Evil Vs. Good and Omnipotence
The problem of evil is the argument that the existence of evil is incompatible with the concept of an omnipotent and perfectly good God.
A variation does not depend on the existence of evil. A truly omnipotent God could create all possible worlds. A "good" God can create only "good" worlds. A God that created all possible worlds would have no moral qualities whatsoever, and could be replaced by a random generator. The standard response is to argue a distinction between "could create" and "would create." In other words, God "could" create all possible worlds but that is simply not in God's nature. This has been argued by theologians for centuries. However, the result is that a "good" God is incompatible with some possible worlds, thus incapable of creating them without losing the property of being a totally different God.
Read more about this topic: Incompatible-properties Argument
Famous quotes containing the words evil and/or omnipotence:
“If a man were to place himself in an attitude to bear manfully the greatest evil that can be inflicted on him, he would find suddenly that there was no such evil to bear; his brave back would go a-begging.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“It is the final proof of God’s omnipotence that he need not exist in order to save us.”
—Peter De Vries (b. 1910)