The largest obstacle in believing the existence of God is the theodicy problem or the problem of evil. The problem of evil states there cannot be the co-existence of a good God and the existence of evil. How can an omnipotent, omnibenevolent, omniscient loving God allow such evil acts of hatred and suffering in our world? Why do bad things happen to good people? Understandably so, because of this, it has become the largest threat to Christian theology. Many theologians have sought to dispute this argument, and in doing so, the most common opposition to the theodicy problem is incorporated in the free-will defense. Furthermore, I will describe the problem of evil in relation to God, examine the responses from a Christian standpoint, and
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The Webster dictionary defines evil as “morally bad, causing harm or injury to someone or marked by bad luck or bad events”. After reading Laymen’s article, we can conclude that evil can be categorized into two forms, natural evil and moral evil. Moral evil is the direct result of an intentional act by humans that causes suffering to others. Examples of this could include murder, theft, terrorism, rape, bullying, etc., all of which human beings have the ability to control in our decision-making process. Natural evil can best be described as suffering caused by events or natural disasters that are out of the control of human beings such as earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, etc., that usually happen to people, whether they deserve them or not. Rather than questioning Gods existence or placing blame on God for permitting these evil acts, let look closely at each form of evil in relation to …show more content…
In Layman’s article on observing natural evil, he states that it is essential to recognize that these events that define natural evil, such as natural catastrophes, are not evil, but more so the end result of it’s cause is evil (Layman, 2003). For example, an earthquake alone is not evil but the loss or suffering it causes can be considered as evil. Contradictorily, when these events occur and do not have an aftermath resulting in loss or suffering, at that point they are not considered evil events. Irresponsibility and negligence can also lead to the misassumption that what some might believe to be a natural evil is actually a moral evil event. Texting and driving causing a tragic car accident, ignoring or refusing warning signs, drug use during pregnancy causing birth defects or being neglectful and allowing yourself to create or spread infectious diseases are all examples of what some would deem as a natural event when really the root of the cause were based on moral decisions. According to Layman (2003, p.12), in order for it to be possible for our planet to support intelligent life, natural laws are in place which govern the whole working order for biological and physical life to occur. It’s within these natural laws that natural evils are created. “An
The Webster dictionary defines evil as “morally bad, causing harm or injury to someone or marked by bad luck or bad events”. After reading Laymen’s article, we can conclude that evil can be categorized into two forms, natural evil and moral evil. Moral evil is the direct result of an intentional act by humans that causes suffering to others. Examples of this could include murder, theft, terrorism, rape, bullying, etc., all of which human beings have the ability to control in our decision-making process. Natural evil can best be described as suffering caused by events or natural disasters that are out of the control of human beings such as earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, etc., that usually happen to people, whether they deserve them or not. Rather than questioning Gods existence or placing blame on God for permitting these evil acts, let look closely at each form of evil in relation to …show more content…
In Layman’s article on observing natural evil, he states that it is essential to recognize that these events that define natural evil, such as natural catastrophes, are not evil, but more so the end result of it’s cause is evil (Layman, 2003). For example, an earthquake alone is not evil but the loss or suffering it causes can be considered as evil. Contradictorily, when these events occur and do not have an aftermath resulting in loss or suffering, at that point they are not considered evil events. Irresponsibility and negligence can also lead to the misassumption that what some might believe to be a natural evil is actually a moral evil event. Texting and driving causing a tragic car accident, ignoring or refusing warning signs, drug use during pregnancy causing birth defects or being neglectful and allowing yourself to create or spread infectious diseases are all examples of what some would deem as a natural event when really the root of the cause were based on moral decisions. According to Layman (2003, p.12), in order for it to be possible for our planet to support intelligent life, natural laws are in place which govern the whole working order for biological and physical life to occur. It’s within these natural laws that natural evils are created. “An