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Unraveling the Problem of Evil: Exploring the Existence of God Amidst Suffering and Moral Dilemmas

Delve into the profound dilemma of how an all-good, all-powerful God can coexist with evil in the world. This philosophical inquiry questions the nature of evil, suffering, and the complexities of faith. Various arguments and counterarguments are dissected, challenging traditional notions of divine omnipotence and human free will.

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Unraveling the Problem of Evil: Exploring the Existence of God Amidst Suffering and Moral Dilemmas

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  1. The Problem of Evil: How Can an All-Good, All-Powerful God Exist and There Still Be Evil in the World? • Dostoevsky: God and evil are not reconcilable: evil is real, so is God, and that situation is senseless • Suffering (e.g., of children and animals) is never made up and is unforgiveable. It has no purpose or rationale: that is why faith is not rational and does not make sense

  2. Problem of Evil (continued) • J. L. Mackie: attempted reconciliations of an all-powerful, all-good God and the existence of evil (“theodicies) fail • Reply 1: evil is defined from our perspective • Response: this makes evil (& good) unreal • Reply 2: evil is needed to highlight the good • Response: so evil is ultimately good? And why so much evil? Why can’t God give us such knowledge?

  3. Problem of Evil (continued) • Reply 3: evil is necessary to appreciate the good; in addition, it makes us become better moral beings • Response: why can’t God produce good without causing evil? Is evil ultimately good, then, as a means? And why so much evil (including natural evils)? What does a dying infant learn through suffering?

  4. Problem of Evil (continued) • Reply 4: evil results from free choices • Response: why wouldn’t God create a world in which we always freely choose to do good? To say that freedom requires that we sometimes choose evil means that such choices would have to be random • Furthermore, if God truly cannot control human choices, then he is not omnipotent

  5. Problem of Evil (continued) • Reply 5 (John Hick): experience of evil is part of the process by which we evolve into moral beings • Response: the horrific suffering necessary for such moral development is inconsistent with the existence of a loving God

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