The Existence of God and Evil

The Existence of God and Evil The problem of evil has been around since the beginning. How could God allow such suffering of his “chosen people”? God is supposedly all loving (omni-benevolent) and all powerful (omnipotent) and yet He allows His creations to live in a world of danger and pain. Two philosophers this class has discussed pertaining to this problem is B.C. Johnson and John Hick. Johnson provides the theists’ defense of God and he argues them. These include free will, moral urgency, the laws of nature, and God’s “higher morality”. Hick examines two types of theodicies – the Augustinian position and the Irenaeus position. These positions also deal with free will, virtue (or moral urgency), and the laws of nature. Johnson decides that God is either evil or both good and evil. Hick believes that the world is the grounds for soul-making and indirectly defends God in the face of evil. Hick’s argument is stronger than Johnson’s. I believe that evil exists in order to teach humans virtue that God has created. I also believe, like Hick suggests, that God, the universe, and His creations are inherently good, and that evil comes from the corruption of the good. Johnson begins with a situation of evil – a baby dies in a house fire. From there, Johnson begins examining the theists’ “excuses” and refutes them one by one. Free will is the first to be discussed. The theist states that God gave free will to humans so that when accidental or purposeful evil occurs, it is only the humans’ responsibility. However, this does not follow through. Can it be called good when a bystander knowingly does not help when witnessing a horrible event? Johnson says, “Certainly not” (Pojman 121). Good would be the bystander taking action and stepping in to help those suffering. So then, is it right to say that God is good for not interfering as a bystander? Again, certainly not. Standing by allows the suffering and evil to continue, hence it is not good. A theist would go onto say