The Problem of Evil
For the past six years I have been a strong believer in the Problem of Evil without ever knowing the formal name of it. After experiencing a tragic loss at a young age, I almost immediately resented being brought up Catholic and having the idea that a perfect God is watching over us shoved down my throat. I strongly believe that if this God that I was taught about in religion classes and mass actually existed, he would never allow all the suffering and pain that so many people experience. I think that if he did exist, we would only experience heaven. Why wouldn’t God just eliminate this “middle man” we call life on Earth and send us straight to paradise? This causes me to reject the idea that there is an all-loving, all-powerful God.
However, I am not an atheist. I do believe that there is something out there, but saying that he is all-loving and all-powerful is too concrete for me. How can I assume what is out there? I believe that there is a totally abstract God that we cannot understand because we are mere humans. Because of experiencing a lot of intense pain throughout my life, I do not believe in an all-loving, all-powerful God, but I do believe that there is some version of God that I will never understand as I am living on Earth.
ndianapal1 said,
May 31, 2007 at 6:57 am
i love the fact that you are honest enough to share your true thoughts and experiences. I often wonder the same thing, why would GOD, who is told to us as being an all-loving, all-powerful force, make our lives so miserable, i don’t feel as though this is a test, like with Adam and Eve, but i am not sure what to call it. From a young age, i never really believed the things they preached to us as truth, i just accepted that they existed, but i always questioned it. I believe that GOD may step in to help us through the hard times, this being a big MAY, and then he ‘ forgets’ about us when we are in real trouble.
Coming from a family where world religions have been studied throughout my entire life, i believe, as you do that something is out there, but i am unsure what.
jasonmu said,
June 4, 2007 at 11:19 pm
I agree with you to some extent but i honestly believe that all loving and all powerfull means that he will do all loving and all powerful tthings if you follow what i am saying. I mean that not because you possess certain qualities of powers means that you will use all of them.