Why is there evil, pain, and suffering in the world?

The generic, basic, off-the-cuff response is that it’s because humans have free will. We have the ability to choose right from wrong; we are free moral agents. And this is indeed true. We do have the ability to choose. (Now whether what we choose is considered right or wrong based on a objective standard is a completely didn’t discussion than what I want to write about today. So for now, we’ll pass that idea on for another time.)

Back to the idea that we can choose right from wrong. If we choose right (narrow path, goodness, righteousness, Christ, God’s way, ect) then we are rewarded for all eternity to  enjoy paradise . If we choose wrong (evil, sin, transgressions, Satan, broad path, ect) then we are punished for all eternity. So you can choose.

Would you like a platter of paradise or a dish of torture? Is that really a choice? I mean, technically, it is a choice - but would any sane person, knowing fully all the options, choose the dish of torture? When you get down to the bottom of the bucket, to the end of it all, God is giving us some form of choice – but to us it isn’t a choice at all. It’s a demand, a demand that we must meet or else we suffer for all eternity. But we can choose to meet the demand or not, but to the human mind there really are no reasonable options. You must meet the demand.

So technically, we do have “free will”, but when you add in the human element…there is nothing free about it.

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