I was thinking it had been a while since I’d written about the Problem of Evil (POE), so maybe it was time for a review. It turns out after doing a search through the more than 300 posts written since BAAD started in June of 2017, I’ve never dedicated a single post to this important subject.
Though it may not be commonly known by this name, we hear the POE stated all the time in general conversation: “How can a loving God allow school children to be shot?” “Why doesn’t God do something about all the evil in the world?” These are sort of informal and “unsteady” ways of posing the problem. Here is the formal and clearer, more difficult to answer, form:
- An all-powerful God could end evil.
- An all-knowing God would know how to end evil.
- An all-good God would want to end evil.
- Evil exists.
- Therefore, there is no all-powerful, all-knowing, all-good God.
That’s the short and sweet of the problem, and it has been asked since before Christ. In fact Epicurus (3rd century b.c.) taught a form of the argument as you see in the photo above and a more primitive form was posed by Plato before him.
The POE is not a problem for most modern world religions as they have different ways of explaining or denying the presence of evil. The gods they believe in are not wholly good, all knowing, or all powerful.
For the Christian the POE was a definite problem, though, and had been for nearly 2,000 years. Then in 1974 philosopher Dr. Alvin Plantinga published his book God, Freedom, and Evil. In this book, Plantinga argued as follows:
- God Loves us
- God wants our love in return
- In order for us to love Him freely, we must be free to choose not to love as well.
- God has given us this freedom, this freewill, to love or not to love.
- Therefore evil, ungodly acts, in the world are done by the free choice of the doer.
Freewill is as universal a truth as the laws of gravity. We can choose to love God or not. We can choose to act in a godly or an ungodly manner. For the Christian, this free choice is controlled by his will and the Spirit of God that lives within him.
As a result, when we see children abused, it is not God that causes it. Nor can it be logically argued because He did not stop it, He does not exist. It is the freewill God has given to all including the abuser that allows this to happen.
For God to remove this freewill would mean an inability for us to love God freely. We would then be robots forced to love Him. That would not be true love. God has chosen this plan in order to gain disciples who truly love Him knowing many people would still choose not to.
Plantinga’s argument has all but settled the POE. The problem has all but vanished from college philosophy courses because it has been soundly refuted.
The POE has other forms, though, such as how God can allow animals to suffer or destructive earthquakes to happen. C. S. Lewis said it would be incorrect to say “My dog feels pain.” Lewis believed it would be more accurate to say “Pain is taking place in my dog.” He believed pain was not evil unless there was a person who experienced it, and animals are not persons according to Lewis. This is an interesting idea, but I’m not so sure he was correct.
My dog, Larry, dreams, makes decisions, knows things, remembers things, loves, is happy or sad, etc. These are traits of consciousness, of personhood. I don’t believe Larry possesses considered moral standards or is self-aware. He doesn’t objectively think about things he has thought about (think about thinking). But there is a rudimentary level of consciousness in him. I think he feels pain, so that pain, that evil, needs another explanation for why it happens. I think it better falls within the reasons for natural evil: earthquakes and tidal waves. We live in a fallen world (Genesis 3:14-19). The world is no longer perfect due to Adam’s fall. As a result it does not always act in a predictable or perfect way.
Why is this important?
Christians face the challenge of evil from critics fairly often. We need to be ready with an answer when we are asked why God allows evil.
1 Peter 3:15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.
Believers Armed and Dangerous 
Hi Mike, Hope you and Pam are doing well. Enjoyed reading your post on the problem with pain. I happen to have a dog who feels pain even when it’s unnecessary.
Teddy has to stay at home in his crate sometimes because although he thinks he’s fully a person, the rest of the world doesn’t know that yet. When we arrive at the door after being gone for a little while, actually sometimes when we are a ways off and walking up to the door, we hear this loud agonizing moan. It almost sounds human sometimes, certainly it sounds like we are torturing our dog. It is awful and no matter what, there is nothing we can do to convince him to chill and convince him we will be back. Thankfully our neighbors think it’s hilarious and strangers that see him sitting in the car making his tortured melodies just laugh and comment how funny he is. Personally I don’t think it’s funny or cute. He drives me crazy but he’s my dog and I love him.
So my question here is, why can’t God make my dog stop being in emotional pain so he stops inflicting pain on me?
Lol
Have a great Sunday!
Leslee
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Hi Les,
God’s Best,
Mike and Pam
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Hi Mike and Pam, You are both so blessed to have each other and to really know you are in God’s will and where He wants you to be. Ray and I are doing well. Our business is busy and it’s hard to have time for much else. Fortunately we have learned that valuable lesson that the Lord is with us wherever we are and whatever we do. We can rely on Him to protect, guide, correct and comfort us in the midst of it all. Like right now payroll isn’t in the bank, I am tempted to fear that we won’t get payments from our clients soon enough to cover it but in one way or another the Lord has always provided. I have to intentionally trust in what I cannot see right now. Jesus has been so faithful. Aaron is living with us right now and has been for several years. That’s been difficult at times because the dynamics between us in such a small space have been challenging. It’s not difficulty with Aaron and Ray, not at all! They are true chums. It’s me and Aaron because of his old records that play in his head. But it has improved so much lately. He’s got a good career now and is working hard. He is seeing someone and she is a believer. They come to church from time to time with us. Sarah is busy with her 4 children and her life. I talk to her occasionally but I don’t see them much. It’s a shame, they don’t live that far from us.
Well take care, it’s good to catch up!
Les
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