God And The Problem Of Evil Essay -- Religion Evil God religious Essay

paragon And The Problem Of Evil free-and-easy it is possible to read a newspaper, or turn on TV or radio news and learn about tenebrous sacking on in our world. Banks are robbed, cars are stolen, godforsaken murders and rapes are committed. nearlyplace in the world the aftershock of an earthquake is being felt. Cancer is killing millions of population each year, while other debilitating conditions continue to affect galore(postnominal) with no cure to end their suffering. President Bush said that our orbit is fighting a war against unworthy. We all agree that satanic is received and can non be ignored the problem comes when we try and rationalize the concept of God and reprehensible coexisting. Two types of evil exist in our world today. inwrought evil occurs when earthquakes, hurricanes, and storms occur causing devastation in the world. Moral evil occurs when a person makes a choice as to how he ordain act in a certain situation. Everyday moral decisions are made. People decide whether to steal, give in to anger and harm another, wangle information, and be harbor in a way unacceptable to society. The problem of evil is this If God is loving, then he would want to end evil and if he is all-powerful he would be able to do just that. Since evil exists, how can God be both omnipotent and loving? The Christian Science answer to this question is that evil is an illusion of the human mind. The Judaical/Christian faiths do not tie d give to this theory. The Bible is full of descriptions of trusty and evil in human life. Evil is pictured as dark and ugly. The ultimate example of evil for the Christian is the crucifixion of Jesus, a violent rejection of Gods Messiah. St. Augustines view is that the universe is good, (a creation of a good God and meant for a good purpose). He does not hold to the belief that matter is evil. He believes that there are higher, and lower, greater, and lesser goods in abundance and variety. Everything is good in its ow n way, except that it may have become spoiled or corrupted. Whether the evil is an instance of pain, or some disorder in nature, it is the distortion of something intrinsically valuable. Since evil is negative, logic would land that it was not willed or created by God. Why does an all-powerful God provide suffering and pain? What about moral evil? Why was a world created in which much(prenominal) things exist? One defense for evil is the free-will defense. This says that peop... ...il depends on his definition of God and the word good. Most people deal good means the best possible outcome, the absence of pain or problem, pleasure and happiness. Loosing is not good to us, even if loosing might help oneself to weaken good sportsmanship or a good work ethic. We do not consider being in need good, though it may help us to appreciate the times when we had plenty. A debilitating disease or handicap is not good, though any life has positive moments, and blessedness can be found if it is looked for. Our negative responses to all these things helps to create their outcome. How worrisome it would be if God has simply created a world devoid of any problems with people who never need struggle with making the right decision. Whether it is called instinct making or character development the world is enriched by qualities such as love, compassion, generosity, and mercy. No definite answer can be reached as to why evil exists, but philosophy helps us to examine our own beliefs and consider why it is we think as we do. SourcesAugustine, St. Augustines Confessions VII. Hick, John. Philosophy of godliness 2nd Edition. Mackie, J. L. Evil and Omnipotence Mind. April 1955.