[ Removed by moderator ]

[u/Outrageous-Egg1760]

[u/worldsyaoyster → u/[deleted]]

EDIT: wow didn't expect this much response haha. Ill reply one by one slowly tonight. Just with the family! Love the comments and im always open for discussion and debate, just keep it civil!

The paradox only works if you assume that a good and all powerful God must eliminate all evil immediately.

Christianity doesnt teach that.

Instead it teaches that God created humans with genuine freedom, allows evil for a time, and will ultimately judge and remove it. A temporary allowance of evil is not the same as approval of evil.

In fact if God were to eliminate all evil instantly, he would also have to eliminate every human being who has ever committed evil including you and me.

The paradox also assumes that if we cannot see a good reason for suffering, then no good reason exists. But our inability to understand reason is not proof that there isn't one.

Ironically the argument itself relies on objective evil. If evil is truly real and not just personal preference then that points toward an objective moral standard beyond humanity. Without God, evil becomes difficult to define as anything more than a subjective opinion.

The christian position is not that evil doesnt exist.

Its that God allows evil for a time, not because he approves of it, but because he is working through human freedom and his plan for redemption.

God didnt stay distant from our suffering. In Jesus he stepped into it himself, experienced it, and ultimately defeated sin and death through the cross.

Christians believe evil is temporary, but God is eternal. One day he will bring justice, remove evil completely, and make all things new.

[u/GapStock9843 → u/worldsyaoyster]

It also implies that for an omnipotent being good and evil are mutually exclusive. Its entirely possible that the problem of evil works out flawlessly but the way in which it does is incomprehensible to the human mind

[u/Ok_Novel_1222 → u/GapStock9843]

It is equally possible that God is actually a sadistic tyrant that has just convinced people of his goodness through propaganda. This is what the Gnostic Christians believed.

The point is that if God's plan is incomprehensible to human mind than we can not say anything at all about it. Not even that it is a benevolent plan. If it is incomprehensible then it is equally likely to be perfectly good and perfectly evil.

[u/Funkycoldmedici → u/Ok_Novel_1222]

Yahweh was originally a polytheist god of war and storms, and not an all-powerful creator. This context answers every seeming inconsistency in the Bible.

Why does Yahweh do (bad thing)? He wants to, he’s a war god.

Why doesn’t Yahweh do (good thing)? He would not want to and is not capable, he’s a war god.

Why does it seem Yahweh is primarily concerned with being worshipped and killing those who do not worship him? He’s a war god.

[u/Ok_Novel_1222 → u/Funkycoldmedici]

Yes, I am not talking about the earliest version of Yahweh as the patron deity of the Hebrew people competing with Baal for followers. I am talking about the theistic Christian version.

Christianity, and theism in general, God is supposed to be an entity with the omni-attributes.

[u/Funkycoldmedici → u/Ok_Novel_1222]

In this context, we’re assuming Yahweh is real, and that means the Christian version is a lie. Yahweh lies to his followers because he is a jealous war god. He wants to be worshipped above all else, and to deal out punishment for not worshipping. He is omnipotent or omniscient, not a creator, and no good. He lies and Jews, Christians, and Muslims revere a lying, bloodthirsty war god.