Why God Is Who He Is
- Type
- Class
- Topic
- Apologetics, God’s Character
- Written for
- Teens & Adults
- Notes
- 673 words
How you may use this
Use it as you wish. Adapt it, cut it, teach it. The personal stories are mine: either credit me for those or, better, tell your own. Most of the rest I gathered from other sources over the years, so I claim little original here. My one requirement — do not take this and teach it without further study.
The notes
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? -Epicurus
What does that mean exactly? Well, I’m hoping to dissect it piece by piece and let you “believers” try to come up with some kind of rebuttal. Unfortunately this will not be easy, as this quote takes care of about 99% of “faith” based arguments.
- Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
For the first part of the quote he is saying: Would God prevent evil if he could, but not able to? Then he is not an all powerful being, or God.
The next part of the quote is more of what Christians believe God is without even realizing it:
- Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Malevolent = Having or showing a wish to do evil to others.
When translated down: Is he able to stop evil, but doesn’t want to? Then he is evil.
This is a great one for Christians who say he can stop it, and he would if he could:
- Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Which, when I say it, sounds like this: Is he able to stop evil and would if he could? Then where does evil come from?
Final piece:
- Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
Translates to: Can he not stop evil and doesn’t care? Then why call him God?
- REBUTTAL -
- God is not limited or finite. He is infinite in all his attributes.
- Including goodness
- Mark 10.27
1a. Yet there is at least one thing God cannot do.
- Hebrews 6.18, Titus 1.2
- God cannot lie.
- You mean God CAN’T do something?!?
- Could God make a mountain he couldn’t move?
- “Omnipotent” does not accurately describe God.
- “Being able to do anything” does not work.
- God can do anything that DOES NOT VIOLATE HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
- If it’s not good, God can’t do it.
- He does not: cause evil, create evil, tempt people, etc.
- He does not: cause people to sin, natural disasters, etc.
- God cannot directly will evil on anyone.
- James 1.13-18
- God cannot make us sin - that is entirely our choice, and through tempting
So where does evil come from?
- Not from God, because He is ultimately good.
- From the very beginning, our sin is the cause of evil in this world
- “The Expulsion from Paradise” - Thomas Cole
- God KNEW that we would sin, yet He HOPED it wouldn’t happen
- If He knew we would sin, then why even create us?
- God had two choices when He made us.
- Free and Not Free.
- Free = free will. We decide what we do.
- You can literally do anything right now if you so choose
- God will not stop you - we are “free agents”
- Free will = possibility of sin
- Not Free = God makes decisions for us
Man is ‘totally free and morally-autonomous’
- Meaning: we can do whatever we want.
- But man does have an eternal soul - Ecc. 15.7, Luke 16.19, Matt. 16.26
- And that soul is determined by our response to God in this life - Matt. 25.41-46
- God does never NOT care about us.
- 2 Peter 3.9 - “not wishing that any should perish”
- We’re not “bad Christians” for thinking and asking questions like Epicurus did.
- If we don’t ever question Him, how can our faith develop?
- YOU are ok to question God.
- We should always have an answer, these are questions that the world asks!
FUTURE LESSONS:
- April 14 - Design Arguments
- April 21 - Moral Arguments
Near it on the shelf