God Did Not Create Darkness, Evil, Or Cold.
Light can be measured in all of it's spectrum. Darkness cannot be measured. It is simply a lack of light. Cold does not exist it is simply a lack of heat. Evil does not exist it is simply a lack of the presence and love of God. Hell is simply being cut off from the presence and love of God much like you freeze when you have no heat, and it is dark when the light is not on.
these exist on their own
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these are all a lack of God
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It follows from the logic above expressed that all things natural are evil unless they are sustained by the divine beneficence of The Lord. As this is a theistic debate, we shall ignore the fact that The Lord is a fictional being, a nonsense designed to answer questions that His inventor was too ignorant and too primitive to understand or answer rationally. We must consider the proposition of evil being the natural result of disconnection from The Lord's presence. However, by what means the presence of an omnipresent being may be removed or ignored, I must admit myself unable to conceive! It defies canon to suggest that any thing can be contrived that does not coincide with the plan of God. Thus every process and action on the Earth is intrinsically linked to the machination of The Lord, and therefore unable to escape His presence. Even if, by some impossible stretch of conception, such an implicit link were to be avoided, it would not be possible to absolve The Lord of the iniquitous crime of having allowed it to be, for the presence of God being under the power of none other than The Lord Himself, it must be by His hand that evil be allowed to fester and corrupt. Therefore, by this logic, God is still responsible for the existence of Evil. Quod Erat Demonstrandum. Side: Boulderdash
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This argument is rigged. I like neither choice. I don't believe that cold or darkness exist, but merely they are concepts we have created to explain these phenomenon, the absense of heat and the absense of light. Good and evil are both like this - Concepts we have created to convey phenomenon which does not exist. For example, a man helps an elderly woman out of her car and helps her with his groceries. Most would say this is a good thing to do. However, there is no tangible form of goodness. There's facts, that we interpret a certain way to come to a conclusion. The options for this argument, however, is my true problem right now. If i did not believe that these things existed, this topic forces me to say that they are the absense of God? What kind of, honestly, idiotic bullshit is that? The absense of heat is NOT the absense of God. It is a physical phenomenon related to the prescence or absence of HEAT ENERGY. Nothing more and nothing less. Further, I don't believe in God. I believe the prescence of light and the prescence of heat STILL means the absense of God. Try again. Edit: I forgot to mention - The reason behind my actual choice in this debate is because I believe darkness and cold exist in our minds - and was the more reasonable option, therefore, between the two. Side: Boulderdash
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Not what I was attempting to say. In the actual debate, my opinion would be that the perception is real, but there is no material form to darkness, evil, good, or cold, and therefore, realistically, they do not exist. However, if I were to take this position, based on the two options, I would have to agree that these things are 'an absense of God'. The two options are not opposite options to the same argument. Instead, we're arguing whether or not darkness and cold are the absesne of God? What is this exactly? Or am I the only one who truly sees the nonsense of the option "these are all a lack of God"? Recreate the topic with the actual options. If the argument is whether or not evil is LIKE cold or darkness, then make the options "Evil is a lack of God" and "God created Evil". If the argument is evil, cold and darkness either exist or are a lack of SOMETHING (NOT a lack of God, as the idea of darkness or cold being a lack of God is just... retarded) then the options would be "These exist on their own" or "These are a lack of SOMETHING". Seriously. Try again. Side: these exist on their own
Since EnigmaticMan's already pointed out how logically difficult it is to excuse God for allowing evil, I'll just add a couple of side notes. If Hell refers to the state of being disconnected from God, then I, having been atheist all my life, have been in Hell from birth. I find it a very pleasant place to be in, and wouldn't ever dream of trying to find my way to Heaven. I also see little correlation between Hell and evil, or between Heaven and good. The presence of God is not the sole means of conferring goodness, nor is his absence a guarantee of evil. Much good has been done by people who don't believe in God and hence have no relationship with him, and much evil has been done by God himself (according to the Bible) and by his fervent followers. Side: these exist on their own
Peekaboo, I hear what you are saying and it is fairly adept logic. Fine. And yet however, there is that verse in Genesis: "and ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil". Adam and Eve ate of the fruit, thus critical thinking was born. Good and evil are for us to discover and find out: that is what the journey we call "life" is for.... Things like right and wrong are independent of religious thought: therefore an Atheist can be good and a Christian bad. Just because something is done in God's name does not mean He did it. Side: these are all a lack of God
I personally also believe that good/evil, right/wrong etc are concepts independent of religious thought, but this would go against the idea that evil is the absence of God's love. To say that good is where God is, and evil is where God isn't, is to tie religion inextricably with these concepts. Side: these exist on their own
Nature apparently created what it had to. And then those created what they could. Absence of heat created cold. And it exists. It may not be independent but it it is still there. Evil is independent. Any deed that is uncommonly hurtful is evil. You do not need the absence of goodness alone. It can be created in itself. Side: these exist on their own
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This is not a true false question, both sides are describing the same thing and is not a yes/no answer. If God is ALL things - that would include Darkness, Evil, or Cold and therefore your debate is a non-starter. According to the Kabbala ( see link) "In the beginning there was no differentiation, it was a uniform unity of the universe. A potential for evil by God was the cause of creation and not a by product of it." Side: these are all a lack of God
Ugh... "these exist on their own" and "these are a lack of God" mean the SAME THING. you have created a debate where there is only one position to take. The reality is that evil cannot exist "on it's own". It is an attribute of conscious action, it requires conscious actors to exist. Therefore if God supposedly created everything in the universe, he created evil. There is no way around that. Side: He created them
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