Can Atheists explain to me why there is evil and suffering in the world?

Rusk

Rusk

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I am curious about atheistic perspective on this issue.

I am sure it will make a lot of sense. :)
 
I never understood how the existence of God would have any correlation to the existence of suffering. Why would humans make this bizarre assumption that just because he exists he's concerned with your pain?

The only consistent definition of God across different religions is omnipotence. Everything else is some quirky nuance probably unique to your local branch. IE in multiverse theory the lair containing unique universes with specified physical laws would be physically lawless and omnipotent itself therefore God/heaven. Is the multiverse concerned with your personal ailments?
 
There is evil and suffering in the world because there is no god (that is all loving, maximally good, perfectly moral and maximally knowledgeable and powerful).
 
meauneau said:
There is evil and suffering in the world because there is no god (that is all loving, maximally good, perfectly moral and maximally knowledgeable and powerful).
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This is a very weak argument. You lay down the terms of a specific religion (in which god is perfectly moral and all-loving) then declare his non-existence based on that.

It's why people have lowered atheism to a mere ridiculous peer of other religions.

You find an inconsistency in your parents' hyperspecific interpretation of Christianity then God's non-existence is officially proven. lol.
 
AviatorShades said:
I never understood how the existence of God would have any correlation to the existence of suffering. Why would humans make this bizarre assumption that just because he exists he's concerned with whether or not you have a tooth cavity?

The only consistent definition of God across different religions is omnipotence. Everything else is some quirky nuance probably unique to your local branch. IE in multiverse theory the lair containing unique universes with specified physical laws would be physically lawless and omnipotent itself therefore God/heaven. Is the multiverse concerned with your personal ailments?
Click to expand...

Leave God out of this thread, for the sake of discussion its a pure 100% atheistic thread. :D
 
Theres evil in the world because we need to survive no matter what.thats how evolution works.where born as predators in this world
 
Rusk said:
I am curious about atheistic perspective on this issue.

I am sure it will make a lot of sense. :)
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There is because man's capacity for good is often out done by his capacity for evil.
 
AviatorShades said:
This is a very weak argument. You lay down the terms of a specific religion (in which god is perfectly moral and all-loving) then declare his non-existence based on that.

It's why people have lowered atheism to a mere ridiculous peer of other religions.

You find an inconsistency in your parents' hyperspecific interpretation of Christianity then God's non-existence is officially proven. lol.
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That is the traditional conception of god which the majority of people believe in.

I cannot guess what silly idea of god you have, hence why I went with the traditional god of theism.
 
Tavares1988 said:
Theres evil in the world because we need to survive no matter what.thats how evolution works.where born as predators in this world
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Add to this the fact that there are limited resources and the fact that we have conflicting interests and different ways of justifying the means we choose to reach our ends, etc and you have an idea of why there is moral evil. Natural evil is due to the laws of nature.
 
meauneau said:
That is the traditional conception of god which the majority of people believe in.

I cannot guess what silly idea of god you have, hence why I went with the traditional god of theism.
Click to expand...

What the majority of a single species believes during your brief lifetime has absolutely no relevance to the existence of God. This is a matter of logic rather than religious belief.

The only consistent definition of God across religions and scientific posits is the omnipotent force when we run out of galaxies, universes, and whatever comes after that. The containing lair unbound by physical laws and finite materials which instead creates new ones from nothing. Everything after that is human subjectivity, local folklore.

When you look at one specific version of God -- the Abrahamic God or some ancient Pagan God or whatever -- find an inconsistency in that God's human-written description -- all you're doing is scolding the guy who wrote it for sloppy work. That's it.

There is no logical relationship whatsoever between the existence of God and the correctness of human interpretations of God.
 
Rusk said:
I am curious about atheistic perspective on this issue.

I am sure it will make a lot of sense. :)
Click to expand...

Because the laws of physics that govern this world are amoral.
 
Rusk said:
I am curious about atheistic perspective on this issue.

I am sure it will make a lot of sense. :)
Click to expand...
In my atheist days, I simply noted that while there is suffering, which results from evolutionary mechanisms that motivate gene survival machines being functional long enough to pass those genes on, there is no such thing as evil.

Logically coherent atheism is nihilistic.
 
There is imperfection and mortality in the world. That means the body can suffer pain and disease and that the people and things that someone gets attached to can be destroyed or harmed. We perceive combinations of those as pain or even as "evil". That's really all there is to it. The unique phenomenon is really the creation of a concept of good and evil and an expectation of what life should be--which is formed by our social nature and cultural history.
 
Humans are products of natural selection, and are inherently selfish/evil, unless it benefits them in some way. Basically, being good to your family has inherent rewards. Being a good neighbor is also rewarding. Being a member of the tribe, etc. If you're bad, we kill you, lock you in prison, or shun you. You also won't get laid. Which is probably the strongest deterrent from acting on evil impulses.
 
Because there is evil and suffering all around us in the natural world. Survival of the fittest, kill or be killed, the law of the jungle, etc.
 
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