THE IMPOSSIBLE GOD? Part One.

Ben Elves
Ben Elves
Jul 22, 2017 · 4 min read

1- Evil is allowed for the sake of free will: The first Paradox

An age-old question exists, one which many have brought up; possibly without much thought as it is such a popular one. It just so happens that an age-old answer to that question exists, with equally less thought.

It is not the first time, nor will it be the last; that this argument arises, but in the context of this series of articles it is worth bringing up again purely to analyse both parts.

Question and answer fit together like this:

“If there is a God, why does He allow so much evil in the world?”

“Because God gave us free will, and to prevent man doing evil is to remove free will.”

It is an entirely reasonable question in some ways, and an entirely reasonable answer in others. Until you think about it. Before we tackle the argument, perhaps we should define “evil”.

Technically, evil could rationally be described as that which offends God, for there are a great many “don’t do its” in any faith. Coveting your Granny’s Swiss Cheese plant is probably evil somewhere.

Things that offend God are always written down somewhere, but oddly enough, not by God. Of all the religious texts I have read and seen, I cannot remember seeing God listed as the author, and I do not recall Him even getting a one-line mention in the acknowledgements……..

So strictly speaking, evil is defined as that which is written by man on behalf of God. We cannot even tell which man it was who wrote it, and therefore the writer, or writers, cannot be relied upon.

For the sake of argument, let us assume that they are totally reliable. Let us assume that the Ten Commandments are in fact the very Word of God.

Other evils have been introduced since the Big Ten Do’s and Don’ts of God; like it being a sin to hear Mass in any other language than Latin- a sin that was later repealed after many people were burned alive for committing it.

Thou Shalt Not Kill is a good one, it is just a shame that so many religions have engineered loopholes in it.

Nobody can deny that the Ten Commandments are generally a pretty good guideline for living in society to keep order.

Another definition of evil is: that which is just plain nasty. But nastiness is something which is judged by society. And just as society has changed, so has what is viewed as nastiness. The Crusaders thought that mass murder and rape was a perfectly acceptable pastime, and not long ago whale hunting was too.

What one society regards as evil, another may not. So is evil no more than a point of view? If that is the case, perhaps there is no such thing as evil. Just behaviour which some see as extremely offensive.

So….. back to the Question; “If there is a God, why does He allow so much evil in the world?”

It would seem that actually He does not, he just lets us mere Humans find some things offensive and unacceptable. He lets us define what is evil and what is not. And perhaps the reality is that there is no such thing as evil.

Now the question has no validity. The stock reply however, cannot chase this argument; because if nothing can be regarded as evil, there is no point in trying to be good. Because everything must be good.

For the sake of argument (once again) let us assume that evil exists. It is that which offends God.

Well, God is all-powerful right? He knows everything. Time means nothing to Him for he is everywhere and everywhen. God has foresight, and knows the future.

“Because God gave us free will, and to prevent man doing evil is to remove free will.”

Oh dear. This now causes a paradox. You see, if God knows what will happen in the future, that means that pre-destiny is a reality. And you cannot have free will if pre-destiny exists. Free will means that the future is open to anything. It is up to us to decide.

Unless of course we all get wiped out by an asteroid, in which case it does not really matter anyway. It will have all been for nothing.

So does evil exist? And if so, then it must serve a purpose. Because God would not allow it unless it did. Unless of course, He wants it.

One thing to bear in mind is this simple fact: disease has killed more people than every war and conflict in the history of the Human race. God created disease.

Can it be evil if it is the Will Of God? It might explain the Inquisition………

So let examine how free will comes about. For free will, some measure of intelligence is required- otherwise there is only instinct and behavioural patterns which arise from it. Learning and the accumulation of knowledge is part and parcel of the whole intelligence thing. But apparently God forbade the first humans from developing it, by commanding that they did not eat from the Tree of Knowledge. This proves that God did not actually wish for us to have free will, therefore the argument for allowing Sin crumbles into nothing.

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