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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 13 of 13. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Simus on March 18, 2004, at 0:53:33
(I appologize I do not know who wrote this, so I can't give credit to the person. Just something to ponder on...)
Did God create evil? This will make you think for a while.At a certain college there was a professor with a reputation for being tough on Christians. At the first class, every semester, he asked if anyone was a Christian and proceeded to degrade them and to mock their statement of faith. One semester, he asked the question and a young man raised his hand.
The professor asked, "Did God make everything, young man?"
He replied "Yes sir, He did!"
The professor responded, "If God made everything, then He made evil."
The student didn't have a response and the professor was happy to once again proved the Christian faith to be a myth.
Then another man raised his hand and asked, "May I ask you something, sir?"
"Yes, you may," responded the professor.
The young man stood up and said, "Sir, is there such a thing as cold?"
"Of course there is, what kind of a question is that? Haven't you ever been cold?"
The young man replied, "Actually, sir, cold doesn't exist. What we consider to be cold, is really an absence of heat. Absolute zero is when there is absolutely no heat, but cold does not really exist. We have only created that term to describe how we feel when heat is not there."
The young man continued, "Sir, is there such a thing as dark?"
Once again the professor responded, "Of course there is."
And once again, the student replied, "Actually, sir, darkness does not exist. Darkness is really only the absence of light. Darkness is only a term developed to describe what happens when there is no light present."
Finally, the young man asked, "Sir, is there such a thing as evil?"
The professor responded, "Of course, we have rapes, murders and violence everywhere in the world. Those thing are evil."
The student replied, "Actually, sir, evil does not exist. Evil is simply the absence of God.
Evil is a term developed to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. It isn't like truth, or love which exist as virtues like heat or light. Evil is simply the state where God is not present, like cold without heat, or darkness without light."The professor had nothing to say...
Posted by green hornet on March 18, 2004, at 14:23:48
In reply to Did God create evil?, posted by Simus on March 18, 2004, at 0:53:33
> (I appologize I do not know who wrote this, so I can't give credit to the person. Just something to ponder on...)
>
>
> Did God create evil? This will make you think for a while.
>
> At a certain college there was a professor with a reputation for being tough on Christians. At the first class, every semester, he asked if anyone was a Christian and proceeded to degrade them and to mock their statement of faith. One semester, he asked the question and a young man raised his hand.
>
> The professor asked, "Did God make everything, young man?"
>
> He replied "Yes sir, He did!"
>
> The professor responded, "If God made everything, then He made evil."
>
> The student didn't have a response and the professor was happy to once again proved the Christian faith to be a myth.
>
> Then another man raised his hand and asked, "May I ask you something, sir?"
>
> "Yes, you may," responded the professor.
>
> The young man stood up and said, "Sir, is there such a thing as cold?"
>
> "Of course there is, what kind of a question is that? Haven't you ever been cold?"
>
> The young man replied, "Actually, sir, cold doesn't exist. What we consider to be cold, is really an absence of heat. Absolute zero is when there is absolutely no heat, but cold does not really exist. We have only created that term to describe how we feel when heat is not there."
>
> The young man continued, "Sir, is there such a thing as dark?"
>
> Once again the professor responded, "Of course there is."
>
> And once again, the student replied, "Actually, sir, darkness does not exist. Darkness is really only the absence of light. Darkness is only a term developed to describe what happens when there is no light present."
>
> Finally, the young man asked, "Sir, is there such a thing as evil?"
>
> The professor responded, "Of course, we have rapes, murders and violence everywhere in the world. Those thing are evil."
>
> The student replied, "Actually, sir, evil does not exist. Evil is simply the absence of God.
> Evil is a term developed to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. It isn't like truth, or love which exist as virtues like heat or light. Evil is simply the state where God is not present, like cold without heat, or darkness without light."
>
> The professor had nothing to say...
>Simus,
I love that story, I have heard it before, but enjoyed hearing it again.
Actually in this instance man did the "creating". God gave him (man) freewill and he chose to sin thus bringing into the world. GH
Posted by green hornet on March 18, 2004, at 14:26:28
In reply to Re: Did God create evil?, posted by green hornet on March 18, 2004, at 14:23:48
> > (I appologize I do not know who wrote this, so I can't give credit to the person. Just something to ponder on...)
> >
> >
> > Did God create evil? This will make you think for a while.
> >
> > At a certain college there was a professor with a reputation for being tough on Christians. At the first class, every semester, he asked if anyone was a Christian and proceeded to degrade them and to mock their statement of faith. One semester, he asked the question and a young man raised his hand.
> >
> > The professor asked, "Did God make everything, young man?"
> >
> > He replied "Yes sir, He did!"
> >
> > The professor responded, "If God made everything, then He made evil."
> >
> > The student didn't have a response and the professor was happy to once again proved the Christian faith to be a myth.
> >
> > Then another man raised his hand and asked, "May I ask you something, sir?"
> >
> > "Yes, you may," responded the professor.
> >
> > The young man stood up and said, "Sir, is there such a thing as cold?"
> >
> > "Of course there is, what kind of a question is that? Haven't you ever been cold?"
> >
> > The young man replied, "Actually, sir, cold doesn't exist. What we consider to be cold, is really an absence of heat. Absolute zero is when there is absolutely no heat, but cold does not really exist. We have only created that term to describe how we feel when heat is not there."
> >
> > The young man continued, "Sir, is there such a thing as dark?"
> >
> > Once again the professor responded, "Of course there is."
> >
> > And once again, the student replied, "Actually, sir, darkness does not exist. Darkness is really only the absence of light. Darkness is only a term developed to describe what happens when there is no light present."
> >
> > Finally, the young man asked, "Sir, is there such a thing as evil?"
> >
> > The professor responded, "Of course, we have rapes, murders and violence everywhere in the world. Those thing are evil."
> >
> > The student replied, "Actually, sir, evil does not exist. Evil is simply the absence of God.
> > Evil is a term developed to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. It isn't like truth, or love which exist as virtues like heat or light. Evil is simply the state where God is not present, like cold without heat, or darkness without light."
> >
> > The professor had nothing to say...
> >
>
> Simus,
> I love that story, I have heard it before, but enjoyed hearing it again.
> Actually in this instance man did the "creating". God gave him (man) freewill and he chose to sin thus bringing into the world. GH
>
Actually I forgot the word "evil" in the above post
Posted by Jai Narayan on March 18, 2004, at 17:53:58
In reply to Re: Did God create evil?, posted by green hornet on March 18, 2004, at 14:26:28
I belive that evil and love and darkness and light are all part of this human existance. It's all one together and we have to work with it all. We may not like some of it but we can learn and change. In the Hindu religions they have gods that represent the darker sides of human existance and I find them very amazing. They seem to embrace it all. I like the wholistic approach.
Posted by whisper55 on March 19, 2004, at 12:19:47
In reply to Did God create evil?, posted by Simus on March 18, 2004, at 0:53:33
No God did not create evil, only good, goes back to Adam and Eve who had a choice and chose to disobey God, picked evil, then the ball started rolling and man = sins, God dint create death either.
Posted by Jai Narayan on March 19, 2004, at 16:46:54
In reply to Re: Did God create evil?, posted by whisper55 on March 19, 2004, at 12:19:47
> No God did not create evil, only good, goes back to Adam and Eve who had a choice and chose to disobey God, picked evil, then the ball started rolling and man = sins, God dint create death either.
*what happens if we do not share the same God?
Maybe my god embraces good and evil. Maybe my God embraces death. Maybe death is not the end for me, just the beginning of a new rebirth?
Can't we both be right?
Posted by Simus on March 20, 2004, at 1:01:02
In reply to Re: Did God create evil?, posted by Jai Narayan on March 19, 2004, at 16:46:54
You are certainly free to worship any "god" or idol of your chosing. I personally don't understand why anyone would chose to worship a god who embraces evil and death, but people do it.
As far as your question, "Can't we both be right?", we will know the instant we die, won't we? Unfortunately, at that point, it may be too late for the one of us who is wrong.
Posted by gabbix2 on March 20, 2004, at 1:08:38
In reply to Did God create evil?, posted by Simus on March 18, 2004, at 0:53:33
I suppose that works as a modern day parable, where the ending is written to make the story, However the students reply is so very reductive that I can't imagine it would truly silence a professor who made a point of debunking Christianity.
There are just so many plausible rebuttals to what the student said, and I'm not even a professor with an agenda or anti-Christian.
Posted by Jai Narayan on March 20, 2004, at 16:37:47
In reply to Re: Did God create evil? » Jai Narayan, posted by Simus on March 20, 2004, at 1:01:02
> You are certainly free to worship any "god" or idol of your chosing. I personally don't understand why anyone would chose to worship a god who embraces evil and death, but people do it.
>
> As far as your question, "Can't we both be right?", we will know the instant we die, won't we? Unfortunately, at that point, it may be too late for the one of us who is wrong.*My choice is God not some idol. I think that God is an evolving soul that changes and grows just as we do.
And as far as the comment that "at our death someone will be right or wrong"...well I think that's unfair and I wonder why we both can't be right.
I think that maybe we don't know at the moment of death and there is yet another process that involves a choice of rebirth or a deep rest.
Sat Nam
Jai Narayan
Posted by Simus on March 20, 2004, at 22:30:28
In reply to Re: Did God create evil?, posted by Jai Narayan on March 20, 2004, at 16:37:47
> > You are certainly free to worship any "god" or idol of your chosing. I personally don't understand why anyone would chose to worship a god who embraces evil and death, but people do it.
> >
> > As far as your question, "Can't we both be right?", we will know the instant we die, won't we? Unfortunately, at that point, it may be too late for the one of us who is wrong.
>
> *My choice is God not some idol. I think that God is an evolving soul that changes and grows just as we do.
> And as far as the comment that "at our death someone will be right or wrong"...well I think that's unfair and I wonder why we both can't be right.
> I think that maybe we don't know at the moment of death and there is yet another process that involves a choice of rebirth or a deep rest.
You believe what you believe and I believe what I believe, and time will tell, fair or not, if one of us was wrong.
Posted by Jai Narayan on March 21, 2004, at 6:26:00
In reply to Re: Did God create evil? » Jai Narayan, posted by Simus on March 20, 2004, at 22:30:28
I think God is all encompasing, embraces all, no one is left out no matter what they believe. The Faith babble site is for us all to express our beliefs and none are more important that another.
We are here to support the freedoms we have and not put anothers faith or beliefs down.
Lets agree to disagree.
Posted by Simus on March 21, 2004, at 7:01:52
In reply to infinite possibilities with God, posted by Jai Narayan on March 21, 2004, at 6:26:00
> I think God is all encompasing, embraces all, no one is left out no matter what they believe.
I think God is the omipotent God spoken of in the Bible, who does not embrace evil or death.
The thing I have come to admire about this site is that you can express your beliefs and I can express mine, and we don't have to come to some mutual agreement.
> The Faith babble site is for us all to express our beliefs and none are more important that another.
> We are here to support the freedoms we have and not put anothers faith or beliefs down.
> Lets agree to disagree.I couldn't have said it better. Thanks, Jai.
Simus
Posted by rayww on March 23, 2004, at 9:44:44
In reply to Did God create evil?, posted by Simus on March 18, 2004, at 0:53:33
I really liked that, and thanks for sharing it.
When you ask if God created evil I wonder if it also means did God create punishment for sin.
To go along with what you wrote, I might add, "God does not punish us for our sins. He simply withholds blessings" And, "The priced of disobedience is the exact opposite to blessings"
A cute sign outside a Baptist church that I saw on the weekend said, "The best vitamin for a Christian is B-1"
To be one with the church and with God, and with the word, and prayer, etc would bless and keep us.
This is the end of the thread.
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