If there is a God, why is there evil?

Agnostics ask: If God is all-powerful and all loving, then why does He permit evil and suffering in the world? Another agnostic asked, If there is a God, why is there evil? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why is there so much needless suffering in the world, from natural disasters and such? Why would a loving God do this? Numerous and various answers have been given but permanently settling the issue is impossible because so many of our answers raise further questions. Nevertheless, the lack of ability to answer the question perfectly does not mean that we cannot offer solutions. Of course, I do not assume to be able to answer these questions definitively, but I can offer some solutions.

I will begin by saying let us first consider the meaning of the word “evil”.  

What is evil?

Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary, as does the analysis of its root motives and causes; however, evil is commonly associated with conscious and deliberate wrongdoing, disobeying the commandments of God or gods or the rules of society, discrimination designed to harm others, humiliation of people designed to diminish their psychological well-being and dignity, destructiveness, motives of causing pain or suffering for selfish or malicious intentions, and acts of unnecessary or indiscriminate violence, in contrast, there can be no such thing as evil apart from the existence of God. Why not? Without God, without a moral law giver, we would not have any objective (real) standards (laws) by which we might deem something to be evil. We would not be able to conclusively say, “Kidnapping children and murdering them is evil.” We could say, "We don't like these things." But we could not call that kind of behavior evil (that which is morally wrong). It would just be a matter of opinion (one man's opinion against another's).

Gap Theory — an idea with holes? — Creation Magazine LIVE! Episode 8

Atheism is Dead - God

WHAT IS THE ATTRACTION OF ATHEISM, AND WHY HAS IS BECOME SO EVANGELISTIC? ARE WE MISSING SOMETHING, OR IS THE ATHEIST PHILOSOPHY MISSING SOMETHING?

Friedrich Nietzsche

Source: Wikimedia

Is God Dead?" So asked the cover of Time magazine on April 8, 1966, in the midst of the sexual and drug revolution. The headline echoed the atheistic sentiments of the 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (pronounced NEE-che ).

Nietzsche wasn't the first person to reject God's existence, but he was one of the more famous to do so in the late 1800s. In his book The Gay Science he wrote, "God is dead," and gave his own (obviously fictitious) account of "God's murder." From 1859 Charles Darwin's theory of evolution attracted many philosophers and scientists. It gave them a doctrine—actually an atheistic religion—to replace any belief in God as the Creator of all things. Nietzsche's "God is dead" philosophy helped popularize the implications of the theory of evolution.

If God Created Everything, Who Created God?

If God Created Everything, Who Created God?
by Rich Deem

Introduction

How did God get here?

Richard Dawkins, among other atheists, thinks he has the ultimate proof that God doesn't exist. If God created a complex universe, wouldn't it take an even more complex entity to have created God? However, such logic assumes that time has always existed, rather than being merely a construct of this universe.

Rich Deem

Who created God? It is an age-old question that has plagued all those who like to think about the big questions. Having grown up as an agnostic non-Christian, it provided me with a potential reason why there might not be any god. Various religions tend to solve the problem in different ways. The LDS church (Mormonism) says that the God (Elohim) to whom we are accountable had a father god, then grew up on a planet as a man, and progressed to become a god himself. Many other religions have claimed that gods beget other gods. Of course the problem with this idea is how did the first god get here? This problem of infinite regression invalidates such religions. Christianityclaims that God has always existed. Is this idea even possible? Does science address such issues?

Christianity's answer

Christianity answers the question of who made God in the very first verse of the very first book, Genesis:

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1)

This verse tells us that God was acting before time when He created the universe. Many other verses from the New Testament tell us that God was acting before time began, and so, He created time, along with the other dimensions of our universe:

• No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. (1 Corinthians 2:7)
• This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time (2 Timothy 1:9)
• The hope of eternal life, which God... promised before the beginning of time (Titus 1:2)
• To the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 1:25)

The idea that God created time, along with the physical universe, is not just some wacky modern Christian interpretation of the Bible. Justin Martyr, a second century Christian apologist, in hisHortatory Address to the Greeks, said that Plato got the idea that time was created along with the universe from Moses:

"And from what source did Plato draw the information that time was created along with the heavens? For he wrote thus: 'Time, accordingly, was created along with the heavens; in order that, coming into being together, they might also be together dissolved, if ever their dissolution should take place.' Had he not learned this from the divine history of Moses?"¹

God exists in timeless eternity

How does God acting before time began get around the problem of God's creation? There are two possible interpretations of these verses. One is that God exists outside of time. Since we live in a universe of cause and effect, we naturally assume that this is the only way in which any kind of existence can function. However, the premise is false. Without the dimension of time, there is no cause and effect, and all things that could exist in such a realm would have no need of being caused, but would have always existed. Therefore, God has no need of being created, but, in fact, created the time dimension of our universe specifically for a reason - so that cause and effect would existfor us. However, since God created time, cause and effect would never apply to His existence.

God exists in multiple dimensions of time

The second interpretation is that God exists in more than one dimension of time. Things that exist in one dimension of time are restricted to time's arrow and are confined to cause and effect. However, two dimensions of time form a plane of time, which has no beginning and no end and is not restricted to any single direction. A being that exists in at least two dimensions of time can travel anywhere in time and yet never had a beginning, since a plane of time has no starting point. Either interpretation leads one to the conclusion that God has no need of having been created.

Why can't the universe be eternal?

The idea that God can be eternal leads us to the idea that maybe the universe is eternal, and, therefore, God doesn't need to exist at all. Actually, this was the prevalent belief of atheists before the observational data of the 20^th century strongly refuted the idea that the universe was eternal. This fact presented a big dilemma for atheists, since a non-eternal universe implied that it must have been caused. Maybe Genesis 1:1 was correct! Not to be dismayed by the facts, atheists have invented some metaphysical "science" that attempts to explain away the existence of God. Hence, most atheistic cosmologists believe that we see only the visible part of a much larger "multiverse" that randomly spews out universes with different physical parameters.² Since there is no evidence supporting this idea (nor can there be, according to the laws of the universe), it is really just a substitute "god" for atheists. And, since this "god" is non-intelligent by definition, it requires a complex hypothesis, which would be ruled out if we use Occam's razor, which states that one should use the simplest logical explanation for any phenomenon. Purposeful intelligent design of the universe makes much more sense, especially based upon what we know about the design of the universe.

What does science say about time?

When Stephen Hawking, George Ellis, and Roger Penrose extended the equations for general relativity to include space and time, the results showed that time has a beginning - at the moment of creation (i.e., the Big Bang).³ In fact, if you examine university websites, you will find that many professors make such a claim - that the universe had a beginning and that this beginning marked the beginning of time (see The Universe is Not Eternal, But Had A Beginning). Such assertions support the Bible's claim that time began at the creation of the universe.

Conclusion 

God has no need to have been created, since He exists either outside time (where cause and effect do not operate) or within multiple dimensions of time (such that there is no beginning of God's plane of time). Hence God is eternal, having never been created. Although it is possible that the universe itself is eternal, eliminating the need for its creation, observational evidence contradicts this hypothesis, since the universe began to exist a finite ~13.7 billion years ago. The only possible escape for the atheist is the invention of a kind of super universe, which can never be confirmed experimentally (hence it is metaphysical in nature, and not scientific).

http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/who_created_god.html 

The Gene Myth: Our DNA is NOT Our Destiny

Scientific research has shown that 87-98% of mental and physical and behavioral illnesses come from our thought life, which is indubitably a large and frightening number, and contrary to what many of us have been led to believe. In fact, few human processes are turned on or off by a single gene. Most processes require many genes acting together to produce a common result. Thus, the idea fired up by the media that there is a gene for this and a gene for that is incorrect. From second to second, day-by-day, genetic cascades are turned on or off by our own thoughts and experience. Yes, that means we are largely in control!

This picture of a multiplicity of genes that fluctuate moment by moment is at odds with the picture ingrained in the public mind: that genes determine everything from our physical characteristics to our behavior. It’s a highly fashionable concept that there is a “gene for this and a gene for that”, and, in particular, it removes personal responsibility from us as individuals. This is unhealthy and contrary to what God teaches us, which is to take responsibility for the thoughts we think and choices we make. Fortunately, since the 1970s research has been challenging the “gene myth” and now we know that the genes in the neurons of our brains are activated 87-98% by our thoughts with embedded emotions, which, of course, challenges the cause and effect model of genetic causation.

You are What you Think: 75-98% of Mental and Physical Illnesses Come from our Thought Life!

This is a staggering and eye-opening statistic because it also means that only 2-25% of human mental and physical illnesses come from the environment and genes! Scientists are discovering the precise pathways by which changes in human consciousness (thinking) produce changes in our brain and bodies. This consciousness activates our genes and changes our brain. Science even shows that thoughts, with their embedded feelings, turn sets of genes on and off in complex relationships. We take the facts, experiences and the events of our lives and assign meaning to them through thinking—we are reacting to the events and circumstances of life.

We may have a fixed set of genes in our chromosomes, but which of those genes is active and how they are active has a great deal to do with how we think and process our subjective experiences, i.e. our reactions. Our thoughts, with their intertwined emotions, produce words and behaviors, which in turn stimulate more thinking, choices and thought building. We are constantly reacting to the circumstances and events of this life and as this cycle goes on, our brains become shaped in a process that will either be in a positive direction or a negative direction. So it is the quality of our thinking and choices, our reactions, which determine our brain architecture. This means that the quality of our thinking (consciousness) affects the shape or architecture of the brain and resultant quality of health in our minds and bodies. Science and scripture show how we are wired for love and optimism (scripture: “we are made in His image”; scientifically: see my book “The Gift in You”), and so when we react by thinking negatively and making negative choices, the quality of our thinking suffers, which means the quality of our “brain architecture” suffers, and, in turn, our health.

It doesn’t matter where you live, if you believe in God, you WILL be healthier!

Over the last few years research has been showing that a belief in a loving and benevolent god has many health benefits. A large proportion of these studies have been done in the USA but now in a large Norwegian longitudinal health study called HUNT, researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) were able to find a clear relationship between time spent in church and lower blood pressure in both women and men.

It was initially thought that the large cultural and religious differences between the US and Norway would make it difficult to apply findings from the US to Norway. However, despite these differences, and the fact that only 4% of Norwegians (as opposed to the 40% of Americans) go to church on a weekly basis, the findings of the health benefits of believing in God were almost identical: those who were religiously active were healthier than those who were not religiously active!
(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111223114042.htm#.TvyJ-uy0-ps.mailto)

Other research shows that those who attend church were 30% less likely to suffer depression and those who believe God have a sense of purpose and are 70% less likely to be depressed. (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081023120228.htm)