the nature of God

• • God is known as omnipotent
  • God is all powerful and there is nothing that he cannot do
  • this is shown through God parting the Red Sea to allow the Israelites to escape from the Egyptians, whilst also killing the Egyptians
• • God is known as omnibenevolent
  • He is full of mercy and compassion
  • this is shown in the Bible "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only and only begotten son"
• • the Greek philosopher Epicurus believed that if God was omnipotent and omnibenevolent, them he should want to stop evil and suffering, but evil and suffering still exist
  • he believed that a God that is omnipotent and omnibenevolent could not exist
  • "Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?... Then he is malevolent."
• Christian solutions to the problem of evil:

  • God gave humans free will - God exists, but cannot interfere in suffering that came from own choices
  • Suffering is not God's fault - he created a world without suffering, but sin entered when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God
  • experiencing bad things are all part of God's plan and it should teach Christians to have faith in God
  • balance is essential - humans need evil to appreciate good
  • God is fair, those who suffer and still do good will be rewarded in Heaven
• • Christians are guided on how to be good, through scripture
  • people still have fee will to choose whether to follow God's instructions
• • God is transcendent
  • this is shown in the story of Job
  • Job loses his livestock, wife and children
  • God eventually appears to Job to ask him questions which Job cannot answer
  • this shows Job how little he understands of God's plan
• • God as the Father - he cares for Christians like a parent, this is shown in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, where a son who left home and made bad choices returns, and is welcomed by his father
  • God as the Son - Jesus is the incarnation of God, Jesus is sent to show Christians how to live, "I and the Father are one", Jesus explained to his apostles that those that have seen the works of Jesus have seen the Father
  • God as the Holy Spirit - it lives in each Christians and advises them on what to do, "the Holy Spirit […] will teach you all things"
• Christian solutions to the problem of evil:

  • how free will is used will impact human lives
  • evil will always be defeated by goodness
  • evil is real (belief in the Devil) but God is more powerful than evil
  • God will always defeat the Devil
• • evil can be seen as not making it difficult to believe in God being omnipotent
  • this is shown through the story of Job
  • Job was hit with all kinds of evil, he lost his family and his livestock
  • Job kept faith through his tribulations and was blessed with double of what he had
  • "But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”