Storm and Stress

Without a doubt the concept, and reality of evil in the world is one of the great stumbling blocks to believing in a "loving, merciful God."

Several options arise:

1. Either God allowed atoms to go their own evolutionary way and thus evil was born.

2. The philosophical approach: without pain there can be no pleasure; without dark, no light. If you can grab the pebble from my hand, grasshopper..(zen music in background.)

3. Hebrew mysticism: Since God fills all time and space at the moment of creation, he had to leave some space that did not include himself. That is to say he retracted some part of himself from reality. That which is denied good (for God is all goodness) must be anti God, and thus evil.

4. There is an agent of evil (Satan) who is the chief promoter of evil at all levels.

5. Nothing is evil. Bad things happen, but nothing is truly evil.

6. God, Satan do not exist. Terms such as good, evil are manmade and based on that society's defination.

Comments from the gang...

Mecha_Dude

I'll go with #6...

Amos

Very easy Storm.

Read in Gen.1 that "God" created the essence of man
Read in Gen.2 that "Lord God" formed the existence of man.
Read in Gen.3 that "like god" created the ego of man.

Notice that the ego was never formed but banned from Eden where evil can be conceived to exist. This now means that there is no such thing as evil outside of our ego awareness . . . which itself is an illusion and therefore evil must be an illusion as well.

Does that mean that I agree with harm done unto others? No, but do not blame God for it because evil a societal problem and since God is not a social animal but a solitary individual he is several causes removed from it.

Amos

Muad'Dib

Since this doesn't have to do directly with the Bible, I'm moving it to MRD.