The Problem Of Evil : Why Do Bad Things Happen?

People are always getting into situations that have two possible ways to go. That person can choose the right thing to do or the worse. There have been numerous amounts of people asking the question “what is good and evil?” Many have tried conducting experiments to try and find the roots of what makes people good/evil? Evil acts and evil itself can be shown through the social, economic, and mental environment.

Thousands upon thousands of years ago, human beings fought in catastrophic wars, tortured prisoners, raped, and murdered. Sure enough, just turn on any news channel, and the headline will display a very similar horrific event that has happened. This generation and past generations live in a time where people open fire in crowded places, riots occur, and helpless teens are shot down by the police. Taking a good look at the world around us, it would be demented to every believe that people are naturally good. Although humanity has come along way from being complete savages, humans are naturally evil and To Kill a Mockingbird is an excellent example of the true nature of humans.

Most "bad" things which happen do so because God gives a radical freedom to God's people; we are free people, not puppets on a string. But God does not cause "bad" things to happen. God loves us and grieves with us in our pain when "bad things" happen.

When we are discussing the problem of evil, we are specifically discussing a God that is omniscient, omnipotent, and perfectly good. A God that is perfectly good would not allow suffering to exist, and any minute amount of suffering that exists disproves God’s existence. Unless, the suffering is justified with an adequate reason. However, even then there seems to be large amounts of evil in the world that seems unnecessary for any good reason. By evil and suffering I mean death, pain, and disease. I will be using these terms interchangeably. In the problem of evil, many arguments are placed in order to find a justification for the evil that exists. However,

An argument against the existence of God is based on the presence of evil in the world. This deductively valid argument is divided into two categories; human action and natural evil (Sober, 2005, p. 120). Human action discusses how experiences makes us better people, while natural evil are tragic events that are not under the control of humans. Each category is used as evidence to refute God as an all-powerful omniscient, omnibenevolent, or omnipotent being. In order to understand the strengths of this argument, it is important for an overall assessment of how the presence of evil questions if a Supreme Being actually exists, by arguing why a being of all-good would allow evil, importance of evil in a good world, and questioning God’s intervention in evil.

The problem of evil is the notion that, how can an all-good, all-powerful, all-loving God exists when evil seems to exist also. The problem of evil also gives way to the notion that if hell exists then God must be evil for sending anyone there. I believe both of these ideas that God can exist while there is evil and God is not evil for sending anyone to hell. I believe hell exists in light of the idea that God is holy and just. The larger is how anyone can go to heaven. I will try to answer the problem of evil with regards to the problem of heaven and hell.

I find the ending totally satisficing. Ms. Strangeworth gets what she deserves because of the letters she sends. If

I am arguing that the Logical Problem of Evil (LPE) is not a successful argument to reject the existence of God. This is due to the LPE arguing with an inaccurate definition for the word “good”. With the correct definition of “good,” I will show that an all-good and all-powerful God can logically exist simultaneously with evil. A response for my objection could be the Furthermore, if we allow the inadequate use of the word “evil”, the LPE still does not constitute the immediate rejection of the existence of God due to the concept of free will. A response to this objection is that individual humans are not free and are therefore not morally responsible for their actions. However, I will show that this response fails to disprove the existence of God.

I have been asked hundreds of times in my life why God allows tragedy and suffering. I have to confess that I really do not know the answer totally, even to my own satisfaction. I have to accept, by faith, that God is sovereign, and He’s a God of love and mercy and compassion in the midst of suffering. The Bible says that God is not the author of evil. It speaks of evil as a “mystery.” In 2 Thessalonians 2:7 it talks about the mystery of iniquity. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” He asked that question, “Who can understand it?” And that’s one reason we each need God in our lives.

According to Hick, "There are higher and lower, greater and lesser goods in immense abundance and variety, but everything which has being is good in its own way may have become spoiled or corrupted" (8). Evil, regardless of its nature, has not been set there by God, as Hick would say. Rather, it represents the absence of something that is inherently good.

Terrorism, deceit, rape, murder, theft, etc.; they result from the choices of free agents. We live in the world that is filled with countless instances of evil and suffering. The Philosophical Journey: An Interactive Approach defines moral evil as the “bad actions and their unfortunate results for which humans (or other moral agents) are morally responsible.” Moral evil is most challenging for some to accept and understand when they are questioning god’s existence. If God were all-powerful, the in theory that God would be able to do something about all of the evil and sufferings. If God were morally perfect, then in theory that God would want to do something about

Why do bad things happen to good people? It is an age-old question, and one that few actually know the answer to. It is directed towards God, usually by people who have suffered hardships or lost loved ones. I chose this question because I often have to remind myself of the answer. In Puritan times, as well as in Bible times, people believed that when something bad happened to them, it’s because they sinned. However, Romans 5:3-5 says, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

In this paper, I explain what the problem of evil is under a general scope in order to demonstrate the synthesis of my research. I also describe and evaluate four classic examples of solutions, or attempts, to solve the issues surrounding the problem of evil. These approaches to the problem were discussed in our textbook and include, karma, appeal to sovereignty, the consolation of promise, and dualism. I also include some selective quotations from a variety of scholars that compliment my evaluation and help further illuminate my insights. I discuss the reoccurring theme of possible indifference displayed by God in regards to humankind. I also touch on the possible implications of having an indifferent solution to the problem of evil

Many frustrations within our world can be summed up by answering some core questions: What is ultimate reality? What is humanity? How can I fix myself? Where does evil come from? The answers to these big questions are what make people different and what cause us to be individuals. There is no right or wrong answer. There is just differing opinions and how your own beliefs shape your world view. Ultimate reality, or what is behind this universe causes a lot of debate. The question of whether there is or there is not a God is a loaded question, especially in the western world. In the western world, we seem to constantly wage a war against science and religion. However, it is time to stop with the feud against science and religion and start to

A lot of times people ask themselves why bad things happen to them. They use phrases like ‘why God?’ or ‘why me?’ when things don’t go their way. Whether it’s as little as losing a personal possession like a cellphone, or as much as losing the life of a family member, people often tend to ask a higher power for an explanation to their problems. They even start wondering what they have done to deserve such cruelty as if some past deed of theirs is what warranted their misfortune. What I find most amazing is when non-religious people try to blame a religious entity for their problems, or sometimes even praise them for a sudden turn of their luck. Once, I even heard my dad, who grew up a Christian but has since become an Atheist, thanking God when he found out I got accepted to college. That taught me that faith is a very strong thing and that people tend to look for a higher entity for the worst/greatest turns in their life. But the real question is, “Should we regard this entity as Good or Evil”.