critically expose the problem of evil
EMMANUEL SAGWETE (916)
DPL 314 PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
FR. A. RUTSVIGA
28 OCTOBER 2010
Critically expose the problem of evil.
Evil is a privation of the good. The problem of evil “arises from the paradox of an omnibenevolent, omnipotent deity’s allowing the existence of evil” (Pojman 1987: 151). The Judeo-Christian tradition affirmed that God is omnipotent, omniscient and perfectly good. The same tradition also affirmed the existence of evil. The presence of evil, this privation of the good, is taken to be one of the arguments against the existence of God. The presence of evil has presented philosophers since the earliest times of thinkers like Socrates and Plato with a difficult, a problem, of how its presence can be explained. To Christian philosophers, the problem of evil has become a problem of how its presence can be reconciled with the presence of a God who is said to be omnipotent, omniscient and benevolent when the two are contraries.
If God has all the attributes he is said to have, then one would be tempted to say that there would be no evil in the world. It would be “logically meaningful to say that an omnipotent God could destroy if he so desires and a benevolent God would certainly destroy evil since he is good and loving” (Vardy 1999: 149). Thus the presence of evil seem to pose a threat to God’s existence or his attributes for evil’s existence makes one to say either God is omnipotent but malevolent in some way or that God is benevolent but impotent in some way or even that God is both malevolent and impotent. It could also be the case that God does not exist at all. In the face of such a dilemma the problem in the existence of evil thus becomes the need or search for the source of evil and a way to reconcile evil’s presence in the world with an all-powerful, all-knowing good God.
The problem of evil is also aggravated by the argument that everything that exists comes from God. God who is all powerful is said to be the one who created the
DPL 314 PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
FR. A. RUTSVIGA
28 OCTOBER 2010
Critically expose the problem of evil.
Evil is a privation of the good. The problem of evil “arises from the paradox of an omnibenevolent, omnipotent deity’s allowing the existence of evil” (Pojman 1987: 151). The Judeo-Christian tradition affirmed that God is omnipotent, omniscient and perfectly good. The same tradition also affirmed the existence of evil. The presence of evil, this privation of the good, is taken to be one of the arguments against the existence of God. The presence of evil has presented philosophers since the earliest times of thinkers like Socrates and Plato with a difficult, a problem, of how its presence can be explained. To Christian philosophers, the problem of evil has become a problem of how its presence can be reconciled with the presence of a God who is said to be omnipotent, omniscient and benevolent when the two are contraries.
If God has all the attributes he is said to have, then one would be tempted to say that there would be no evil in the world. It would be “logically meaningful to say that an omnipotent God could destroy if he so desires and a benevolent God would certainly destroy evil since he is good and loving” (Vardy 1999: 149). Thus the presence of evil seem to pose a threat to God’s existence or his attributes for evil’s existence makes one to say either God is omnipotent but malevolent in some way or that God is benevolent but impotent in some way or even that God is both malevolent and impotent. It could also be the case that God does not exist at all. In the face of such a dilemma the problem in the existence of evil thus becomes the need or search for the source of evil and a way to reconcile evil’s presence in the world with an all-powerful, all-knowing good God.
The problem of evil is also aggravated by the argument that everything that exists comes from God. God who is all powerful is said to be the one who created the