Natural evil: Anything that causes suffering which is due to how the workings of nature such as volcanoes, earthquakes
Moral evil: Anything that causes suffering through the decisions of free moral agents such as humans. Example of moral evil include murder and rape.
The Problem?
• God as all-loving should want to get rid of all evil as it leads to people suffering
• God as all-powerful should have the power to eliminate all evil
• God as all-knowing should understand that we are suffering
Adam and Eve
Against:
• The story of Genesis was written in a cultural and historical context and therefore may not be relied upon as a literal history of the world which makes it an unacceptable explanation for the evil we see in the word
• The story depicts God as not loving as he does not forgive Adam and Eve when they fail the test
• The story disagrees with God as all-knowing as God should have foreseen that Adam and Eve would fail in their test
Free Will Defence
God let us freely choose us to love him and do the right thing. This is better than people being forces to love him and also to do the right thing because they are forced. God gave all human beings free will which is a gift and gives our life individuality. The Downside is that humans may abuse it to cause suffering. As we have free will people may make silly decision which leads to somebody getting harmed.
Against:
• Poor at explaining natural evil which is usually not caused by the decisions of humans
• Is losing our Free-Will better than excessive unnecessary suffering
• Why aren’t humans designed to freely choose the right thing? God being all powerful should be able to do this and it will abolish unwanted suffering which shows that God is all-loving
Need for Contrast
Some theists would argue that evil is necessary for us to know and be able to appreciate good. This can be compared to the example that if everything in the world is red then how would we know about the other colours and therefore how can we appreciate red without having something to compare it to. Evil helps us to appreciate the good we have in this world.
Against:
• Why is there so much evil?
• Why is evil spread about unjustly?
• Does the good we get justify the evil? Many people suffer however do we appreciate the good more?
Soul making defence
This defence suggests that evil is necessary for developing humans. Humans can only develop into mature beings with the presence of evil. God made evil in order to challenge us and for us to learn from our mistakes and therefore develop. By developing our character we are showing ourselves to be worthy of heaven.
Against:
• Same as arguments against Need for Contrast
Karma Defence
Karma is the cosmological law of consequences which is similar to the principle “what goes around, comes around”. Our suffering is the consequence of what we have done in the past. Bad sinful acts lead to bad karma which means the individual will suffer in either this life or the next. We all suffer in proportion with what we deserve
Against:
• The fact that there is so much of a time gap between the bad act and the bad consequence makes Karma seen unjust
• People don’t remember their past lives and therefore it is unjust to be held responsible for something you don’t remember doing. The feeling is similar to be punished for what somebody else has done
Theists response to evil:
Individual life
• Remain faithful in God and hopeful for the Future
• Continue to do the right thing and strive to learn from mistakes
Lives of others
• Support those who suffer practically (e.g. offering help or money)
• Speak out against injustice and moral evil
• Pray for those who suffer
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