Evil is the absence of God
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The argument is nothing more than a play on words wrapped in an appealing analogy. The principal error is that defining cold as an absence of heat only means that cold does not exist as a physical quantity - the ''sensation'' of cold as perceived by humans clearly does exist. Similarly, it is irrelevant whether evil exists as a positive or only as a lack of good — the ''perception'' of evil does exist. | The argument is nothing more than a play on words wrapped in an appealing analogy. The principal error is that defining cold as an absence of heat only means that cold does not exist as a physical quantity - the ''sensation'' of cold as perceived by humans clearly does exist. Similarly, it is irrelevant whether evil exists as a positive or only as a lack of good — the ''perception'' of evil does exist. | ||
| − | Applying this argument to actual instances of evil results in really bizarre statements. If someone murders a man's wife, the apologists would tell him that his wife did not experience evil, she just experienced a temporary lack of God while the killer was stabbing her with a knife. However, the man still experiences suffering and his wife is dead, regardless of how the apologists describe this event. | + | Applying this argument to actual instances of evil results in really bizarre statements. If someone murders a man's wife, the apologists would tell him that his wife did not experience evil, she just experienced a temporary lack of God while the killer was stabbing her with a knife. However, the man still experiences suffering and his wife is dead, regardless of how the apologists describe this event. An [[Omnibenevolence|omnibenevolent]] God would not absent himself/herself in ways that cause or allow suffering. |
One doesn't even need examples to show the oddity. Applying this argument at a conceptual level is sufficient: If evil is the comparative lack of God's inclusion in a situation, then what is the baseline? How much light do we need to see? How much heat do we need to feel warm? How much God do we need to be good? | One doesn't even need examples to show the oddity. Applying this argument at a conceptual level is sufficient: If evil is the comparative lack of God's inclusion in a situation, then what is the baseline? How much light do we need to see? How much heat do we need to feel warm? How much God do we need to be good? | ||
Revision as of 03:08, 1 January 2015
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Evil is the absence of God is a supposedly logical argument that attempts to solve the problem of evil by explaining that "evil" does not exist as a positive, but is simply the lack of God.
The "argument" itself basically follows like this.
Question: Does evil exist?
- Darkness is not a thing, in and of itself. Darkness is simply what we call a lack of light.
- In the same way, cold does not exist. It is simply an area that lacks heat (energy).
- Equally, we can say the same about evil. Evil itself does not exist, it is simply a lack of God.
This argument has been used by Jehovah's Witnesses to explain why the world is falling apart[citation needed], by Ray Comfort to address the fact that God would not actually be a bad dude[citation needed]- but if you reject him, you cannot do Good, and by other feel-good Christians[citation needed] who want their "all good God", but still look at a world where evil clearly exists.
Einstein
Perhaps the most famous rendition of this argument is in the urban legend that circulates in e-mail and social networks which tells of a young Albert Einstein in rapt debate with his professor.[1]
The professor asks, "Did God make everything?" One eager student happily yells out a yes. The mean atheist teacher, hoping to trick his faithful students into a quandary, smirks, says:
"What about...[2] EVIL?!?!?!!?!!!1" The eager student explains about darkness being the absence of light, and cold being the absence of heat, and evil being just the absence of God. Of course, the professor was dumbstruck. The student's name? Albert Einstein.
Why is the story very unlikely to be true?
- The dear Albert, not unlike Hitler for other uses, is always being dragged into urban legends when a generically smart person is used, even more so when this "smart person" is so often associated with atheists - which can be quite a blow to Christians.
- The telling of the tale, the "atheist professor", and the build-up to the grand conclusion, all form a Gestalt resembling an urban legend.
- It's still just a really bad argument to boot. Appealing to authority is also a bad argument, so using a doubly-bad argument to save a bad argument is just lacking good.
Criticism of the argument
The argument is nothing more than a play on words wrapped in an appealing analogy. The principal error is that defining cold as an absence of heat only means that cold does not exist as a physical quantity - the sensation of cold as perceived by humans clearly does exist. Similarly, it is irrelevant whether evil exists as a positive or only as a lack of good — the perception of evil does exist.
Applying this argument to actual instances of evil results in really bizarre statements. If someone murders a man's wife, the apologists would tell him that his wife did not experience evil, she just experienced a temporary lack of God while the killer was stabbing her with a knife. However, the man still experiences suffering and his wife is dead, regardless of how the apologists describe this event. An omnibenevolent God would not absent himself/herself in ways that cause or allow suffering.
One doesn't even need examples to show the oddity. Applying this argument at a conceptual level is sufficient: If evil is the comparative lack of God's inclusion in a situation, then what is the baseline? How much light do we need to see? How much heat do we need to feel warm? How much God do we need to be good?
Footnotes
- ↑ http://www.snopes.com/religion/einstein.asp
- ↑ Dun dun dunnn...