Freethought & Rationalism Archive

WCH · 11-27-2004, 03:35 PM

Posed the Riddle of Epicurus to a few intelligent Christians of varying backgrounds, and got two really fascinating replies:

Quote:

Evil comes from free choice, which in linear. Because the conept of god works outside of time, the end of evil has no linear representation, except the point where linear time ceases in either direction. Thus God is willing and able, but since we have yet to be justified outside of time, we do not understand that the evil that exists within our temporal existance has infact been rectified in the past present and future.

Here we have an argument that evil does not, in fact, exist, only the appearance of evil exists. When I asked why then does God allow the effects of evil, I didn't get a reply.

and the other, from a philosophy major at Redeemer University, came after my argument that, if life without free will (and therefore evil) is worse than life with evil, that heaven must therefore be worse than earth:

Quote:

we have to understand that free will is not freedom to do whatever we want, it is freedom to do what our nature has the capacity for..when we were created we could do both good and evil, after the fall we could only do evil, after Christ we could do no good, but we could will to do good, and after the second coming we will only will to do good and be able to achieve that...some believe that we will be unable to do bad

Unfortunately, while he was typing this I got a call from my mother, and he went offline before I could reply to him.

Both of them seem to be new takes on the old issue, and I wonder how you would approach them.

11-27-2004, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A Christian

Evil comes from free choice, which in linear. Because the conept of god works outside of time, the end of evil has no linear representation, except the point where linear time ceases in either direction. Thus God is willing and able, but since we have yet to be justified outside of time, we do not understand that the evil that exists within our temporal existance has infact been rectified in the past present and future.

I say that a 'rectification of evil' which leaves the victims still suffering it is no rectification at all.

(Saying that evil has been rectified in the present makes the entire concept meaningless. I am in pain now, from a chronic health problem; in what imaginable sense is this rectified in the present?

)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Another Christian

we have to understand that free will is not freedom to do whatever we want, it is freedom to do what our nature has the capacity for..when we were created we could do both good and evil, after the fall we could only do evil, after Christ we could do no good, but we could will to do good, and after the second coming we will only will to do good and be able to achieve that...some believe that we will be unable to do bad

First, it doesn't address the problem of natural evil. Second, if it's possible to make a creature that is free, but which only does good because that's its nature, why not start with such? Why permit ages of agony first?

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