The original question arose in a debate between atheist Philosopher Dr. Alex Rosenberg and theologian Dr. William Lane Craig on the existence of God at Purdue University Friday 1st February 2013. Rosenberg challenged that he would “turn Christian” if Craig could explain why God would allow evil. Craig, who does not take Genesis seriously, never did.
Answer by Ed Neeland
An atheist bemoans the existence of evil and states this is incompatible with a good God.
This is a common complaint. However, the alternative explanation to this good God is an evolution-based origin myth, which has no definition for good or evil. So it’s interesting how the atheist has to borrow from our theistic Biblical worldview of God’s universal standards of right and wrong to complain about the evil, which cannot be defined in atheism. Strange state of affairs, no?
Furthermore, I believe that God grieves more over evil than our atheist friend. But we chose to walk away from God and his full influence in the Garden of Eden, and into a spiritual and physical world which is antagonistic to God. So we find ourselves removed from God’s full power by our own actions, and then we have the chutzpah to question the only solution to the problem. The problem is this tendency we have to sin, and the solution is God in the flesh – Jesus Christ.
So yes, God is good, and we by choice live away from God in an evil world. Deep down inside we all know we are not good. So when an atheist complains about the evil in the world being inconsistent with a good God, it is an exercise of contradiction on the atheist’s part.
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