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?
~ Epicurus
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." - 2 Peter 3:9
God is able, but not willing...but that does not make him malevolent, simply merciful.
So...the obvious question would be: How can God exist when all this evil stuff in the world keeps persisting?
Wrong question. Ask again. How come God hasn't let you (or me) feel the wrath of sin? What you thought last night deserves a first class flight to hell where God doesn't dwell.
Some people say that God isn't real because they don't see how a good God could exist or allow all this evil stuff in the world. If God is real, then He should stop all this evil because He's all powerful, right?
What is evil, though? It's anything that is against God, it's anything that's morally bad or wrong. It's murder, rape, stealing, lying, cheating. But if we want God to stop evil, do we want Him to stop all of it or just a little bit of it? If He stops us from doing evil things, what about lying, or what about our evil thoughts? Where do you stop? The murder level? the lying level? Or the thinking level? If we want Him to stop evil, we have to be consistent. We can't just pick and choose. That means you and I should be eliminated, right? Because we think evil stuff. If that's true, then we should be eliminated! But thanks be to God that Jesus stepped in to save us from our sins! Christ died for all evilness!
God is Able, but not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Evil exists only because of His mercy. Don't take that for granted.
(some thoughts and sentences taken from "Truth" by Lecrae)
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