Epicurean Paradox

I'm making a thread for anyone wanting to discuss/try and answer the Epicurean Paradox..

>tl;dr
>if God is almighty and all powerful, then why is there evil?

My answer is that God created the temptation in this world towards evil to teach man. For if there were no evil temptation, therefore no free will, man would basically live in God's world without the proper knowledge to be able to exist in it.

Man has to experience the temptation and learn that it is merely an illusion in this existence, as it brings no true permanent happiness. Once man can learn to truly live and be at peace without the things of this world, and recognizes them as temporary moments of joy and not true happiness and fulfillment, he can live amongst God in his kingdom. You really thing God wants a bunch of apologetic miscreants running around his shit?

Hedonist be ye gone!

God isn't real.

The Jews are the instigator of this temptation, hence their whole reason for existence. It's basically to teach us that the materials and things of this world are nothing, and mean nothing. That we shouldn't attach ourselves to things of this world. They tempt man with sin, such as credit with usury, then once the deal is made with the Jew, the Jew takes your soul in your labor, work, and assets. You can never be truly happy in this world chasing the things of this world, better known as being greedy.

By taking only what you need to live, and being of service to others, you can live amongst God. This also has the side benefit of the Jews seizing to exist, as they can no longer parasite off of other societies. For they have seen the wares they trade, the promises they make, and the ideals they push are nothing but moments of temporary joy, never leading to real happiness in this world.

You have to break the cycle and not give into the temptation of the Jew, but to see it for what it is, sin. Once you've done that, and can live without the things of this world, you've learned a major part of what this world has to teach.

Logically justify that statement, or substantiate it.

God is everyone, and everything. You are God, I am God.

Why bother with calling everything a "God" then?

Beyond Good and Evil lies a garden.

Sorry, but if god is omnipotent creator of world and men, then there is no free will.

And for the second paragraph: He could have created us perfect, without the need to be molded by pain.

You and I have the essence of God, however we are not truly with Him. To be with Him, you must separate yourself with the desires and attachments of this world.

I call everything God, as we are all One, in Unity, on this Earth to learn the lessons it has to offer as our spirits continue on their journey learning the lessons the universe has to offer. Consider our spirits as growing and learning as they move closer to Him. Once you are with Him, you are with all, as all are one. We're all apart of God, and being apart of Him is being Him. Hence, we're all God.

>My answer is that God created the temptation in this world towards evil to teach man.
'Evil' as the actions of men is a very narrow definition. There are other types of evil like your house burning down.

God created the Jews to introduce free will into this world to teach man the lesson of why His way is important, and not to merely follow it.

The Jews were the snake that told Adam and Eve how they could eat the fruit off of the Tree of Knowledge, they introduced that temptation. Once they indulged in it, they realized, "Hey, I can do whatever I want, God isn't real! Jesus wasn't born on Christmas! etc". Went totally crazy and began to fall into more and more into temptation, and away from His word.

God was really just trying to get people to appreciate why His way is important, not just to follow it. Those can that see the temptation for what it is, sin, and abstain from such evils, can ascend and be with Him.

>like your house burning down

That is more an unfortunate event of this world than evil. As evil is the effects of man giving into his temptations.

>70 ▶
> (You)
Will Jews end your nightly snoring nightmare?

>an unfortunate event of this world
that was created by god

> He could have created us perfect, without the need to be molded by pain

ya but then we wouldnt have learned the lesson that our God is trying to teach us. That attachment to the things of this world is pain, and we need to learn to free ourselves from the attachments. Our spirits haven't evolved to the point of being able to contribute to the world of God, so until we learn the lessons of this world and can understand His (being free of all attachments), we have no use in His world.

To an extent, but not really. It really is just one of this unfortunate things that happen. There are glitches in this world and not everything runs as it should. Same reason kids with mental retardation are born, just one of those things..

Why didn't he created us with the lesson ingrained in our minds? Why would he created worms, when he can make butterflies?

We can also consider the fact that we have no fucking clue whether or not "God(s)" exists, and if he does, we have no true idea of its true nature.omnipotent, etc.

In short, we know nothing and therefore should focus on doing good rather than A) obeying abstract man-made rules (ie religions) and B) jerking off to unanswerable philosophical questions.

Our spirits can not comprehend it at the point they are at when you're born into this world. It's like teaching Calculus to someone who hasn't taken an Algebra course. We have to learn the lessons before we can be born into His world, to face the new lessons and challenges of that world.

To create us with the lessons that he knows, that is the lessons of this world, He would have put us in His world, which he can not as he is not God in His world, and answers to a power even higher than Him.

>God can't create us perfect, because ubergod won't allow that

Well, then he is not omnipotent. Shouldn't he be called sub-god then?

>it doesn't count it's just one of those things :^)
No. You literally don't understand the paradox you are trying to refute. Sage.

I agree we should focus on doing good, as well as no need to obey man made laws, as you can tell right from wrong in your heart with a clear mind.

However, discussing philosophical questions I believe better helps humanity as a whole understand our purpose on this Earth, as well as help up and coming minds grasp ideas on making the world a better place for them and their lineage.

We don't want people to forget why we do good and don't give into temptation, for else they may fall off the path and the world will be filled with greed and evil.

wait the ancient greeks had a concept of a monotheist God?

A version of it, yes. He is omnipotent and all powerful, however, on his plane of existence, He is just as you and I are on this plane. For he created this world, as God created His before that, as we will create a world we will be known as God to. For we are all creators, as well as created in this world. As we are all One.

Help me to understand what I don't then. Is that not the point of a discussion?

To help picture it, you can imagine a gardener being a sort of God to his crop of vegetables. He creates, grows, and harvests them.

To us we seem complex, but to Him we are like the vegetables are to us.

I do good because it helps make the world a better place, which is good for everyone, not because of some extremely theoritical "purpose" that would have been forced on me by a superior being.

I am an independant being with self conscience and free will. Not the toy of some "destiny", "purpose" or whatever. My actions result from a complex interaction of values, instincts, reasoning, and knowledge, and, while certainly influenced by exterior factors, are ultimately my own and my responsability.

Therefore, attempting to solve the epicuran paradox is moot since I think that the hypothetical influence of "God(s)" is mostly, if not competely, trumped by my free will.

Basically : "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." And my own personal addition : "Damn anyone that tries to say otherwise, be it God himself".

It's not that hard to imagine that. Thing if god answers to supergod, does supergod answers to doublesupergod? Does doublesupergood answers to ubergoldenmegagod?

English not being my native language, I'll add that by self conscience" I meant "self-awareness".

You act as your own God, as you're ultimately in control of your destiny and life. Which is true, and great way to think.

May I ask how you view the cycle of life? Or have no view in it as there is no such thing outside of this life? Perhaps what lessons you believe this world has to teach, if any?

Sure. It goes on forever, into infinity. It's a never ending growing of worlds with their own Gods and physical laws, all connected, all one. All learning the rules of this universe so that we may all become One, in Unity.

God is a fictional idea.
Fictional things aren't real.
Therefore God isn't real.

Fictional in the sense of a man being in the clouds watching our every move? Sure.

Fictional as being the answer to the spark of life, that allows us to accept, understand, and question the world around us?

Not so sure.

>Fictional as being the answer to the spark of life, that allows us to accept, understand, and question the world around us?
The first one is a quirk of enthalpy and entropy. The rest of them are the neocortex. Nowhere is there a need for a deity.

From a metaphysical perspective this isn't a paradox. We aren't the highest state of being. Earth is a middle state. Thus we have suffering and not suffering.

>Epicurean Paradox

No such thing. Misattributed quote.

Taken on its merits.
Is God willing to prevent evil? Yes.
Is God able to prevent evil? Yes.
Is God both willing and able to prevent evil? Yes.
Evil comes from beings outside of God.

God is ready, willing and able to eradicate all evil, and will, as he said he would, on his own timetable.

For the moment, he is forbearing so that someone, maybe one of you, comes to repentance.

When that number of people who come to repentance is full, this age will end and the next begin. And there will be evil in that age as well.

When that age ends and the next begins, even though the devil and his demons will be bound, there will be evil in that age as well.

Finally, at the end of things, when all is judged and all separated out according to his will, then will he eradicate all evil, for all time, from all things, and confine everything evil, including most of you, in a lake of fire.

Yes, those allow us to function in this world. However, those don't answer what allows us to accept, understand, and question the world around us. What is it that allows us to ponder the mysterious and think about the world around us? Not merely take it in and process it, but to really be inquiring.

>May I ask how you view the cycle of life?

I do not know whether or not there is such a thing as a circle of life. Guess I'll see it when I get there.

I there is such a thing, then basically you have to learn as much as you can, and do as much good as you can, and try to understand the how, the why, etc. so you get better as a being in whatever existence comes after this one.

However, if no such thing exists, then it's all the more reason to do good, to learn, to try and understand and correct your mistakes because all of this makes you a better person in your current existence, since you only get one "life".

Another question whose answer is therefore moot because it does not change the way I live either way.

>Not merely take it in and process it, but to really be inquiring.
The neocortex.

>Fictional as being the answer to the spark of life, that allows us to accept, understand, and question the world around us?
Sounds pretty fictional to me.

Need (or purpose) is not a prerequisite to existence.

Does that mean that we can dismiss the whole concept of contingent and necessary beings and stop circlejerking Aquinas?

Not an expert on the subject, but I would guess so.