Is God Evil?

I have a good friend who is convinced that there is no God because of all the atrocities that have taken place today and throughout history in the name of God. My friend is convinced that the world would be a better place with less war if there were no religious beliefs. He was raised in a part of the world where he saw religion used as a means of gaining power over the masses for their own evil gain. I was watching a televangelist not long ago that by the end of his sermon he had both old, middle aged, and kids running up to the altar throwing money at his feet. Of course he was purporting that God wants all people to be rich and if you give to his ministries God would then fulfill their greedy desires by making them wealthy. Then there are those who look at God as if He is a lucky rabbits foot and will always deliver them out of all their problems. There is little love for God or neighbor in these differing scenarios.

Can you imagine how angry and upset you would be if people were to rape, kill, and destroy, then claimed that you were the one who told them to commit these atrocities. Would you be upset if people used your good name to promote their greed, by appealing to the greed in others? There will be a day when all of us will have to give an account before God on what we did with this life. There is nothing that proves with more clarity that human beings are lost and sinful than the fact that they use the good name of God as an excuse to commit the most despicable of crimes. The Bible declares in (Romans 3:10) “just as it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one, 3:11 there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God. 3:12 All have turned away. God is good, holy, and pure, and we have all misrepresented God in some way. We were created in the image of God to reflect His beauty and goodness, but the reflection people see in us many times is one of self-centeredness and self worship. The fact that people commit horrible acts in the name of God says nothing bad about God, but it speaks volumes about the character of people. The Bible says “God is still true though every man be a liar” ( Rom 3:4).