The Problem of Evil

The Problem of Evil is a topic that philosophers have pondered for generations. It refers to the challenge of believing in an all-powerful God with evil in the world. According to most theologians, there are two types of evil: natural and moral. Natural evil refers to harmful events in nature throughout history that negatively affect creaturely life, such as earthquakes or famines. Moral evil, such as sin, refers to creature’s contrary to God's character and law. When discussing the problem of evil, questions always come up. How can one be sure that God does exist? Or, if God exists, does He care about His creation? According to Dr. William Lane Craig, Christian theism is the best way to solve the problem of evil.

A popular argument against Dr. Craig's opinion would be Epicurus' argument which David Hume popularized. Epicurus claimed that if God could not stop evil, then he is not all-powerful. He then said that if God could prevent corruption, but does not, then God is not good. To quote philosopher J. L. Mackie, "A wholly good omnipotent being would eliminate evil; if there are evils, then there cannot be any such being." Epicurus, Hume, and Mackie fail to understand that the Problem of Evil does not disprove God's existence. To understand this, one must identify the philosophical problem of evil and the emotional problem of evil. The philosophical problem of evil focuses on how to give a logical reason why God and Evil can exist at the same time. The emotional problem of evil attempts to solve people's hatred of a God who would allow suffering.

Many people have attempted to solve this problem, but first solve this problem, one must first prove the existence of God. Several arguments have been introduced, including the teleological argument, the ontological argument, the cosmological argument, and the moral argument.

According to Dr. Craig, the ontological argument states, "that if God is conceivable, then He must exist." Anselm originally developed this argument but was later defended by people like Alvin Plantinga, Norman Malcolm, and Charles Hartshorne. Anselm wanted to prove the existence of God in a straightforward statement. He eventually concluded that God is the greatest thing ever conceivable. To quote Dr. Craig, "A being whose non-existence is inconceivable is greater than a being whose non-existence is conceivable. But God is the greatest conceivable being. Therefore, God's non-existence must be inconceivable. There is no contradiction involved in this notion. Therefore, God must exist."

The cosmological argument says any argument that attempts to demonstrate God's existence by appeal to the observation of the world, its objects, and its processes. The cosmological argument originated with Plato and Aristotle. It was then later advanced by Jewish, Christian, and Islamic philosophers. People who have defended this argument were Locke, Berkeley, and Aquinas. There are three forms to this argument: the Kalam Cosmological Argument, the Thomist Cosmological Argument, and the Leibniz Cosmological Argument. The Kalam Cosmological Argument has initially been developed to combat Aristotle's opinion of the eternity of the universe. Al-Ghazali, the creator of this argument, states, "Every being which begins has a cause for its beginning; now the world is a being which begins; therefore, it possesses a cause for its beginning.", the Thomist Cosmological Argument is "based on the impossibility of an infinite regress of simultaneously operating causes." The Leibniz Cosmological Argument, also according to Dr. Craig, "looks for the existence of a sufficient reason for the universe."

One of the oldest arguments ever used is called the teleological argument. Stanley J. Grenz defines the teleological argument as "an argument for the existence of God based on the seemingly purposeful order of the universe that suggests the world is the work of a "Master Architect" rather than a result of chance." One of the prominent people who used this argument was William Paley. Paley based his entire argument on an analogy called the Watchmaker Analogy. Paley argued that if a watch shows that an intelligent designer put it together, there must be a creator for the world.

The last argument that is evidence for God's existence is the moral argument. Dr. Craig defines the moral argument as "the existence of a Being that is the embodiment of the ultimate Good, which is the source of the objective moral values we experience in the world." In other words, without God, there is no purpose for being good. In short, one can essentially do whatever they want because there is nothing keeping people accountable. If one chooses to go along with Dr. Craig's definition of the moral argument, then enters Christianity into it, the good is identified with God himself and people cannot do whatever they want.

Now that several arguments have been presented on behalf of God existing, one must now answer whether God cares about His creation and why evil can exist? If one looks in the world, it is no secret that there are all kinds of evil in it. One good example would be a newlywed couple being killed by a drunk driver. Another example would be someone being diagnosed with leukemia. Many times, when one goes through a hard time, their first reaction is to blame God. Interestingly this is exactly what Charles Darwin did after the death of his daughter Annie. In grief, Darwin chose to leave Christianity and became an Atheist. He wondered how a loving God would allow his daughter to die. He then went to find a naturalistic explanation that would explain the origins of the universe without a God. When discussing this topic, it is essential to discuss that when God created the world. He said, "that it was good." In Genesis 2:7, God starts to make a man. He designed him, formed him, and named him Adam. God went so far as to give Adam dominion over the earth. After Adam named all the animals, God noticed how Adam was alone. So, He made someone for him, a woman named Eve. God gave Adam and Eve one commandment to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. However, choosing to eat from the tree, Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, allowing sin into the world corrupting everything in it. Because of Adam and Eve's sin, each person inherited a sinful nature. Original sin is the state of alienation from God in which all humans are born. It relates to the manner in how Adam's sinful nature transfers to other people. While Calvinism holds the view that in Adam's fall, all humans fall. Jack Cottrell holds the belief that Jesus' death on the cross has abolished any effect from Adam's sin. Cottrell also mentions how a person is only guilty of his own sin

According to Jack Cottrell, the best answer to the problem of evil would be the free will defense. The free will defense essentially says that God created the world without sin and that everything was initially good. But when God created free will, people being evil would be a possibility. Cottrell goes on to explain why God wanted to make such a being by saying, "God's chief purpose and desire were to have creatures who would love, serve, and glorify Him of their free choice and not by coercion or manipulation." In short, Cottrell suggests that God is not responsible for evil but that He is responsible for the possibility of it. Humans having free will, chose to reject God, and because of that decision, sin came into existence.

It is easy to see how moral evil came into existence using the free will defense. But it is harder to see how natural or physical evil came into existence using this defense. How can disease, death, and natural disasters account for free will defense? One important thing to remember, according to Cottrell, is that "all physical evils are ultimately the consequence of sin, but they do not derive from sin in the same way." It is crucial to realize that when sin came into the world, it corrupted everything. To quote Cottrell, "Evil has been unnaturally incorporated into the very fabric of the universe. This is the explanation for most of the individual instances of suffering that occurs around us, including congenital disabilities, disease, death, and even natural disasters."

Another critical thing to address about the problem of evil is personal suffering. There are many Biblical examples of someone suffering. One example is Job. He was a good man who had everything. God blessed him with a lot. Satan believed that Job was only faithful to God because of all the blessings he had previously received. To prove Satan wrong, God let Satan tempt Job; Job first lost his cattle. He then learned that all his children were killed. Job then had to endure sores and his wife nagging him to curse God. Some of Job's friends then came to comfort Job but instead of comforting him. They end up asking what sin Job committed. Throughout this entire ordeal, Job kept questioning how he sinned. It got so bad that Job started cursing the day he was born. At the end of it God ends up making Job aware of his lack of understanding and states how He is God and then restores all of Job's blessing.

One thing Christians can learn from Job's story is that God knows the bigger picture. Like Job, people often think shortsighted. It is essential to know that God does not enjoy our suffering. John 11:35 says, "Jesus wept." This is another perfect example of how God cares about His creation. In John 11, Jesus' friend Lazarus died; before his death, Lazarus' sisters kept asking Jesus to come to heal him. But, he knew the bigger picture stayed where he was then going to Lazarus' tomb three days later, resurrecting him from the dead.

The ultimate example of God caring about his creation is when He sent His son to die on the cross to suffer a painful death. If God were truly evil and did not love His creation, he would never have done this. But what Jesus' death and resurrection accomplish for us is that people can live with Him in heaven. To become a new creation in Jesus to be born again into His kingdom. 1 Corinthians 5:12 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

In conclusion, the problem of evil is a complex topic that needs to be talked about. There are two main questions that one must answer when solving this problem. The first question is, how can God exist? One way to answer this question is by providing reasons why God exists and why it would be improbable for Him not to exist. The second question that one must answer when dealing with this topic is, does God care about His creation? And if so, why does he allow evil in the world? A way to answer this question is by going over Biblical examples found in scripture and explaining how evil and God can exist simultaneously. Finally, Christians honor God when they choose to trust Him and remember that God loves them and has a purpose in their lives. When one sees suffering in the world, it should remind people that our world is broken and promptly should motivate Christians to spread the Gospel everywhere they go.