“[We]....can only detect injustice because there's an unchanging standard of justice written on our hearts...You can't know what evil is unless you know what good is. And you can't know what good is unless there is an unchanging standard of good outside yourself. Without that objective standard, any objection to evil is nothing but your personal opinion.” -Norman Geisler
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;)
"Anguish" (Graffagnino charcoal drawing, 2010)The current well-publicized strain of aggressive atheism adheres tenaciously to the proposition that since so much evil, suffering and sorrow exists in the world, a good, omniscient and omnipotent God cannot exist. As many atheists today will proudly tell you, the presence of evil in the world is perhaps the greatest argument against the existence God, because....well..., because God just wouldn't have “done it” that way. A good God would never ever have allowed so much suffering, injustice and pain!
Therefore, they tell us, there is no God. Evil proves it. Case closed.
;)
Naturally, the atheist's unshakable and (they presume) unchallengeable conclusion is that the Bible, far from being “God's word”, is nothing more than a lie. The more militant atheist may even suggest that the Bible is in fact an evil lie concocted and written by evil men to deceive, enslave and oppress the masses.
And so it appears that this knowledge of evil (and therefore knowledge of good as well) has revealed to sophisticated and scientifically informed modern man that God simply does not exist. To these enlightened prophets of the present age, believing in “god” is nothing more really than a fool's enterprise, in fact, they would argue, a dangerous and deadly fool's enterprise much like a malignant growth on the otherwise progressively evolving body of humankind. And this, the “new atheist” will often proudly claim, is tantamount to “wisdom”. (see Isaiah 5:21)
But as a friend recently observed: “Once we conclude there is something in the world that is actively evil, we must inevitably face the other side of that coin: there must be some absolute good which we measure with. And what can that absolute good be except God....?” (continued here)
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“And the LORD God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.'” (Genesis 2: 16-17)
;)
“Have a Seat Here In The Garden”
(Trust Me, Friend, I'll Set You Free)
Have a seat here in the Garden...
In the shade of this old tree;
Just relax...sit down and listen.
Trust me, friend, I'll set you free....
The reality of evil
Causes me to see the light!
See, a good God wouldn't have it...
No, He would have made things right!
Evil proves that God's a “has been”,
Not the “I AM” that they said;
But, good grief! Just look around, sir!
There's no doubt now... God is dead!
Now that Evil's truly spoken,
To my heart it's crystal clear...
God was only an illusion,
Just a myth to cause us fear.
Man, I've got this whole thing figured....
Knowing good and evil now,
Human Reason has convinced me
There's no God to whom I'll bow.
Guilt and shame aren't on the table,
Disappeared! Not here at all!
Just let Evil's truth inform you:
There's no God, no Hell, no Fall!
Moral trespass?...Don't be silly!
Don't look back, sir, move along!
“Moral talk” is just subjective...
You decide what's right and wrong!
Knowing Evil's liberating!
This whole God-thing's not in style
Knowing Evil is a good thing!
(Chew on that, my friend, a while!)
So, enjoy this fruit of knowledge,
And then you'll be Proud to say:
“I'm a 'with it' unbeliever,
“'cause there ain't no Judgment Day!”
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;)
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7)
Lord, You promised if we seek You
With an honest heart and mind,
If we knock, You say You'll answer,
And that Truth at last we'll find.
So then show us, Lord, the error...
Dark delusion wrapped in Sin;
Help us know the Light of Truth, Lord,
So we may be born again.
By your Spirit, Father, teach us...
Guide us to the other tree!
Help us see the evil in us...
Take us, Lord, to Calvary.
;)
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“Just as blindness presupposes sight, so evil reveals a standard of goodness, of which it falls short.” --Paul Copan