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3 – Problems of Evil and Su/ering
3.1 - Problem of Evil and Su(ering
The nature of the problem across a range of religious tradi
ons, types of evil and su/ering,
moral and non-moral, the challenge to religious belief posed by the inconsistency of the
nature of God and the evident existence of evil and su/ering challenging belief in the
existence of God
The nature of the problem of evil and su/ering is that the existence of evil inconsistent with
the omnipotence and omnibenevolence of God – the inconsistent triad. Hume calls this the
rock of atheism, and Mill supported the problem of evil, poin
ng out that happiness and
su/ering are not dispensed on earth with any sort of fairness, but if the universe was ruled
by a moral God, one would expect fairness, making it less likely that God exists. Cri
cs of
religious argue that the concept of God makes no sense in a world where evil things occur.
There are two types of evil and su/ering: moral evil is su/ering caused by humans ac
ng in a
way that is considered morally wrong, while natural (non-moral) evil is su/ering caused by
events that have nothing to do with humans, and which are to do with the way the world is.
The existence of both natural and moral evil points to an inconsistency in the nature of God;
as a benevolent being, God would wish to avoid, prevent or undo evil – if a person has no
wish to stop evil or end su/ering, they would not be considered good. Similarly, as an
omnipotent being, God has the power to do whatever he wishes, so if he wished to prevent
evil and su/ering, he would be able to.
The challenge to religious belief posed by the inconsistency of the nature of God and the
evident existence of evil and su/ering is the logical problem of evil, which argues that any
sort of evil and su/ering in the universe leads to the conclusion that the God of theism is
contradictory. Mill proposes the eviden
al problem of evil, which admits that there might be
reasons why God allows the existence of some evil, but that the amount of evil and su/ering
in the world is excessive. Religions avoid the problem of evil by de+ning God in such a way as
to avoid inconsistency: if God is not morally good, then he may not wish to end su/ering or
undo evil, which applies to Hinduism where Shiva, the god of destruc
on, brings necessary
change. If God is not omnipotent, then ending su/ering might contradict something else that
God wants, such as bringing about a world of free-willed creatures. If God does not exist, as
in Buddhism, then there’s no problem in the +rst place.
3.2 - Theodicies and Solu)ons to the Problem of Su(ering
Belief that crea
on was good; evil and su/ering is a priva
on of good due to the fall of the
angels and man because of the misuse of freewill, soul-deciding, signi+cance of
reconcilia
on
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