God is Not All Knowing & God is Not in Control

The dilemma comes up often, "How can an all knowing God allow evil?" I suggest to you that God is all knowing minus evil.

Jeremiah 32:35 says, "They built the high places of Baal that are in the valley of Ben-hinnom to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I had not commanded them nor had it entered My mind that they would do this abomination." This clearly says that the evil they did never entered into God's mind. Why? Because God is good. He does not harbor knowledge of future evil. He does not fill His mind with knowledge of the sins of the world.

1 John 3:5 says, "In Jesus there is no sin." Jesus also made clear that thinking about murder, adultery, etc is sinful like doing those things. So then does God think about evil if there is no sin in Him? Is there sin in His head? No. God doesn't dwell on evil nor does He retain it in His knowledge. God deals with evil as it happens or after it happens.

God does not allow evil because He does not foresee evil. He is too good to have knowledge of evil within Him. He knows the difference between good & evil as Genesis 3:22 says because He participates in all good & refuses to be involved in any evil (James 1:17).

God is love & love does not demand its own way (1 Corinthians 13:5). God does not override people's freewill. Sure we think this is a good idea when it comes to evil deeds because we think the best way to protect someone is to control them. But it is not. Love never controls. In our hearts & minds we know that is true, unless of course we are doing the controlling because we feel as though we need to protect someone or guide someone "in their best interests." God does know what is best for us but love still never controls. God does not break what love is under the guise of "doing it for your own good." If He did somewhere in our hearts we would know it is not love. If God is not love He is unworthy. If God has not love then God is nothing & that is why so many don't believe He exists, they've never been presented with a God who is truly Love.

God is not in control. He has not been in control since day 6 of creation just before He created mankind with freewill and dominion over the earth. God is the most powerful & knowledgeable being but God is also love & love does not demand its own way. As God Himself tells us in Jeremiah 32:35, quoted above, God does not foresee evil. He does not retain evil in His knowledge. He does not remember sins either.

In the name of protecting the omniscient & sovereignty doctrines people will paint God as loveless, evil, & even the source of sin. But the truth is God is eternally omniscient minus evil. You can either view God as a self-centered being playing the world like a video game or as a Father of many children who never controls but fully loves. He is a Father, His first born Son told us so! Is your God a programmer who ran a simulation with AI? Is your God a gamer who plays us like a video game? Is your God a careless father who pays no attention to his family? None of those, though they are the dominant views of God in the world, represent the Father Jesus revealed to us.

God is a Father. Think about what a father is. Even the most manipulative father cannot control every aspect of all his children's lives. He can lock them up, distort their beliefs, force their hands but none of those things make someone believe they are loved nor do they inspire love. Love requires freedom. The freedom sin, Satan, & shame stole from mankind Christ again offers back to us & then some! Fathers provide, protect, guide, & most of all love. God works to love & protect mankind in ways we have no idea about.

Religion has sold us an all knowing God who is in complete control because it thinks that is what makes people feel secure. But the fact is that the only view of God that really makes people secure is the true view of Him, God is love & God is good. He doesn't have to be in complete control & He doesn't have to know all things for us to be confident in Him. All we need to know is He is with us & He loves us. If we think we need more then we don't grasp His love or presence in our lives.

"The Lord is upright! He is my rock! There is no evil in him!" (Psalm 92:15)

Since we all know God exists & evil exists ask yourself, which of these makes God seem the most loving?
God controls everything thus He is responsible for all evil.
God knows about all evil ever for thousands of years in advance but chooses not to stop it before it happens.
God doesn't care about people so He lets evil occur.
God only cares about certain people so He protects some from evil & not others.
God does not foresee evil so He can't stop evil before it happens but He does His best to help those affected by it.


Related Posts
God's License to Sin?
3 Doctrines That Really Don't Believe God is Love