The Existence of God and Evil Essay

Words: 2226
Pages: 9
Open Document
The Existence of God and Evil The problem of evil has been around since the beginning. How could God allow such suffering of his “chosen people”? God is supposedly all loving (omni-benevolent) and all powerful (omnipotent) and yet He allows His creations to live in a world of danger and pain. Two philosophers this class has discussed pertaining to this problem is B.C. Johnson and John Hick. Johnson provides the theists’ defense of God and he argues them. These include free will, moral urgency, the laws of nature, and God’s “higher morality”. Hick examines two types of theodicies – the Augustinian position and the Irenaeus position. These positions also deal with free will, virtue (or moral urgency), and the laws of nature. Johnson …show more content…
Even though the child many not understand the reasoning of their parents, what is right and wrong is still evident to the child. Because of this polarity, God’s “higher morality” does not determine whether He is good or not in our world. Hick also has his own take on the problem of the existence of God and evil. He also addresses free will, virtue, and the laws of nature. Before diving into each explanation, Hick provides Augustine’s (a Christian teacher) perspective on evil. Augustine states that evil comes from the corruption of good, and that God creates everything as inherently good. As Hick explains, “Evil is essentially parasitic upon good, being disorder and perversion in a fundamentally good creation” (Pojman 127). Evil was not created by God, and He does not impose evil on the world. Hick explores the origin of evil through examining free will. God created people with free will, which is inseparable from their being. For a creature to be a person, free will, with all of its consequences, is necessary. God can create beings that are free from possible sin, but that creature would not be human. Some might argue that God has predetermined our actions, but still allows free will. Hick views that as a contradiction. From this, he derives the notion that people appear to have free will, but in reality, people are, “his [God’s] helpless puppets” (Pojman 128). Hick also goes on to
Show More

Related Documents: The Existence of God and Evil Essay

Defense For The Existence Of God And Evil

referred to evil, everybody considers it wrongdoing and/or sinful as there is nothing good associated with the term. But if there is a God in this world then why does God allow evil acts to occur in this world? Many may argue there is no God due to this because if there was a God then he would not allow “evil” things. If God does not allow evil actions to occur, but yet these wrong acts/events still occur then many may argue that God is not possible with the existence of Evil. But in order for Evil to exist…

Words 1058 - Pages 5

The Cosmological Argument

arguments to prove the existence of god are defined as “Arguments that try to show that from the fact that the universe exists, God exists,” (Vaughn 58). In summary, this argument says that “There must be a first uncaused cause of everything,” (Vaughn 58). The argument implies that the “First uncaused cause is God,” (Vaughn 58). The cosmological argument handles the problem of evil with the thought that if evil exists, then God must have set it into motion. God allows “evil to exist and bring good…

Words 705 - Pages 3

David Hume God And Evil Essay

A Perfect God in a World with Evil? The orthodox theist defines God as an all-good, all-knowing and all-powerful being (Rauhut 186). An all-knowing God would be aware of all the evil and all the suffering taking place in this world. An all-powerful God would have the capacity to do something to prevent this evil and this suffering. Finally, an all-good God would have the want and the will to prevent all that evil and suffering and do something about it("Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy" ).This…

Words 1560 - Pages 7

Inwagen's The Argument From Evil

“The Argument from Evil.” It focused on the existence of evil and its relevance to the existence of God. This paper will be about the problem of evil and how the free will defense explained the existence of an omnipotent being. The problem of evil, as stated by Inwagen, is that it contradicts the existence of God. We live in a world where evil is a constant part of many people’s lives. If there were a God, why would they continue to let such horrors continue? The argument of evil assumes that there…

Words 1781 - Pages 8

H. J Mccloskey Analysis

being an atheist? 10 Philosophic argument on God?s existence in response to H. J. McCloskey?s ?On Being an Atheist? Eric M. Griggs Liberty University ? PHIL 201-B53 Philosophic argument on God?s existence in response to H. J. McCloskey?s ?On Being an Atheist? McCloskey?s article, written by a professed atheist, is as expected anti-religious and particularly anti-Christian. McCloskey makes numerous attempts in this article to disprove any belief in God, but fails miserably as he is not very knowledgeable…

Words 2762 - Pages 12

Alvin Plantinga's Theodicy

theodicy on his justification of the existence of a god. Plantinga understood that the world is not perfect paradise designed by a god and that there is both moral and natural evil that plagues it. His argument were that evil was actually a part of the said-god's plan and that existence of evil was logically consistent with the existence of a god. However, Plantinga leaves much to interpretation because no one knows for sure what the god's plan is; some believe evil is the product of sin, such as Adam…

Words 329 - Pages 2

Leibniz and the Problem of Evil Essay

THE PROBLEM OF EVIL BY OKOJIE E. PETER epo4escriva@yahoo.com MAY 2013 INTRODUCTION For many centuries, philosophers have been discussing evil, how it exists in the world, and how this relates to God. The discussion on evil and its relations to us is not an easy one though. It is commonly called the problem of evil. The problem of evil in contemporary philosophy is generally regarded as an argument for atheism. The atheist contends that God and evil are incompatible, and given that evil clearly exists…

Words 3707 - Pages 15

Andrea Weisberger's Argument Against The Existence Of God

Evil is abundant in the world. This copious amount of evil in our world makes some people wonder if there is truly a God. The Problem of Evil poses an argument against His existence and in “ The Argument from Evil” Andrea Weisberger counters that argument. It is very easy to think that there is not a God based on all the evils that we see in the world, so why do some people still hold on to Him? The Problem of Evil could be use to argue against the existence of God. The Problem of Evil goes as follows:…

Words 352 - Pages 2

Mccloskey Argumentative Analysis

The question of the existence of God plagues humanity. For centuries, philosophers debated the question of this existence. One philosopher, H. J. McCloskey, wrote an article in February 1968 entitled "On Being an Atheist." In his article McCloskey argues against the three common arguments for the existence of God. The arguments, or proofs as McCloskey refers to them, are the cosmological argument, the teleological argument, and the argument from design. While most scholars see the last two arguments…

Words 1615 - Pages 7

Essay on Response to the Idea of Evil

idea of evil is one of the most contended with problems for those who have faith in God. Theists have dealt with the idea and reality of evil for hundreds of years. Famous philosopher David Hume discusses the existence of evil present in the world in Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. In the later sections of Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, Philo presents a contradiction to an argument that Demea has posed. He states how God possesses many good characteristics, and yet evil exists. Philo…

Words 1409 - Pages 6