WHY DOES BAD EXIST?

Recent comments and events have led me to ponder a question I’ve asked myself many times before. Namely, why does bad exist in the world? And it is a question that has always led me to a disturbing answer.
Atheists love the question. They point out that if God was really a benevolent God, then he would not have allowed bad into his Creation.

We could say man isn’t created in God’s image, but God in man’s.

This answers the theological point. For instance, if God is a reflection of us, then as we have bad in us, bad would inevitably be existent in God’s Creation. Except, of course, if we created the image of God, He didn’t ‘create’. We did.
We can place bad on a malevolent fallen angel – old Lucifer. But to do so is a cop out. The thing about ‘evil’ as an influence is that it takes away responsibility from the person. We can too easily say, it wasn’t our fault.

So is it in the genes?

I’m afraid I don’t like this answer either. I see it as just a modern interpretation of the above. If bad is in the genes, then again, it isn’t our fault. So a reason for bad, it seems, evades us.
I usually fall on this answer: prior to learning morality, man was an instinctual animal, with no moral requirement to not do what he needed to survive. Maybe bad is this influence not kept at bay by sufficient moral teaching to fight it.
But there’s one other question that begs an answer. If there was no ‘bad’ in the world, how would we know when we’re good?

© Anthony North, September 2007

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News and comment LATEST: We’re all getting bigger … PLUS … Ann Widdecombe on the campaign trail. Don’t put your feet up on a train.
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EXPANDING WAISTS

The hour glass figure is no more. Over the last 50 years the female waist has expanded by nearly 7 inches. The bust is bigger than it’s ever been before, and hips are increasing rapidly.
The survey of 9,000 British men and women by University College London has similar things to say about the male. They, too, are 7 inches bigger round the waist, and up to 18lb heavier.
The reason has been put down to increased calorie intake coupled with a more sedentary lifestyle, and is stark evidence of what has been called the ‘obesity epidemic.’ It kind of gives you food for thought, doesn’t it?

© Anthony North, September 2007

ANN WIDDECOMBE – CRUSADER

I’m still in shock following Ann Widdecombe’s recent 3 part TV series, ‘… Versus’. Maybe this politician has found a sense of humour and gone into satire, but I doubt it. Maybe she was hoodwinked by ITV, but I doubt that even less …
… read more …

A HORRENDOUS CRIMINAL?

Cub Scout leader and student Kathleen Jennings, 19, has recently been hauled to the Magistrates. Her crime? Placing her feet on a train seat. Thankfully, the Magistrates all but laughed the case out of court, and she has an unblemished record …
… read more …

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Inde-Pol