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This essay will be about providence and evil. Before proceeding with a discussion, I feel it necessary to define what providence is. The Microsoft Encarta lists and defines providence as care or preparation in advance, foresight. It also has another definition for providence that I think ties the two together, it says that providence is Divine care and guardianship. I think both of these are relevant as I discuss the fact that God allows evils to be present and for us to learn through them by his guidance.
In the given handout it states that God created the world knowing full well that there would one day be evil in it. The reason that God did this is because he didn�t just want to create something that was so much like him in every way. Given, we are in the likeness of God, but we were also made to develop throughout our lives with God�s guidance.
When God created the first people, he created them physically, and along with physical beings there is always two sides, physical good and physical evil. There is only this evil present if creation has not reached perfection, so taking an educated look at this reveals that we are obviously not perfected as created beings, therefore there is still physical evil present in and around is.
We as people are here in life to journey towards our own unique and predetermined destinies. God has set these out for us and knows the result of each one. Through each of these journeys there are going to be different ways to �travel.� We are free will beings, so there will be choices along the way that only we can make. There are of course good choices and bad, and we learn by these and they strengthen us for the road ahead, but we can go astray at times, it is by no means uncommon.
This is where another type of evil comes into play. This evil is called moral evil. Moral evil was in no way intended for us to live through but God permits us to experience this as well because through this evil, like any other, good (through God) is derived. This is the first evidence of how God is perfectly aware of the trials we face, but gives us the choice of following Him as our guide so we do not stray as much. He is always there to watch and guide if we seek Him.
God loves us to no end, and even though there are things present in our lives that may cause us to debate this fact, we need to look deeper into God to see why he does what he does. If God really wanted to create a race, would there be any reason to create one distasteful to Him? The answer is obvious, but the reason for the appearance of evils in the world is not. God uses even evil things as not only tools to let us live by, but as things to turn into good. But by His guidance and His ever-present understanding of the trials we face, we can learn to recognize the fact that God has complete control of our lives. He has chosen not to remove certain things from our lives (in this case evil) so that he can guide us through it, and turn it into something beneficial for us, His children.
In this discussion I have focused on the evidence of evil(s) in the world, and the reasons for them. I have also discussed God�s reasoning behind these evils and what he does to help us through them, or what he does to turn them into something good. Although to some the topic may cause confusion, if we are patient and call on God for guidance and understanding we will be able to see where He is coming from.
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