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Evil exists. This bizarre conundrum has perplexed philosophers since the dawn of civilization, and remains in hot debate today because of the theological implications inherent in the statement. To many on this planet, the source of life is an all-loving, all-powerful, omniscient god who created the universe – and all the laws therein – in seven days, as described in the Bible. And yet still, evil exists. How can these two premises be simultaneously true? Surely, an all-loving god would want to do something about this problem, and an all-powerful god could absolutely remedy a situation if it so desired. It seems as though the common perception of the Bible’s god is inaccurate. However, it could be argued that the Bible’s god is accurate, and that said perception is somewhat skewed, considering that on numerous occasions, God claims responsibility for evil. “I make peace and create evil. I the Lord do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:7). The Greek philosopher Epicurus put the Good God’s Evil puzzle in a very clear logical progression:
“Is God willing to prevent evil, but is not able?
Then he is not omnipotent
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent
Is he both able & willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?
Of course, this doesn’t truly disprove the biblical God, but it certainly puts it into perspective. According to Christian doctrine, God raised His Son, Jesus, from the dead. This seemingly impossible feat proves, in the minds of believers, that their god is capable of anything. But as indicated by Epicurus, the monumental roadblock of suffering hinders this leap of faith. For example, if God raised Jesus from the dead – and thus intervened in the ...
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...lized by – God, Dr. Roth’s Divine Dichotomy of the Christian God is now comparable to the duality of the Eastern yin-yang. “Good” and “Evil” are clearly inherent in the universe, and are inevitably built into the fabric of all models of the Divine.
Works Cited
James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc, 1902.
Laertius, Diogenes, and C, D Yonge. The Lives And Opinions Of Eminent Philosophers. City: Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2006
Mackie, John L. "Evil and Omnipotence." Mind ns 64.254 (1955): 200-12. Http://www.ditext.com. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Peterson, Michael. “Toward a Theodicy for Our Day.” Evil and the Christian God. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1982.
Roth, John K. “A Theodicy of Protest.” Encountering Evil: Live options in Theodicy. Ed. Stephen T. Davis. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1981.
The telling of this story provokes many questions. Why didn’t God, being all-good and benevolent, "immediately restore His fallen creatures to their original union with...
Rich, Gregory P. "Omnipotence And God's Existence." North Carolina Religious Studies Association, Wake Forest University. 20 November 2002 <http://www.wfu.edu/Organizations/ncrsa/papers/gregrich.pdf>
My goal is to not disprove God’s existence, or to disprove that humankind can live in Union with God. My hope is to argue that our will which wills what it ought not to will is limited. I believe that every day we have the equal opportunity to make choices, both good and evil, and we are able to do this because of our free will. I am not arguing that our defective free wills do not exist, I want to argue that they are restricted.
It appears that the problem of evil is a substantial one. While arguments exist that can challenge assumptions of the problem, it sometimes requires some definition contorting and does not answer all the challenges evil presents. The greater good defense presents some key insights into how we must perceive God’s actions but does not completely defend against the presented problems of evil. Therefore, a more plausible defense is needed to eliminate the problems evil creates with the Judeo-Christian concept of God.
Throughout the world, most people believe in some type of god or gods, and the majority of them understand God as all-good, all-knowing (omniscient), and all-powerful (omnipotent). However, there is a major objection to the latter belief: the “problem of evil” (P.O.E.) argument. According to this theory, God’s existence is unlikely, if not illogical, because a good, omniscient, and omnipotent being would not allow unnecessary suffering, of which there are enormous amounts.
The problem of reconciling an omnipotent, perfectly just, perfectly benevolent god with a world full of evil and suffering has plagued believers since the beginning of religious thought. Atheists often site this paradox in order to demonstrate that such a god cannot exist and, therefore, that theism is an invalid position. Theodicy is a branch of philosophy that seeks to defend religion by reconciling the supposed existence of an omnipotent, perfectly just God with the presence of evil and suffering in the world. In fact, the word “theodicy” consists of the Greek words “theos,” or God, and “dike,” or justice (Knox 1981, 1). Thus, theodicy seeks to find a sense of divine justice in a world filled with suffering.
There is evil. 3. So, God does not exist”. Since there is evil, then that means God does not exist. So there is no loving and powerful God. However, if there is a God then he is not all loving and powerful. Daniel Howard-Snyder states in his article “God, Evil, And Suffering,”: “We would have to say God lacks power and knowledge to such an extent that He can 't prevent evil. And there lies the trouble. For how could God have enough power and knowledge to create and sustain the physical universe if He can 't even prevent evil? How could He be the providential governor of the world if He is unable to do what even we frequently do, namely prevent evil?” (5). This statement argues that God is not all powerful because he is unable to prevent evil in the world. Daniel Howard-Snyder then argues that: “Would a perfectly good being always prevent evil as far as he can? Suppose he had a reason to permit evil, a reason that was compatible with his never doing wrong and his being perfect in love, what I 'll call a justifying reason. For example, suppose that if he prevented evil completely, then we would miss out on a greater good, a good whose goodness was so great that it far surpassed the badness of evil. In that case, he might not prevent evil as far as he can, for he would have a justifying reason to permit it” (5). Even if God had a reason to allow evil, he who is all loving and powerful would want the least amount of people to suffer and feel pain. Since God knows
Hitchens, Christopher. God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. New York: Twelve, 2007. Print.
Edwards, Jonathan. "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: Norton & Company, 1999. 200-211.
Evil and the God of Love, Revised Edition by John Hick, Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc., 1978 p. 275.
Skepticism about religion is just as old as religion itself. There always have been, and always will be doubters. Over time, some have felt the need to solidify their faith, and champion God. This was John Milton’s quest when he sought out to write Paradise Lost. He thought the time had come that he did his church a service. He found his opportunity when it came time for a question to be answered: If there is a god, why is there evil? According to Josepha Morbey, “Milton believes that God is all-powerful, all-seeing, and entirely good, and yet there is evil in the world. For Milton, this is a problem.” Indeed it is a problem, because many people disagreed with this. In order to answer the question of evil in God’s presence, Milton wrote Paradise Lost. John Milton’s Paradise Lost will be critiqued for its content, execution, and impact in relation to theodicy.
It is perhaps the most difficult intellectual challenge to a Christian how God and evil can both exist. Many of the greatest minds of the Christian church and intellects such as Augustine and Thomas Aquinas spent their entire lives trying to solve this problem, and were unsuccessful (Erickson, 2009, p.439). However, this dilemma is not only an intellectual challenge, but it is emotional. Man feels it, lives it. Failing to identify the religious form of the problem of evil will appear insensitive; failure to address the theological form will seem intellectually insulting. This conundrum will never be completely met during our earthly life, but there are many biblical and philosophical resources that help mitigate it.
" Political Theology 10.2 (2009): 287-303. Academic Search Complete. Web. The Web. The Web.
2) Gollwitzer, Helmut. The Existence of God: As Confessed By Faith. Philadelphia: The Westminister Press, 1965
Nietzsche, Friedrich W., and Walter A. Kaufmann. Beyond Good and Evil. New York: Vintage, 1989. Print.