Theodicy, according to Kenneth Surin from The Harvard Review (1983) states “Theodicy, in its classic form requires the adherent of a theistic faith to reconcile of an omnipotent, omniscient and morally perfect God with the existence of evil” (p.225). In other words, in a religion where God is all powerful, all knowing, and purely good, how can evil exist at all. E. Dowling & W. Scarlett of Encyclopedia of Religious and Spiritual Development (2006) define evil as the bad or painful things which mankind is subject to with seemingly no means to which they could escape. This paper examines the research of scholarly journals and religious texts to attempt to answer the question or problem of theodicy which is; why do good things happen to bad people?
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The Bible defines God as good when it states “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:5). The essential question of Theodicy, or divine justice, requires a deity that is wholly good and just. The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy puts forth a few different reasons for why a just God would allow suffering (Theodicy. 1999). It states that a good God might allow suffering because some evils may be logically necessary for greater goods. That going through trials might create and strengthen virtues in an individual. It would follow that an all-powerful God would have moral justification for pain if it produces something of higher value. Proponents of this view believe that a sovereign God had sufficient reason to create our actual world with all its evils because it would be the best of all possible worlds and that the complete restriction or ceasing of suffering would betray the entire …show more content…
Those of this religious view are assured that their God will prove to be exceedingly good to his followers in the end. Those who are found faithful will be given gifts in this life and the next. We are told that full communion with God is the supreme and highest gift, and that to be united with God will outweigh all the pains of this world. The Apostle Paul in the Bible wrote, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans
The Bible defines God as good when it states “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:5). The essential question of Theodicy, or divine justice, requires a deity that is wholly good and just. The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy puts forth a few different reasons for why a just God would allow suffering (Theodicy. 1999). It states that a good God might allow suffering because some evils may be logically necessary for greater goods. That going through trials might create and strengthen virtues in an individual. It would follow that an all-powerful God would have moral justification for pain if it produces something of higher value. Proponents of this view believe that a sovereign God had sufficient reason to create our actual world with all its evils because it would be the best of all possible worlds and that the complete restriction or ceasing of suffering would betray the entire …show more content…
Those of this religious view are assured that their God will prove to be exceedingly good to his followers in the end. Those who are found faithful will be given gifts in this life and the next. We are told that full communion with God is the supreme and highest gift, and that to be united with God will outweigh all the pains of this world. The Apostle Paul in the Bible wrote, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans