WEBVTT - If God Is Good, Why Does Evil Exist? 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:03.040 On today's episode of Timeless Wisdom. 0:00:03.560 --> 0:00:06.600 The believer in God has to account for the existence 0:00:06.680 --> 0:00:12.280 of one thing, evil and suffering. The atheist has to 0:00:12.320 --> 0:00:16.640 account for the existence of everything else. That's big. It 0:00:17.120 --> 0:00:19.639 has served in my life at moments of doubt to 0:00:19.680 --> 0:00:21.959 be a very, very persuasive argument. 0:00:22.160 --> 0:00:26.720 That's coming up on Timeless Wisdom. But Dennis Prager. Welcome 0:00:26.880 --> 0:00:29.360 to Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. 0:00:29.760 --> 0:00:30.040 Here. 0:00:30.080 --> 0:00:33.520 Thousands of hours of Dennis's lectures courses in classic radio 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:38.000 programs had to purchase Dennisprager's Rational Bibles. Go to Dennisprager 0:00:38.320 --> 0:00:46.600 dot com. 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:45.280 And hello everybody, and welcome to the Dennis Prager Show, 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:50.159 the Ultimate Issues hour every week at this time, I 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:54.520 talk to you about some great issue of life. And 0:00:54.640 --> 0:00:56.520 I can't believe I have not done this one. I 0:00:56.560 --> 0:00:59.280 looked at the list and I have not done this one. 0:00:59.360 --> 0:01:02.760 It's it's the ultimate of the ultimate issues. It's Ultimate squared, 0:01:04.200 --> 0:01:10.280 and that is God and suffering called the problem of theodicy, 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:16.880 not theology, theodicy dic why, and that is reconciling God 0:01:17.400 --> 0:01:23.000 with all the suffering, the unjust suffering, the evil and 0:01:23.080 --> 0:01:28.319 the tragedies of this life in this world. If you 0:01:28.400 --> 0:01:31.279 ask people who don't believe in God why they don't 0:01:31.600 --> 0:01:34.880 or why they're yeah, in other words, agnostics or atheist, 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:39.480 that's often the biggest reason. How can I believe in God? 0:01:39.560 --> 0:01:43.360 All of these terrible things that happen. It seems like 0:01:43.400 --> 0:01:48.360 a random universe. And I understand that. I absolutely understand 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:50.440 that people look at this world and they can say 0:01:50.440 --> 0:01:54.000 that my argument against that is not specific to the 0:01:54.040 --> 0:01:57.840 issue of suffering. But I do have I have two 0:01:57.880 --> 0:02:01.160 answers in fact. One, right, so you look at the 0:02:01.200 --> 0:02:04.160 suffering and that argues against God? All right, fair enough? 0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:08.919 Now I want you to look at all the non 0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:13.480 suffering and all else that there is and deny that 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:14.720 that's evidence for God. 0:02:14.800 --> 0:02:16.680 You can't have. 0:02:18.480 --> 0:02:23.200 Evidence in a courtroom that only argues on one side. 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:30.639 There's something intellectually dishonest about that. I have no problem 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:34.400 in acknowledging the difficulty of the issue of evil and 0:02:34.440 --> 0:02:40.120 suffering and reconciling those with a belief in the good God. I, 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:47.680 as a believer in God, I fully acknowledge the difficulties 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:53.000 raised by the built in injustices of this world. But 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:56.639 I ask those of you who use that as your 0:02:56.720 --> 0:03:01.639 reason not to believe in God. Say well, but there 0:03:01.760 --> 0:03:06.120 is another side to this argument. Look at all of 0:03:06.200 --> 0:03:12.640 the good, look at all that was created. It's a 0:03:12.680 --> 0:03:18.040 little strange to say X ABC argue against God, but 0:03:18.160 --> 0:03:22.520 the d through z don't argue for God. Now, if 0:03:22.560 --> 0:03:24.520 you want to say, look, there are arguments for and 0:03:24.560 --> 0:03:29.080 there are arguments against I, I fine, I respect that. 0:03:30.680 --> 0:03:33.920 But merely saying oh, can't believe in God. There's there's 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:37.400 so much injustice and built into this world. I can't 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:41.080 believe in God that that's not a That's not an 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:46.360 intellectually sound argument. So that's one argument I said I 0:03:46.400 --> 0:03:48.720 had too. I have another one, and then we'll talk 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:52.000 about the issue itself. The other argument is taken from 0:03:52.080 --> 0:03:56.680 a rabbi named Milton Steinberg. I always try to quote sources. 0:03:56.720 --> 0:04:01.920 I think stealing ideas is in fact the So often 0:04:01.960 --> 0:04:03.840 people will say to me, oh, Dennis, I'm going to 0:04:03.880 --> 0:04:06.280 steal that idea, and I think, but didn't you know 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:10.000 it says thou shalt not steal. I had never understood 0:04:10.000 --> 0:04:12.840 why people think stealing an idea is okay. So I 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:16.919 always try to attribute sources. And there was this rabbi 0:04:17.080 --> 0:04:19.560 and I am paraphrasing him. This is a paraphrase, but 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:24.520 it's a very very powerful argument, in at least it's 0:04:24.560 --> 0:04:29.599 been powerful in my life. And here goes the believer 0:04:29.760 --> 0:04:33.920 in God has to account for the for one thing, 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:43.400 the existence of evil and suffering. The atheist has to 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:52.080 account for the existence of everything else. I would say 0:04:52.080 --> 0:04:54.039 to you that, in a nutshell, that is the most 0:04:54.040 --> 0:04:59.000 persuasive answer that I have for the question of God 0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:03.480 and suffering. It doesn't directly deal with it, but it 0:05:03.520 --> 0:05:06.159 gives you a the larger perspective in which to be 0:05:06.240 --> 0:05:08.839 able to believe in God. I find that to be 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:12.520 a terrific argument. I'll say it one more time. The 0:05:12.560 --> 0:05:15.599 believer in God has to account for the existence of 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:23.600 one thing, evil and suffering. The atheist has to account 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:29.880 for the existence of everything else. That's big, and it 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:32.440 has served in my life, at moments of doubt to 0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:37.600 be a very very persuasive argument, because I cannot explain 0:05:37.680 --> 0:05:42.760 everything else without God, I cannot. It all came about 0:05:42.800 --> 0:05:45.960 on its own. So evil suggests there is a God, 0:05:46.040 --> 0:05:50.160 but goodness evil suggests there's no God, but goodness doesn't suggest. 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:50.440 There is a God. 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:56.360 It's an imbalanced argument, utterly imbalanced. 0:05:58.000 --> 0:05:58.960 Now as it happens. 0:05:58.960 --> 0:06:01.440 There's another argus him in two that those who say, 0:06:01.560 --> 0:06:04.000 well that there's evil and suffering, so there must not 0:06:04.040 --> 0:06:06.039 be a god. Remember, if there is no god, there's 0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:10.919 no there's no issue of evil. The only time evil 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:12.839 becomes an issue is if you assume that there is 0:06:12.880 --> 0:06:15.240 a god. Then that becomes a question why is there 0:06:15.279 --> 0:06:20.000 so much evil? But i'll leave that one aside. One 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:21.919 eighth Prager seven seven six. 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:24.800 You're all cheating by calling before I finish. 0:06:25.200 --> 0:06:29.320 Eh, you don't even know what I said, and you're 0:06:29.320 --> 0:06:33.840 already called. But luck, you have stuff to say. I 0:06:33.960 --> 0:06:36.560 understand that. And you're chomping at the bit or whatever 0:06:36.600 --> 0:06:40.440 that phrase is, chafing at the bit, chomping at the bit, 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:45.920 chafing at the chump, jumping at the chaff, chiffing at 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:50.200 the chof And I understand that you want to talk 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:53.800 to me about it. Now let me let me directly 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:57.839 talk about the issue itself. Now for a moment. There 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:01.159 is no question but that there are are aspects of 0:07:01.279 --> 0:07:05.080 suffering and unjust suffering, and that's important because there's also 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:09.200 just suffering. There are aspects of unjust suffering in this 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:13.480 world that seem to challenge the governance of a good God. 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:14.240 They do. 0:07:14.320 --> 0:07:17.440 And I think people like me who believe deeply in 0:07:17.480 --> 0:07:22.200 God have to acknowledge that God acknowledges it. There is 0:07:22.240 --> 0:07:24.760 a book of the Bible that in fact deals with 0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:29.400 this question of God and suffering and unjust suffering. It's 0:07:29.400 --> 0:07:34.400 the Book of Job Job. And at the end of 0:07:34.400 --> 0:07:41.320 the book, after suffering horrifically and unjustly, Job asks God 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:45.000 God questions. But at the end of the book God 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:48.680 asked Job questions, and he said, Job, if you know 0:07:48.840 --> 0:07:52.720 so much, tell me where were you when the world 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:56.640 was started? Who makes sure that a mother bear takes 0:07:56.640 --> 0:07:59.640 care of her cubs. Who is the one that makes 0:07:59.640 --> 0:08:03.920 sure that a mother eagle builds a nest? Who knows 0:08:03.960 --> 0:08:09.120 what happens after the gates of death? In other words, Job, 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:13.160 and all humans you don't know. You can't understand everything. 0:08:14.240 --> 0:08:16.200 My ways are not your ways. I believe it was 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:18.600 Isaiah who put it. I want you to know that 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:23.280 I find deep satisfaction, intellectual satisfaction with those answers. I 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:26.080 want to make this clear because this is something that 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:29.800 a lot of believers and I differ. 0:08:31.440 --> 0:08:32.320 With regard to. 0:08:33.960 --> 0:08:38.000 I have not only no problem in saying that I 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:43.680 cannot answer fully the existence of so much unjust suffering 0:08:43.800 --> 0:08:46.839 with a good God's existence. I not only don't have 0:08:46.880 --> 0:08:54.400 the problem with that, I admit it, and I like 0:08:54.520 --> 0:08:59.960 the fact that there are religions that don't demand explos 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:05.880 nations for everything. See for example. I do not believe 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:10.800 when everything happens that somebody says, well, everything is for 0:09:10.880 --> 0:09:13.760 the good. I don't believe that there are things that 0:09:13.800 --> 0:09:16.720 are so horrific that have happened to people there was 0:09:16.800 --> 0:09:18.200 no good that came out of it. 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:22.720 None. 0:09:23.080 --> 0:09:27.040 You're walking down in Iraqi Street with your family and 0:09:27.760 --> 0:09:32.960 you're all blown apart and or brain damaged for the 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:35.240 rest of your life, and there's no good that comes 0:09:35.280 --> 0:09:39.080 out of that. It's sheer, pure evil. Now I blame 0:09:39.120 --> 0:09:42.199 evil on people, not on God. But I'm just explaining 0:09:42.800 --> 0:09:45.760 that I don't buy the argument, well, we really don't 0:09:45.760 --> 0:09:49.640 have evil because in the final analysis, everything is for 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:53.720 the good. That's not true. I stare evil and suffering 0:09:53.760 --> 0:09:55.839 in the face, and I am prepared to say this. 0:09:57.280 --> 0:10:02.400 There are certain things that cannot be explained. Only God 0:10:02.480 --> 0:10:06.840 knows the answer to why a child is born with 0:10:07.080 --> 0:10:12.400 terrible suffering and pain. Siamese Twins, I don't know whatever, 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:15.920 they don't have terrible. They have suffering, but not pain necessarily. 0:10:17.160 --> 0:10:21.160 I'm just giving that as another example. But I've given 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:25.040 you some of the some of the arguments that sustain me, 0:10:25.480 --> 0:10:28.400 like the Steinberg argument, and I will take your calls, 0:10:28.440 --> 0:10:31.160 any challenge on this you want, because I do believe 0:10:31.200 --> 0:10:33.840 in God and I do confront the reality of evil. 0:10:34.679 --> 0:10:37.200 This is the Ultimate Issues hour on the Dennis Prager Show. 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:41.360 This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this. 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:51.000 Now back to more of Dennis Prager's Timeless Wisdom. 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:55.040 You're listening to the Dentis Prager Show the Ultimate Issues, 0:10:55.720 --> 0:10:58.160 an hour each week at this time devoted to some 0:10:58.240 --> 0:11:01.400 great issue of life. Doesn't get greater than the question 0:11:01.480 --> 0:11:04.920 of how do you reconcile all the unjust suffering in 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:09.280 the world with the existence of God, specifically a good God. 0:11:10.880 --> 0:11:14.559 And I fully acknowledge that there comes a point where 0:11:14.559 --> 0:11:17.600 we cannot know the answer, and I find that persuasive. 0:11:20.559 --> 0:11:26.720 I me, trying to understand everything and understand everything about 0:11:26.760 --> 0:11:32.000 God's ways is like my dog trying to understand any 0:11:32.040 --> 0:11:40.199 of my books. It's not available to us. This won't 0:11:40.240 --> 0:11:43.120 satisfy many of you, either religious or non religious, or 0:11:43.160 --> 0:11:46.400 believer or non believer, because you believe that there should 0:11:46.440 --> 0:11:49.160 be an answer to all questions. Since I know that 0:11:49.240 --> 0:11:53.280 we have finite minds, I can live with that finitude 0:11:53.400 --> 0:11:56.920 and that's it. I could live with it. But beyond that, 0:11:57.080 --> 0:12:00.720 I blame human evil on humans. To a certain extent, 0:12:00.760 --> 0:12:03.920 I blame it on God too, to be perfectly honest, 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:08.480 because he created such a flawed being. I am not 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:11.320 one of the admirers of humanity. I admire humans, but 0:12:11.360 --> 0:12:14.880 I have contempt for humanity. So just as an aside, 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:19.080 written an article on that, and I won't I won't 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:23.400 belabor that point. Now, there are terrific human beings, but 0:12:23.520 --> 0:12:27.960 humanity as a whole has a very unimpressive record, highly unimpressive. 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:30.960 That's why I always get a kick out of humanists. 0:12:31.880 --> 0:12:34.640 They can't believe in God, but they believe in humanity. 0:12:35.040 --> 0:12:40.040 What a crack up. God's got a better record than humanity. 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:42.640 All right, let's go to some of your calls here 0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:52.720 and let's uh, let's go to Michael in Someamish, Washington. Hello, 0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:56.360 Michael Dennis Prager. Where is some Amish? 0:12:57.280 --> 0:13:01.480 Where some Amish? Yeah, it's east of Seattle, Washington. 0:13:02.000 --> 0:13:03.920 Okay, I love the name. Go ahead. 0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:07.199 This is really a great honor. Thank you for taking 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:08.440 my call. He really is. 0:13:08.600 --> 0:13:09.520 Thank you for the comment. 0:13:12.080 --> 0:13:16.680 Just two things, I'll take your comments offline. First of all, 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:19.760 I think we need to keep in mind that without evil, 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:22.800 we have no way by which to judge what is good. 0:13:23.559 --> 0:13:25.880 So evil and good are kind of two sides of 0:13:25.960 --> 0:13:29.880 the same coin, if you will. But more deeply than that, 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:35.120 God created us and desires for us freedom and free will. 0:13:36.000 --> 0:13:40.160 Yeah, your you are, Michael, forgive me. You are explaining evil. 0:13:40.840 --> 0:13:44.480 The great question vis a v. God is not so 0:13:44.640 --> 0:13:50.680 much evil but suffering. That was natural children born with tumors, 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:55.880 not not the evil that people freely choose, right. 0:13:55.920 --> 0:13:58.000 I just wanted to make the distinction between the two 0:13:58.040 --> 0:14:00.720 kinds of evil. The second point was, was I think 0:14:00.800 --> 0:14:07.840 more an answer to your question. There is an assumption 0:14:08.440 --> 0:14:12.800 in the question that we are to judge, say, an afterlife, 0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:17.199 by this life. It may be the case that God 0:14:17.320 --> 0:14:23.240 tolerates tsunamis because he knows that those innocent children will 0:14:23.280 --> 0:14:28.360 be in a better place. I'm not saying that's the answer. 0:14:28.400 --> 0:14:31.880 I'm saying that is something to reflect on that in 0:14:31.920 --> 0:14:36.280 that life, as we know it may not accurately reflect 0:14:36.720 --> 0:14:39.120 what God's intentions for us are as. 0:14:40.080 --> 0:14:43.040 That's very good, that's very good, Michael. I agree with that. 0:14:43.840 --> 0:14:48.680 I agree, but but it's a variation on my theme 0:14:48.800 --> 0:14:53.040 that we can't understand fully how God has made a 0:14:53.080 --> 0:14:57.000 world like that. The only problem that I have with that, 0:14:57.080 --> 0:14:59.600 and I do agree with everything that Michael said, and 0:14:59.640 --> 0:15:03.480 thank you again for your call, is that it doesn't 0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:08.880 it see saying that we go to a better place, 0:15:08.920 --> 0:15:12.280 which which I have to believe, I mean, I mean, 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:16.160 I have to believe it intellectually. If we die and 0:15:16.480 --> 0:15:21.680 and and everybody goes to something worse, it would that 0:15:21.680 --> 0:15:29.320 would really be a theological problem. But saying that doesn't 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:32.000 answer the question fully because you still have the problem 0:15:32.120 --> 0:15:37.240 of this world's suffering. All right, So that baby will 0:15:37.280 --> 0:15:39.040 go to a better place, But what about the parent 0:15:39.080 --> 0:15:41.560 of the child who was killed in the tsunami, who 0:15:41.600 --> 0:15:44.400 has to live out their life here with this, with 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:48.840 the daily horrific pain of the death of their child. 0:15:48.920 --> 0:15:52.640 So you see, I never minimize This is something I 0:15:52.680 --> 0:15:55.840 need to explain to all of you. I never minimize 0:15:56.000 --> 0:16:00.200 the amount of suffering in this world, the amount of 0:16:00.200 --> 0:16:05.480 of of unjust pain. I believe deeply in God, but 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:12.000 I don't allow myself to become intellectually weak by making 0:16:12.040 --> 0:16:16.400 the questions simpler or by denying the obvious. The obvious 0:16:16.480 --> 0:16:19.400 is that there was a staggering amount of unjust suffering 0:16:19.440 --> 0:16:22.320 on this planet, and that God made it that way. 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:24.880 And if you say, well, you blame it on Adam 0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:28.080 and Eve, well that that that that doesn't fully answer 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:31.160 it for me. Why why would God make a world 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:35.200 where I I, all of my suffering is because of 0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:37.600 somebody else's choice. 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:40.280 I believe that story. 0:16:40.440 --> 0:16:42.680 I don't know whether the question of literal or not 0:16:42.800 --> 0:16:45.040 is not irrelevant to not relevant to me, but I 0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:47.520 believe that story. And it's one of the genius stories 0:16:48.080 --> 0:16:52.000 of of of that ever was put put into words, 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:57.800 and I and I am prepared to believe, even in 0:16:57.840 --> 0:17:01.640 the consequences, the pain of childbirth, the pain of bringing 0:17:02.120 --> 0:17:05.440 forth bread from the earth. But it doesn't answer all 0:17:05.480 --> 0:17:10.640 of the suffering issue, even the Adam and Eve story. Okay, 0:17:10.880 --> 0:17:14.920 and let's go to a good challenge here in Sarasota, Florida. Richard, Hello, Richard, 0:17:14.960 --> 0:17:16.000 Dennis Prager. 0:17:16.040 --> 0:17:17.719 Hi, Dennis, A pleasure to talk to you. 0:17:17.880 --> 0:17:18.280 Thank you. 0:17:18.960 --> 0:17:23.480 I had just a question about a farmer. Let's say, 0:17:23.520 --> 0:17:26.840 who has a great crop and he thanks God. As 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:30.120 I was taught to thank God for every blessing growing up, 0:17:30.600 --> 0:17:32.639 and it would just seem logical to be able to 0:17:32.640 --> 0:17:35.560 blame God for a bad crop or a devastating drop, 0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:36.639 or a child lost. 0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:38.960 There are two There are two answers to that, and 0:17:39.240 --> 0:17:43.920 that immediately come to mind. First, it depends on what 0:17:44.000 --> 0:17:47.960 you consider to be the norm. If you consider good 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:52.240 crops to be the norm and that they just should 0:17:52.280 --> 0:17:56.719 be there for me, then you're right. But it seems 0:17:56.760 --> 0:17:59.200 to me that the miracle is not a bad crop. 0:17:59.400 --> 0:18:01.600 The miracle is that there are any good crops. That 0:18:01.640 --> 0:18:04.760 God made a world where we could feed ourselves. 0:18:04.240 --> 0:18:05.240 As a gift. 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:09.520 So I think that that becomes the more the good 0:18:09.560 --> 0:18:12.880 crop is more exceptional than the bad crop. But your 0:18:13.000 --> 0:18:15.800 question is a good one. If we thank God for 0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:18.440 good things that happen to us, shouldn't we be angry 0:18:18.480 --> 0:18:21.360 at God or curse God or whatever is the opposite 0:18:21.400 --> 0:18:24.040 of thank for the bad things that happen? Is that 0:18:24.080 --> 0:18:24.720 what you're asking? 0:18:25.320 --> 0:18:28.200 Yes, yes, yeah, all right. 0:18:28.080 --> 0:18:32.720 You're very welcome. Actually, I have no problem with people 0:18:32.720 --> 0:18:35.560 who get angry with God. I think that you ought to. 0:18:37.480 --> 0:18:39.720 I mean, if God is your father in heaven, do 0:18:39.800 --> 0:18:41.359 you ever get did you ever get angry at your 0:18:41.400 --> 0:18:41.920 own father? 0:18:43.080 --> 0:18:46.640 Is it not allowed? Now? 0:18:46.680 --> 0:18:49.240 It has to be within bounds of respect and honor 0:18:49.280 --> 0:18:53.040 and so on. But yes, you can express anger at God. 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:56.159 You have a real relationship with God. How could it 0:18:56.280 --> 0:19:00.760 just just be on one unidimensional way back in a moment. 0:19:00.760 --> 0:19:01.639 I'm Dennis Prager. 0:19:02.640 --> 0:19:05.960 This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this. 0:19:11.520 --> 0:19:15.080 Now back to more of Dennis Prager's Timeless Wisdom. 0:19:15.640 --> 0:19:18.439 Dennis Prager. Here the Ultimate Issues Hour. It is the 0:19:18.520 --> 0:19:21.480 hour each week on some great issue of life. Doesn't 0:19:21.480 --> 0:19:23.680 get greater than this. I don't mean great in the 0:19:23.760 --> 0:19:26.680 sense of fun, greater in the sense of importance, and 0:19:26.800 --> 0:19:30.359 that is reconciling God, the existence of, or belief in 0:19:30.480 --> 0:19:34.600 a good God, with all the unjust suffering in the world. 0:19:35.359 --> 0:19:38.320 I have dealt with this my whole life. Anybody who 0:19:38.359 --> 0:19:41.159 thinks and believes has to deal with it. In the 0:19:41.160 --> 0:19:44.560 final analysis, just to recap very quickly and then go 0:19:44.600 --> 0:19:47.199 to more of your calls. There are two forms of 0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:52.080 unjust suffering, evil caused by humans and tragedy caused by nature. 0:19:53.240 --> 0:19:57.800 The nature one really raises more issues vis a vis 0:19:58.440 --> 0:20:01.679 the existence of a good God, then does human evil. 0:20:01.720 --> 0:20:04.360 But the human evil one does too. Is the amount 0:20:04.359 --> 0:20:06.760 of it is staggering amount of it that people have 0:20:06.880 --> 0:20:11.520 engaged in. You wonder did God know how bad people 0:20:11.520 --> 0:20:15.680 would be? And you know there are questions. 0:20:16.119 --> 0:20:16.560 You see. 0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:19.720 I have never found asking questions about God to be 0:20:19.880 --> 0:20:25.560 deleterious to my faith. It's never occurred to me. It's 0:20:25.680 --> 0:20:30.919 like asking questions about my parents. Never quite affected my 0:20:31.000 --> 0:20:37.400 belief that they exist. Of course God exists, the questions 0:20:37.400 --> 0:20:39.560 that become about his nature and so on, But that 0:20:39.640 --> 0:20:42.080 the idea that everything came about by itself is so 0:20:42.200 --> 0:20:46.479 absurd to me. It is so absurd that it doesn't 0:20:46.560 --> 0:20:50.159 dawn on me that there is no God. It dawns 0:20:50.240 --> 0:20:52.399 on me that there are real questions to be asked, 0:20:52.400 --> 0:20:56.080 and I have to figure out answers when possible. But 0:20:56.440 --> 0:21:02.080 it's all one colossal, a bad joke. I don't find 0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:04.280 that terribly intellectually persuasive. 0:21:04.359 --> 0:21:04.880 Never did. 0:21:06.080 --> 0:21:08.480 But I know that for some the issue of God 0:21:08.560 --> 0:21:11.359 is a very difficult one, and they may not have 0:21:11.640 --> 0:21:16.960 been as lucky as I in making peace with God's existence. 0:21:17.040 --> 0:21:20.119 I know very wonderful people who just find it almost 0:21:20.160 --> 0:21:24.200 impossible or impossible to believe in God. I think that, 0:21:24.680 --> 0:21:31.080 and I feel for them because it's it's a richer life, 0:21:31.480 --> 0:21:34.160 much richer life, to believe that there is a good 0:21:34.240 --> 0:21:38.000 God who governs the universe. Not to mention comforting in 0:21:38.040 --> 0:21:41.480 the deepest sense, but I have no problem asking these questions, 0:21:41.560 --> 0:21:44.639 and for some there are no answers, and I guess 0:21:44.640 --> 0:21:47.280 I should repeat at every break the great Milton Steinberg, 0:21:47.359 --> 0:21:52.160 Rabbi Milton Steinberg quote for the believer in the believer 0:21:52.280 --> 0:21:56.399 in God has to account. And I always pats a paraphrase, 0:21:56.440 --> 0:21:58.960 but this is basically what he said. The believer in 0:21:59.000 --> 0:22:01.400 God has to account for the existence of one thing, 0:22:02.920 --> 0:22:06.679 evil and suffering. The atheist has to account for the 0:22:06.720 --> 0:22:12.200 existence of everything else. Please, please do remember that. Okay 0:22:12.760 --> 0:22:17.359 one eight Prager seven seven six, and let's go to 0:22:17.840 --> 0:22:20.200 Litchfield Park, Arizona and Aaron. 0:22:20.240 --> 0:22:21.359 Hello, Aaron Dennis. 0:22:21.119 --> 0:22:23.280 Prager, mister Prager, good day to you. How are you? 0:22:23.440 --> 0:22:27.359 Thank you, wonderful, great honor to speak with you. I 0:22:27.720 --> 0:22:31.400 kind of view it as you know, we are God's children. Obviously, 0:22:31.440 --> 0:22:34.800 I mean I love my children enough to let them 0:22:34.880 --> 0:22:37.320 learn by their own suffering one way or another. I 0:22:37.320 --> 0:22:40.200 know it's a pretty simplistic view, but at the same time. 0:22:40.040 --> 0:22:42.280 Yeah, but there is suffering you can't learn from. What 0:22:42.680 --> 0:22:44.920 if you're brain damaged by a drunk driver. 0:22:45.440 --> 0:22:47.920 Well, I'm not talking about so much of this life, 0:22:47.920 --> 0:22:51.040 but I mean, what's eternity compared to a lifetime of suffering? 0:22:51.119 --> 0:22:51.840 You know what I'm saying. 0:22:52.000 --> 0:22:54.679 Yeah, So your answer to the problem of injustice in 0:22:54.720 --> 0:22:58.920 this world is the is the next world? So it's 0:22:58.960 --> 0:23:00.480 by the way, it's mine as well. 0:23:02.200 --> 0:23:05.400 I did a I did, wasn't it. Yeah? I did. 0:23:05.440 --> 0:23:05.720 I did. 0:23:05.760 --> 0:23:09.200 This was very recently. I had an Ultimate Issues hour 0:23:09.280 --> 0:23:11.960 on Heaven and Hell, and I said, if there was 0:23:12.040 --> 0:23:14.119 a good God, then there was then there was reward 0:23:14.160 --> 0:23:18.920 and punishment after we die. It's axiomatic because there was 0:23:19.000 --> 0:23:22.600 so little reward and punishment rightfully done in this world. 0:23:22.800 --> 0:23:27.600 I'm with you, Aaron, I agree entirely. Thank you very much, Denver, Colorado, Eric, Hello, Eric, 0:23:27.640 --> 0:23:29.520 Dennis Praeger, Hi, Dennis. 0:23:29.600 --> 0:23:31.640 I think cell phones may prove that there's a god. 0:23:32.160 --> 0:23:34.240 Cell phones may prove there as a god. 0:23:34.880 --> 0:23:36.480 And how how is that away from you? 0:23:36.560 --> 0:23:38.960 And then getting to talk to one of my favorite mentors. 0:23:39.119 --> 0:23:40.840 Oh, that's very sweet. 0:23:41.320 --> 0:23:43.320 Well, I had more of the subject. 0:23:43.400 --> 0:23:43.560 You know. 0:23:43.600 --> 0:23:48.560 The classical philosophical view I've been taught was rephrase, rephrase 0:23:48.600 --> 0:23:51.480 the question a little different. Because God is all good 0:23:51.800 --> 0:23:55.440 and because he's all powerful, then we are already living 0:23:55.440 --> 0:23:58.640 in the best of all worlds. That that's the macroview 0:23:58.720 --> 0:24:01.120 I learned from from you. Of my ProView, I think 0:24:01.240 --> 0:24:04.280 is my world just where. I mean. I've had things 0:24:04.400 --> 0:24:05.159 very tough. 0:24:04.960 --> 0:24:05.119 You know. 0:24:05.119 --> 0:24:07.560 I had a million dollar staate stoled by my ex wife. 0:24:07.560 --> 0:24:10.359 She beats my kids with a whip and lectric cord, 0:24:10.440 --> 0:24:13.840 and it's been enormously tough. She's now trying to get 0:24:13.880 --> 0:24:18.920 me thrown in jail. And through all that difficulty, I've 0:24:19.000 --> 0:24:19.520 learned a ton. 0:24:20.119 --> 0:24:22.080 You've learned what I've learned a ton. 0:24:22.160 --> 0:24:22.280 You know. 0:24:22.280 --> 0:24:25.479 I've learned more about myself. I've become maybe a person. 0:24:26.000 --> 0:24:28.160 Yes, yes, there are yes you have. 0:24:28.320 --> 0:24:30.760 But I'll comment on this learning from suffering when we 0:24:30.800 --> 0:24:35.880 come back the Ultimate Issues hour on the Dennis Praeger Show. 0:24:36.680 --> 0:24:39.399 Amazing to me that I haven't addressed this on the 0:24:39.480 --> 0:24:43.400 Ultimate Issues Hour, and that is the issue of unjust 0:24:43.440 --> 0:24:48.119 suffering and evil and reconciling those with belief in a 0:24:48.160 --> 0:24:51.199 good God. It's called the odyssey. It's the problem of 0:24:51.440 --> 0:24:53.280 in a nutshell, the problem with evil? How do you 0:24:53.280 --> 0:24:57.320 believe in God? The Last Call, excellent one and I 0:24:57.400 --> 0:25:00.639 thank you again was a fair kind com It was 0:25:00.680 --> 0:25:05.560