Killing: When/If It's Ok?

Off Topic Politics & World Issues
201

[quote]kamui wrote:

[quote]TigerTime wrote:

[quote]Brother Chris wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:

Compassion is the feeling and/or the idea that the sufferings of others are bad and/or wrong.
It’s already a moral judgement. the concept of “good” and “bad” are already there, even if they are only implicit at this point.
[/quote]

Not to throw a wrench into this wonderful conversation with TigerTime.

But, I think I have compassion, but I don’t think suffering is inherently bad.[/quote]

Nor do I.[/quote]

But, unlike BC, you said that we don’t need a moral code because compassion is our natural state.
If suffering isn’t inherently bad, how do we know when it is, and when it’s not ?

[/quote]

Word.

202

Personal suffering is an integral component of the Christian life and depending on the person and God’s plan for them, truly horrific suffering can be THE most purifying, edifying and spiritually educational part of their life. It drives the heart raised in Christ deep into His arms which is exactly the point and object. God is greatly glorified as the world sees their unflinching faithfulness reflecting His. We know almost nothing of that in the western world.

To quote a very wise pastor who shepherds a small flock that meets mostly in secret in another part of the world after visiting the United States. “There’s nothing wrong with the American church that a goodly dose of bloody persecution wouldn’t fix”.

203

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
Personal suffering is an integral component of the Christian life and depending on the person and God’s plan for them, truly horrific suffering can be THE most purifying, edifying and spiritually educational part of their life. It drives the heart raised in Christ deep into His arms which is exactly the point and object. God is greatly glorified as the world sees their unflinching faithfulness reflecting His. We know almost nothing of that in the western world.

To quote a very wise pastor who shepherds a small flock that meets mostly in secret in another part of the world after visiting the United States. “There’s nothing wrong with the American church that a goodly dose of bloody persecution wouldn’t fix”.

[/quote]

Hmm, I don’t know. I’ve seen some pretty bad things, tended to make me think there was no God.
Matter of fact, for me it was the most compelling.

It’s one thing to experience something out of hardship, or if you put yourself in a situation outside of the norm to attempt to see what it’s like (even though in the back of your mind, you know you will return to your kushy, nice life.)

But when suffering leads to death, or if you happen upon someone who was tortured to death, you might change your mind. I know you are very faithful, but seeing other’s hardships and seeing that sort of vileness in the world is quite compelling in the opposite way you are explaining it.

204

[quote]kamui wrote:

[quote]TigerTime wrote:

[quote]Brother Chris wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:

Compassion is the feeling and/or the idea that the sufferings of others are bad and/or wrong.
It’s already a moral judgement. the concept of “good” and “bad” are already there, even if they are only implicit at this point.
[/quote]

Not to throw a wrench into this wonderful conversation with TigerTime.

But, I think I have compassion, but I don’t think suffering is inherently bad.[/quote]

Nor do I.[/quote]

But, unlike BC, you said that we don’t need a moral code because compassion is our natural state.
If suffering isn’t inherently bad, how do we know when it is, and when it’s not ?

[/quote]

Well, you could always ask the individual if they think it’s bad. That has been the point I’ve been pushing all along, has it not?

205

[quote]TigerTime wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:

[quote]TigerTime wrote:

[quote]Brother Chris wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:

Compassion is the feeling and/or the idea that the sufferings of others are bad and/or wrong.
It’s already a moral judgement. the concept of “good” and “bad” are already there, even if they are only implicit at this point.
[/quote]

Not to throw a wrench into this wonderful conversation with TigerTime.

But, I think I have compassion, but I don’t think suffering is inherently bad.[/quote]

Nor do I.[/quote]

But, unlike BC, you said that we don’t need a moral code because compassion is our natural state.
If suffering isn’t inherently bad, how do we know when it is, and when it’s not ?

[/quote]

Well, you could always ask the individual if they think it’s bad. That has been the point I’ve been pushing all along, has it not?[/quote]

That’s exactly what the golden rule say. And it’s a moral code.
So “all along”, we have evolved from “moral nihilism” to an altruism based on human nature, informed and regulated by reciprocity. IE : Some kind of secular humanism.
Like i said : “welcome to the club”.

206

[quote]kamui wrote:

[quote]TigerTime wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:

[quote]TigerTime wrote:

[quote]Brother Chris wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:

Compassion is the feeling and/or the idea that the sufferings of others are bad and/or wrong.
It’s already a moral judgement. the concept of “good” and “bad” are already there, even if they are only implicit at this point.
[/quote]

Not to throw a wrench into this wonderful conversation with TigerTime.

But, I think I have compassion, but I don’t think suffering is inherently bad.[/quote]

Nor do I.[/quote]

But, unlike BC, you said that we don’t need a moral code because compassion is our natural state.
If suffering isn’t inherently bad, how do we know when it is, and when it’s not ?

[/quote]

Well, you could always ask the individual if they think it’s bad. That has been the point I’ve been pushing all along, has it not?[/quote]

That’s exactly what the golden rule say. And it’s a moral code.
So “all along”, we have evolved from “moral nihilism” to an altruism based on human nature, informed and regulated by reciprocity. IE : Some kind of secular humanism.
Like i said : “welcome to the club”. [/quote]

The golden rule is, “treat others as you would like to be treated”. This has nothing to do with my outlook and I don’t know how you got this out of the comment you’re responding to.

If my outlook has a rule it would be, “treat others the way they want to be treated. Or, don’t. Your choice.”

207

[quote]TigerTime wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:

[quote]TigerTime wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:

[quote]TigerTime wrote:

[quote]Brother Chris wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:

Compassion is the feeling and/or the idea that the sufferings of others are bad and/or wrong.
It’s already a moral judgement. the concept of “good” and “bad” are already there, even if they are only implicit at this point.
[/quote]

Not to throw a wrench into this wonderful conversation with TigerTime.

But, I think I have compassion, but I don’t think suffering is inherently bad.[/quote]

Nor do I.[/quote]

But, unlike BC, you said that we don’t need a moral code because compassion is our natural state.
If suffering isn’t inherently bad, how do we know when it is, and when it’s not ?

[/quote]

Well, you could always ask the individual if they think it’s bad. That has been the point I’ve been pushing all along, has it not?[/quote]

That’s exactly what the golden rule say. And it’s a moral code.
So “all along”, we have evolved from “moral nihilism” to an altruism based on human nature, informed and regulated by reciprocity. IE : Some kind of secular humanism.
Like i said : “welcome to the club”. [/quote]

The golden rule is, “treat others as you would like to be treated”. This has nothing to do with my outlook and I don’t know how you got this out of the comment you’re responding to.

If my outlook has a rule it would be, “treat others the way they want to be treated. Or, don’t. Your choice.”[/quote]

You would like to be treated the way you want to be treated, right ?
So you would like to be treated the way you said you would treat others.
Ergo, you treat others the way you would like to be treated.

the rule of your outlook is a tautology removed from the golden rule.
Essentially the same thing.

208

[quote]kamui wrote:
the “fixed” version :
To let oneself be killed (when it’s avoidable) is immoral because it results in a death.[/quote]

Does this goes for Catholic martyrs (I make the clarification because some people think blowing oneself up is considered martyrdom)?

209

[quote]Severiano wrote:

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
Personal suffering is an integral component of the Christian life and depending on the person and God’s plan for them, truly horrific suffering can be THE most purifying, edifying and spiritually educational part of their life. It drives the heart raised in Christ deep into His arms which is exactly the point and object. God is greatly glorified as the world sees their unflinching faithfulness reflecting His. We know almost nothing of that in the western world.

To quote a very wise pastor who shepherds a small flock that meets mostly in secret in another part of the world after visiting the United States. “There’s nothing wrong with the American church that a goodly dose of bloody persecution wouldn’t fix”.

[/quote]

Hmm, I don’t know. I’ve seen some pretty bad things, tended to make me think there was no God.
Matter of fact, for me it was the most compelling.

It’s one thing to experience something out of hardship, or if you put yourself in a situation outside of the norm to attempt to see what it’s like (even though in the back of your mind, you know you will return to your kushy, nice life.)

But when suffering leads to death, or if you happen upon someone who was tortured to death, you might change your mind. I know you are very faithful, but seeing other’s hardships and seeing that sort of vileness in the world is quite compelling in the opposite way you are explaining it. [/quote]

One is duty bound to relieve unnecessary suffering. However, suffering even to the point of death is not necessarily bad. If it was…deicide is a strange contradiction.

210

[quote]Brother Chris wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:
the “fixed” version :
To let oneself be killed (when it’s avoidable) is immoral because it results in a death.[/quote]

Does this goes for Catholic martyrs (I make the clarification because some people think blowing oneself up is considered martyrdom)? [/quote]

As i understand it, a martyr doesn’t intentionally seek death and doesn’t really let himself be killed, he let his death (which is perceived as unavoidable) become a testimony of his faith.
The dilemma here is not “kill or be killed”. It’s “lie or tell the truth and be killed”.
Lying being immoral, martyr is a way to prevent an evil. Subjectively at least.
Ethically, it’s not the same thing. And it’s highly respectable in my eyes.

211

[quote]kamui wrote:

[quote]Brother Chris wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:
the “fixed” version :
To let oneself be killed (when it’s avoidable) is immoral because it results in a death.[/quote]

Does this goes for Catholic martyrs (I make the clarification because some people think blowing oneself up is considered martyrdom)? [/quote]

As i understand it, a martyr doesn’t intentionally seek death and doesn’t really let himself be killed, he let his death (which is perceived as unavoidable) become a testimony of his faith.
The dilemma here is not “kill or be killed”. It’s “lie or tell the truth and be killed”.
Lying being immoral, martyr is a way to prevent an evil. Subjectively at least.
Ethically, it’s not the same thing. And it’s highly respectable in my eyes.

[/quote]

Answered exactly like I thought you would. I have yet to see inconsistency in your philosophical views.

212

[quote]kamui wrote:

[quote]TigerTime wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:

[quote]TigerTime wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:

[quote]TigerTime wrote:

[quote]Brother Chris wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:

Compassion is the feeling and/or the idea that the sufferings of others are bad and/or wrong.
It’s already a moral judgement. the concept of “good” and “bad” are already there, even if they are only implicit at this point.
[/quote]

Not to throw a wrench into this wonderful conversation with TigerTime.

But, I think I have compassion, but I don’t think suffering is inherently bad.[/quote]

Nor do I.[/quote]

But, unlike BC, you said that we don’t need a moral code because compassion is our natural state.
If suffering isn’t inherently bad, how do we know when it is, and when it’s not ?

[/quote]

Well, you could always ask the individual if they think it’s bad. That has been the point I’ve been pushing all along, has it not?[/quote]

That’s exactly what the golden rule say. And it’s a moral code.
So “all along”, we have evolved from “moral nihilism” to an altruism based on human nature, informed and regulated by reciprocity. IE : Some kind of secular humanism.
Like i said : “welcome to the club”. [/quote]

The golden rule is, “treat others as you would like to be treated”. This has nothing to do with my outlook and I don’t know how you got this out of the comment you’re responding to.

If my outlook has a rule it would be, “treat others the way they want to be treated. Or, don’t. Your choice.”[/quote]

You would like to be treated the way you want to be treated, right ?
So you would like to be treated the way you said you would treat others.
Ergo, you treat others the way you would like to be treated.

the rule of your outlook is a tautology removed from the golden rule.
Essentially the same thing. [/quote]

Absolutely… so long as you completely ignore the “Or don’t…” part, that is.

Either you think I’m an idiot, or debating the T-Nation half-wits has made you sloppy.

213

[quote]Severiano wrote:<<< Hmm, I don’t know. I’ve seen some pretty bad things, tended to make me think there was no God. Matter of fact, for me it was the most compelling. >>>[/quote]I understand.[quote]Severiano wrote:<<< It’s one thing to experience something out of hardship, or if you put yourself in a situation outside of the norm to attempt to see what it’s like (even though in the back of your mind, you know you will return to your kushy, nice life.) >>>[/quote]This has nothing to do with what I’m talking about. [quote]Severiano wrote:<<< But when suffering leads to death, or if you happen upon someone who was tortured to death, you might change your mind. I know you are very faithful, but seeing other’s hardships and seeing that sort of vileness in the world is quite compelling in the opposite way you are explaining it. [/quote]NOTHING could EVER change my mind.

214

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
NOTHING could EVER change my mind.
[/quote]

Not even the truth.*

*This comment pertains to nothing in particular in the post you were replying to.

215

[quote]Brother Chris wrote:

[quote]Severiano wrote:

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
Personal suffering is an integral component of the Christian life and depending on the person and God’s plan for them, truly horrific suffering can be THE most purifying, edifying and spiritually educational part of their life. It drives the heart raised in Christ deep into His arms which is exactly the point and object. God is greatly glorified as the world sees their unflinching faithfulness reflecting His. We know almost nothing of that in the western world.

To quote a very wise pastor who shepherds a small flock that meets mostly in secret in another part of the world after visiting the United States. “There’s nothing wrong with the American church that a goodly dose of bloody persecution wouldn’t fix”.

[/quote]

Hmm, I don’t know. I’ve seen some pretty bad things, tended to make me think there was no God.
Matter of fact, for me it was the most compelling.

It’s one thing to experience something out of hardship, or if you put yourself in a situation outside of the norm to attempt to see what it’s like (even though in the back of your mind, you know you will return to your kushy, nice life.)

But when suffering leads to death, or if you happen upon someone who was tortured to death, you might change your mind. I know you are very faithful, but seeing other’s hardships and seeing that sort of vileness in the world is quite compelling in the opposite way you are explaining it. [/quote]

One is duty bound to relieve unnecessary suffering. However, suffering even to the point of death is not necessarily bad. If it was…deicide is a strange contradiction. [/quote]

Not necessarily bad, but if you happened upon someone who was tortured to death in a brutal way, I think you just see the vileness of it. I didn’t want to use this example, but if you see a dead woman who was mutilated and killed with a broom handle for example (this is a real example too) you feel sickened, and I felt that such a thing was so vile, and this sort of thing happens on such a large scale that it’s hard to imagine that a good God wouldn’t intervene.

That’s all. For Marines, this is a motivational/memorial video. But try to imagine seeing the level of destruction and death everyday. Try to make sense of how God fits into that picture when you see mangled bodies and maggots eating corpses… It’s difficult…

This video is quite graphic, but I think it might give you the tiniest window of understanding of what I’m talking about. Don’t dare watch it unless you are okay with seeing a bit of death and gore.

216

[quote]Severiano wrote:

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
Personal suffering is an integral component of the Christian life and depending on the person and God’s plan for them, truly horrific suffering can be THE most purifying, edifying and spiritually educational part of their life. It drives the heart raised in Christ deep into His arms which is exactly the point and object. God is greatly glorified as the world sees their unflinching faithfulness reflecting His. We know almost nothing of that in the western world.

To quote a very wise pastor who shepherds a small flock that meets mostly in secret in another part of the world after visiting the United States. “There’s nothing wrong with the American church that a goodly dose of bloody persecution wouldn’t fix”.

[/quote]

Hmm, I don’t know. I’ve seen some pretty bad things, tended to make me think there was no God.
Matter of fact, for me it was the most compelling.

It’s one thing to experience something out of hardship, or if you put yourself in a situation outside of the norm to attempt to see what it’s like (even though in the back of your mind, you know you will return to your kushy, nice life.)

But when suffering leads to death, or if you happen upon someone who was tortured to death, you might change your mind. I know you are very faithful, but seeing other’s hardships and seeing that sort of vileness in the world is quite compelling in the opposite way you are explaining it. [/quote]
Ah the problem of evil, not to say it isn’t a problem but that it seems to present the greatest problem to those who haven’t endured great suffering and not necessarily to those who have; as it pertains to Christianity the greatest growth has come out of the greatest suffering.

217

[quote]JoabSonOfZeruiah wrote:

[quote]Severiano wrote:

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
Personal suffering is an integral component of the Christian life and depending on the person and God’s plan for them, truly horrific suffering can be THE most purifying, edifying and spiritually educational part of their life. It drives the heart raised in Christ deep into His arms which is exactly the point and object. God is greatly glorified as the world sees their unflinching faithfulness reflecting His. We know almost nothing of that in the western world.

To quote a very wise pastor who shepherds a small flock that meets mostly in secret in another part of the world after visiting the United States. “There’s nothing wrong with the American church that a goodly dose of bloody persecution wouldn’t fix”.

[/quote]

Hmm, I don’t know. I’ve seen some pretty bad things, tended to make me think there was no God.
Matter of fact, for me it was the most compelling.

It’s one thing to experience something out of hardship, or if you put yourself in a situation outside of the norm to attempt to see what it’s like (even though in the back of your mind, you know you will return to your kushy, nice life.)

But when suffering leads to death, or if you happen upon someone who was tortured to death, you might change your mind. I know you are very faithful, but seeing other’s hardships and seeing that sort of vileness in the world is quite compelling in the opposite way you are explaining it. [/quote]
Ah the problem of evil, not to say it isn’t a problem but that it seems to present the greatest problem to those who haven’t endured great suffering and not necessarily to those who have; as it pertains to Christianity the greatest growth has come out of the greatest suffering.[/quote]

I’ve seen more than my share of bad things, I’m quite certain I’ve seen more than most people who live in modern countries… That is one of several reasons I am a fence sitter/ agnostic. I’m quite familiar with the problem of evil, studied it extensively at the University. I don’t have a problem with the, “existence of evil.” I have a problem with the scale of man made evil, as well as the foulness of natural evils.

Here is the distinction, I understand that there are murders, and that killings occur. But when you see this sort of shit happening everywhere, Iraq, Afghanistan and even really close to home Mexico (Mexico is a legit battleground). You see the amount of death and how heinous they can be, you start to question things.

218

[quote]TigerTime wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:

[quote]TigerTime wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:

[quote]TigerTime wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:

[quote]TigerTime wrote:

[quote]Brother Chris wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:

Compassion is the feeling and/or the idea that the sufferings of others are bad and/or wrong.
It’s already a moral judgement. the concept of “good” and “bad” are already there, even if they are only implicit at this point.
[/quote]

Not to throw a wrench into this wonderful conversation with TigerTime.

But, I think I have compassion, but I don’t think suffering is inherently bad.[/quote]

Nor do I.[/quote]

But, unlike BC, you said that we don’t need a moral code because compassion is our natural state.
If suffering isn’t inherently bad, how do we know when it is, and when it’s not ?

[/quote]

Well, you could always ask the individual if they think it’s bad. That has been the point I’ve been pushing all along, has it not?[/quote]

That’s exactly what the golden rule say. And it’s a moral code.
So “all along”, we have evolved from “moral nihilism” to an altruism based on human nature, informed and regulated by reciprocity. IE : Some kind of secular humanism.
Like i said : “welcome to the club”. [/quote]

The golden rule is, “treat others as you would like to be treated”. This has nothing to do with my outlook and I don’t know how you got this out of the comment you’re responding to.

If my outlook has a rule it would be, “treat others the way they want to be treated. Or, don’t. Your choice.”[/quote]

You would like to be treated the way you want to be treated, right ?
So you would like to be treated the way you said you would treat others.
Ergo, you treat others the way you would like to be treated.

the rule of your outlook is a tautology removed from the golden rule.
Essentially the same thing. [/quote]

Absolutely… so long as you completely ignore the “Or don’t…” part, that is.

Either you think I’m an idiot, or debating the T-Nation half-wits has made you sloppy. [/quote]

Now you’re making it sound like “do” and “don’t” are morally equivalent.
But given your own premises, it’s clearly not the case.

If you “don’t”, you go against your natural state, against human nature. IE : you act in a less human(e) way.
Again, that’s exactly how most secular humanisms explain and express morality.

219

[quote]Severiano wrote:<<< I’ve seen more than my share of bad things, I’m quite certain I’ve seen more than most people who live in modern countries… That is one of several reasons I am a fence sitter/ agnostic. I’m quite familiar with the problem of evil, studied it extensively at the University. I don’t have a problem with the, “existence of evil.” I have a problem with the scale of man made evil, as well as the foulness of natural evils. >>>[/quote]I don’t have a problem of evil. I KNOW that the movement of every sub atomic particle in this universe is ordered by my God to His own glory by ways and means entirely sufficient unto Himself. That is not simply good enough for me. It is deeply satisfying with a finality that cannot be described in words. Precisely FOR this reason, evil to me is EXCEEDINGLY evil. Not because it’s offensive, or grotesque or painful for ME to be in the same world with. But because it is a violation of the character of the living holy God and an attack upon HIS authority. This is a huge topic that has been discussed at length elsewhere. It tears my heart out watching the hideous manifestations of sin around the world AND in my own city of Detroit Michigan, USA. There are children here who will put a gun in your mouth, look into your eyes and pull the trigger because they’re bored. At the end of the day I know my wise and righteous heavenly Father has a purpose for it all. I sleep like a baby.[quote]Severiano wrote:<<< Here is the distinction, I understand that there are murders, and that killings occur. But when you see this sort of shit happening everywhere, Iraq, Afghanistan and even really close to home Mexico (Mexico is a legit battleground). You see the amount of death and how heinous they can be, you start to question things.[/quote]There is every form of shocking bloody, sick, torturous, dismembering, perverse molestation and death happening in my backyard friend. I am NOT making light of the horrors you’ve witnessed. Your heart has been affected. I can feel it. I’m offering you THE explanation. I do not live for me. What I think, how I feel, what I like, what I think is just and right, what makes ME happy. No. I live for HIM. What pleases HIM and brings HIM glory. I have a different perspective than you do. Certainly NOT because I’m better than you are. But because He has graciously given me new life. His life, His mind, through His Spirit. Evil is infinitely and eternally more evil to me than it is to you and yet I can live with it in ways that you can’t. Not as in ignoring, accepting it as normal or condoning it. Certainly NOT. But KNOWING that there truly IS a most holy and worthy purpose for it. I can hear your questions already. That’s ok.

220

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:

[quote]Severiano wrote:<<< I’ve seen more than my share of bad things, I’m quite certain I’ve seen more than most people who live in modern countries… That is one of several reasons I am a fence sitter/ agnostic. I’m quite familiar with the problem of evil, studied it extensively at the University. I don’t have a problem with the, “existence of evil.” I have a problem with the scale of man made evil, as well as the foulness of natural evils. >>>[/quote]I don’t have a problem of evil. I KNOW that the movement of every sub atomic particle in this universe is ordered by my God to His own glory by ways and means entirely sufficient unto Himself. That is not simply good enough for me. It is deeply satisfying with a finality that cannot be described in words. Precisely FOR this reason, evil to me is EXCEEDINGLY evil. Not because it’s offensive, or grotesque or painful for ME to be in the same world with. But because it is a violation of the character of the living holy God and an attack upon HIS authority. This is a huge topic that has been discussed at length elsewhere. It tears my heart out watching the hideous manifestations of sin around the world AND in my own city of Detroit Michigan, USA. There are children here who will put a gun in your mouth, look into your eyes and pull the trigger because they’re bored. At the end of the day I know my wise and righteous heavenly Father has a purpose for it all. I sleep like a baby.[quote]Severiano wrote:<<< Here is the distinction, I understand that there are murders, and that killings occur. But when you see this sort of shit happening everywhere, Iraq, Afghanistan and even really close to home Mexico (Mexico is a legit battleground). You see the amount of death and how heinous they can be, you start to question things.[/quote]There is every form of shocking bloody, sick, torturous, dismembering, perverse molestation and death happening in my backyard friend. I am NOT making light of the horrors you’ve witnessed. Your heart has been affected. I can feel it. I’m offering you THE explanation. I do not live for me. What I think, how I feel, what I like, what I think is just and right, what makes ME happy. No. I live for HIM. What pleases HIM and brings HIM glory. I have a different perspective than you do. Certainly NOT because I’m better than you are. But because He has graciously given me new life. His life, His mind, through His Spirit. Evil is infinitely and eternally more evil to me than it is to you and yet I can live with it in ways that you can’t. Not as in ignoring, accepting it as normal or condoning it. Certainly NOT. But KNOWING that there truly IS a most holy and worthy purpose for it. I can hear your questions already. That’s ok.
[/quote]

I don’t think a hedonic value system or anything based on right things equating to happiness is a Godly one (no offense). You should be compelled to do the right thing regardless of whether it makes you feel happy or not, you know that nagging feeling you get when you know doing the right thing will be a pain in the ass and not worth your time or the reward? Maybe that’s God testing you, because really being a good person and doing the right thing is a challenge. I’m just throwing that out there, being good at heart, and doing the right thing are very different, and doing the right thing for the right reason is the most challenging thing in life.

Also your first paragraph seems to imply determinism. If God is governing all the sub-atomic particles, then you do not have free will. If God commands all the particles then he commands the particles to do wrong as well. Maybe God is already curtailing evil and we are incapable of recognizing it. Either way I think there is too much evil. We live very cushy lives here in the U.S. It’s one thing to read or hear about things, or see them on T.V. or movies, another thing to see them live.

Maybe God gave us the proclivity to do good things, set things in motion and took a step away to test us. I think this is more likely if there is a God, this is the only way I can make sense of it if trying to make sense of God and evil on a large scale.