<< Well hold on now. The issue was whether we could reconcile the idea of God
with the presence of evil and not end up with the conclusion that we should
not try to overcome evil ourselves. It simply has nothing to do with the
particulars of any specific religion >>
Andrew, I should have included a paragraph tying this together with that
reconciliation theme.
I can't reconcile god with evil because i simply can't buy the argument that
god is standing aside, neutral. Observing. Letting us make it or not. For
one simple reason. There is no such thing as being neutral in such a
situation. It is, say, Charles Mansons, choice to commit evil. Fine. What
about his victims?. Where did their choice go? Or the victims of horrible
diseases, accidents and the like. These may not be things you consider evil,
but I certainly consider any god that would sit by and permit such, to be
evil, ruthless, and sadistic.
Since I observe such evils to exist, I can only come to one of two
conclusions; either god does not exist, or he is one cruel bastard. It
honestly seems to me that most attempts to reconcile the two result in a
grasping at straws, at best.
Sure, we can come up with a theory to explain just about anything. Finding one
or three or a dozen that allow for god to exist and for him to allow evil to
exist isn't that hard. But they strike me as lame attempts to hold on to a
superstition and fearful outlook on the world and the universe.
Thanks for your comments..be well, Cori