The Horrors of Evolution (Evolution)

by edinburgh4 , Thursday, September 11, 2008, 19:24 (5915 days ago) @ dhw

1) Does God create evil? - No. The possibility of evil is a consequence of freewill. The one who has freewill is accountable for his/her own actions. Your parents could have said to you, you can never go outside if you do you may hurt another kid and I don't want that to happen. Them letting you go outside does not mean they are bad parents if you do something wrong. It is however their job to correct you when you do wrong. - If I create a computer program with freewill and for the first week it is friendly that is good. If after a month of trawling the web and processing the information it decides it must destroy humanity by hacking into missiles and launching them at major cities, I have every right to permanently disconnect it from the web. - Free will is required for love. I can create a computer program that prints "Phil I love you!" a million times and it means nothing because the computer has no choice. If someone chooses to love me that means something to me. God has chosen that both angels and men should have freewill. The Bible says one third of angels rebelled against him and that humanity also fell. God knew this would happen, but he did not create any evil. I know that when I do wrong I do it by free choice, I can't blame my actions on God, the devil or my parents. I work with computers a lot and I can appreciate why God might want to work with servants with a personality and the ability to love. - 2) Why is Hell Permanent?
Man is made in God's image, God is eternal, so also is Man's spirit. If we want to change we need God's help if we reject God's help we have no way of change. If we cannot change we will never be fit for heaven. If your washing machine breaks and can't be fixed and gets put on the rubbish dump, no amount of time there will make it work. If there is no hell then there is no justice we have to accept that any evil person can do whatever they like, take his life and the victims will never see justice. The Bible explains hell like this: - "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. - "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' - "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' - "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house,
for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' - "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' - "'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' - "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'" 
Luke 16:19-31 - The punishment of the rich man in eternity fitted exactly his crime in life. In life he had plenty and never shared it with the one who had nothing, whom he saw every day. In eternity he could see the poor enjoying plenty when he had nothing. Just as the rich man perpetually ignored the poor so also his punishment is perpetual.