The problem of evil is the notion that, how can an all good, powerful, 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 hell exists in light of the idea that God is holy. The larger is how anyone can go to heaven. When I look out into the world it does not take long for me to realize that we are all different in many different ways.
We all grow up in many different societies and cultures that have shaped the way we think and act. They way behave reflects the culture we grew up in, someone from Philly will act different than a person from Kentucky, along with someone from Florida. We grow up with a different perspective of what is right and wrong, what is good and bad. Some of us grew up in religious households, going to church every Sunday and celebrating every holiday under the sun. Others grow up in non-religious households that would rather not spend time worrying about the meaning of God. The point i'm trying to make is that we are all different in thousands of ways. We never chose to be this way. What did we choose though? We did not choose when we were born. We did not choose what family, culture, or religion we were born into. We did not choose the gifts and talents that we were born with. Some of the uncontrollable experiences in our lives have shaped the way we think and act today. We are all different and this idea is at the heart of
The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is often associated with a various number of themes such as racism, social inequality, the importance of family values, and much more. But one of the more hidden messages of the book centers around the idea that there is a coexistence of good and evil. This theme is really brought to life the more the reader is able to understand the book. Through sub themes such as coming of age, perspective, and intense characterization of many important characters the idea of good and evil is really brought to light.
“The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinion.” We all have opinions on things that are not an actual reflection of the reality. We have opinions that are different than what is real. Miss Adela Strangeworth is a 71-year old woman with blue eyes and pretty little dimples. She lives in an ancestral house where her parents and grandparents lived. She often thought that the town belonged to her since her grandfather built the first house on the Pleasant Street. She knew everyone in the town and was highly respected. Also, she was very famous for her roses that were planted around her house, but she never gave any of her roses away. Through her personal and
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.
The Psychology of Good and Evil in contrast to Ferguson Unrest and Race in America
A common phrase that many people learn in their youth is “never judge a book by its cover.” This figure of speech is usually meant to teach others to give something a chance before immediately dismissing it; however, the phrase can also take on a darker interpretation and be used as a warning to not trust everything that meets the eye. Miss Adela Strangeworth in Shirley Jackson’s “The Possibility of Evil” lives up to the dark irony of that phrase as the story unfolds. Jackson uses irony throughout many elements of her story to illustrate how evil can be masked by an amiable façade.
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,
When I look out into the world it does not take long for me to realize that we are all different in a plethora of different ways. We all grow up in many different societies and
The problem of evil as suffering is a problem of what to do with the obstacle for the believer but also an obstacle to unbeliever to converge because they do not think it harmonising. In contradiction to compatibility, an atheist often suggested that the present of evil entails the absence of God. Atheist argued, if God exists, then as an omnipotent, he is able to prevent the evil occurrence. For omniscient, it implies under any circumstances evil will occur if he does not act. Then, being perfectly good, he will prevent its occurrence and so evil will not exist. Based on this above proclamation, the existence of God does not compatible with the evil of whatever kind. However, theists response to this logical problem of evil by an atheist is that necessarily perfectly good being, foreseeing the occurrence of evil and able to prevent it, will prevent evil. The essay will first, define what evil is according to Swinburne as one of the philosopher of religion, Second, Swinburne four categories of evil will be discussed (Physical evil, mental evil, state evil, moral evil). Third, Phillip logical and existential problem evil will be discussed through. How will all these above assertions be a problem to those that and does not believe in God.
with some evil in it. Better? Why would God being so good and concerned about
The logical problem of evil is often referred to as the inconsistent triad, this being that the following propositions; God is omnipotent, omnibenevolent and evil exists, are inconsistent. Also known as a reduction ad absurdum argument, whereby all three propositions cannot be true together. Theists, like Swinburne, come to the conclusion that the three propositions are compatible with one another, whereas atheists, like Mackie, believe that they are incompatible and therefore God does not exist. I shall be arguing in line with Swinburne’s view, describing the following defenses, indicating that there is no logical problem of evil.
According to theism, God is: “that being which no greater is possible, and he is omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent. By having a God who only desires good, and us living in a world where evil exists, it is logically impossible and that is what created the problem of evil.
Although it could be argued that an omnipotent omniscient and omnibenevolent deity could exist along with evil. It is in fact not reasonable to believe so. I will prove that it is unreasonable to believe a god with these attributes like this can exist accompanying evil. In order to give a valid argument ill look at each component, omniscience, omnipotence and Omni benevolence and break those down leading to the conclusion that a being such as this cannot coexist with evil. I will look at the arguments given for why god wouldn’t exist as well as some of the points that may be used by others to combat them. To make
“The Problem of Evil”, evil is defined as something that is able to be known, can’t be defined but you know it when you see it. Determining what evil is, a person would need a sense of what “good” is to compare between the two to have an objective. Everyone has free will and God could have not given us free will but He has and could have easily decided for us what he allows us to decide for ourselves. Plantinga gives an example of the condition transworld depravity in which creatures choose freely to do evil in the world,” the free will defense” (Evans &Manis p. 166). If we are always choosing right then we really aren’t choosing at all and there is no free will in that concept. If we are made to choose God then what would be the point in
In other words, some people refer to evil as sin and suffering; others think of it as a separation from God while still more people personify it in the form of satan. My purpose here is not to discuss what form evil may take in an individual's life even though it may come up periodically. The central fact remains that evil, in one form or another, does exist and anyone not willing to believe in this reality quite frankly lives in a different dimension. Either that, or they simply live in a total state of denial! Keeping all this in mind, what I want to accomplish in this paper is to first explore the idea that evil is a relative term that exists within the context of each situation. Ah, yes! Even as I wrote that last sentence, I could see the wheels turning in your head. But not to worry. I will clarify soon. From this point, I will seek the wisdom of people who have tried to answer these tough questions proposed on the first page, come to some more conclusions through personal interviews and then end on a more personal note, using the help of my life experience as a Christian. This topic hits me hard at times. I often find myself in reflection, trying to formulate an answer to the evil that I see, and yes, the evil that I do. This evil will sometimes leave me feeling totally powerless and at its mercy. Yet I never give up hope for I know that just through the process of writing this paper, some new insights will be
Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta, William Shakespeare’s Richard III, and John Garder’s Grendel _______ The topic of evil and from where it originates is one that cannot be proven through factual evidence, and so rather is a notion that exists only in the thoughts of each individual, allowing him or her to possess unique beliefs that affect the way he or she lives.