Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!timbuk!cs.umn.edu!msi.umn.edu!src.honeywell.com!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!samsung!usc!apple!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: kavanagh@acc.stolaf.edu Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: An atheist's question Message-ID: Date: 6 Nov 90 03:18:29 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: St. Olaf College; Northfield, MN Lines: 55 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu Good question! I'm glad you asked because he who seeks finds etc... I'm brand new to this newsgroup (about 20 minutes) and I don't profess to have all the answers to life's difficult questions but I can tell you what I do know for sure. The question basically is this: How could an omnipotent good God allow evil? This question is as old as the hills but I believe it does have an answer. God is in the business of raising perfected sons. The whole purpose of all creation is relationships. Sounds gushy doesn't it? That's right, God wants to have a personal relationship all of us. God Himself is even a relationship, the Holy Trinity. And God made us in His image and we are made up of three parts as well: body, soul, and spirit. The whole Bible can be seen as a love story from Genesis to Revelations. Now let's take a look at a couple of God's characters. First of all He loves us beyond our comprehension and no matter what we do He cannot stop loving us. Second of all He is Holy and Just. He must punish sin. He can't get around it. Every sin commited in the universe must be punished, it is part of His charater. So God is in a paradox. He loves us but every one of us has turned away from Him and given Him the cold shoulder, so to speak. This is where Jesus fits in. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that whosever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life"(John 3:16-the best I could do from memory.) There can be no forgiveness without the shedding of blood. And God Himself, in the incarnate Jesus, shed His blood for us and all we have to do is repent and accept Jesus's payment for our sin. So what does this have to do with the problem of evil? God had to give us free will so that we could choose to love Him. God did not want to have robots in His Kingdom. Personal I have a tough time loving hardware as well. And the sad truth is that every one of us have choosen the route of sin and death. God has to respect what we choose-if he is to raise perfected children. I hope this helps a little. The best thing to do is to cry out to God for yourself. He'll answer. God is for us and He desires that all men could come to know the truth. Fifteen words sum up the whole Gosple of Jesus: God loves us. We are sinners. Jesus paid for our sins. We must accept Jesus. Keep seeking and praying, you will find. As one who knows Jesus, I know there are some basic things that you can know for sure. It takes a step in faith but you will find your foot stepping on solid ground! With many prayers, as I know it is God who ministers, not me, God bless! Darren Kavanagh kavanagh@nic.stolaf.edu PS. I may sound patriarchal at times but when I say men etc.. I mean all of mankind.