Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Google & Life's Biggest Questions - Question 1: Evil

A couple weeks ago I asked "What are life's biggest questions?"

In response to this question I got a numbe of great responses/questions. I specificly asked this question because that day I had seen the following church sign:
By the time I saw the sign, I wanted to objectively determine what readers might say are life's biggest questions were a put it to the test thus begins my attempt to see what happens when I ask google to answer life's biggest questions as submitted by StrangeCulture readers.

One question was asked about evil and suffering.

Nate says life's biggest question is: "The problem of evil: How/why does a good and all powerful God allow suffering in His creation?"

When I google search: "why is there evil?" I actually get a variety of post that pop-up.

If I'm "feeling lucky" on Google I get a link to a page in the website of CARM.org (apparently stands for Chrisitian apologestics and research ministry) with the headline "Why is there evil in the world?"

I didn't say anything specificly about God in my google search, although Nate includes it in his question. Incidentally, the "feeling lucky" web page does deal with this question from a Biblical perspective citing 4 reasons, using 13 different Bible passages.

The webpage concludes: Suffering is the result of human sin. The world is not the way that God created it and because of that, all are vulnerable to the affects of sin in the world. Why does one person suffer and another does not? Why do catastrophes happen to some and no others? It is because sin is in the world. But there will come a day when the Lord will return and cleanse this world of all sin and all suffering.

Do you feel like this "feeling lucky" answer provides an adequate google answer to Nate's question?

Other links that show up to answer this question include: Power to Change » If God is good, why is there evil and suffering?, Sermon: Why is there evil?, Why is there Evil in the World?, Graveyard of the Gods - Why is There EVIL ? as well as my personal favorite...

The YouTube video for White Zombie's Electric Head (Pt. 1, the Agony). While the White Zombie video is certainly not the answer to Nate's question, it's certainly the most entertaining.

10 comments:

nate said...

Thanks for googling my question! Personally, I feel the answer off CARM may satisfy those of strong theistic bent, but the seeker, the agnostic, the atheist, etc., would be dissatisfied. But I can't do any better...that's why it weighs heavily on my mind.

Anonymous said...

Now that...is an awesome picture! Now true!

RC said...

@ nate...i agree that CARM's answer only satisfies those with a strong theistic bent, and still comes into questions with those when they encounter evil.

honestly, i don't think people are concerned with this as maybe they past were. In a relativistic society I think we've come to aknowledge "evil" and the grays inbetween evil and good. It's only when facing violence, abuse, etc. do people begin to ask "why is there evil???"

i think "Religious people" are more inclined to question "why evil?" because sometimes evil seems hard to understand in their confines of a Loving Creator/God/God-head.

Michael Parsons said...

There has to be evil. So that good can prevail. Everything needs an opposite in order to be.
Black needs white. If everyone was uniformly evil. All equally evil, then there would not longer be evil.

Let me stop while I can

Anonymous said...

There is evil in this world because we are living in a fallen world.

Creation is doomed, all by the sin of men.
GOD made a living way for all men, by redemption through the blood of His only begotten Son Jesus.

Men seek and try everything to help themselves except coming to GOD.

Unless, your heart truly yearns for the truth, for our Creator, all reasoning and logic are futile.

For the human mind is enmity against God.
Our spirit is suppressed by a thousand cares and triva day to day.

The only answer is Jesus, nothing else but His blood, His grace, and Him only - the eternal refuge and shelter, Saviour.

Shelley said...

I read that, and all I could think of to ask Google next is "Why can't people who write webpages grasp the difference between 'affects' and 'effects'?"

You know, the important questions.

I think I'm going to go ask Google why I'm here. On earth. This could possibly entertain me for hours. Thanks!

Pastor Manning said...

The question should not be "Why does God allow evil?", but rather "Why does He allow so much GOOD?"

Cody Stauffer said...

Why should THAT be the question, Pastor Manning? Doesn't God delight to give good things? And wasn't God the one who called creation good?

Anonymous said...

I really wonder, what they mean by saying it's man who chose to sin. The concept of freewill is sometimes ridiculous, since it's in absolute god's control that man was created and so was his given freewill, if one can do good and other resorts to evil, isn't it the same god who designed the person that way.

From the fall of angels to the fall of man i think this is the one defending statement. When you people say man chose to sin, lucifer fell because of the thought, it was god who was in absolute control of that situvation and made them that way. Seriously i can't find any reasoning beyond this!.

Proverbs25.2 said...

These may be very easy questions for someone, anyone, saying they "do not" or "can't" or "will not" believe in "free will".

First:

~ Did you have to say that?

Second:

~ Do you really know what you say you believe is actually real and correct... i.e. are you convinced and can easily say "I am certain!"
or, perhaps, are you not so sure?

Third:

~ Do you have the power to do anything about this?

Return to Question 1... and this time, change your answers in Q1 and Q2.

I you "cannot", why not?

Are you simply stubborn? or not?

Do you have to be that way?

Are you powerless?

Would you like to receive power and be free of bondage?

Start the journey to the truth. You can find hope.

Proverbs25.2 check it out.