply my interpretation, no offense meant to anyone.