"There lived a very powerful and wealthy man, so rich he could buy the whole world if he wanted to. Now this very man happens to be a bachelor and wanted to get married. He falls in love with a very beautiful lady. He loved her so much he could die for her should it be needed. But unfortunately for him, he is not sure if the lady loves him back. With all his powers, the rich man can force the Lady to marry and live with him forever if he wants to. With all his riches the man can command the lady to do anything he wants her to just because he is stinky rich. Surprisingly enough, the rich man puts his riches aside and approaches the lady disguised as a poor man deeply in love with her."
This story is used to explain why God created evil. The theory is that God wants people to have free will, so it invents evil. People then can "choose" evil instead of God. But it makes no sense.
Free Will
For a start, God has free will and cannot choose evil. God is in heaven: There is no evil in heaven, no temptation, and everything is perfect and happy. If there is free will in heaven, then it makes no sense to say that evil is required for free will on Earth. The story fails to explain why God created evil.
To die for her
God cannot die. If such as god exists, then it is eternal and immortal. To pretend to die is moral blackmail. Also, it is nonsensical that God "isn't sure" if she will love it back. God knows everything. God knows every choice that will be made; it exists outside of time and can see the future with perfect clarity, as if it was the past. To say that god "isn't sure" is the same as saying that God is not all-knowing or all-powerful. God created the "beautiful lady" and gave her all of her personality and characteristics. God knows perfectly well what choices she will make; and God created her mind knowing exactly and specifically what actions would result from it. If God didn't want her to love him "because he is stinky rich" then God simply would not have created her Human mind as the type that loves riches. It was God's choice to create people who fall in love with riches. It makes no sense to say that God created Humans with a predisposition to love riches, but also that God doesn't want to be loved for that reason. According to this tale, a good God would create people to fall in love with people for spiritual reasons, not material ones. If God didn't do this, then God is either not good, or there is no god.
The rich man puts his riches aside
"and approaches as a poor man deeply in love with her". God is in complete control and knows the results of every action. God knows exactly what subtle body language, words and nuances will make the lady love it. If God does these things, then the lady is made to love God. God is still in complete control. Gods infinite knowledge amounts to a complete ability to psychologically manipulate people: If the lady loves God, for whatever reason, then God has forced her too by conspiring to create the lady with a destiny of love for itself. There is simply no way for anything in life to occur that is not created by God as the result of God's will and action. It makes no sense to say that God "tries" to make people love it: God can't "try" and fail, it can only ever try and succeed, as god is perfect and all-powerful.
The final point is about God "falling in love". An eternal God, beyond time, needs nothing at all. It doesn't have wants because it is a perfect being. It lacks nothing. It can never be improved, because it is already perfect. God knows every possible experience; it cannot "fall in love", as God is love. If love is good, then God would have created everything in a state of permanent love, with no evil or suffering. If free will was required, then God must kill itself and disappear forever. That would be the ultimate sacrifice in order to allow free will. A perfect God, if it wants free will, would kill itself for love. If God's love is meaningful, and yet God cannot choose evil, then it makes no sense to say that in order for Humankind's love to be good, it does need evil.
By Vexen Crabtree, 2006 Apr 18