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Theist Approach To The Problem Of Evil

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Theist Approach To The Problem Of Evil
The Problem of Evil
Lyndsey Emry
PHIL 1381-17 Introduction to Philosophy
Professor Bannister

The problem of evil is the problem of reconciling the existence of the evil in the world with the existence of an omniscient God because if God were all-knowing, it seems that God would know about all of the horrible things that happen in our world. The problem of evil also brings up the problem with an omnipotent God because if God were all-powerful, God would be able to stop all of the evil and suffering in the world. Furthermore, the problem of evil also challenges an omnibenevolent God because if God were morally perfect, then surely God would want to do something about it. Lastly, the problem of evil questions the omnipresent God …show more content…
A theist is a person who believes in an all-powerful God. The idea of evil is a huge issue for the theist because it raises the questions what is evil and why does is occur. A theistic view of God is that He is in fact perfect in every way despite the logical inconsistencies. A theist believes that God is omnipotent, omnipresent, omnibenevolent, and omniscient all at the same time. The problem of a theist’s point of view is that why a God would allow evil in the world. Evil raises many question about the existence and nature of a God. If God is omnipotent (all powerful), why would he allow evil to occur. Couldn’t God create a world without evil. If a God is omnibenevolent (all good), why would he allow evil and suffering in the world. All people suffer from evil both the categories of moral and natural evil many times throughout their lives. These issues lead many people to believe that a God might not be all powerful or all good because of the inconsistency between all four ideas of God being perfect. If one believes that God is not all powerful then that is a logical fallacy. This supports that evil is reconcilable and that God cannot be all four aspects at the same time because “God is not all powerful, and there are limits as to what He can do in his efforts to establish a righteous order in the universe” (Nagel 253). If God is not omnibenevolent (all good) then evil is reconcilable because if God is not all good he would allow evil. Arguments against the existence of an all good and caring God claim that an omnibenevolent God would not allow natural evil to occur or allow innocent people to suffer. If a God is simply omnipresent (all present) then evil could exist as well. If this God is omniscient (all knowing) perhaps he knows evil exists and isn’t powerful enough to stop it or just
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