<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.19046">
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=2>
<TABLE
style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; mso-yfti-tbllook: 480; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"
class=MsoTableGrid border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0>
<TBODY>
<TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes">
<TD
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; WIDTH: 7.65in; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-TOP: 0in"
vAlign=top width=734>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The Problem of Evil:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>One Formulation<?xml:namespace
prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
/><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Did some allegedly all-powerful (omnipotent),
all-knowing (omnificent), perfectly good (omnibenevolent) God Create the
Universe?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Let's assume so for the sake of
argument.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">If this omnipotent, omnificent,
omnibenevolent God created the universe, then God is the cause/determiner
of everything which happened/happens/will happen or exists in the universe
because if this God is omnificent, it had exact foreknowledge of
everything that would happen as a result of this omnipotent creation from
the moment of creation.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>To
say otherwise would be to contradict God's omnificence and
omnipotence.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Hence, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">everything</B> that happens in the
universe was predetermined by God at the moment of creation.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This includes <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">all acts of humankind</B>, and
excludes completely the possibility of actual freewill/freedom to choose
between performing good and/or evil acts, but not does not exclude the
possibility of the fallacious appearance to humankind that freewill
exists.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Simply stated:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If there is something that is not
predetermined (unknown to or unpredicted by God), but somehow left to
chance at the moment of creation, then God is not
omnificent.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">If all is predetermined, the appearance that
freewill exists is like a <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hollywood</st1:place></st1:City> set –
possibly convincing to look at, but with naught behind it.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>To say there is a meaningful,
left-to-chance choice is to say that God did not either cause/determine
and/or know what the result of that choice would be – a denial of God's
omnipotence and/or omnificence.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>If there is real choice (something God left to chance), then there
is not predetermination, and thus a gap in God's knowledge, and therefore
God would not be omnipotent and/or omnificent.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">If God is omnibenevolent (perfectly good),
then <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">everything within God's
control that happens, including all human acts is good, not evil</B>:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>God would not knowingly and
intentionally perform any evil act, any act that would result in evil, or
even allow anything evil in itself to exist.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Nothing evil (the opposite of
good) can exist if God is omnibenevolent and in total, complete control
and the determiner of all that happens in the
universe.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">For example, the acts of Jeffrey Dahmer where
he tortured and murdered at least seventeen persons (<A
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Dahmer">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Dahmer</A>)
were good, not evil acts.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Nor were the acts of Joseph Duncan evil acts,
who among other crimes murdered three adults who were in the company of
eight-year old Shasta Groene, abducted her and her nine year old brother
Dylan, then raped, sexually tortured, and murdered Dylan in view of Shasta
(<A
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_E._Duncan_III">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_E._Duncan_III</A>).<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But such acts, having been
initially knowingly and intentionally determined by an omnipotent,
omnificent, omnibenevolent God, were good, not evil
acts.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Therefore, the belief by humankind that evil
exists is in grievous error, if God is omnipotent, omnificent, and
omnibenevolent.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The Problem of Evil occurs because many
persons believe that evil acts actually exist – the acts of Dahmer and
Duncan would be called evil by many.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Asserting that these acts were evil (not good) and were knowingly
predetermined/caused by an omnibenevolent God, who could have done
otherwise, creates an obvious contradiction between God's alleged
omnipotence and omnificence on one hand, and God's alleged omnibenevolence
on the other.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">If evil acts exist,
then:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">A.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>God, if
omnibenevolent, could not have foreseen nor prevented such acts or God
would have prevented them, hence God is not omnipotent and/or
omnificent.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">B.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>God could not be
omnibenevolent in that God knowingly and intentionally caused/determined
evil acts to occur despite that if God were omnipotent and omnificent, and
thus the determiner of everything, could have prevented such
acts.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">C.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Therefore, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">God cannot be omnipotent, omnificent,
and omnibenevolent</B>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Once the premises are accepted that this
alleged God is omnipotent, omnificent, and thus this God created and
determined the universe as it now exists and everything it contains and
all occurrences within it, then it follows that God, given all the
infinite choices open to it:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">A.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Knowingly and
willfully chose to create/determine the universe in the way it now exactly
exists, and<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">B.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>This God knew
exactly everything (perfectly, to the last watermelon seed) what would
occur as a result of its creation.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">C.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Therefore, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Evil is a knowing and intentional
creation of God</B>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">There is no wiggle room here, despite
centuries of theological attempts to solve this disturbing-to-the-faithful
dilemma by various transparent ruses.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">If God is omnipotent and omnificent, then it
knowingly and intentionally caused/determined all things that happened in
the universe from the point of creation onward including the acts of
Dahmer and Duncan.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>To attempt
to say otherwise is to deny either the omnipotence, omnificence, or both
of God.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This would be in
effect saying:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>"Poor
God.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>God didn't quite know or
quite care enough about what it was doing and/or the consequences of its
act of creation, and consequently bumbled a bit.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Nice try."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">To further assert that evil does not exist is
to deny the basic reality of humankind's experience and pervert the
established use of language beyond credibility, and thereby call certain
acts not evil, thus good, that most of us find extremely and horridly
evil.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">There are many interesting corollaries to the
consequences of the Problem of Evil – that God cannot be omnipotent,
omnificent, and omnibenevolent.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">One is that the Bible (allegedly the Word of
an alleged God), for example, acknowledges/asserts that evil acts do
occur, and, in fact, asserts that God punishes and will eternally punish
some people for their evil acts.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">{According to the Bible didn't Jesus show up
because something went radically wrong with God's creation – the
super-prevalence of evil?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>(Isn't this assertion about Jesus an admittance by the Christian
followers of God that God admits that it screwed up and needed to find a
way to unscrew things [which doesn't appear to have worked either, in fact
seems to have been counterproductive] another contradiction to the
assertion of God's alleged omnipotence?)}<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">If this God is the omnipotent, omnificent
creator of the universe and determiner of everything in it, then God is
the determiner of all the evil acts and occurrences within it.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Punishing someone for acts not
even remotely within their control hardly constitutes
omnibenevolence.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Citing that
punishing seven subsequent generations of progeny for the acts of one
individual as an example of omnibenevolence indicates that such
citers/believers are in greatly need of the services of competent mental
health professionals and/or that their understanding of very elementary
logic is egregiously defective, perhaps beyond
repair.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Another problem that arises is the promise of
and the nature of an afterlife.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>If evil does not exist, especially in the eyes of an alleged
omnibenevolent God, then the good (not evil) acts of Duncan and Dahmer
would not be barred from heaven, but would be allowed.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The horrors experienced by Shasta
Groene could be re-experienced by her and others for an eternity to
provide a paradise for the Dahmers and Duncans.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">If evil exists, then God cannot be omnipotent
and/or omnificent.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Hence, how
can this God or any of its followers be confident that God can deliver on
its promises of heaven and what will occur there, or even the correctness
of its choices about whom will be housed there?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Another problem with the assertion of
omnipotence and omnificence of some alleged God is that it makes both
entreating and laudatory prayer meaningless except as phatic
communication.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Why would an omnipotent, omnificent God ever
change its intentions about the operation of its creation, the universe,
when entreated by a much-less-wiser-than-God member of humankind?<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>To do so would be a clear
indication that God had made a misjudgment/error during the act of
creation, and thus a contradiction of God's omnipotence and
omnificence.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Such an
entreating prayer would be a gross insult to God, insinuating that God is
not running things as it should and should heed the exhortations or
requests of a much less knowledgeable human.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Such entreating prayers are
indirectly, but clearly telling God that he lacks omnipotence,
omnificence, and omnibenevolence and that God better pay attention so that
it gets things right.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">To say that God needs or wants praise or
approval for his act of creation and its consequences is attributing to
God a fundamental weakness of humankind.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If God is omnipotent, and thus
completely and totally confident and completely assured about all its
acts, why would it crave, need, or relish the approval and reassurance of
one small, clearly not omnipotent or omnificent being of its
creation?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">A fourth problem that arises is the problem
of faith in God's alleged trait of benevolence [or any other alleged
trait].<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If God is omnipotent
(or even greatly wiser than humankind) then God could easily deceive
humankind about its (God's) alleged goodness.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>To say that God could not deceive
humankind would be to assert that humankind, or at least the believers
among them, think that they are smarter than God and have him correctly
pegged, clearly a contradiction to God's omnipotence.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It also should be clear that
asserting the omnipotence of some alleged God makes any other knowledge
claims about any other of this God's alleged traits or intentions
unverifiable in any way since this God could be The Great Omnipotent
Deceiver, and therefore humankind would not be in a position to verify any
other claims about God, or to refute them except by finding contradictions
in such.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">So that responses to the above, if desired,
can be discussed without irrelevant side trips and emotional pleas and
confessions of faith, below is the main gist of the above formulation
broken down by premises, inferences, and conclusions.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Those disagreeing can then state
by number which they disagree with and why.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">In what follows, if not explicitly stated,
"God" should be read "alleged God."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Main Initial
Premises.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">1.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>There is a
God.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">2.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>God is omnipotent
(all powerful, can do anything it chooses, etc).<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">3.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>God is omnificent
(knows <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">all/everything</B> there is
to know, past, present, and future including the consequences/determinants
of all its acts and all the conscious and unconscious thoughts and
feelings of every human).<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">4.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>God is
omnibenevolent (<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">perfectly</B>
good, abhors and would not permit anything evil (clearly not good) ever to
exist or to occur, if it could prevent it.)<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">5.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>God knowingly and
intentionally created the universe as we know it and exactly as it
is.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Beginning of
Inferences<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">6.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>If this God is
omnipotent, omnificent, and omnibenevolent, and created the universe, then
God is the cause/determiner of everything that happens as a result of its
all-knowing and intentional act of creation from the moment of that
creation.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>God was/is/will be
in complete control and the determiner of everything at all times.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>To assert there is something that
God is not in complete control of (something somehow left to chance) is to
deny either God's omnipotence and/or omnificence.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">7.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Since God is
omnificent, God had exact foreknowledge of everything that would occur/be
determined as a result of its omnipotent act of creation.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>To say God didn't know exactly to
a tee what would occur or be determined as a result of his creation would
be to contradict God's omnificence.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">8.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Since God is
omnipotent and omnificent, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">everything</B> that happens in the
universe was knowingly and intentionally predetermined from the moment of
creation.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Therefore, all
future acts of humankind were predetermined at moment of
creation.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">9.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>If all acts of
humankind are predetermined, then there can be no freedom of choice or
so-called free will.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If there
are acts of which God did not have foreknowledge of, then God is not
omnificent.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If there are acts
of which God is not in control of or the determiner of but are somehow
left to chance, then God is not omnipotent.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Therefore, the appearance of
freewill is an illusion/delusion if God is omnipotent and
omnificent.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">10.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Any act that occurs in
the universe was either predetermined at the moment of creation or
not.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If God is omnipotent and
omnificent then God intentionally and knowingly created/determined the
universe to be the way it now exists.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If there is something, like a
human act which is not predetermined, but has been somehow left to chance
(an unknown outcome), then God is not omnificent.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If there is real choice, and thus
an indeterminate gap in God's knowledge, there is not predetermination,
and thus God is not omnificent. If there was no gap in God's
knowledge/foreknowledge at the moment of creation, then all acts are
therefore knowingly and intentionally predetermined by
God.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">11.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Therefore all acts of
humankind are predetermined and occur regardless of the appearance of
choice/freewill, if God is omnipotent and
omnificent.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">12.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>If God is
omnibenevolent (<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">perfectly</B>
good), then every act that God has control over or determines would be
good and not evil.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>God would
not knowingly and/or intentionally perform or allow the performance of any
act that was not good, that is, evil.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If God is omnibenevolent (<B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">perfectly</B> good), and thus totally
and completely abhorrent to and completely opposed to evil, and this
omnipotent, omnificent God was in complete control and the determiner of
everything that happens in the universe from the moment of creation, then
nothing evil would or could ever exist in the
universe.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">13.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Since God is
omnipotent, omnificent, and thus is in a position to unequivocally impose
its omnibenevolence, then <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">evil
does not and cannot not exist</B>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Hence, no acts by humankind are evil, but <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">all such acts are
good</B>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">14.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Since evil cannot exist
if God is omnipotent, omnificent, and omnibenevolent, the belief of
humankind holding that evil exists is in grievous error.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Evil cannot exist if God is
omnipotent, omnificent, and omnibenevolent.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">15.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Therefore, the acts of
child torturers, rapists, and murderers are not evil, but good
acts.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">16.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Further, since evil
cannot exist, the acts called evil in the Bible, the alleged word of God,
are not evil, but good.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Therefore the Bible is in error, and could not have been authored,
even by proxy, by an omnipotent, omnificent, and omnibenevolent God.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Therefore, the Bible is not the
Word of this God, but a grand, but not evil deception of God since there
is no evil – everything is good.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">17.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>The Problem of Evil
occurs because many persons believe that evil exists, for example, the
acts of child molesters.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Since these acts of child molestation would not have occurred
unless they were knowingly and intentionally predetermined by an
omnipotent, omnificent God, then God cannot be omnibenevolent if <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">child molestation</B>, for example,
<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">is evil</B>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">18.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>If evil acts exist,
then:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">A.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>God, if
omnibenevolent (<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">perfectly</B>
good), could not have foreseen nor prevented such acts or God would have,
hence God is not omnipotent and/or omnificent.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">B.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>God is not
omnibenevolent in that God knowingly and intentionally caused/causes evil
acts to occur since God, if omnipotent and omnificent, could have
prevented such acts of which he was the determiner.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">C.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Therefore, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">God cannot be omnipotent, omnificent,
and omnibenevolent</B>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">19.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Once the premises are
accepted asserting that this alleged God is omnipotent, omnificent, that
evil exists, and this God knowingly and intentionally created the universe
and everything in it, then it follows that God, given all the infinite
choices open to it:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">A.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Knowingly and
willfully chose to create the universe in the way it now exactly exists,
and<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">B.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Hence, this God
knew exactly everything (perfectly, to the last watermelon seed) what
would occur as a result of its creation at the moment of creation, and <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">evil</B>, as we now know it <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">is God's creation</B>, and thus
clearly demonstrates that God is not omnibenevolent.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">20.<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>We are left with the
unavoidable, but unpalatable-to-some conclusion that God cannot be
omnipotent, omnificent, and omnibenevolent.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We are then left with a host of
problems created by that this clearly demonstrated insufficiency of God,
if God as presently conceived by humankind, exists at
all.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P></FONT></DIV><FONT size=2>
<DIV><BR>Wayne A. Fox<BR>1009 Karen Lane<BR>PO Box 9421<BR>Moscow, ID
83843</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A href="mailto:waf@moscow.com">waf@moscow.com</A><BR>208
882-7975<BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>