Introduction

The problem of evil is one of the major challenges in the philosophy of religion. It concerns the existence of evil and suffering in a world believed to be created and governed by an all-powerful and perfectly loving God.

The existence of evil makes some people question whether God can simultaneously be all-powerful and perfectly good. Philosophers and theologians have proposed different explanations to address this challenge.

1. The Nature of the Problem of Evil

The problem of evil is based on three major claims:

1. God is omnipotent, meaning that He is all-powerful.
2. God is perfectly good and loving.
3. Evil and suffering exist in the world.

If God is perfectly good, He would want to eliminate evil. If He is all-powerful, He would be able to eliminate evil. However, evil continues to exist. This apparent contradiction raises questions about God's nature and existence.

Two Main Categories of Evil

• Moral evil: Evil resulting from human actions and choices, such as dishonesty, violence and injustice.
• Natural or physical evil: Suffering associated with the natural world, such as earthquakes, floods, diseases and death.

2. Inadequate Solutions to the Problem of Evil

2.1 Reverent Agnosticism

This approach argues that human beings should accept suffering because God may understand things beyond human knowledge. The biblical example of Job is associated with this response.

Its weakness is that human beings are naturally inquisitive and continue to seek explanations for evil and suffering.

2.2 Denying That Evil Exists

This approach treats evil as an illusion of the human mind. However, the notes reject this explanation because suffering is real and Christianity recognizes evil as opposed to God's will.

2.3 Abandoning God's Omnipotence or Goodness

Another approach is to abandon either God's unlimited power or His perfect goodness. Some argue that God is good but lacks the power to eliminate evil.

The weakness of this approach is that it conflicts with the traditional Christian understanding of God and does not fully explain which evils God can or cannot remove.

3. Forms of the Problem of Evil

3.1 The Metaphysical Problem of Evil

This asks how evil can exist in a universe created by an all-powerful, perfect and good God.

The argument can be presented as follows:

1. God created everything that exists.
2. Evil exists.
3. Therefore, God created evil.

Dualism

Dualism holds that God and evil are both eternal. According to this view, God did not create evil because evil has always existed.

The weakness of dualism is that it makes evil a second ultimate power that limits God.

Augustine and Thomas Aquinas

St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas argue that evil is not an independent substance created by God. Instead, evil is a privation of good, meaning the absence, loss or corruption of goodness that should exist.

For example, blindness is considered an evil in a human being because sight is a good that the eyes are meant to provide.

According to this explanation, God gave human beings and angels free will. Evil became actual when they misused their freedom through disobedience. God created the possibility of evil, but did not create evil itself.

3.2 The Moral Problem of Evil

The moral problem asks how a perfectly good and all-powerful God can coexist with evil caused by human choices.

Rabbi Harold Kushner's View

The notes present Kushner's argument that God is not all-powerful and therefore cannot prevent every form of evil. Human beings should help combat evil and suffering.

Geisler and Corduan's Explanation

Geisler and Corduan argue that God may permit evil for the sake of a greater good. They emphasize the importance of free will among human beings and angels.

Genuine love requires freedom. If God forced human beings to love Him, their love would not be freely given. However, freedom also makes it possible for people to reject goodness and cause suffering.

The notes suggest that God can bring good out of evil. For example, difficulties may provide opportunities to develop courage, patience, endurance, sympathy and the ability to love one's enemies.

3.3 The Physical or Natural Problem of Evil

The physical problem concerns suffering that is not directly caused by the misuse of human freedom. Examples include earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, diseases and the suffering of innocent people.

The central question is why a good and loving God would create a world containing hardships, dangers and suffering.

Five Explanations by Geisler and Corduan

1. Character development: Some suffering provides opportunities to develop courage, sympathy, patience and endurance.
2. Human choices: Human decisions can cause physical suffering. For example, drinking and driving can cause accidents, while harmful choices may affect other people.
3. Demonic influence: According to the biblical account presented in the notes, demons may cause human suffering.
4. Moral warning: Pain can warn people of danger and encourage changes in behaviour.
5. The nature of the physical world: The notes present some pain, death and the consumption of other organisms as features of how life is sustained in the present world.

The general argument is that God may permit certain evils when preventing them would also prevent a greater good.

4. Theodicy

Theodicy is an attempt to explain why evil and suffering exist in a world governed by an all-powerful and perfectly loving God.

The term comes from the Greek words Theos, meaning God, and Dike, meaning judgment.

The notes discuss three major theodicies: the Augustinian Theodicy, the Irenaean Theodicy and Process Theodicy.

5. The Augustinian Theodicy

The Augustinian Theodicy is associated with St. Augustine, who lived from 354 to 430 AD. He argues that God created a good universe and that evil is not an independent thing but a corruption or absence of good.

Main Ideas of the Augustinian Theodicy

1. God's creation is good: Everything created by God has goodness in its own nature and place.
2. Evil is a privation of good: Evil occurs when something good loses or lacks the goodness it ought to possess.
3. Free will and moral evil: Angels and human beings turned away from God through disobedience and misuse of their freedom.
4. Natural evil and sin: Augustine views diseases, earthquakes and storms as consequences or penalties of sin.
5. Final judgment: At the end of history, God will judge humanity. The notes describe eternal life for the saved and eternal punishment for sinners.

Critical Questions

• Why do innocent people suffer?
• How can natural disasters be connected to personal wrongdoing?
• Can all suffering be explained as a consequence of sin?

6. The Irenaean Theodicy

The Irenaean Theodicy argues that the world is a place for spiritual growth and the development of human character. It does not regard the purpose of creation as simply providing maximum pleasure and minimum pain.

Main Ideas of the Irenaean Theodicy

1. Soul-making: Human beings develop spiritually through life's challenges and experiences.
2. Personal development: Difficult circumstances can provide opportunities to develop virtues and maturity.
3. Free beings: Human beings make choices and respond to the challenges of existence.
4. Good can emerge from evil: Evil remains evil, but people's responses to suffering may lead to spiritual growth and a closer relationship with God.
5. Christ's suffering and salvation: The notes use the crucifixion of Jesus as an example of suffering through which humanity receives salvation.

Critical Question

A major question is whether all suffering is necessary for spiritual growth, especially when considering severe suffering experienced by innocent people.

7. Process Theodicy

Process Theodicy is a modern approach associated with the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead and developed systematically by David Griffin. It argues that God's power is limited by the fundamental structure of reality.

Main Ideas of Process Theodicy

1. God's power is limited: God cannot completely control every event in the universe.
2. The universe is an ongoing process: According to this theory, the universe is not created by God but is an ongoing, uncreated process that God influences.
3. Persuasion rather than force: God encourages creatures towards good rather than controlling them completely.
4. Creatures possess their own power: Events and creatures contribute to the development of reality.
5. Evil in the creative process: The notes distinguish discord, a lack of harmony, from needless triviality, a failure to achieve the highest appropriate intensity of experience.
6. Good and evil develop together: The evolution of the universe creates possibilities for both good and evil.
7. God shares in suffering: According to this theory, God experiences the joys and sorrows of creatures.

Strengths of Process Theodicy

• It explains why God may be unable to prevent every evil.
• It presents God as working towards greater harmony and goodness.
• It encourages people to participate in the continuing struggle against evil.

Weaknesses of Process Theodicy

• It challenges the traditional Christian belief that God is the all-powerful creator of everything.
• It raises questions about whether a limited God deserves the same worship as the traditional omnipotent God.
• It still needs to explain why a good God participates in a process that produces suffering.

8. Comparison of the Three Theodicies

9. Conclusion

The problem of evil is a major challenge to belief in God because it asks how divine goodness and power can be reconciled with suffering.

Augustine explains evil as a corruption or absence of good associated with the misuse of free will. Irenaeus views the world as an environment for spiritual growth. Process Theodicy argues that God influences the universe but cannot completely control its events.

These approaches offer different philosophical and theological answers. The notes do not establish one universally accepted solution.

Source: ARS 2110 PHILO 4, “The Problem of Evil,” pages 1–11. This webpage presents a study summary of the course notes.