The Epicurean paradox

It is stupid, because removing the evil means removing the free will, creating a world of zombies, and then searching for virtue in a world of zombies. Think about yourself, probably you want the others to appreciate you for what you are. Now think that you can create some yes men robots. And they will tell you all day long :"You are the greatest, you are so cool, smart", or whatever you want to hear from your friends. Being appreciated and praised by robots has no value, you can do the same thing alone while looking in the mirror and you will feel the same as you feel being praised by robots.

Oh yes this old one. 1. If God is omniscient, then he knows I suffer 2. If God is omnipotent, then he can prevent my suffering 3. If God is omnibenevolnt, then surely he would wish to relieve my suffering The short answer is freewill, God gave us the choice to believe and follow him or not, just as a parent allows the child to choose to disobey, suffer and learn. So much for the short answer Here is the long one. God gives us a world in which there are consequences to our actions, a logically consistent universe. So, if I choose to do something stupid like jump off a tall building, I get hurt or die. So then the conundrum becomes, if God gave us free-will and also prevented suffering would it be a world in which we would wish to live? Without a logically consistent universe, no language, engineering and the results of any action completely unpredictable. Like living in an insane asylum or nightmare. So, why can't God give us free will, a logically consistent universe and only allow a very little suffering The first thing to understand is that the worst pain, the worst suffering is still the worst pain and suffering no matter what it is. So a small splinter takes on the proportion of the ravages of cancer, were there to be no cancer or similar suffering You may have witnessed this phenomenon in spoiled brats, some small minor upset is treated as a major disaster! all the best, urban

A concept of Atheism about God by Epicurus. He was not a Christian and denied after life. The concept have missed that God is love. God made the creation in the beginning everything in perfections including Angels and Man because God's love. Evil and sins are the causes and effects at the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. By disobeying God and not only by just eating the fruit of Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They follow instead the Fallen Angels instead God. Because God is love, God did not take out completely Man and the Fallen Angels from that fall. But God loved man to such an extent that He sent His Son, so that whoever believes in Him will be saved. And God reminded the Fallen Angels they will meet their judgement in the future time. God must allow freedom of choice to Man including the Fallen Angels otherwise He would be a dictator and have no merit. So we have free choice. Every Man must use it wisely.

Obviously written by someone that has no idea what God is doing.

God is able, but not willing. Is God malevolent?? Hardly,God allowing you to discover and understand what evil is, can only be an act of Love. All our choices and actions will return to us in time. In reality, it is us who chooses what we wish to learn through our actions. Having experienced all sides, each will choose what is evil and what is not. Intelligence always makes the right choices.

I think that Epicurus wasn't believer , so he said this words . God created the universe and every thing by perfect way , The goodness and evil is two of His creatures , He can stop evil if He want , He can stop goodness if He want , He make us learn on the earth Is omnipotent, almighty, and it certainly is not hateful, is the Most Merciful .

God is able to prevent evil, but He does not wish evil or harm to come to anyone. However, because He gave man free will to choose good or evil, we muse suffer the consequences when we choose evil.

This is just another way of creating a God to the philosopher`s whim. I personally think it is better not to meddle with the trascendental as it is something we cannot understand, much less put in words.

This "riddle" is an example of circuitous thinking in the search for knowledge and understanding. Of course we all question and seek for understanding re the universe, our lives, our purpose, and our creation. However, a reading of the Bible would answer the questions posed - quite simply and genuinely. Evil "cometh" from Satan, formerly called Lucifer, and now also called the devil. He wanted to be God and thus the moral struggle between good and evil began, traveled to earth and the Garden of Eden to begin with and continues so today. God hates evil; man is easily seduced and overcome by it, so easily surrenders his "power" to the evil one. This is because our Creator, loving us beyond our capacity to understand, gave us free will. He is not a "puppeteer" and He wants us to freely love Him as well. Love is a moral concept and we are not made automatons, but beings with the capacity to choose good or evil. What lies in our hearts is revealed in our choices. When we allow God to work in and through us, His "ability" and "power" (as in "omnipotent") is revealed and works. When we choose elsewise, "evil triumphs" as satan gains entry when we do not resist him.

Epicurus has no real understanding of God's plan for us. If he did, he would not have asked the question. We are placed on this earth to be tested and gain faith. Without the bad, one cannot know the good. Heavenly Father wants us to grow. One of the most important items is that Heavenly Father will not take away free will, nor our freedom to choose and act. This is one of the most important aspect of our life. Forcing another is a sin, and of course God cannot sin. For him to take away evil is forcing and he cannot and will not do that. In return he forgives the repentant, and those who do not repent are damned by their own process of picking evil and cannot progress, but rather they are forever bound to their evil deeds.

The Epicurus so called paradox: "Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?" The answer is really simple: "Evil is the absent of Good" like cold is the absent of heat, and dark is the absent of light. So is not the matter of God is able or willing to. But its the unavoidable consequence for Good to exists there must be Evil to exists to as the absent of Good. God is able to create just good without evil, yes! But there will be no logical reasoning ever created, and this universe and all will be impossible to exsist. Then the next question would be: "God is Omnipotente, is He able to be weak?"

We are children of God and He will guide us along using teachers such as Jesus, however a child needs to learn and develop on his own to reach his potential. For example, you may pamper and shelter your child but that is not healthy for him, he needs to grow up to be a responsible adult otherwise your love is misguided. So similarly all our mistakes and punishments are lessons from which we must learn.