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One does not need to be powerful to eliminate evil. All one needs to be is good. This topic intrigued me because it implies that God is not powerful because He allows evil to exist. But is this right?

Let's think for a moment, what would the world be like with no evil? If everyone was nice to each other, cared for each other and got along, wouldn't that be considered Heaven? Evil is not an entity per se but a means of comparing one set of actions to another. Alexander Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo noted that there is no true happiness or sadness in this world but a comparison of two different emotional states. So in order to be truly happy, one would need to be truly sad.

This is similar to looking to the interaction between good and evil. If there is no evil, then how are we to judge what is good? Likewise, without good, how do we know what evil is? In the East, there is a symbol of yin and yang that shows a circle that is half black and half white but within each half is a small circle of the opposite color. The meaning of this is to show in each state, there is some of the other that exists.

For example, someone who does volunteer work to help others but brags to all their friends, would they be considered good or evil? How about the thief who steals an item but returns it because they feel remorseful? Is that person good or evil? There exists a little bit in both conditions, so in my view it's a wash or there is no real difference.

To add to the fun, what is good and what is evil? If you're asked by a terminally ill friend to help them end their life because they're suffering horrible pain, do you do it? If you do, it's considered illegal and would be an evil act but it would be good because you were helping a friend. If you don't, you're allowing a friend to suffer and this would be evil but you wouldn't be breaking the law because you were doing what is legal. Perceptions cause this issue to get muddier and they aren't always based on facts nor are they constant as time goes on.

So is God really powerful? I would say definitely so and by allowing evil to exist in this world, He gives us a chance to make our own choices (good or evil or both, sometimes) to prove our worthines or unworthiness to join Him and others in Heaven where there is no evil, only good.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Don't waste it and be mostly good and not mostly evil to everyone you meet.

Learn more about this author, R Shimoda.
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