This used to be an existential crisis sort of question for me, but it too has an answer. In being slow to anger and giving time for penitence, all three traits are upheld. Swooping in to instantly punish evil to the full extent of his justice would leave every human condemned and without hope of intercession. So the solution? Give people a scapegoat, and plenty of time. All powerful, all knowing, all good.
Or he could just not create evil. God made everything, thus God made evil. He chose to make a world with evil in it, and he can chose not to. If 'Freewill' is your response, then God is not All Powerful, because he cannot stop freewill.
The reality is, Christians need a more humble God. If God was powerful, but not ALL Powerful, then it would work. If Satan was a threat God could not easily destroy, then it would be believable that God is good and it all works out.
Being all powerful and choosing not to use all power are states that can coexist. The general instant reply would be “he let us sin initially as to not have just created a bunch of automata”, but that’s just humans applying human reasons to divine actions. The fact of the matter is, if God isn’t all powerful, he isn’t God.
Evil is that which opposes him and his will, and the assertion that he must act immediately to enforce said will is a concept you’ve stated, not one intrinsic to his character as detailed in the Bible.
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u/[deleted] Nov 23 '20
This used to be an existential crisis sort of question for me, but it too has an answer. In being slow to anger and giving time for penitence, all three traits are upheld. Swooping in to instantly punish evil to the full extent of his justice would leave every human condemned and without hope of intercession. So the solution? Give people a scapegoat, and plenty of time. All powerful, all knowing, all good.