19 Oct 2022

113

The Nature of God: Exploring the Divine Character

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Academic level: College

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One of the most challenging aspects of the nature of God is the presence of evil in the world and the suffering that it produces. Sin is divided into two states: moral and natural. Moral evil refers to evil orchestrated by human beings such as murder, theft, adultery, corruption, and all manner of abuse. Human beings, for their selfish desires, establish these. On the other hand, natural evil refers to unpleasant and uninvited experiences not caused by human being and their activities. Natural evils include earthquakes, pandemics, floods, and viruses. Whether moral or natural, evil causes human beings, animals, and all living creatures to undergo suffering and sometimes even death. The question of evil challenges the nature of God. Many people believe that God does not love because all this evil and suffering happens with his knowledge, yet he does nothing to avert it. However, strongly disagree. Sin has majorly been brought about by the devil and the fact that human beings have a will. This means that, essentially, God is not entirely in control of what happens on Earth. God created the Earth and gave it to man to dominate and subdue it. Man has the freedom to either cooperate with God or dismiss God's instruction and will. As a result of his will, man can either avert or add to the evil in the world. 

Over the years, there have been great critiques of the free will of man. Many of the opposers of free will table that the theory does not vindicate God to be an All-Powerful God. Critics argue that if God was All-Powerful, He could have created human beings with the free will always to choose to do good (Hanson, 1997). According to Hanson, genuine freedom involves the ability and latitude of the human being to choose a different path. It is impossible to create human beings that should operate freely without including the freedom to choose to do evil by them (Hanson, 1997). True liberty consists of the ability to choose different from what is already established, and in so doing, it opens a loophole for evil and suffering. To a large percentage, the human race is to blame for the evils prevalent in the world due to their choices. God displays his unconditional love to the human race by loving them unconditionally amidst their mistakes and wrong decisions. Also, he has given man instructions that should guide him in his decision making and help him exercise his will to choose to do right (Hanson, 1997). By choosing to do right, human beings help to reduce evil and to suffer in the world. 

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Further, the other major cause of evil in the world is Satan. Satan means a wicked opponent. Many of the moral and natural evils trace to the devil as the source. The Devil, Satan, Belial, and Beelzebub—the "enemy"—are depicted in the New Testament as having anti-godly characteristics (Leatherbarrow, 1992). He is the accuser, the devil, the tempter, the old serpent, the great dragon, the prince of this world, and the God of this world, who tries to prevent God's dominion from being established by Jesus Christ's life and suffering. Satan gives Christ the world's wealth in exchange for Christ's recognition of him as supreme emperor. As a result, he is the true adversary of the Messiah–Son of Man, Christ, who is brought into the universe by God to kill Satan's works. 

In conclusion, the leading causes of evil and suffering in the world today are the devil and the free will of a human being. In his loving nature, God continues to shield man from evil and affect his decisions by His Word. Man can help reduce the evil and suffering present in the world. This implies that God does not have complete authority over what occurs on Earth. The world was created by God and given to man to conquer and subdue. Man has the choice of cooperating with God or rejecting God's instructions and will. A man may either avert or contribute to the bad in the universe as a result of his choice. 

References 

Hanson, B. (1997). Introduction to Christian theology . Fortress Press. 

Leatherbarrow, W. J. (1992). Dostoyevsky: The Brothers Karamazov . Cambridge University Press. 

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StudyBounty. (2023, September 17). The Nature of God: Exploring the Divine Character.
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