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Posted with @DittoRepost • @standtoreason Greg Koukl wants to give you four ways questions can increase your margin of safety while still providing a great opportunity for you to make a difference. You can find the full article through the link on our profile titled "4 Ways Questions Keep You Safe in Scary Conversations". #GregKoukl #Tactics #Christianity #Apologetics #Theology #STR https://www.instagram.com/p/CEbIwiOnBXi/?igshid=1au77a4lutihj
My notes on "If God is good, why does evil exist?" lecture by Greg Koukl
Most people see this question as controversial, I personally don't. I know that my God is good ALL the time, during the good and the bad.I also know that if there is evil it is because this world isn't the way He planned it. But I also firmly believe that this isn't something 'I learned' from going to church, this is something that was revealed to me. And I also know that this statement is only easy to comprehend by those who believe. But what about those who don't believe? That's the whole point of this. Last night I had the opportunity to go to this lecture by Greg Koukl, MA in Phil. of Religion and when chances to learn like this come around, I don't ever take them as coincidences.
Evil is not a 'thing'
Koukl gave this example: Donut holes are actually what's left when the middle is cut out of a donut. There's a space called a hole, a 'nothing' what's left when something is taken away. Same thing with a shadow. Shadows don't exist as things in themselves; they're just the absence of light.
Koukl explain that Evil is like that. Evil is the absence of good, a privation of good, not a 'thing' in itself.
In the beginning everything was good -- but why would God, in all of His power allow evil to infect his creation? God did not create Adam and Eve with evil in them but he did create them with a choice, and yes we understand that Satan is in the picture, but he didn't infect them with evil, they are responsible for their own evil. In the same way, evil doesn't cause our actions. In fact, it's the other way around. Our actions are what cause evil or the loss of goodness in us, which then obviously has consequences. Relativism
The doctrine that knowledge, truth, and morality exist in relation to culture, society, or historical context, and are not absolute.
If you don't believe there is a God, because of the existence of evil, then there's no possibility of ever redeeming that evil for good. In a Relativistic world there is no specific definition of evil. But there is evil in the world! Evil is possible because of something good God did. He created human beings with choices. Koukl went on to saying, "And so, instead of saying, 'God created all things, and evil is a thing, therefore God created evil,' we start from a different point. 'All things God created are good-which is what the text says-and evil isn't good, therefore God didn't create evil.' Then we can progress to, 'If God created all things, and God didn't create evil, then evil is not a thing.'"
What is God doing about Evil?
Koukl explained that there are four things God has given us to help us deal with evil.
1. Family, Government and the Church 2. God has given Himself to anyone that wants Him in their lives 3. There is a promise He has given us that He will restore the world in which we live in 4. God sent his one and only son to save us
We have to understand that we are part of the 'evil' issue. But we must trust that God does allow a privation of 'good evil' to influence our lives, He does it not for evil designs, but ultimately for good purposes. It is ultimately ALL for his glory.
