Good and Evil

If you had gone through my previous post, you would have realised how much I am in love with good lyrics. As a result, I have experienced lyrics that speak so much about life that they can get you thinking for hours.

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"Hello God, are you out there, can you hear me, are you listening anymore... I have questioned your existence; my resistance leaves me cold". These are the exact words of Dolly Parton in her song Hello God. I fell in love with the song from the first day I heard it; not for any other reason but for the questions it raises. Funny enough, I also fell in love with arguments and discussions on "good and evil" as a philosopher. I do not know if Dolly Parton influenced me on that or not, but I guess I have always been an inquisitive person, and that my quest for knowledge has led me to desire a better understanding. The only problem is that some quests always lead to a dead end.

The person of God is always at the centre of the argument on good and evil. If He is indeed all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful, why is there still evil in the world? Why has He not put an end to it all? This argument is very prominent in attempts by atheists to debunk the existence of God. But then, we are not dwelling on whether or not there is a God today. I strongly believe that we can remove God from the picture in our discussion on good and evil. Instead of blaming God for not putting a stop to evil, it is better that we ourselves desire goodness.

To take away evil without involving the human person would be the same as taking away free will; and what would the human person be without free will? The only way then to take away evil without taking away the human essence is for humans to rid themselves of evil by themselves. "We love and kill each other in your name, defending you"; these still are the words of Dolly Parton. It is all us, but somehow we have found a way to involve God. We are indeed lost and confused.

Do not get carried away by my thoughts; this is what powerful lyrics do to the mind. But beyond the thoughts, this is our reality. In response to Dolly Parton's question, I think God is still listening, but I do not know if He is going to help. Even if He decides to help, there is no way He can completely take away evil without taking away free will from humans. But then, just as I have formerly established, there is no need to involve God. God does not cause evil on earth; men do. If men then are able to rid themselves of evil, there probably will be no evil left for God to get rid of.

In summary and in clear terms, just do as much good as you can. If most people can really do good, the world will no doubt be the best place it can ever be. We do not need the help of God to do that, and we do not need to question His existence simply because that is not done. We have free will, and it allows us to choose either good or evil; it would be really amazing if most people chose good 😊.