The Problem of Evil
It is often asked why evil and suffering exists if the world was created by a God who is omnipotent, omniscient, and good. This question is often referred to as the problem of evil, which can be stated as follows: “Quite frequently horrible things happen. We know that we ought to do all in our power to prevent these things, but often we have not the means of doing so. […] Good people do not intervene because they are powerless. Wicked people do not intervene because they are evil. Which of these groups does God resemble?” Clearly, a problem arises in trying to address this question. If God were not able to prevent evil, then he would not be omnipotent. If he had the power to prevent evil but the evil had already occurred, then he would not be omniscient. If he chose not to prevent evil, then he would not be good. So then, why is there …show more content…
Since human beings are not God and we are not all-knowing, we will never be able to come up with one answer that cannot be argued against. However, there are a few different responses which believers can offer to this question, and they all centre on a common idea. In order for God to be omnipotent, omniscient, and all good, everything he creates must be less than him. In other words, nothing which God creates can be infinitely good, hence the presence of evil in the world.
One of the more popular arguments for the existence of evil is called the ‘logical problem.’ This problem uses a deductive argument to say that if God is omnipotent and good, and an all-powerful and good being could and wants to eliminate evil, then this is not logically compatible with the existence of evil. Some believers in God argue that the reason God does not completely eliminate evil is because some evil is
It is often asked why evil and suffering exists if the world was created by a God who is omnipotent, omniscient, and good. This question is often referred to as the problem of evil, which can be stated as follows: “Quite frequently horrible things happen. We know that we ought to do all in our power to prevent these things, but often we have not the means of doing so. […] Good people do not intervene because they are powerless. Wicked people do not intervene because they are evil. Which of these groups does God resemble?” Clearly, a problem arises in trying to address this question. If God were not able to prevent evil, then he would not be omnipotent. If he had the power to prevent evil but the evil had already occurred, then he would not be omniscient. If he chose not to prevent evil, then he would not be good. So then, why is there …show more content…
Since human beings are not God and we are not all-knowing, we will never be able to come up with one answer that cannot be argued against. However, there are a few different responses which believers can offer to this question, and they all centre on a common idea. In order for God to be omnipotent, omniscient, and all good, everything he creates must be less than him. In other words, nothing which God creates can be infinitely good, hence the presence of evil in the world.
One of the more popular arguments for the existence of evil is called the ‘logical problem.’ This problem uses a deductive argument to say that if God is omnipotent and good, and an all-powerful and good being could and wants to eliminate evil, then this is not logically compatible with the existence of evil. Some believers in God argue that the reason God does not completely eliminate evil is because some evil is