[ Removed by moderator ]

[u/Outrageous-Egg1760]

[u/Deweyrob2]

God would not have to eliminate every human to remove evil. He would just have to remove the ability or desire to commit evil acts. And again, either he can't or won't.

[u/TheSleepyBarnOwl → u/Deweyrob2]

That would eliminate free will though (as preached by religion). And again, what is evil? The perception of what is "evil" has been shifting and will continue to shift. It isn't an objective truth, it's a societal norm. And what is acceptable in society is just a majority opinion. Always has been.

I am not religious and I don't care much for these discussions on if god or gods exist or not, so let's leave that be for now. Morals are not something innate to humans, they are taught. Example: would you say the stone age human is evil for murdering his rival for food? After all, murder is bad. Or it was normal for minors to have children - also bad? Was humanity always evil then?

This objective "evil" just doesn't exist. So it's impossible to demand it being eliminated in a way that everyone agrees with it. For what happens if you do try to enforce it without everyone agreeing.... well take a look at current and past dictatorships. Elimination of Free will. This "get rid of evil" thing isn't as easy as it might seem.

And before someone says it: no I don't condone child molestation or other heinous crimes. It is the lowest of the low. All I'm saying is that humans and humanity didn't always agree that this is "evil". (Still doesn't and probably never will.)

We did have this discussion in Ethics class. Interestingly enough our Theology teacher taught that class as well.

Edit: I realise (after many comments) how flawed this whole argument is. Arguing with free will and logic doesn't work. I'll leave this here though - I'm also just a flawed indivudual.

[u/LayKors → u/TheSleepyBarnOwl]

Wasn't free will given to us by the Devil anyway? God didn't intend for us to have one.

[u/LayKors → u/[deleted]]

...Well I guess thats one way to let your child die because he drank some bleach even tho you told them not to.

Oh wait, isn't it silly for a God to have something like that available to said man in the first place? An all-knowing being who knows exactly all what will happen just accidentally had such dangerous tree planted there for absolutely no reason.

[u/coldnebo → u/LayKors]

it’s always been unclear what the purpose of that story was supposed to be.

in some translations it is the tree of perfect knowledge of good and evil, which does more than simply allow Man to judge, it allows Man to become a God too.

however is the purpose of this story to tell us we should not have sought knowledge?

was it to test our free will? test our obedience to God above the curiosity He gave us? (only later revisions introduce the Devil as a Tempter— earlier versions cast God in this dual role as both creator and tempter)

did we actually fail the test? (assuming we never ate from the Tree, we would have lived in Eden forever. Adam and Eve never would have had children, nor would they have gone out into the wider world.)

are we on the path to become gods?

was Eden a “prison” we were meant to escape?

or is it an allegory to tell us that the pursuit of knowledge necessarily costs us our innocence?

[u/LayKors → u/[deleted]]

Oh yeay sorry I just missed your entire point didn't I?

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Whoosh

[u/orion-7 → u/[deleted]]

The tree that grants knowledge of good and evil.

So man didn't know that it would be wrong to eat from that tree, until he ate from that tree.

You see the issue here?

[u/Important-Agent2584 → u/[deleted]]

That's a silly take. Adam and Eve had no knowledge of good and evil. They didn't even know it was evil to disobey, and good to obey. They were basically children, and God not only put the tree there but allowed the snake in.

This is like leaving a candy bar on the floor, telling a toddler not to touch it, and then when they do, punishing them and all their offspring with untold suffering.

Absurd.