St. Augustine's Problem Of Evil

The purpose of this essay is to explain how St. Augustine ultimately solves the ‘problem of evil’ in a way that is compatible with his Christian faith by making reference to the aspects of nature of evil itself, and why we as humans sin. Augustine writes to gain better understanding of his faith. In explaining the problems of evil, Augustine provides reasonable thoughts and views about the discussion and has been solved by clearly defining that we need the guidance of God.
At a stage in Augustine’s adolescence, he was eager to find gratification in ungodly pleasures and let wickedness fill him. He and his friends stole pears from a tree and threw them at pigs. He became evil for no reason and loved the feeling of wickedness. This act of his was an expression of pride, an imitation of God. His youthful desires tried to transgress certain boundaries placed on human beings by God. As Augustine grew, he became ashamed of his early life and was preoccupied with answering the question of ‘where does evil come from and why does it exist?’ There is the concern that if God is truly all-knowing, all powerful, and perfectly good, there should be no evil in the world. According to the Manicheans, a sect which Augustine belonged to before his conversion to Christianity to understand evil, God is not omnipotent; he does not have the power to stop evil and suffering in the world. The Manicheans were governed by the principle that there is a conflict …show more content…
between good and bad in the world; the good represents perfect light and the soul, seeking to eliminate suffering (God), while the bad represents darkness, evil and the body (Satan), which opposes goodness and