Problem of Evil

The Problem

The problem of evil asks: How can an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good God allow evil to exist?

If God is:

• All-powerful (can prevent evil)
• All-knowing (knows about evil)
• All-good (wants to prevent evil)

Then evil should not exist. But evil does exist. This creates a logical contradiction.

Types of Evil

Bad things caused by human choices:

• Murder and violence
• Theft and lying
• War and genocide
• Child abuse and neglect

Bad things caused by nature:

• Earthquakes and floods
• Diseases and accidents
• Animal suffering in the wild
• Natural disasters

Common Responses

God gave humans free will to choose. Without free will, we're just robots. But free will means we can choose to do bad things.

Problems with this response

This explains moral evil but not natural evil. Why do earthquakes and diseases exist? Also, couldn't God have created free will without the possibility of evil?

Life is like school - we learn and grow through challenges. Suffering builds character, courage, and compassion.

Problems with this response

Some suffering seems too extreme to be educational. Does a child dying of cancer really build character? Couldn't God teach us without such extreme suffering?

Maybe there's a bigger plan we can't see. What seems pointless now might make sense later.

Problems with this response

This is essentially saying "we don't know," which doesn't solve the problem. It's also hard to see how some evils could ever be justified.

Why It Matters

This is one of the biggest challenges to belief in God. Many people struggle with it deeply. There are no easy answers, but thinking about it helps us understand our own beliefs better.

Many people cite the problem of evil as a reason they don't believe in God. It's a deeply personal and emotional issue.

How we think about evil affects how we think about God, morality, and the meaning of life.