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Justin Bruin
Philosophy of Religion
Professor Atkinson
28 April 2016
The Problem of Evil
Why would an all-loving God allow terrible things to occur in the world? This is
one of the most popular questions asked to critique Christianity. The problem of evil is
one of the most popular topics to discuss in all of philosophy because of its depth and
difficulty to refute. In this paper, I will explain what the problem of evil is, how it relates
to atheism, and the responses given to the problem of evil.
The problem of evil is a problem questioning the attributes given to God, and the
existence of God as a whole (Handout 3). It states that evil exists in the world, and God is
responsible for it. The problem of evil targets the entire idea of the existence of God, but
it especially is directed towards the Western God. According to Chad Meister of Internet
Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP), Michael Peterson describes the problem of evil as a
moral protest. This is because of the common attributes associated with God. God is
commonly described as Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnibenevolent. Omnipotence is
defined as the property of being all-powerful (Pearce 1). This means that God has
infinite power, and could certainly prevent something future events from occurring with
his power. Omniscience is defined as the attribute of having knowledge of everything
(Borland 1). This means that God has knowledge of even the future, so he knows what
events will occur. Omnibenevolence is defined as the property of being all-loving
(Handout 1). This means that God has infinite love for us, and certainly wants whats

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best for us. These attributes are very relevant to the problem of evil because it doesnt
make sense to many for God to have these attributes, and to simultaneously have evil
exist in the world.
There are two types of evil: Moral and Natural (Handout 3). Moral evil is evil that
involves free will. It is evil involving choice such as rape or murder (Handout 3). People
make a choice to commit these acts. These are evils that God cant really prevent because
they are done by the choice of another person. Natural evil is evil that is not caused by
anyone. It simply happens naturally, hence the name (Handout 3). An example of a
natural evil would be natural disasters such as tornadoes, tsunamis, or earthquakes. These
evils could have been prevented by God, as they only happened from nature. No human
could prevent a tornado. It is completely illogical to suggest a human could prevent a
tornado, so it is clear that there are some evils that just happen completely randomly.
As previously mentioned, the problem of evil is a very popular critique of the
existence of God, especially among atheists. This is because it is so difficult to refute the
premises. It is difficult to deny that people experience pain and suffering, and many
believe that God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent. Atheists believe that
God does not exist, and this critique is a great way to justify their belief, while proving
others wrong. If God is all loving, then why would he allow such terrible things to
happen to people he loved? He wants whats best for us. He wants us to be happy, yet he
allows awful things to happen to us like the holocaust. If God is all knowing, then why
wouldnt he stop it from happening? He has foreknowledge, or knowledge of the future
(Handout 3). Clearly, he knows these events will occur. If he couldnt prevent it himself,
he could at least warn us. However, God could have prevented it because he is also said

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to be all-powerful. If God is all-powerful, then why doesnt he use his power to stop the
evil from occurring? He loves us infinitely, yet allows evil to occur. He knows the evil
will occur, yet allows the evil to occur. He has the power to stop the evil from occurring,
yet still allows the evil will occur. What kind of God is this? This is a question many
might ask when looking to disprove the existence of God. However, there are also
specific types of arguments that look to disprove the existence of God based on the
existence of God (handout 3).
The logical problem of evil originated from Epicurus (Beebe 1). It states that if an
omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God exists, then evil does not. Evil does
exist. Therefore, an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God does not exist
(Beebe 1). As implied by the name, this is an attempt to view the issue from a purely
logical standpoint. It attempts to show that it is logically impossible for a God with these
attributes to exist. This is because it a contradiction by nature (Handout 3). God is a
perfect all-loving being, but he is also evil for allowing evil to exist. Obviously, the same
God cannot be both perfect and evil at the same time, hence the contradiction. Therefore,
we must choose one or the other. God is either perfect or evil, but he cannot be both. Evil
existing makes God seem evil. The only evidence for God being perfect is that it is just
how hes described. This is why the logical problem of evil is such a popular argument
among atheists. The evidence suggests that we should believe that evil exists, and God is
therefore evil.
The evidential problem from evil attempts to show that the existence of evil
makes it unlikely or improbable that God exists. Nick Trakakis of IEP defines the
evidential problem of evil as the problem of determining whether and, if so, to what

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extent the existence of evil (or instances, kinds, quantities, or distribution of evil)
constitutes evidence against the existence of God In Simpler terms, it tries to define
how relevant the existence of evil is to arguing whether or not God exists. Formally, it
reads as following: There exist instances of intense suffering which an omnipotent,
omniscient being could have prevented without thereby losing some greater good or
permitting some evil equally bad or worse. An omnipotent, wholly being, would prevent
such suffering from occurring. Therefore, there doesnt exist an omnipotent, omniscient,
wholly good being (Handout 3). This does not mean to prove that God does not exist,
but attempts to prove that it is unlikely or improbable that God exists.
Another version of the problem of evil is the hiddenness of God. This refers to
Gods tendency to remain in the shadows. Chad Meister of IEP defines this problem as
If God exists as the perfect, loving, omnibenevolent being that theists have generally
taken God to be, then God would desire the best for his creatures. The best for Gods
creatures, at least in the Christian religion and to some extent in all of the Abrahamic
traditions, is to be in relationship with God. However, many people, both non-theists and
sometimes theists themselves, claim to have no awareness of God. He remains hidden
while evil occurs. Not only he does not prevent the evil from occurring, he stays hidden
and does nothing to help us while the evil occurs. We are supposed to pray to this God for
help, but he is hidden while we need help the most. This is a God we are supposed to
worship, so this can be problematic. He is supposed to be there for us, but it doesnt
really seem like he is there for us. In addition, why would a God that wants us to believe
in him make himself hidden? He wants us to worship him, but he wont show that he
even exists.

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There are many theodicies for the problem of evil. A theodicy is defined as a
justification for evil existing under God (Handout 3). One of the most popular theodicies
is the free will theodicy. This theodicy claims that God cannot prevent evil because he
has given us free will. He would relinquish our free will if he intervened. This theodicy
attempts to show that it is logically possible for God and evil to co-exist. If we have free
will, then God has no control over our actions. Thus, God is not responsible for the
actions of others (Handout 3). One could argue that this actually shows how much God
loves us. He is so determined to let us have free will that he relinquishes his own power,
and makes himself watch helplessly as bad things happen to the people he loves dearly.
The common response to the argument from free will is that it only addresses one
of the two types of evils. It addresses moral evil, but not natural evil. Moral evil is caused
by humans, so it is fair to say that these evils occur from humans making their own
decisions to do so with their free will. However, natural evil is not caused by humans
(Handout 3). It is completely random, and happens as a part of nature. Therefore, the free
will critique ignores natural evil completely.
Another commonly used theodicy is Leibniz best of all possible worlds theodicy.
According to Michael Murray of IEP, this theodicy states that God can only create the
best possible world. This means that the world we live in is the best possible world. He
claims that it is impossible for us to know if the world would be better or worse without
evil. The best possible world is not a world without evil, but a world with the least
amount of evil possible (Murray 1). In addition, Leibniz claims that any evil that God
allows is for the greater good. Leibniz suggests that we should have more faith in God, as

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he will always do what is best, even if we cannot understand his actions at times (Murray
1).
The problem of evil is one of the most fascinating problems in all of philosophy
because it is so difficult to refute. It is a problem so full of depth to the point where
people can argue about it endlessly. It is an argument that can be divided into several
different arguments such as the logical problem of evil and evidential problem of evil. In
this paper, I chose to discuss what the problem of evil is, how it relates to the existence of
God, and the responses given to the problem of evil.

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Works Cited
Atkinson, Shannon. Handout 1. Class Notes. Philosophy of Religion.
Atkinson, Shannon. Handout 3. Class Notes. Philosophy of Religion.
Beebe, James R. "Logical Problem of Evil." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2005. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
Borland, Tully. "Omniscience and Divine Foreknowledge." Internet Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2003. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
Meister, Chad. "Philosophy of Religion." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Internet
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2009. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
Murray, Michael. "Leibniz on the Problem of Evil." Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Stanford University, 04 Jan. 1998. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
Pearce, Kenneth L. "Omnipotence." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Internet
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2006. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
Trakakis, Nick. "The Evidential Problem of Evil." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2004. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.

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