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'The Problem of Evil' is probably the strongest argument
Posted on: December 20, 2019 at 20:08:44 CT
JeffB MU
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against God. But it has an answer, albeit one that can be unpleasant and one that some people refuse to accept.
My attempt at a short version is that God has allowed some evil as a means of bringing about an even greater good. I will give an analogy, fully realizing that all analogies have limits & break down at some point. Loving parents often allow their children to be in situations that they know will likely result in some pain and suffering for their children. For instance, we taught our children how to ride a bicycle and cautiously turned them loose, knowing full well that they almost assuredly would get hurt on those bicycles at some point. But we felt that experiencing the joy and freedom of being able to ride a bike outweighed the occasional scraped knees and hands. We did all we could to teach them to ride safely, but eventually they were mostly on their own. I had friends who broke bones and we knew that there are cases where children are killed on bikes, but we still let them ride.
I'm not so sure that parents who lock their kids in the house and try and keep them in a perfectly safe bubble are any more loving than other parents. In fact, it is possible that self-love keeps them from allowing their children more freedom in some instances.
God allowed free will for us and our first parents, Adam and Eve abused that free will. They chose to do evil and brought evil into the world. That caused a disharmony that has been reverberating throughout creation ever since. Evil and suffering is the result. But despite the horrible suffering in the world, God can and will still bring an even greater good out of it. Some saints that have experienced a face to face ecstasy claim that it is so far beyond anything that we have ever seen or imagined that it is impossible to accurately or clearly describe. It is like trying to explain the color blue to someone who was born blind. But they do say that the complete and utter joy is so majestic and infinitely good that it dwarfs beyond all telling any good or evil that can be experienced on earth.
St. John of the Cross said that it was only a small taste of what will be, but that if he had been given any more he would have died for the utter joy of it all.
Mystics who have experienced that will be lost in prayer for days. They have no desire for food or water or anything else. This tiny bit of a union with God so surpasses anything and everything else for them that nothing else matters.
Other analogies might be akin to the pain of childbirth which is forgotten, at least by the father, after the child is born. Or the studying and hard work is largely forgotten after graduation.
In any event, here are answers from theologians who can do a far better job of explaining than I can:
This Theologian Has An Answer To Atheists’ Claims That Evil Disproves God
https://thefederalist.com/2018/01/03/theologian-answer-new-atheists-claims-existence-evil-disproves-gods/
Here's a talk by Prof Peter Kreeft on the topic of The Problem of Evil and Suffering
http://www.veritas.org/problem-evil-and-suffering/
The Problem of Evil
Prof Peter Kreeft
https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/the-problem-of-evil.html
My attempt at a short version is that God has allowed some evil as a means of bringing about an even greater good. I will give an analogy, fully realizing that all analogies have limits & break down at some point. Loving parents often allow their children to be in situations that they know will likely result in some pain and suffering for their children. For instance, we taught our children how to ride a bicycle and cautiously turned them loose, knowing full well that they almost assuredly would get hurt on those bicycles at some point. But we felt that experiencing the joy and freedom of being able to ride a bike outweighed the occasional scraped knees and hands. We did all we could to teach them to ride safely, but eventually they were mostly on their own. I had friends who broke bones and we knew that there are cases where children are killed on bikes, but we still let them ride.
I'm not so sure that parents who lock their kids in the house and try and keep them in a perfectly safe bubble are any more loving than other parents. In fact, it is possible that self-love keeps them from allowing their children more freedom in some instances.
God allowed free will for us and our first parents, Adam and Eve abused that free will. They chose to do evil and brought evil into the world. That caused a disharmony that has been reverberating throughout creation ever since. Evil and suffering is the result. But despite the horrible suffering in the world, God can and will still bring an even greater good out of it. Some saints that have experienced a face to face ecstasy claim that it is so far beyond anything that we have ever seen or imagined that it is impossible to accurately or clearly describe. It is like trying to explain the color blue to someone who was born blind. But they do say that the complete and utter joy is so majestic and infinitely good that it dwarfs beyond all telling any good or evil that can be experienced on earth.
St. John of the Cross said that it was only a small taste of what will be, but that if he had been given any more he would have died for the utter joy of it all.
Mystics who have experienced that will be lost in prayer for days. They have no desire for food or water or anything else. This tiny bit of a union with God so surpasses anything and everything else for them that nothing else matters.
Other analogies might be akin to the pain of childbirth which is forgotten, at least by the father, after the child is born. Or the studying and hard work is largely forgotten after graduation.
In any event, here are answers from theologians who can do a far better job of explaining than I can:
This Theologian Has An Answer To Atheists’ Claims That Evil Disproves God
https://thefederalist.com/2018/01/03/theologian-answer-new-atheists-claims-existence-evil-disproves-gods/
Here's a talk by Prof Peter Kreeft on the topic of The Problem of Evil and Suffering
http://www.veritas.org/problem-evil-and-suffering/
The Problem of Evil
Prof Peter Kreeft
https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/the-problem-of-evil.html
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'The Problem of Evil' is probably the strongest argument - JeffB MU - 12/20 20:08:44