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¿Question #2541?
snoozefest: Is your G-d all-knowing, all-powerful and all-benevolent? If so ... why did (s)he create (all-good, all-powerful) evil? ... how can there be free will (all-knowing creator)?

PandoraCaitiff: I'm agnostic
watcher969: sorry no good answer to lack of existence of an all powerful being
Xanthum: All knowing is not all controlling. Who says they are different entities, as opposed to two sides of the same coin, reflections of the state of human kind, evil and good in equal measure.
Caerid: I like cheese.
Spirit of 70: I think he created a world in which evil was a possibility, it was the only way to have the freedom required for genuine relationships to exist. As to the second question, knowledge on someone's part does not negate free will on another's part. Any of us, once we know someone well enough, can often predict how they will react to something. That does not mean they do not have the ability to make choices.
Narlgoth: Cthulhu is my deity, and he is all knowing, all powerful and all benevolent. And when the stars are right he's going to wake up and kick your god's ass! :- D
Jatoha: well, you know.
Chris Busse: No. n/a. n/a.
xofour: God is all powerful & all knowing. God did not Creat all good & all powerful evil. Actually God didn't Create Evil. Evil is something people choose. (although it's better to call it selfishness I think, but it's all the same) Knowledge of an outcome does not negate a choice. The free will comes from people acting on their information & desires. Just becaue God knows what we choose does not negate the fact that we have made a choice. Nor does God force a particular choice. When you walk into a gamenight carrying your brand new copy of Mutiny the people at game night know what you chose. But they do not know how long you debated Mutiny vs. Munchkin booty (or whatever) or does their knowledge have any effect on the outcome. Heck somebody there watching you make the decision and seeing what you chose does not change the fact that yoy made the choice. The problem is that you are trying to force God into a timeline. Yet God Created Time & is outside of time. So God can observe & know your choice without actually taking the freedom to choose away from you.
jessitron: yes. He allows evil in order to give us free will.
ricardofo: My G-d is your G-d. I believe in G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is the Melech la Olam. The evil appears because G-d give to the man and angels free will. Samael choose to made a rebellion against G-d. Adam and Eve commited sin. But now, we do not have complete free will (bechirah chofshith), because we born in sin. We depend upon G-d's grace to goes to Heaven (Olam-Ha Ba). G-d knows the choices we will choose, but doesn’t force the choice we will make.
Phil Fleischmann: 1: Yes, yes, and sort of (the third one depends on your definition); 2: You've made a false assumption; 3: There is no condradiction there. There's no reason why free-will can't exist. It's sort of like asking, "If fire exists, how can ice exist?"
amadan: my god is unknowable. and if it does exist, it did not create evil. we create it, by believing in good. dualism is a logical consequence of human need for labeling. if the question is why do some people do acts that are classified as evil, the trite answer would be "chance" - by laws of probability, 50% of all the acts have to be evil for the other 50% to be good. a non-trite answer would explore why there is so much variance in human behaviour that really evil and really good differ so much. which is more than i'm willing to philosophise in a geekanswer :)
Hector Vortac: They told me that's a mystery.
maynard77: I've never heard of a G-d before, is that some sort of new sports car?
BagpipeDan: Yes. Didn't create it, created our free will which derives evil. If you remember the past do you make it happen? No, it happened and you simply remembered it. This works the same for God, only for all time. Augustine's "Free Choice of the Will" explains this so much better
DHEK: I'm not a religious person, so I don't think I'll be a good subject for your mind games on religion.
TheArchAngel: When God created man and woman kind, It was kidding
aleo09: deep thoughts w/ jack handy
POvidiusNaso: Yes! He's not the best God...
diehard4life: Yes. He created free-will. Free will allowed the possibility of evil. Humanity chose evil. But, the good news is that free-will allows us to also choose God, and choose good. That is what God wants, a choice from ALL of the possibilities--to choose God then, means that you are truly his, and not merely a robot.
engdy: For His glory. It's a tough answer to grok, but that's the answer
KentuckyKid: I know the answers but they won't fit in this space.
jeffwolfe: Didn't Bruce Almighty answer all these questions?
SisyphusX: A) No. B) Well, that's obvious.
vampywife: hmm...how to go about this one...sure, they are all-knowing, etc. evil was created as a balance, as all things in life need balance. as far as free will goes, just because you know things doesn't mean you are going to exert your will over them. you can have a power that is all-knowing that knows the outcome of all situations but gives you the choice of which road to take.
puffinge: Now these are some mighty interesting questions, coming from a snoozefest. People that believe will find a way to justify their beliefs no matter what you ask them, so my advice is give it up.
doghouse724: Yes. Evil is a lack of Him. He knows what we're going to do, but He doesn't make us do it.
mlanza: My God is perfect and holy and infinite in everyway. It should be said that He permits evil, which is necessary for one to be able to *choose* to love or to be holy.
xlorp: (s)-?...(all), -!
Nekura: I believe more in a spiritual collective, "evil" in this plane of existence is used as a teaching tool for souls, your path is not chosen for you
WatchmanX2000: Thwog knows all, sees all, is all powerful, omniscient, omnipotent, all caring, omnipresent.... and perfect in one other way.... perfectly incompetent. What, you think disease, war, and human beings were planned?
Helenoftroy: The actions within free will make evil consequences. The plan doesn't have to be completed in my eyes for me to have faith.
Loquutus: Religion is a collection of fairy tales told to children.
brainrob: G-d ... is that some sort of algabraic expression?
Kazin: Atheist.
Fawkes: You can't have this discussion in a Geekquestion. Next.
confuse_a_cat: Ah, complex philosophical questions, insufficient space to treat adequately.
_Kael_: I'm a zen animist. So there's lots of gods. So there can be free will. Evil is like anti-matter. And so on. And so forth.
JCooperofCharity: Dude, your asking the wrong people for that. But to humor you, it was created in a devine lag.
skrebs: First off, Crom isn't benevolent, so the rest is moot.
davebo: Yes.
Dr. No: G-d is a just a small excuse for all the horrors within ourselves
Domokun: Don't believe in god
GuyHill: i have no god
SteveK2: I think this question needs a little more playtesting before it parses
Eric Haas: I don't have a G-d, or a God either, for that matter.
jellospike: My big G needs no definitions
Lord_Prussian: Some very deep questions that would be interesting to discuss but not GQ sized to answer.
kuhrusty: Hey, buddy, you're in the one-question checkout line, and I count three questions in your basket.
MisterCranky: Oh get a life.
sbszine: I don't have a god, hyphen or otherwise. I'm happy to take responsibility for myself.
RadAlienDad: The best reference work I have available on my God says he is all powerful, all knowing & frequently benevolent. He seems to have created a lot of weird stuff that I don't understand. I am uncertain whether free will is real or just a simulation.
ValJor: I'm an atheist
skrutsch: Just 'cause G-d knows what you will chose doesn't mean you don't have a choice.
Rukasu: Yes, but I'm not sure what all-benevolent is supposed to imply. He did not create evil, he allowed it becuase of our free will. I don't see how all-knowing and free will seemingly conflict...And is there a rule against typing God? Or is that a typo?
slapdash: my god?
djlg: No. NA. NA.
Karlsen: I don't have one
meshuggener: Reminds you of the Internet, don't it?
Musti: 'God' is an created to find solutions for yet unsolved fysical problems and to cope with the unbearable lightness of being. Free will is nothing but an impression. But that's enough for me.
mandj2001: is that you GROGnads?
abimilech: God did not create evil, instead he allowed it via his permissive will as opposed to stopping it via his perfect will. But then this is not the place for such a serious theological discussion.
scriptorum: I don't believe in G-d, whatever that is.
erli: Yes. You can best learn the concept of what is "good" from the point of view of "evil". Free will = your choice of where your mind and habits dwell in the spectrum of good and evil
chaddyboy_2000: Yes, there are things we can't understand as humans.
jttm: Nope
tragicpoet: Nope, don't have one. I prefer my myths to have wings and breathe fire.
CortexBomb: I'm an Atheist
CDRodeffer: Yes. Evil is only what's left over once good has been defined. Knowledge of someone's actions does not imply causation.
2amp: evil isn't all powerful. good just needs to be better organized to win
skelebone: "Our god is a god of vengeance. A god of hate." "A god of action." "Our god is an Indian who can turn into a wolf and..." "Dude, that's Wolfen" "Yes, well Wolfen will come after you, with his razor."
AlorielLelyn: A very good question...
gnomehome: G-d : Granddad ?
snoozefest: It's not my question, of course; but I'd like to see some answers.