"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is impotent. 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 wrote these questions in Greece some 2300 years ago.
Atheists use this quote to say a good answer hasn't been found so there is no God. I am currently in a discussion with someone in this camp and I am curious to your thoughts on the topic?
What is your answer to the question?
I know God exists and I would prefer non testimonial arguments, but rather common sense points to help out this person. Trying to keep the conversation above board and square without degrading to "does so" , "does not" dialogue.
The Machine
hey Machine
for what it's worth:
i actually listened to an interview with Sye Ten Bruggencate (presuppositional apologist and street evangelist) just last night.
i had never heard of him, but his argument is basically that evidential apologetics (if there is a God this or that - why would this or that, etc) is faulty for one reason:
that it places the unbeliever in the seat as Judge of God.
he rightly points out scripture
says all men not only already know there is A God, but that they do know The God.
paraphrasing his argument (which does have merit) is that when we allow the unbeliever to frame the discussion, we are placed in a position like a defense attorney - who must prove a case
for God.
this puts God on trial,
not the unbeliever.
it makes God the defendant; and the unbeliever the Judge!
i'm not saying it well, but a light went off!
i agree with those i've read who applaud his idea and his work, but point out what this approach is lacking.
be sure to read this review.
Pyromaniacs: Review: How to Answer the Fool: A Presuppositional Defense of the Faith, with Sye ten Bruggencate < click
here's from his film-promo site:
"The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'" - Psalm 14:1
Not since the late Dr. Greg Bahnsen debated Dr. Gordon Stein in "The Great Debate: Does God Exist?" have we really seen presuppositional apologetics in action. And few have taken it into culture to show that there are only two positions, Christ...or absurdity.
But wait no more... Apologist Sye Ten Bruggencate takes this apologetic to the streets and Universities exposing the logical inconsistencies of the unbeliever (and dare we say some 'Christians') by showing that we don't need 'evidence' to prove that God exists. For as Romans 1:18-21 declares:
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened."
Produced as a cinematic film, How to Answer the Fool was adapted for use in small group and Sunday School classes, making it a useful tool for individual or group study. With an eye-opening, cinematic message, How to Answer the Fool deliberately and strategically teaches you how to defend the Faith; answering the call of Scripture to 'be ready in season and out of season' in order that we may '...always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in [us].'
"Within a minute or two you’ll see highly intelligent college students stunned at their inability to answer questions about knowledge and ethics. This six-part video series is a game-changer, not only for the unbelieving world but also for Christian apologists who compromise the gospel by arguing for the possibility that God exists and not the certainty of God’s existence." - Gary DeMar
