Concerning the co-existence of an all-powerful, loving, and good God with worldwide wickedness, the ancient philosopher Epicurus once mused: “Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or He can, but does not want to; or He cannot and does not want to. If He wants to, but cannot, He is impotent. If He can, and does not want to, He is wicked. But, if God both can and wants to abolish evil, then how comes evil in the world?” (Strobel, p. 25).
Tag: sin
Theologians have long contended that all mankind is guilty of Adam’s sin. This doctrine is generally entitled, “Original Sin”. One religious group defines original sin as, “a consequence of [Adam’s] first sin , the hereditary stain with which we are born on account of our origin or descent from Adam.” Western religious thinkers from Augustine forward have regarded this a fundamental Christian doctrine.
In Exodus 13:17 we are told that God led the Children of Israel in such a direction, as they were leaving Egyptian bondage, so as to avoid the Philistine army. God tells us why in the same verse, “Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war.” The word “repent,” as we see here in Exodus, carries with it a three part meaning. Firstly, the Children of Israel would recognize a problem or danger.