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

Lack of self belief, materialism, dumb down of humanity, sellouts, etc.
 
Skarr said:
do I? care to explain how you come to that conclusion or are you content enough to be written off as a knob?
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That's what you're going to think anyway as a psychological defense. It's ok, I don't care. But the reason is you blaming religion for suffering in the world instead of admitting that it is the strongest known alleviating factor for it.
 
Thurisaz said:
That's what you're going to think anyway as a psychological defense. It's ok, I don't care. But the reason is you blaming religion for suffering in the world instead of admitting that it is the strongest known alleviating factor for it.
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Hahahahahahaha
 
Thurisaz said:
That's what you're going to think anyway as a psychological defense. It's ok, I don't care. But the reason is you blaming religion for suffering in the world instead of admitting that it is the strongest known alleviating factor for it.
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legit lol'd
sorry I didnt realize you were a troll until this post, carry on lol
 
JonnyRingo84 said:
no, atheists cannot explain this. other than to say what is good, and what is evil, are simply subjective categories that we place events and actions within. its a matter of perspective.

a more difficult question would be for the theists. why would a god punish his own creations for acting out the things that he gave them the capacity and desire to do?
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Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do it. A 5 year old could answer that question.
 
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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if a God is loving, moral, and good, why would it take away people's free will to commit evil acts? Sounds pretty immoral, loving, and good.
 
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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What do you mean by 'evil': are you referring to what you think is evil, what I/we think is evil, why the word 'evil' exists, why humans subscribe to the concept of evil, why it has the dictionary definitions it does or something else?

As for suffering, it's because all life is subject to competition for resources and violence is a very handy way of getting what you need.
 
The question presupposes that there is a reason why things exist.

Things exist. There is no reason for existence. Only after they exist do they obtain essence. "Evil" is an essence. The reason it exists is because people create it and become it.
 
ncordless said:
Are there things in this world that are beyond the power of God to control? Things which he is not the creator of? Ideas that are not known to him?
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Who is to say allowing evil to exist means there is no God or even that God is not good. Not getting that. Not following that logic.
 
pretty easy: there is no God, no supreme being designed anything, and that's why mutations and evil exists.

Its much, much more egregious to believe in a GOD, which means he purposely designed a system w/ birth defects, cancer, etc... all exists in the world he apparently designed from scratch. The most incompetent dick of all times
 
Pixelated Porn said:
Who is to say allowing evil to exist means there is no God or even that God is not good. Not getting that. Not following that logic.
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It may be that evil exists and that there is a God and he is good. But if so, then there are things which exist which were created by something other than him, and things which he either does not have the power to create or destroy, and there are things he cannot know.

How could God, if he is good, create evil? Yet it exists.

How could God, if he is good and has continuing power over everything, have power over evil?

How could God, if he is good, have evil thoughtsl?
 
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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Ultimately people care about their own well being more than others. It is a biological imperative that people have no greater love than that for their own stomach. Humans are not the only part of the animal kingdom that shreds apart life and that is central to our biology. Most people aim to have their personal needs met and do not have the same level of concerns for others. Many people who put others ahead of themselves find them being manipulated and cheated by the less scrupulous and more selfish people. So one's generosity often works against itself. It often forces those people to become, to some degree, both greater or less than what they rally against.

While there is not greater society than one where everyone plays by the rules, reality is someone who bucks the rules has a large strategic advantage over those who do. This means unscrupulous people tend to rise to the top. It is no surprise that big time politicians and big time business people both tend to use extreme amounts of deception to reach their positions. And in sport why people break rules like take enhancers because it is the way for lesser abled people to become more abled.

A lot really truly does come down to game theory. Political systems that have tried to buck game theory have largely failed. By any objective measures, leaders of superpowers have almost all been war criminals if you strip away all the bullshit. The best we do is try to create systems of checks and balances to minimize the darkness of society, but it is always there in abundance.
 
ncordless said:
It may be that evil exists and that there is a God and he is good. But if so, then there are things which exist which were created by something other than him, and things which he either does not have the power to create or destroy, and there are things he cannot know.

How could God, if he is good, create evil? Yet it exists.

How could God, if he is good and has continuing power over everything, have power over evil?

How could God, if he is good, have evil thoughtsl?
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Why do you think God created evil?

meauneau said:
Arguments from evil.
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I know what it is, but how does this convince you God does not exist? Or do you not know and just parrot shit?
 
Pixelated Porn said:
Why do you think God created evil?
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I don't know that he did. But if he didn't, and it does exist, then God is not an all-powerful, all-knowing, creator of everything. If God does exist and is an omnipotent, omniscient, creator of everything, then either evil doesn't really exist, or God is, or at least has some, evil in him.
 
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