I am currently in the process of writing a paper on the logical problem of evil. However, I believe it would be helpful for me to understand how theists believe that God is compatible with the existence of evil. I am not looking for any argument; just a discussion on the concept of God and why he permits evil. I want to understand how people think the two are reconciable.
For theists who believe that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good, I have the following questions:
1.) If God fails to permit acts that we describe and judge as evil (I have in mind here, "evils" like murder, rape, genocide, theft, acts of terrorism) then is God guilty of negligence? If not, why not?
2.) Does the (Generalized) Principle of Command Responsibility apply to God?( I have seen another argument from evil which utilizes this). If not, why not?
3.) Some theists (especially Evangelical Christians that I know of) will argue that God doesn't act to prevent evil because it infringes on the free will of human beings. But if we fail to prevent evil despite our power and knowledge to prevent it, we are guilty of negligence. Why would negligence apply to us and not to God?
4.) Some theists argue that evil is instrumental; God uses evil as a means to an end: a greater good. But I am not sure why God is limited to using means to achieve his ends rather than just bringing about the ends in themselves directly? Am I missing something or just do not understand something?
I appreciate any input!
Matthew
Dear Mathew,
I had posted this material in another thread for which there was no response. This may not answer your questions directly but this may give you some idea of what I think is the source of evil.
My search so far for the cause of evil brought the following observations. Do not take them as definite or absolute but only tentative because there is always scope to discover new aspects.
God is absolute Good which means God does not have an opposite called Evil. In the book of genesis we read that everything that God created was good. When God created human beings he said 'very good'. If God is absolute good and God did not create evil, then from where does evil come? We need to distinguish moral evil from natural evil. For example in nature there is killing and being killed. Some birds, animals and insects live on killing. That is their nature and they are not aware that it is evil to do so.
Moral evil applies to human beings who are given the gift of self -consciousness. So what is the source of moral evil?
Relative good and relative evil are like two side of the same coin. Where there is relative good there will be relative evil. When we speak of evil we are speaking of relative evil but not Absolute Evil which does not exist.
I suggest the following for the cause of relative evil:
1. Relative evil comes from the ignorance of our true nature as the image and likeness of God or our oneness with God.
2. Relative evil belongs to the evolutionary process of human consciousness in its journey from the unconscious goodness to consciousness goodness. The light of divine consciousness is present in everyone. But people are not aware. There arises a desire to be conscious of this divine light-to become like God. Human beings project the object of their desire outside. With this desire begins the evolution of human consciousness. Human consciousness becomes fragmented- which in the book of Genesis is shown as a serpent crawling on the ground. In Hinduism this is called samsara- being seduced by the mohini, illusion.
3. Relative evil comes when we consider relative truth as the absolute truth. It is Identification with religions, with nationalities, ethnic groups and linguistic groups. This is the source of religious wars, political wars and ethnic wars. This is also connected to ignorance. People kill others for the sake of their religion, nationality and race and also are willing to die for the sake of them. The earth is divided into so many continents and countries. There are boundaries to protect and countries spend lot of money for the army. A person who has gone above the earth sees that there is only one earth. National divisions are artificial and man-made. People die or kill for man -made divisions. Relative truths see evil in those who are outside of it. Relative truths always have an enemy.
4. Relative evil comes from the psychological abuse and emotional wounds that people receive. People who are abused may abuse others.
5. Relative evil also can come from longing for love and attention. For example if a person is hungry and cannot earn, this person may become a beggar and also may become a criminal. In the same way people who starve emotionally and do not receive sufficient love and affection, may indulge in criminal behavior. Through their criminal behavior they are also longing for love and affection. This is the evil that comes from the longing of love and attention.
6. The deep longing of the human heart is love and ultimately divine love. We come from God and we have to return to God. All are longing for the love for God. In this process of discovering divine love evil also manifests. But this evil is not absolute but relative. God is absolute Good. There is no Absolute Evil. Evil belongs to the evolutionary process of human beings and with the discovery of oneness with God it comes to an end. In the beginning there is Absolute Goodness and at the end there will be Absolute Goodness. Relative evil has a beginning and an end. It is not created by God but it is a necessary by- product of human evolution towards God. When we look into the heart of person whom we consider evil we discover that that person is longing for love or God.
In the book of Genesis God told human beings not to eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. It is the knowledge of relative good and relative evil. Since Adam and Eve were in the unconscious state and they need to become conscious, eating the forbidden fruit becomes inevitable. It is only by knowing relative good and evil they will come back to the Absolute Good. They will return to the Garden of Eden again.
Serpent holding its tail is the symbol of unconscious unitary consciousness or unconscious absolute good; serpent crawling on ground is the symbol of the knowledge of relative good and evil. It is coming out of the Garden of Eden. The serpent raising its hood is the symbol of conscious unitary consciousness or conscious absolute good.
We can also use the symbol of river. One bank of the river is unconscious goodness. The water flowing in the river
is the symbol of the movement of becoming-relative good and evil. The other bank of the river is conscious goodness. The purpose of our spiritual life is to pass
from the one side of the bank to the other side passing through the waters.
