The Answer To Leibniz's Problem Of Evil

The answer to the Problem of Evil is not one many people like, and unfortunately a better answer has not been thought. The Problem of Evil is the issue of why God, if he exists, allows evil to occur in the world. God is defined as being omnipotent, all powerful, and all good. So why do evil things occur to good people? And why do evil people profit off of good people? Well, the Christian theology believes that bad things happen to test your faith, and that Earth is basically a trial for your entrance to Heaven. Whereupon, you attempt to be and do as much good as possible. However, if you’re not a Christian, this is quite dissatisfactory. This answer doesn’t even take into account philosophical thinking; it is one based on faith. So if you’re attempting to convert your friends, that would not be the best argument.

Let’s get down to brass tacks.

Leibniz’s Problem of Evil says if evil occurs, then one of the three following statements must be true; God is not all good, God is not all powerful, God is not omniscient. They mean, respectively; if God knows about all of the evil and suffering in the world, knows how to eliminate or prevent it, is powerful enough to prevent it, and yet does not prevent it, he must not be perfectly good; if God knows about all of the evil and suffering, knows how to eliminate or prevent it, wants to prevent it, and yet does not do so, he must not be all-powerful; if God is powerful enough to prevent all of the evil and suffering, wants to do so, and yet does not, he must not know about all of the suffering or know how to eliminate or prevent it, he must not be all-knowing. Each of these scenario’s go against the definition of God; therefore, he does not

exist.
As much as some people would love to close the book on this, there is one exception to the problem. God must have a morally sufficient reason to allow evil and suffering into the world. A reason, we do not know and are currently incapable of knowing. Well that seems like a cheap way out of an argument, but there are some very simple situations that illustrate the point well. Let’s take, for example, a mother and her child, who we will call Mrs. Smith and Bobby. One day, you are talking to Mrs. Smith and she tells you that she let someone she barely knows hurt Bobby and didn’t even try to stop them. You’re probably thinking she is a terrible mother, as it known that parents should not inflict unwanted or unjustified pain unto their child. The pain Bobby felt came from an immunization shot, delivered by a doctor. Well, Mrs. Smith isn’t a bad parent just because they let their child feel pain, she would be considered a good parent for allowing the longevity of health for her child. Does the child know this? No, as they are too young understand. If God has a morally sufficient reason for allowing evil and suffering it will probably look something like Mrs. Smith. It basically means, that God allows evil to make a greater good come out of it, but we cannot see the greater good (the immunization), only the evil (the shot).