Thanks for the response! And for being civil. I was kinda worried because as you can tell some of my beliefs arent the most inviting to conversation with some people who may hold strong convictions against them.
I would say, and this is no attack on your character but the argument, that the example you gave is appealing to emotion. Thats not to say we should ignore emotions. I see emotions like a child, you dont want it driving the car but you also dont wanna put it in the trunk. We must remember that Gods ways are not our ways. That there may be a purpose for it as much as it is heartbreaking to us. And that yes God can achieve any purpose in any way He chooses, but we are not to question why He chooses to fulfill some purposes the way He does. And we do not know, in our finite wisdom, why or for what purpose that may be happening. Maybe it produces some good in the future. The victim may use that pain to help another, start a therapy group, become an artist and help console another individual through their art, maybe it builds their character, gives them a chance to forgive, etc. Heck maybe theres a purpose for the perpetrator, maybe his conscious convicts him, maybe that leads to him being humbled enough to be given faith in Christ,etc. Yes with our God given conscious these acts repulse us. But that does not mean that it isnt for some unforseen purpose to us. Theres many things God purposes that He does not delight in, such as the sacrifice of the scapegoats, which was to foreshadow Christ. Or raising up pharaoh to persecute israel. He may not like these things but He uses them for a purpose.
One could very much ask under the same reasoning “did Paul HAVE to kill other people to be shown mercy? Couldnt God have achieved that purpose by some other means?” It was necessary to be shown lavish amounts of grace. To make an example of how God can love what we consider the most despicable kinds of people. To show off His “agape” love and the extent of His unbound mercies.
The next two points are more so reiterations stated in the original paragraph but i think it still applies to that very question.
if God did NOT want that to happen, and it happens, would that not be “to miss the mark”.
If God knew some man was going to hurt someone before He brought that man into creation, and that man cannot do otherwise than what was predicted, and God makes the man anyways and the man cant do otherwise than what was foreknown, how much responsibility lies on God who brought the man into the world knowing He would do such a thing? If God knew Hitler would do such terrible things, if God didnt want Him to do that, then God wouldn’t have created Him, or better yet prevented it somehow.
Either God allows it to happen or purposes it to happen. As much as i may not understand or like the reason for why He purposes some evils, id rather give God benefit of the doubt that Hes in control and knows what He is doing instead of think that God could have prevented it and simply didnt.
It goes back to the dilemma of evil pondered of by epicurus
“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
The simple answer that alluded epicurus is that if a greater good, that we may not understand or know yet, is to come out of evil purposed by God then it isnt contradictory for a good God to coincide with a temporary evil world.
It also goes back to the tree of function and dysfunction. or good and evil. Had God not placed it there at all, then all of those victims would have been spared. Or if He never created the adversary. Or if He simply didn’t make it a transgression to eat of the fruit,there would have been no law, and therefor no sin, and no fall. One way or the other, intentionally or unintentionally, purposed or allowed, evil only exists because God either allows it or purposed it. If God wanted there to be no evil, there simply wouldnt be evil. So at what point does God bear some responsibility for His creation and the actions that He set forth by creating it knowing what it would be?
The first couple verses that come to mind is “we are what we are by the grace of God”, “I create light and darkness, good and evil”, “God counsels all things according to His will”, “God locks up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy on all”.
