Many in this world do not believe in God because, in their own words, "how could a good God allow so much evil and suffering?"This is commonly called the problem of evil.But.. if you're don't believe in God, is there really awith evil and suffering?As a matter of fact, just what is "evil?" Is there such a thing as absolute evil, or is it just a matter of preference?And what about suffering? Is suffering necessarily a bad thing, or is it just that most people prefer not to suffer?When people talk about the problem of evil and suffering, they are taking about absolutes. They believe that there is absolutely a problem with suffering and evil. They even seem to believe that some things are absolutely evil.But on what grounds do they claim the existence of absolute evil?If it is just based on human agreement, then it's really not absolute. There are plenty of people who do not believe in absolute evil.If you press an atheist on the notion of absolutes, you will eventually get an admission that there are no absolutes. And if there are no absolutes, there is no evil. Therefore,(Yes, there are sane atheists. The definition of atheist is "fool" and there are plenty of sane fools in the world. Atheists usually aren't insane, they are just evil. Absolutely evil.)Why is it that an atheist lives his life as though there is absolute evil, but does not consciously believe in them?The next time you talk to an atheist (or if you are an atheist, the next time you talk to yourself), try this neat little trick:Ask, "Is it absolutely wrong to kill anyone for not believing the Bible?"Chances are the answer you get from the atheist will be, "Yes"Now ask why it's wrong.You'll get something like: it violates another person's rights, it's illegal, it hurts society, it's blah blah, etc.So now you respond with another question: Why is it wrong to... and then fill in whatever the last response was (violate another person's rights, break the law, harm society, etc.)Now you'll get a rather pragmatic answer. But no absolutes.Congratulations! You have gotten the atheist to consciously degrade his own thinking to the point of rejecting absolutes. Of course, he did this to himself, but you just exposed it.If there is no God, there are no absolutes. There is just taste, preference, and opinion.Atheists, by the way, are at the leading edge of those who reject the concept of absolute truth. Atheists worship an abstract concept of rationality, but cannot justify their trust in it. Why does an atheist so strongly claim to be a proponent of rational thought, when he cannot even explain why rational thought is better than irrational thought? This drives the atheist deeper into relativism, and he begins to question whether absolute truth even exists.Atheism is often simplified by being described as "a non-belief". Oh, how sophomoric! Look at all these "wise" atheists rejecting superstitious notions like absolute truth and absolute morality. Atheism is anything but a non-belief.Sometimes I like to role-play with atheists just to expose how hypocritical they are when it comes to their own beliefs (or lack thereof, as they are so quick to point out). Atheists love to claim to be skeptics. So I play the ultimate skeptic. I ask the atheist, "Do you absolutely exist?"Atheist: "Yes, I absolutely exist"badp: "Why do you believe in such primitive superstition as existence?"A: "It is not superstition. I can see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. I can think. I know I exist."badp: "Why do you believe in these ancient ideas like the five senses and knowledge? I thought you were more rational than that!"A: "I am rational. I believe based on empirical evidence."badp: "There you go with your irrational appeal to your five senses again."A: "My senses have proven reliable and predictable. That's not irrational."badp: "Why are you holding to outdated notions like an orderly universe with predictable phenomenon"A: "Because I can measure--"badp: "There you go with your appeal to senses again!"(In case you haven't noticed, I love playing devil's advocate with atheists because it gives me an excuse to mock them)I switch out of devil's advocate mode and close the deal..badp: "Why don't you believe in a Creator and a young earth despite all the empirical scientific evidence for them?"A: "Because people like you want to use it to get religion into the classroom."The amusement of demolishing the atheist's arguments wore off long ago. Now, quite frankly, it grieves me to see people so blatantly reject the truth of God and the Bible despite the mountains and mountains of evidence for it. Atheists have built an entire epistemology around rejecting evidence that doesn't fit their preconceived belief that God doesn't exist.Arguing the scientific evidence with an atheist is somewhat like arguing over the color of an object with a secondarily blind person. The atheist who has closed his mind to the evidence will not see it no matter how many times you shove it in his face. He has to open his eyes first.