God and evil
Introduction
God is a supernatural being or spirit, ruler of the universe, and considered to be the source of all moral authority and having power over human fortunes and nature. On the contrary, evil is the supernatural force that certain people believe to exist that causes terrible and wicked things. Controversy and debates from different philosophers have emerged about God’s existence and the purpose that he serves in our lives. Such disputes include;” the absurdity of life without God by Craig, suffering: Richard Dawkins contra Jesus by Thomas and the plight of the new Atheism by Herbamas.
Compare and contrast the three readingsIn the absurdity of life without God by Craig, Craig states that if life exists with no God, its meaningless, lacks purpose, and has no value. Furthermore, Craig argues that people will live unhappily without God in their lives as they will have no moral value of right and wrong. Thus people will live selfishly only for themselves as they will account to no one for their actions. Furthermore, people will live a life of despair without hope for future and eternal life; thus life will be meaningless.
On the other hand, in the reading suffering: Richard Dawkins contra Jesus by Tom Thomas, Tom states that in the event of distress, people result in asking why they are going through a difficult situation. Richard argues that people should cease to seek the reason for their suffering and pain and accept the reality that nature is neither kind nor unkind; nature is neither for suffering nor against it, and suffering is as meaningless as good fortune. On the contrary, contrast Jesus’s illumination states that people should accept pain and suffering and persevere because it will result in joy. Also, there has been an emergence of new groups of atheists who do not believe in God’s existence. They argue that Christians need evidence and justification to hold religious and ethical views on values and morals.
- What are some philosophical similarities and differences between the readings?
Differences
First, atheists fail to believe in God’s existence as they argue that people should not believe in the existence of any particular thing without evidence. Atheists disagree with the evolution belief that God created the universe, stating that God also had to be created. Therefore they argue that Christians need to come up with proof of God’s existence. On the contrary, Craig argues that through creation and evolution, God’s existence has been proven, and people should include God in their lives to have a life with purpose and meaning. Craig states that with God in our lives, life will be immortal.
Secondly, Richard Dawkins explains that God uses pain and tribulations to teach Christians about perseverance, which later results in joy. For example, an expectant woman in labor goes through pain, physically and emotionally, before meeting her baby, which results in so much joy. Therefore, Christians should endure through suffering. On the contrary, atheists wonder why pain and suffering exist worldwide, for example, genocide, rape, mass killings, and molestation of young children. Furthermore, atheists wonder why Christians believe that God exists, and he allows people to go through pain and suffering (Velarde, 2009). They argue that there is no God as there is no evidence that proves his existence.
Similarities
First, atheists argue that Christians practice morality, not because of the fear of hellfire nor hopes of going to heaven but because of the set values grounded in human culture. Atheists claim that morals and values are considered wrong or right whether you are a Christian or not, for example, slavery, rape, and murder (Habermas, 2008). Furthermore, Craig explains that living a life with God helps one better understand the standards of wrongs and rights set up by the community and the importance of following the rules to live a meaningful and fulfilled life. Thus both atheists and Christians believe in the absolute morality in humankind.
Secondly, Christians and atheists have both agreed about the misconduct of some religious leaders who hide behind religious teachings and views to conduct despicable behaviors. BothCraig and certain atheists believe that Christian parents misuse their roles as parents and thus expose their children to evil teachings and beliefs. The parents engage in some practices in the name of religious beliefs. Such acts include infant genitalia mutilation, to be considered for a particular position in the church.Moreso in recent years, there has been a rising number of cases of misconduct of certain catholic priests. The latter have been luring young boys into sexual activities.
- Can life have objective meaning without God? Defend your answer, making reference (pro or con) to the readings.
Life cannot have an objective meaning without God because life without God will lead to a suffering nation. There will be no values of either right or wrongs committed, which will lead to war and oppression in the world. Furthermore, people will wonder if there is any need for them to be either saints or Stalins to others. Therefore, they will look out only for themselves as they will argue that life is vanity, and therefore they will not be accountable to anyone of their actions. Thus, God gives hope to the human race that there is life after death to live happy and contented lives with an expectation of eternal life (Craig, 2008). Furthermore, the world is full of pain, distress, and suffering, but God gives us a purpose to live by encouraging us that there is joy after our suffering.
- Could life be” good” without objective meaning? Defend your answer, making reference (pro or con) to the reading(s).
Without actual meaning, life will be of no purpose; it will not be good. Without objective meaning, the human race will view life as that of a dog living with no hope for the future as all is vanity. As Craig states in his reading, life without actual meaning will not be useful as there will be no right or wrong. Everybody will be permitted to do as they wish, leading to evil acts like killings, oppression of the poor, abortion, and even molestations. However, with an objective meaning, humankind will be able to choose a particular course of action that will guide them through life to achieve their life desires and goals.
- What effect does your conclusion regarding the problem of evil have in your view on the philosophical case for Gods existence, explain how and why?
Evil exists all around the world. Atheists view God as either evil or impotent for allowing bad things to happen to people. However, there are harmful and undesirable behaviors around the world, but God exists, and he uses those problems for the better good of the individual in later life. Therefore God has a reason for allowing evil and suffering to happen in the world. He wants people to believe in his existence and practice good morals and values in the hope of their resurrection after death. With the existence of so much evil around the world, God has given people hope of eternal life.