Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
That is not the implication of my reply.
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How does your religion address the problem of evil?
- Thread starter arcanum
- Start date
Rick O'Shez
Irishman bouncing off walls
Creating evil or allowing it to flourish is a basic and disastrous mistake for a near-perfect being.
Rick O'Shez
Irishman bouncing off walls
But if God created man, directly or indirectly, then the responsibility for evil remains with God.
nazz
Doubting Thomas
Haven't read the article yet but what you expressed seems to jibe with the view advanced by Gnostics.
Desert Snake
Veteran Member
There really isn't a 'problem of evil'. Not for religious people.
arcanum
Active Member
Yes there have been many comparisons made between various Gnostic schools and Kabbalah, especially Lurianic Kabbalah, some have theorized that they sprang out of the same source. Especially the idea of redeeming the divine sparks trapped in the darkness and density of matter, Manicheanism had this same basic idea. The divine is trapped in matter and must be liberated. In Lurianic Kabbalah is called tikkun olam, repairing the world by raising the holy sparks and restoring them to god. These are very powerful ideas and seem to reoccur in different times in different guises which could mean they are genuine archetypes.
Well, the problem of evil disappears entirely in polytheism, as does the hard dichotomy between good and evil.
Some Gods help us, some Gods harm us, some are apathetic. The ones who know or see all are generally not that active, the Gods with the most amount of power aren't always benevolent or wise, none of the Gods are omnipresent, etc.
Plus, there isn't generally a "creator" in most classical pantheons; the universe just sort of pops into existence along with some primal being who may or may not be benevolent or even still alive.
arthra
Baha'i
To the best of my knowledge "evil" is regarded by Baha'is as the absence of good... just as shadow is the absence of light... Evil is also a relative concept that is what could be evil to someone depends on circumstances. Evil has no reality by itself.
Abdu'l-Bahá describes it thus:
In creation there is no evil, all is good. Certain qualities and natures innate in some men and apparently blameworthy are not so in reality. For example, from the beginning of his life you can see in a nursing child the signs of greed, of anger, and of temper. Then, it may be said, good and evil are innate in the reality of man, and this is contrary to the pure goodness of nature and creation. The answer to this is that greed, which is to ask for something more, is a praiseworthy quality provided that it is used suitably. So, if a man is greedy to acquire science and knowledge, or to become compassionate, generous, and just, it is most praiseworthy. If he exercises his anger and wrath against the bloodthirsty tyrants who are like ferocious beasts, it is very praiseworthy; but if he does not use these qualities in a right way, they are blameworthy.... It is the same with all the natural qualities of man, which constitute the capital of life; if they be used and displayed in an unlawful way, they become blameworthy. Therefore, it is clear that creation is purely good.
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 215 (1981 ed.).
Abdu'l-Bahá describes it thus:
In creation there is no evil, all is good. Certain qualities and natures innate in some men and apparently blameworthy are not so in reality. For example, from the beginning of his life you can see in a nursing child the signs of greed, of anger, and of temper. Then, it may be said, good and evil are innate in the reality of man, and this is contrary to the pure goodness of nature and creation. The answer to this is that greed, which is to ask for something more, is a praiseworthy quality provided that it is used suitably. So, if a man is greedy to acquire science and knowledge, or to become compassionate, generous, and just, it is most praiseworthy. If he exercises his anger and wrath against the bloodthirsty tyrants who are like ferocious beasts, it is very praiseworthy; but if he does not use these qualities in a right way, they are blameworthy.... It is the same with all the natural qualities of man, which constitute the capital of life; if they be used and displayed in an unlawful way, they become blameworthy. Therefore, it is clear that creation is purely good.
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 215 (1981 ed.).
mainliner
no one can de-borg my fact's ...NO-ONE!!
its teenager juvenile behavior where all the evil stems from , we live and learn , then we grow up.
all very innocent, even god makes mistakes
the world would be a different place if we lived for 200 years on earth instead of 90 years old...... We just don't have time as humans to correct the next generation of teenage kids wrong doings
evil is a wrong thought , good is the correct one
...... And logic.
"Evil" in my faith is explained in different ways. Some people blame an entity called "Satan". Others blame Satan, but not as an entity, but as a symbol of flesh/human nature. Some use our human nature to describe it, without using Satan. There are many other ways, but those are the major ones.
Salek Atesh
Active Member
Not a great presumption, as you many need to convince me. I do not believe in some objectively existing good/evil dichotomy.
Thus when posited the question "...then why is there evil in the world??" my answer is "There isn't."
Good and Evil are, in my view, man-made ideas to try to categorize things in the world. They are invented in the mind, nothing more. I believe that adopting the notion that they exist is a mistake.
Nietzsche wrote a book about this mistake, Thus Spoke Zarathustra. In it, the prophet Zarathustra, whom Nietzsche believes to be the first one to separate Good and Evil into a dichotomy (his understanding of Zoroastrianism was not that good), and thus he writes about the prophet's repentance, having him preach against that dichotomy.
Lao Tzu seemed to view the creation of the dichotomy as an abandonment of the Way.
Tao Te Ching said:
Righteousness, or what is right/Good, arises when we forget the Tao.
Morality, or what is wrong/Evil, arises when we forget Righteousness.
Ritual is born when we forget Morality.
We even can see parallels, I believe, in the Abrahamic Creation myth. Mankind exists in Eden, a world without evil, alongside God. Man goes against God, and eat from the tree, attaining "Knowledge" of what is "Good" and what is "Evil". They invent the dichotomy and begin separating Good from Evil, labeling their own nudity as Evil. For this sin, they are cast out of Eden, the world without evil, into a world where Evil exists. I feel this is metaphor. They are cast out of the world without evil not as a physical act, but merely because they invented Evil. And now they exist in a world of evil. But it is evil only because they have labeled it that way.
Pegg
Jehovah our God is One
The bible says that the whole world is under the direct influence and control of Satan the devil.
1 John 5:19 We know that we originate with God, but the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one
So even though God created mankind (we originate with him) the wicked one has taken over and is controlling all the things going on in the world. When a war begins, it is the direct intervention of this wicked one. And unfortunately mankind are imperfect and sinful, so we are easily influenced to go along with the wickedness being promoted in the world by the wicked one.
Unveiled Artist
Veteran Member
I can't answer specifically for the Christian God or any other religious God. My signature says that God is life. As such, life and death and what's in between good and evil are a part of God or life. Accepting life and death and whats in between lets one be comfortable with the evil in the world and look for the blessings while helping to stop the evil. However, without death, how do we continue on to the next stage of existence and without life, why would we want to live? They work together, life and death--evil and good are in between.