But may I ask you a very straightforward question, given that you are a Christian: why i
n YOUR very personal opinion did the creator God you believe in create beings capable of extreme evil, and / or why does he choose not to protect at least the innocent from them? Example: this couple but certainly their 3-year old son. I make this example (I could have made gazillions more) because I'm truly interested in how you are able to deal with something like this and still love and worship your God and be grateful for his creation. Since he's omnipotent, why did he choose to create a world with beings capable of this? And why in your opinion does he not intervene to protect the innocent at least? Thank you in advance for your reply.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/0...e-to-isis-kills-french-police-chief-wife.html
Couple thoughts on all this. First, seems like this is always phrased like it's ALL on God, because "He" is "omnipotent". (Really, it's the Western interpretation of God, as some omnipotent old bearded man in the sky, which begs this question as much as it does). On the other hand, if any of us believe (i) there is a God (any God) AND (ii) we have free will ... well, we showed up on scene, so despite the morally confusing appearance to life, somehow we ALL signed up for this by the fact we're here.
I think Eastern thought is better at getting to the heart of this (while still leaving something to be desired ...) Good/Evil, especially the way they're being talked about here, rely heavily on Cause/Effect. Both those pairs of opposites are dependent on before/after, or existence in linear time (like all pairs of opposites, really) . I'm of the opinion, God is beyond linear time. (Aren't most of the forum members on here of similar opinion?) God ultimately transcends the tension of opposites, which are characteristic of the
experience of linear time, i.e. being incarnated in the flesh. So, it's not like good/evil and the acts thereof can be added on to creation, or removed, like some bonus feature when shopping for a car. They are a direct ramification of signing up for the
experience of being alive. This is where things happen, this is where things are hashed out.
The artistic depictions of the Gods in India cover all this fairly well, like the following.
"The following piece of Indian art from 8th century AD also illustrates all of these ideas. It is of Shiva Maheshvara - the personification of the fullness of the Absolute. The two heads on either side are male and female, and are representative of all pairs of opposites. The head down the middle is the ground of all being beyond all pairs of opposites, but also the eviternal source from which they all spring"
Depending on your perspective - as one who is incarnated, or as viewed from the "eviternal source" - this issue may even fade away. I think my post demonstrates that depending on your interpretation of reality (meaning which religion you are more, or less, predisposed to take with some truth) this issue may be of greater, or lesser, importance to the individual. (Of course, all religions are referencing the same transcendent reality. We just get too wrapped up on the symbol, rather than what it's referring to)
So, I'm not even sure the right question to ask is, "Why is Evil allowed in the world". It pretty much has to be here (to greater, or lesser, extents). So, maybe better question would be, why did we choose to participate in the first place? What exactly are we getting out of this experience?
Even there, I think the answer might be summed as simply as ... we're here for the
experience. Is there a rational answer to an experience that transcends the rational? According to many (all?) mythologies, life does just that. Is this what the Buddha meant when asked during the famous Flower Sermon, 'What is the Meaning of Life", and he just held up a flower? What is the meaning of a flower? Why did God create flowers? Is there a rational answer to that question? Because, there are an infinite number of questions like this one could ask about "creation". None of them really have a rational answer from what I can tell. Perhaps the reason the Buddha used no words in answering. Only one Monk was said to have understood and achieved enlightenment that very moment.
Since we're all still
talking about this, I'm assuming we haven't quite hit Nirvana yet ;-)
This all relates to Indra's Many Jeweled Net too, another theme that can touch on this. When you see a flower, a flower implies water, and soil, and the Sun, and even the Big Bang itself.
Everything in life, implies
everything else. Hot implies Cold. Male implies Female. Before Implies After. Cause Implies Effect. And, yes, Good implies Evil. And, it goes on and on and on. It's all Interdependent and connected (like Indra's Net). It's still the Big Bang Banging. Each Now is a moment of Interdependent Creation, which we all take part in, creating what we see out there in the world, including all the Evil (and Good). It's a
participatory Universe, as Quantum Mechanics seems to hint at to some extent.
Anyhow, I've blabbed on long enough ...
(EDIT: Wow, that photo turned out huge. Sorry!)