The False Dichotomy, By Susan Wise Bauer

One of the oldest dilemmas in philosophy is also one of the greatest threats to Christian theology. The problem of evil simultaneously perplexes the world’s greatest minds and yet remains palpably close to the hearts of the most common people. If God is good, then why is there evil? The following essay describes the problem of evil in relation to God, examines Christian responses to the problem, and concludes the existence of God and the existence of evil are fully compatible.

John Hick discusses in his essay The Problem of Evil, the objections to the belief in the existence of God is the presence of evil in the world. He begins by posing the traditional challenge to theism in the form of the dilemma: That if God was perfectly loving, he must wish to abolish evil, and being all powerful, is able to perfectly do so as he will its. He then proceeds to present some views regarding this issue, giving insights from three point of views, that of contemporary Christian Science, the Boston Personalist school, and the theologian Augustine. The first opinion takes evil as an illusion, as a construct of the human mind. The second confers upon God finity, God as a struggling ruler,

In Chapter Seven, The Problem of Evil from “The Sacred Quest: An Invitation to the Study of Religion” by Lawrence Cunningham and John Kelsay the authors examine various possible reasons for why evil exists. I will be examining further the information provided in this Chapter in order to attempt to answer the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” First, I will provide my point of view on what I consider to be evil and good. Next, I will explain why I believe in the appeal to sovereignty view and how it applies to the ultimate question. Finally, I will provide counterarguments to my explanation.

Lance Marrow attempts to work out the complicated opinions and ideas on the concept of evil in his scholarly essay. He begins by giving an overview of the evil that exists in the world right now, along with questions on the existence of evil. Marrow then goes on to addressing the main definitions of evil supported by stories that follow those definitions. Finally the essay concludes with the questioning of the existence of evil in collaboration with God and on what the world would be without the existence of evil.

This idea that evil is an illusion of the human mind is what contemporary Christian scientists would use to explain all the evil that was witnessed. But Hick argues that this explanation is impossible with the “stark realism of the bible” (129). The bible records sorrows and suffering that all of humanity has experienced. The apex of the bible story is based on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Obviously evil is not just a mere fictional thing in the mind of a human but rather reality.

Reflecting on chapter fourteen of Barbara Brown Taylor’s book “The Preaching Life”, I gained great insight into the understanding of imagination, and its relationship to conscious reality. Taylor, in this autobiographical insight of her life as an Episcopal Priest and Preacher, presents the reader with the challenge of understanding the concept of imagination, as perceived through the eyes of children versus the lack of imagination in adults. . Moreover, it is a comparison and contrast to the imagination, as it is perceived, applied, and evaluated through the eyes of adults. Possibilities are what children perceive through imagination, where as adults often see problematic probabilities. Her scenarios about children’s play and discovery are a reminder that followers of Christ need to redirect their thoughts and actions toward the positives of life, and avoid the negatives.

Hidden Evils This semester’s class theme revolved around the narratives of good and evil. The chosen readings and assignments all involved an aspect of that theme. From talking about the different theories and ideas behind what makes something good or evil, I was pleasantly surprised to see the relevance of these two contrasting ideas. The class theme is very relevant as I see these two concepts present in almost every reading and film that I have watched. Initially, before this English 1102 class I saw good and evil and two opposite ideas on the spectrum of what is considered good and evil.

Without evil, all is well; but what is a ‘well’ but a hole in the ground adequate for drowning in? Too much of a good thing is always a bad thing. For a story to have an effective set of morals, a healthy balance of good and evil is necessary. Without the success of light, and the discipline of dark, a story would convey no teaching. We learn more from the downfall of evil than from the success of light, but we learn most from the devious ways in which evil corrupts the innocent, as the texts referenced imply.

In a world that seems to be going crazy and is filled with evil it is easy to often wondered what is going on wars are everywhere, genocide, and famine are rampant. The problem is that evil exist and that evil itself has a problem. Michael Peterson claims that the problem of evil is a moral protest in the following questions how could God let this happen? People often claim, It's not fair that God has let this happen. Sometimes people will question if God know how to prevent evil and is powerful enough but does not is he good unless he has a reason for it? The source of evil was the fall of Adam and the use of his free will disobey God, the problem of evil gets more problematic when one considers there are two types of evil moral and natural a theodicy must be consistent to answer the question of evil.

What does ‘evil’ mean? What has it meant throughout history, and what does it mean today? Are the connotations that the word carries helpful or harmful in today’s 21st century society? Is it really a useful word today, or has the meaning been too twisted and overused to be constructive? This paper will attempt to analyze the use of the word ‘evil’ in the 21st century, whether the use of it is still constructive, and why it is used.

We all live as a collective group, categorized as more than other live creatures because of a concept we have defined as mortality. Dante’s Inferno gives us the materials we need to begin to define evil and its effects on us all. It all affects us in one way or another, whether it is to strike intrepidness into our minds or be a guiding hand in the dark. The nature of evil is sewed throughout all of mankind just as our dear mortality is. Just as we possess the knowledge to do good, we have the capability to contort the same knowledge into something much worse.

Many times in history we’ll look back and ask each other, “Why did such a horrible thing happen?” Or, “How could those people do such horrible things to those other groups?” Well even in today’s world, we are still asking those same questions, and more. It also seems that the more bad things that happen and are unexplainable in regards to why, more people will continue to turn away from believing in God. The following paragraphs will explain “who” are the ones oppressed by evil, “why” evil exists, and “how” evil can be view in a perspective as good, part of God’s will.

As Theist’s say, God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent. With God being categorized as all of that, can evil still exist? This leads us into the next question: What is the problem of evil? Before we begin, we need to learn what omniscient, omnipotent and omnibenevolent means. Omniscient means “all-knowing”, you know everything, omnipotent means “all-powerful”, you are too strong and mighty and omnibenevolent means “all-good”. In order for us to thoroughly answer this question, we need to understand the two parts of evil, moral and natural evil. Moral Evil is defined as evil committed on purpose by humans. A few examples to help understand what moral evil means are murder, rape, terrorism, and awful hate crimes that harm others. Natural evil means evil we cannot control or the stuff we are not responsible, such as, hurricanes, floods, volcanic attacks and etc. Which are all known as natural disasters. In this paper, I am going to argue for the compatibility of Evil and Omni-God because sometimes God might be helping us learn by presenting to us what evil is and how we can fight it.

The Problem of Evil is a problematic debate amongst skeptics and Christians. This essay will construct my personal views of the inconsistency between the three tenets that intelligent and rational Christians affirm. The focus of this essay is to address the contradiction between the three tenets of the Christian faith and to discuss the consequent remarks in regards to labeling God as all good and all powerful. Based on my personal belief, I find it difficult to accept all three tenets considering that the third tenant challenges the other two tenets of God’s power and love. If God is omnipotent and omnibenevolent, then why does he allow real suffering to exist within the world of humanity?

The presence of evil in the world is a philosophical phenomenon whose purpose has always been in question. One may wonder why one breaks a leg, loses a loved one, or is forced to endure a famine if there truly is a God that is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent; the answer to why bad things happen to ordinary, everyday individuals is rooted deep within the question of why such a God would allow the presence of evil at all. The problem of evil is the atheistic, a posteriori, contingent, and synthetic argument against the existence of God. A plethora of philosophers throughout history have addressed the issues of evil and have called the existence of God and His characteristics into question. Though there are many different