Problem of Evil

Explanation

• If God is good and powerful, why does evil and suffering exist?

• It challenges belief in a loving and just God.

Types of Evil

• Moral Evil – Caused by humans (e.g. murder, war, theft).

• Natural Evil – Caused by nature (e.g. earthquakes, disease).

Bible Evidence:

• “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” – Genesis 1:31 → Why is there evil if creation was good?

• “The Lord is compassionate and gracious.” – Psalm 103:8 → If God cares, why does suffering continue?

J.L. Mackie and the Logical Problem of Evil

J. L. Mackie argued that the traditional Christian understanding of God is logically inconsistent when we consider the existence of evil.

God is traditionally described as:

• Omnipotent – all-powerful

• Omnibenevolent – all-loving

• Evil exists – suffering and wrongdoing clearly happen in the world

Mackie claimed that these three statements cannot all be true at the same time.

• If God is all-powerful, He should be able to stop evil.

• If God is all-loving, He should want to stop evil.

• But evil and suffering still exist.

This creates a logical problem:

• If God can prevent evil but chooses not to, He cannot be all-loving.

• If God wants to prevent evil but cannot, He cannot be all-powerful.

Key Idea

The existence of evil appears to contradict the belief that God is both omnipotent and omnibenevolent.

This is known as the Logical Problem of Evil because it argues that the traditional concept of God is logically inconsistent.

Augustine of Hippo argued that God did not create evil. Instead, evil is the result of human free will being misused.

Key Ideas

• God created the world perfectly good.

• God gave humans free will so they could freely choose to love and obey Him.

• The first humans (Adam and Eve) disobeyed God — this is known as The Fall.

• As a result of The Fall, sin and suffering entered the world.

Augustine described evil as a privation of good. This means evil is not a thing in itself — it is the absence or corruption of goodness, like darkness is the absence of light.

Natural Evil

Augustine believed that natural disasters, disease and suffering are consequences of The Fall. When humans turned away from God, the harmony of creation was damaged.

Key Idea

God is not responsible for evil. Humans are responsible because they freely chose to turn away from God. Evil exists because of the misuse of free will.

The Irenaean approach to the problem of evil is based on the ideas of Irenaeus and later developed by John Hick.

Key Ideas

• God created humans in His image, but not morally perfect.

• Humans must grow and develop spiritually.

• The world is a place of “soul-making” — a place where people develop virtues such as courage, compassion and perseverance.

Unlike Augustine, this view does not blame evil on a single event like The Fall. Instead, evil and suffering are part of God’s plan for human development.

Free Will and Development

God gave humans free will so that love and goodness would be genuine. A world without challenges or suffering would not allow real moral growth.

For example, courage cannot exist without danger, and forgiveness cannot exist without wrongdoing.

Key Idea

Evil and suffering exist because they help humans grow into morally mature and spiritually developed individuals. God allows suffering as part of a process that leads to greater good.

This debate asks an important question:

Are our actions truly our own, or are they caused by factors outside our control? 

Free Will

Free will is the belief that humans are able to make real choices.

• We are responsible for our actions.

• We could have acted differently.

• Moral praise and blame only make sense if we are free.

For example, if someone chooses to steal, free will suggests they are morally responsible because they could have chosen not to.

Key Idea:
Humans have genuine freedom, and this makes moral responsibility possible.

Determinism

Determinism is the belief that every event, including human actions, is caused by something else.

Our choices may be determined by:

• Biology (genes, brain chemistry)

• Environment (upbringing, education, social background)

• Psychological factors

If determinism is true, our actions are the result of prior causes, and we may not be fully in control.

Key Idea:
All human behaviour is caused, so free will may be an illusion.