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  • Writer's pictureBible Brian

Man sues his parents for his own murder


Disclaimer: The article in the "screenshot" is fake. It is not even a normal screenshot, it is heavily edited, with the sole intention of making the point in this article.


The problem of evil calls into question four of God's attributes:


1. His omniscience.

2. His omnipotence.

3. His omnibenevolence.

4. His existence.


If God is all knowing, all powerful, and all loving, evil should not exist, because He would want to stop all evil, know about all evil, and have the power to stop all evil. Therefore, if evil exists anywhere in the universe, God either does not exist, or lacks at least one of the attributes mentioned above.


Of course, there are answers to the problem of evil. In fact, one of the solutions to the problem of evil is that evil, as the opposition to God, could not exist unless God also exists. Therefore, by acknowledging the existence of evil, unbelievers inadvertently admit that God exists.


But the problem of evil is far more complex than I have just stated above. There are layers upon layers that various unbelievers have added to it over the years. One of those layers is to attack God's omnibenevolence by saying that, since God knew evil would exist if He created us, and yet He created us anyway, He is therefore responsible for that evil.


To this, I like to respond with the spoof found in today's meme. There are some scenarios in which knowing that an evil will, or even might occur, makes one liable for it. In fact, there is a whole legal term designed to describe such scenarios: Negligence. However, negligence does not occur when adequate steps have been taken to fulfil what is called the "duty of care". A wet floor without a warning sign may be considered negligence, because someone is likely to slip. A wet floor with a warning sign, and especially with a "do not enter" sign, complete with barriers, would not be considered negligence. The damages that occur from ignoring the signs are on the person who slips, not the person who wet the floor.


Obviously, life is a lot more precious than a shiny clean floor. But tragically, all life ends. When two parents conceive a child, they know that child will die. Sadly, we're all going to die. Yet how foolish would it be if a son or daughter tried to sue their parents, claiming that because they knew death was inevitable, the act of giving them life is equal to the act of taking it? By the logic that it is ok to blame God for the evil His creations would commit, just because He knew they would commit it, we should criminalise conception, just because we know that every child conceived will eventually depart from the land of the living.


But just as life is more precious than a wet floor, souls are more precious than life. A parent knows that the last thing their child will ever do is die, but God did not design life to be the final end. See, there will be a time when God will deal with all evil. Satan, his angels, and all of his deeds will one day be cast into the lake of fire, never to return again. As for God's children? They will be with Him forever, living in a state so beautiful that the Bible actually tells us this world will not even be called to mind. Even an actual murder victim will completely forget even the most brutal horrors of their death.


This adds a whole new layer to things. In the case of the wet floor, we're talking about an unnecessary evil. You can usually wait until all customers have gone home to clean the floor. When it comes to childbirth, you don't have to have a child. It's just a beautiful thing with a tragic end. But with eternity? This is a tragic thing with a beautiful end. The ends most certainly justify the means. Millions of people throughout history have suffered not just in Christ, but actually for Him. Yet His word says their suffering isn't worth comparing to their reward.


To illustrate this, let's talk about a YouTuber called Mr. Beast. Mr. Beast is known for his generosity. He hands out cash and gifts like smarties, usually as prizes for winning a strange challenge. One of the things he does is destroy his friends' cars. But he doesn't just destroy them. First, he doesn't just arbitrarily decide "hey, I want to destroy this guy's car". Rather, he listens to that friend, who has already expressed the desire for a new car. After destroying the car, the friend is either presented with a vastly superior brand new car, or with the money to go out and choose such a car for themselves. To this day, I have never seen a single person complain about the destruction of their old car in light of receiving a new one. Now, two cars are fairly close in value. Eternal life and mortal life are not. If no one complains when their old car is replaced with a new one, who in Heaven would complain about anything in this life?


But what of those who perish? For this, we really need to cut away the emotions. This will certainly be easier said than done, but when we think about it objectively, this is still a justified risk, given the end goal. First, we have to consider that Heaven is open to everyone. God did not create a single person with the intention that they go to Hell, neither does He deny them the potential to repent and be saved. Every single person who will ever go to Hell is there by their own choice. It is the just punishment for sin.


Furthermore, God does offer a way out. In fact, it is a way out that was purchased at great expense to Him. Jesus suffered the penalty for the sins of the whole world. Do we imagine it was easy for the Father to punish His beloved Son? Or for the Son to leave His Heavenly throne, become a mortal man, face the most offensive creatures who have ever taken on flesh, and let them torture Him, all so they could be forgiven for the very things they were doing at that very moment? That's pure love! If God punished 100% of sinners and just created Heaven for Jesus, that would still be good and just. But the fact that instead, Jesus took the punishment for sin so that anyone, anyone who trusts in Him, can go to Heaven instead, is astonishing.


Heaven is a gift to those who accept it. Hell is not a price sinners pay so that others may go to Heaven. It's not like if sinners don't go to Hell, no one gets to Heaven. Quite the opposite, all sinners can go to Heaven forever. As I said, Hell wasn't even designed for man, it was designed for devils. And so not only is Hell a justified risk for a glorious end, it isn't even a means to that end. Yes, God has always known that people will go to Hell, and even which people will go to Hell, but He has also provided the means by which those exact same people may have been saved. If they had accepted that offer, He would have known they would have instead of knowing they wouldn't.


And so the solution to all of this isn't to complain about death, the evils suffered during Earthly life, or even the fact that sin carries eternal consequences, but actually to accept the gift of eternal life! To blame God for evil, or even for how the impenitent are punished for that evil, is more absurd than blaming a parent for the death of their child. But to embrace God, and the life He brings, is more good and proper than to love one's own parents.

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