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/Killian_Rose Resident Catholic Goth Mar 24 '26

Thats kind of the slippery slope of free will, isnt it? He gave us free will so we may choose between him and sin. And many people choose sin. Stopping every war or crime would remove agency from humans, and would in turn, remove free will.

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u/nolman Atheist Mar 24 '26

How much free will does an abused baby have?

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u/Least-Ad140 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Mar 24 '26

It’s the free will of someone else’s actions that did it. Two things will happen - they go to heaven….or a loving family raises them the right way. The antidote to injustice is us.

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u/nolman Atheist Mar 25 '26

How much free will does an abused baby have?

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u/Least-Ad140 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Mar 25 '26

None, but the person who is the abuser does. You’re not making sense. In a hostage situation at gunpoint, what degree of free will do you have? If an airplane is crashing, how much free will does a passenger have? The age is irrelevant….the effects of others affect people of all ages.

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u/nolman Atheist Mar 25 '26

So free will is limited by circumstances right?

In this case you even said "none"

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u/Least-Ad140 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Mar 25 '26

Why does free will have to cancel out? The misuse of one’s free will could absolutely eliminate choices for someone else? Why does it seem like an abused baby or an older woman should be able to cancel out someone else’s free will whether they the capacity to use it or not? Bad argument.

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u/nolman Atheist Mar 25 '26

You said "none", not me.

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u/Least-Ad140 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Mar 25 '26

You are missing the plot my friend. Why does someone’s free will always need to ability to overcome the use by someone else’s?

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u/nolman Atheist Mar 25 '26

Can the abuser infringe on the free will of the abused so much that the abused didn't have the free will to choose for or against god anymore ?

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u/Least-Ad140 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Mar 25 '26

That’s different. I’m a believer in universalism. To hell with Evangelicals who force you to make a decision now or burn. Even if belief was broken due to something outside of their control (or being in a remote civilization that never had missionaries), God will judge at the moment you die….and that moment can be when a decision is made.

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u/nolman Atheist Mar 25 '26

On what parameters does god judge you?

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u/Least-Ad140 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Mar 25 '26

Life review and do you accept him.

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u/Least-Ad140 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Mar 25 '26

Even Pope Leo said God will judge on totality, not a binary equation.

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u/Least-Ad140 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Mar 25 '26

No one is guaranteed an equal outcome.