The problem of evil is one of the most tenacious challenges to God’s existence and has been a very important topic of debate between theists and atheist philosophers. According to theists, God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent. These are characteristics that must be believed with full faith if one is committed to worshipping God. However, the issue arises when the existence of evil is brought into the conversation.. The existence of evil is accepted by the majority of humans, regardless of religious beliefs. For example, if one believes in God, they must also believe in the devil, whom is the epitome of evil. Atheists, however, believe that there is no logical possibility that all of these statements could all be true at the same
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This contradiction is often referred to as the inconsistent triad, which follows that it is impossible for God to be wholly good and capable of any action, and also for evil to exist. The majority of theists and atheists agree that evil exists and the that the world is full of it. Many theist philosophers have attempted to solve the inconsistent triad by offering different solutions that seek to maintain the entirety of the triad. These solutions, or theodicies, are an attempt to show that the existence of evil does not eliminate the feasibility of God’s existence.
One of the most well known solutions is that evil is due to free will. This argument states that the evil present in the world is not God’s direct fault, but instead is due to human’s free will God has granted. Philosophers who agree with this solution believe that although God created humans, he also created …show more content…
This solution follows the idea that inhabitants of Earth need to overcome a certain amount of evil to actually be good. For example, a person cannot possess a second order good such as mercy or benevolence unless pain, suffering, or another first order evil occurs prior. It would be plausible that God would allow for some first order evil so that humanity could experience second order goods. John Hick, famous philosopher and author of Evil and the God of Love, depicted this idea as the “soul-making” theodicy which correlates with this solution. Hick offers that “it is an “ethically reasonable judgment.... that human goodness slowly built up through personal histories of moral effort has a value in the eyes of the Creator which justifies even the long travail of the soul-making process” (Hick 256). This means that God’s envisioned humanity growing and forming into goodness, rather than it being given at birth. However, many who argue against Hick believe that there is an excessive amount of evil and that evil in such a high amount can in no rational way amount to equal goodness. Moral evil, such as mass genocide, can kill a person before they have had an opportunity to grow or learn from the agony experienced, which would defeat God’s purpose for allowing the existence of evil in the first place. Another problem with this solution is
This contradiction is often referred to as the inconsistent triad, which follows that it is impossible for God to be wholly good and capable of any action, and also for evil to exist. The majority of theists and atheists agree that evil exists and the that the world is full of it. Many theist philosophers have attempted to solve the inconsistent triad by offering different solutions that seek to maintain the entirety of the triad. These solutions, or theodicies, are an attempt to show that the existence of evil does not eliminate the feasibility of God’s existence.
One of the most well known solutions is that evil is due to free will. This argument states that the evil present in the world is not God’s direct fault, but instead is due to human’s free will God has granted. Philosophers who agree with this solution believe that although God created humans, he also created …show more content…
This solution follows the idea that inhabitants of Earth need to overcome a certain amount of evil to actually be good. For example, a person cannot possess a second order good such as mercy or benevolence unless pain, suffering, or another first order evil occurs prior. It would be plausible that God would allow for some first order evil so that humanity could experience second order goods. John Hick, famous philosopher and author of Evil and the God of Love, depicted this idea as the “soul-making” theodicy which correlates with this solution. Hick offers that “it is an “ethically reasonable judgment.... that human goodness slowly built up through personal histories of moral effort has a value in the eyes of the Creator which justifies even the long travail of the soul-making process” (Hick 256). This means that God’s envisioned humanity growing and forming into goodness, rather than it being given at birth. However, many who argue against Hick believe that there is an excessive amount of evil and that evil in such a high amount can in no rational way amount to equal goodness. Moral evil, such as mass genocide, can kill a person before they have had an opportunity to grow or learn from the agony experienced, which would defeat God’s purpose for allowing the existence of evil in the first place. Another problem with this solution is