This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
The Nature of Evil
Feb
21
2020
Why does God allow evil? Why does evil exist in the world?
Those are some questions that are a good combination of philosophy and theology.
I like to answer them with a different branch of study – physics.
The question of why evil exists is framed wrong, because evil does not exist – just like cold and dark do not exist.
“But!” you may protest, “I can see and feel darkness and coldness, so how can you say they don’t exist?”
Cold and dark are just the terms we have for lack of heat and lack of light. They do not actually exist as things in and of themselves. If they existed, you could produce them. No one can produce cold, and no one can produce dark.
If you could produce dark, you could make a flashdark that would “shine” a shadow wherever you pointed it.
If you could produce cold, you could make a refrigerator that would not have a heat byproduct.
Remember, refrigerators and air conditioners don’t make cold, they just transfer heat. That’s why the other side of it blows hot air – that’s the heat removed from the inside.
Also, if you could produce cold, there would be no absolute zero – you could always add more cold to make the temperature go down further.
There is also an absolute dark, with no light. But you can always add more light to make something brighter, and you can always add more heat to make something hotter.
That’s because light and heat are the things that do exist.
Evil doesn’t exist, it’s just the term we have for a lack of good. As a Christian, I would adjust that sentence to say “lack of God” because He is the source of goodness. If you disagree, then you’ll have to clarify where goodness comes from. If you don’t believe in God, then you should not be asking the question about evil because there is no fundamental right and wrong. “Evil” in that case can just be rephrased as “deviation from the cultural norms”.
Trying to find out what is causing the evil is like trying to find out what’s causing a room to be dark. There is no source of darkness; the solution is to bring in some light. If there’s too much evil somewhere, the solution is to bring in God.
Of course, the analogy breaks down at some point, so don’t take it too far. And this does not cover the discussion of “Why does God let bad things happen?”
For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
Genesis 3:5
This little article thingy was written by Some Guy sometime around 1:01 pm and has been carefully placed in the Life category.
