Is God evil?

[Compassionist]

There are many verses in the Bible about God's predestination. https://www.openbible.info/topics/predestination Why would a good God predestine anyone to do evil? Surely, a good God would predestine all to do good? Does the existence of evil prove that God is evil? Surely, a good God would have made all living things to be autotrophs instead of making some autotrophs, some herbivores, some carnivores, some omnivores, and some parasites? Here are some examples of evil events which caused or are causing suffering, deaths, and injustices:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_extinction_events
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_epidemics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_n ... death_toll
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_famines
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_g ... death_toll
https://thevegancalculator.com/animal-slaughter

[The Tanager]

A few different thoughts that could each take this discussion in various ways:

1. I don’t think those verses speak to God predestinating people to do evil. I don’t hold a Calvinist understanding of predestination, however.

2. I don’t think a good God would predestine all to do good, however. That’s because I think a good God would choose a world with free will moral agents over one without them.

3. I actually think the existence of evil points to there being a good God. That’s because, without God, I believe there is no basis for something to be objectively ‘evil’.

4. Why do you think death, itself, is evil?

[Miles]

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Can't say the God of Abraham is evil or not, but I do know he is behind it all.

Isaiah 45:7 (King James Version)
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

But come to think of it, anyone who makes evil would have to be evil themselves. Don't you think?

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[The Tanager]

.

Can't say the God of Abraham is evil or not, but I do know he is behind it all.

Isaiah 45:7 (King James Version)
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

But come to think of it, anyone who makes evil would have to be evil themselves. Don't you think?

.

In ancient Israel, creation was approached more functionally, then in an efficient cause sense. So, why not think that in Isaiah 45:7 the point God is making is that He provides a good function or purpose out of the evil Cyrus is performing?

[Thomas123]

Compassionist,......thank you for your question.

We are evil. What good have we done?
God is good, ...otherwise God does not work.

Do you want to live?
Do you want to feel?
Do you want to live forever?

In the Torah, there was a second tree,...the tree of life. God stopped us from savouring it's fruits.
This is our lot and we are making a complete mess of it.

Blame God if you like or use him as a motivation to improve. It's irrelevant either way. In Buddhism, we would not be having these machinations.
Thanks Again!

[PolytheistWitch]

I don't know about evil but most of the gods are not very ethical or moral.

[Miles]

.

Can't say the God of Abraham is evil or not, but I do know he is behind it all.

Isaiah 45:7 (King James Version)
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

But come to think of it, anyone who makes evil would have to be evil themselves. Don't you think?

.

In ancient Israel, creation was approached more functionally, then in an efficient cause sense. So, why not think that in Isaiah 45:7 the point God is making is that He provides a good function or purpose out of the evil Cyrus is performing?

Because he gives no reason to think so. If anything, god is simply telling Cyrus about himself.

Isaiah 45:4-7
4 For Jacob My servant’s sake, and Israel Mine elect, I have even called thee [Cyrus] by thy name; I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known Me.

5 I am the Lord, and there is none else; there is no God besides Me. I girded thee, though thou hast not known Me,

6 that they may know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.

7 I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I, the Lord, do all these things.

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[Compassionist]

A few different thoughts that could each take this discussion in various ways:

1. I don’t think those verses speak to God predestinating people to do evil. I don’t hold a Calvinist understanding of predestination, however.

2. I don’t think a good God would predestine all to do good, however. That’s because I think a good God would choose a world with free will moral agents over one without them.

3. I actually think the existence of evil points to there being a good God. That’s because, without God, I believe there is no basis for something to be objectively ‘evil’.

4. Why do you think death, itself, is evil?

1. According to the Bible God predestined everything.

2. We don't have free will. Our choices are the products of our genes, environments, nutrients and experiences.

3. I disagree. Good is whatever helps. Evil is whatever harms. So, if I harm an ant, I am evil and if I help an ant, I am good.

4. Death harms organisms permanently, therefore, it is evil.

Here are some things that I want to do but can't do due to lack of ability:

1. Go back in time and prevent all suffering, death, and injustice.
2. Make all living things all-loving, all-knowing, all-powerful, and forever happy. This way no one will ever be harmed by anyone or anything.

Here are some things I do (or will do) even though I don't want to do them:

1. Breathe
2. Eat
3. Drink
4. Sleep
5. Dream
7. Pee
8. Poo
9. Fart
10. Burp
11. Sneeze
12. Cough
13. Age
14. Get ill
15. Get injured
16. Sweat
17. Cry
18. Snore
19. Suffer
20. Die

I am clearly not a free agent with free will. I am truly a prisoner of causality who does things he does not want to do and can't do what he wants to do. We are all prisoners of causality who are thrust into existence without consent in a horrific and unjust world. I wish I was never conceived but I can't choose to prevent my existence.

[Compassionist]

Compassionist,......thank you for your question.

We are evil. What good have we done?
God is good, ...otherwise God does not work.

Do you want to live?
Do you want to feel?
Do you want to live forever?

In the Torah, there was a second tree,...the tree of life. God stopped us from savouring it's fruits.
This is our lot and we are making a complete mess of it.

Blame God if you like or use him as a motivation to improve. It's irrelevant either way. In Buddhism, we would not be having these machinations.
Thanks Again!

I define good as what helps and evil as what harms. Humans have helped lots of living things and harmed lots of living things so we are both good and evil. God is the ultimate evil because he failed to prevent all suffering, injustice, and deaths despite being omniscient and omnipotent. He should have made all living things equally all-loving, all-knowing and all-powerful and we would all have lived happily ever after.

I don't want to live in a world full of suffering, injustice and deaths. I want to live forever in a world where all living things are forever happy.

What do you mean by do I want to feel? Feel emotions or feel touch? What is the relevance of these questions to the topic of this thread?

[1213]

There are many verses in the Bible about God's predestination. https://www.openbible.info/topics/predestination Why would a good God predestine anyone to do evil? Surely, a good God would predestine all to do good? ...

So, you would think God is good, if He forces evil people to be good? Isn't that tyrannical?

I don't think God has predestined anyone to be evil.