Quote: "Freewill is a different, complex subject; highly technical and liable to lead into another round of unresolvable debate. Besides, role of freewill of individuals cannot possibly mitigate the existence of evil that an all powerful and compassionate god, if it exists, cannot eliminate. Babies born with birth defects like cerebral palsy or autism do not do so out of their own freewill. Death and destruction caused by natural disasters do not happen out of the freewill of people. Have we not seen mere mortals try their best to help the unfortunate victims of these events? How come a compassionate and all powerful god not stop these evils? I would, if I had the power, even though my compassion can not be limitless as that of the presumed God.
If you say natural disasters are not evils, then what about the millions who were murdered by wars by many nations, Russians, Germans, Japanese, Turks, British, Americans, etc. In what way the freewill of the victims play a role in these evils?
No, if there exists a god, there might be, but I doubt it, it does not care for humanity, any more than it would care for the Zebra who gets hunted down by the lionesses while the lazy good-for-nothing lion sits and watches.
My friend, the riddle of Epicurus is not a paradox, it has an answer, and it is that there is an all powerful and compassionate God is untenable."
Mr. Nara, May I point out that you sound rather 'confused' and 'confounded' in the above-mentioned passage. If your point is that all things, or rather events, do not happen by reason of the 'free will' of human beings, do you have to cite the example of the 'aberration' that may occur in the 'natural process' of child birth to say that the child has not 'chosen' the 'defect or deformity' with which it was born? Or, for instance, give the example about about the 'death and destruction' caused by 'natural disasters' like earthquake, volcanic eruptions, and the like? By citing such illustrations, you yourself concede that there are 'forces' around like 'Nature', which are greater than the 'reasoning' power of human beings with their very limited capacities of perception! In effect you do concede that we are not the 'beginning and the end' of all that there is! There is 'something' else -- some forces -- much larger and more overwhelming than our own power to produce 'weapons of mass destruction' through our 'scientific understanding' and 'manipulation of natural processes' and thereby cause 'death and destruction' untold in the wars fought down the centuries and particularly so, in the last century! And yet, we have shown immense power of 'love' and 'compassion' to help the millions of victims of 'natural disasters' or 'man-made' calamities! If you concede that much, why, you are already 'en route' to a clearer understanding of 'That', which still remains 'incomprehensible' with all 'contradictions' that defy ordinary 'human understanding'!
I should think that what you are 'militating against' is the 'cultural heritage' of mankind -- our notions of 'God' that have been developed over the history of mankind around the world -- by quoting all those persons like Epicurus, Omar Khayyam, Galileo, Thomas Hobbs, John Stuart Mill, Percy B. Shelley, and a host of others who rebelled against those very notions that have developed over the centuries regarding 'God' as 'benevolent' or 'malevolent'! Essentially they all seem to be united against the idea of a 'God' who was 'omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent' as may be seen from a reading of some passages that you have quoted from their works. Some of them were also against the idea of a 'personal God' who granted 'boons' in response to the prayers of the faithful! Some others were against the idea of a 'God' playing the dice in 'Heavens' and 'pre-determining' the course of our lives in this world for that seem to exclude our commonsense notions of 'free will' and 'personal responsibility' or any kind of 'accountability' for our actions flowing from our 'ability to choose' to do 'good deeds' or 'bad deeds'! Such notions of a 'fate' even militated against the notion of our 'soul' being consigned forever to a 'heaven' or 'hell' according to the overall 'goodness' or 'badness' of our life in this world! And yet others were against the Hindu 'doctrine of karma' presuming a 'cycle of birth and death' for 'individual souls' pre-determining where and in what circumstances we are born in this life and where we are headed in the 'next life' by reason of the further 'karma' accrued by us in this life! Thus, any number of 'dissenters' there were for any kind of notion of 'God' or a 'Universal Soul' and its 'attributes' that were formulated by mankind over the centuries.
However, you cannot get away with a 'LOL' like our other contributor, Yamaka, over all these notions and go your own sweet way after raising a 'case and controversy' on these pages about the 'fallacy of there being a God who is all-loving' or 'caring for mankind'! Having conceded initially that there are forces at work that are 'greater than' the 'reasoning' power of mankind and their 'ability' to understand and manipulate natural forces -- as you yourself concede the forces of 'Nature' to be -- you must come with a clear formulation of your own views on these 'Forces' that are at work, their 'attributes', and where we stand vis-a-vis the same! You must put those views across the table for everyone to see -- come on be a 'Nara' to all the Krishna, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, and the like, who propounded their views -- to to be analysed and argued over to reach a conclusion whether you have got it right! Otherwise, you are not the 'light' that you imagine yourself to be! Just one of those 'mirrors' that reflect the views of others without any substance to show for all these years lived!