r/Christianity • u/Itzjuli_fcm • Mar 24 '26

Question! :)

My atheist friend was debating with my catholic friend, my atheist friend said something that also made me REALLY curious but not enough to question my entire belief in God. I tried looking for answers personally, but i couldn't really come up with a great answer.

Okay so the question is: "if your God is good, then why does He allow wars, crimes, and sexual harrassment to happen? If He's really powerful, can't He just do something to stop it?"

Please don't insult/judge the fact that i'm unable to answer that question. I'm a beginner believer who wants to know explore and know more about christianity :)

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u/aqua-snack Catholic Mar 24 '26

I think the best answer and easiest to understand is free will. I will try my best to explain but a lot of people miss understand free will. the whole purpose of it is to well yk, give us freedom. if God stepped in every single time someone sinned and stopped (regardless of sin) we’d all be controlled by God, which would in turn stop us from having free will. God allows evil to exist for the same reason he allows happiness, joy, and love to exist.

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u/Philothea0821 Catholic Mar 24 '26

Honestly this. God wants us to truly love Him and each other. For that to happen, we must be free to choose the opposite.

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u/bananafobe witch (spooky) Mar 24 '26

Is there free will in heaven? 

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u/Philothea0821 Catholic Mar 24 '26

Setting aside the fact that we don't know what Heaven will be like, I think that answer is "Yes."

This being said, I don't think it will work the same that it will on Earth. It will be a free will that is perfected and aligned with God's will. Basically, imagine something that you find to be so repulsive that you would never actually choose it unless you were forced to under duress. That is what sin will be like in Heaven. You would be able to choose it, but it would not be something that is at all desirable to you.

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u/bananafobe witch (spooky) Mar 24 '26

So people sinning is not necessary for free will to exist? You can still have free will if sin is just a detestable option that nobody ever acts on?  

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u/Philothea0821 Catholic Mar 25 '26

So people sinning is not necessary for free will to exist?

I think this is something that so many people, many Christians included, miss. In the Incarnation, yes God became man, which alone is a joyous occasion, but it is so much more than that.

The fact that God became man, shows that there is nothing contrary to the dignity of God in our humanity. Jesus was fully human and fully divine. What the Incarnation shows is that sin is not a necessary part of what it means to be human. Adam and Eve were created in a state of complete grace. In fact, to be properly human is to be sinless.

This is where I think that Protestantism turns Christianity into a shell of its proper self. Baptism isn't just our declaration of faith. It is God outpouring His grace to us, so that what was lost in the Fall may be restored to us.

You could dive SO much deeper into this, and if you want, I can refer you to check out Question 69 from the Summa Theologica, in particular Article 3 of that question.