[Superman]

Having been overcome for many years by a love for wisdom (philo-sophia) I struggled with this apparent conundrum.

-God created all things
-God is all good
-God is all powerful
-evil exists

I resolved the dissonance, but not with the analogy the student uses.

But I had the most fun with the Kantian form of St. Anselm's proof of the existence of God.

-I am thinking of a being than which there can be no greater (common definition of God)
-If the being I am thinking of does not exist, then I am not thinking of a being than which there can be no greater
---Therefore, God exists.

Now, this seems like nonsense at first blush. Most will dismiss it out of hand. Various bases are thrown out as justification for dismissal, but if you examine the criticisms thoroughly, they fall away one by one. Unless someone can wrap their mind around this one more effectively than Emmanuel Kant (good luck), several weeks of analysis will lead to the conclusion that this is basically another definition of God. The Being whose essence necessitates His existence.

Oh and I also see no conflict between evolution and creation. Any apparent conflict is evidence that there is stuff we don't understand. Now there's an understatement. Heck, there's stuff that, even in the face of full disclosure of all the facts and principles...we still would not understand. I think it's pretty presumptuous for either side to pretend they have enough evidence to reach a conclusion. Like boisterous children, only tall and hairy and wearing big kids' clothes.