Aquinas Problem Of Evil

The problem of evil is a lasting philosophical problem that goes back as far as Epicurus. Aquinas proposes that the problem of evil is not a proper question to be asking because those asking it are not taking into account God’s nature. In this paper, I will contend that Aquinas incorrect in his assertion that it is not a legitimate question and I will argue that the problem of evil is a question that requires an answer. To do so I will juxtapose Aquinas against other thinkers on the problem of evil. The problem of evil examines how can God exist given horrible conditions that exist in the world. God is said to be all-knowing, all powerful and perfectly good. If God is all-knowing he should be aware of the state of affairs. If God is perfectly
However, Aquinas does not make this move. Aquinas believes that God there is goodness. Aquinas states this in the Summa Theologiae when he says, We should especially associate goodness with God. For something is good in so far as it is desirable. But everything desires its perfection, and an effects’ perfection and form consists in resembling its efficient cause (since every efficient cause produces an effect like itself). So an efficient cause is desirable and may be called good because what is desired from it is that the effect share its goodness by resembling it. Clearly, then, since God is the first efficient cause of everything, goodness and
Mainly, that I am ascribing many human qualities to God that God does not possess. I am stuck in the realm of human thought when conceiving of God. One should not compare and contrast God and humans. God is different than humans. God cannot be expected to have the same expectations of moral responsibility that humans have. For Aquinas there is goodness and power in God. It is inaccurate to say God is good or God is powerful. Aquinas does not want to ascribe personal moral goodness to God in the same way we say a person is morally good. Similarly, to how I ascribe different characteristics of what constitutes good in an infant and an adult, I must ascribe different characteristics between God and