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If God is all powerful and all knowing, the source of all that is good and kind and right, how could He allow evil human beings to snuff out the lives of people who have done them no harm? Why would He allow such things?
by Bruce Gore
If God, who made the world, is good, why has the world gone wrong? If He is loving and merciful, why does He allow such horrible events? If He made His whole creation good, why hasn't it stayed good? If He possesses absolute power and hates evil, why does He permit such evil things to happen?
We often ask such questions when a child runs into a street and is struck down, when a speeding, drunken driver takes the lives of an innocent family or when someone falls victim to random violence. The stunning amount of destruction and loss of life in the World Trade Center and Pentagon has focused even greater attention on such questions.
Most people with religious upbringings learned that the world came into existence by the creative act of a great and powerful divine being. But obviously a great many things have gone wrong in the world since that time.
So we ask ourselves: Where was God on Sept. 11 ? Why didn't He act to prevent such an evil? Doesn't He exercise control over everything that occurs? Is God powerless to prevent evil?
What would it take to eliminate tragedy?
The answer to those questions is inherent in another: Do we want God to totally control everything we do?
Think about it for a minute. Would you want someone else to take control of your life, to dictate everything you could or could not do, to determine everything you did in your every waking moment? Would you want that kind of domination over your life?
Where would you draw the line on what you would want God not to allow? Should God prevent anyone who drives too fast from speeding? Should He keep all of us from viewing television shows, movies and video games that could influence some to lust or commit acts of depravity and violence?
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