The problem of evil Essay

Submitted By Yawar-Nasir
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The problem of evil - Yawar Nasir
(a). Evil is physical pain, mental suffering and moral wickedness and there are 3 types of evil; Natural, Moral, Combination. Natural evil is where the evil is caused by the surroundings around us (caused by nature). An example of Natural evil could be earthquakes. Moral evil is where the evil caused is by humans. An example of Moral evil could be murder whereby humans cause evil by killing each other. Combination evil is where evil caused by humans has changed nature. An example of this could be global warming.
Evil poses several challenges. There is a theological problem which challenges the nature of God and if God truly exists. There is a philosophical problem which requires the believer to accept conflicting claims. Another challenge is the diverse problem which is that evil comes in many forms that demand different explanations. Finally there is the challenging problem which is that the existence of evil and suffering is an objective reality.
Evil is a problem for Monotheist religions and not others (Monism etc) because monotheist religion don't believe on reincarnation or karma and believe that we just live one life and there is only one God so therefore the problem is why would God want to punish us and spread evil when we are just living our only life.
There are also further problems for believers if God is omnibenevolent (all loving), omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing) and Ex-Nihila which is God created the world out of nothing. So if God is omnibelevolent then why does he allow evil to exist is the question non-believers ask and if he loved everyone and everything surely he wouldn't want them to suffer. Also if God is omnipotent which means all powerful then why doesn't God stop evil. If he is the most powerful and could do anything then he could stop evil if wanted to but chooses not to which causes a problem for religious believers. Furthermore God is all knowing so why doesn't God prevent evil from happening because if he knows everything so he would know when are where evil will happen so therefore could prevent it. Last problem is that God created the world Ex-Nihilo because if God created the world out of nothing then why didn't he create the world perfectly so we would not have this problem of evil hence he created it out of nothing but yet evil exists. These four things that God is all loving, all powerful, all known and he created the world out of nothing cause a problem for religious believers.
The problem of evil can be viewed as an inconsistent triad: The three are logically inconsistent. If God is omnipotent, he is aware of the existing evil and suffering and knows how to put a stop to it. If God is omni benevolent he will want to put a stop to it. Yet evil and suffering does exist. The atheist David Hume argued that only three possibilities exist: (a) God is not omnipotent (b) God is not omni benevolent (c) Evil does not exist.
Since we have sufficient direct experience to support the existence of evil, if God exists he is either an impotent God or a malicious God; not the God of classical theism. Hume concluded that God therefore does not exist.
These is the problem of evil for believers as it ultimately results in the idea that God does not exist if there is suffering in this world. In my opinion there is a God and only one God and he has given is a free will so if God interfered every time someone was about to commit an evil act then he would be controlling people and we would not be free.
One solution to the problem of suffering is the Augustian theodicy. Augustine argues that the Bible shows that God created a world that was perfectly good and free from any defects. He defined evil to be the privation of good, as he believed it was the going wrong of something that is actually good in itself. Augustine believed that evil is not a thing or substance that God created; however there are higher and lesser goods. He suggested that evil came about
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