The Importance of the Problem of Evil It is the only apparent proof of atheism It is universal It is not just a theoretical problem it is a practical.

The Importance of the Problem of Evil

• It is the only apparent proof of atheism

• It is universal• It is not just a

theoretical problem it is a practical problem

The Forms of the Problem of Evil

• That any evil disproves an all-good God

• That an unnecessary amount of evil disproves God

• That the unjust distribution of evil disproves God

WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?

Original SinSpiritual and Moral

HeredityThe More We Sin The

More Sin Is A Part Of Us

SOLIDARITYWe are the Body of

Christa single organism

each of us a cell within the nature of human

being

Vicarious Atonement• Just as there is a solidarity in sin there is a solidarity

in redemption.• Just as the sin of the guilty can harm the innocent the

suffering and virtue of the innocent can help redeem the guilty.

• Even the sufferings that do not seem to do anyone any good, may do someone some good, may help to atone for sin in some invisible way, through human solidarity

• The intellectual level at which intuitively the incompatibility between evil and God surfaces

• The emotional, immediate, “gut” level

• The actual event, evil does not just exist it happens

The problem of evil may arise on three levels of consciousness

Evils solution must happen

in the same world in which evil

happens“Yes” to evil

condones it“No” to evil condemns it

Either hardens Either hardens our heartsour hearts

VICARIOUS ATONEMENT

God is justGod is justGod the Son takes on punishment for the sin

and

God is MercifulGod is MercifulGod the Father forgives the

sinner

FORGIVENESS/REPENTANCEGod separates the sin from the sinner

Formulation of the problem

There seems to be a logical contradiction built in to affirming all four of the following propositions

God existsGod exists

God is all-goodGod is all-good

God is all-powerfulGod is all-powerful

Evil existsEvil existsAffirm any three and you

apparently must deny the fourth

The Problem of EvilPossible Solutions

• Atheism is the denial that God exists

• Pantheism is the denial that God is good and not evil

• Modern naturalism and polytheism deny that God is all-powerful

• Idealism denies the existence of real evil

• Biblical theism affirms all four and denies contradiction

Methodology• Begin with data not theory• Do not compromise the

data• Think clearly, concretely

and simply• Think logically• Do not try to be original• Begin with real definitions

Definition• Five ambiguous terms

– Evil

– Free Will

– Omnipotence

– Goodness

– Happiness

EVIL IS REAL

• Evil is not a being, thing, substance or entity (God did not make it)

• Evil is in the will, the choice, the intent, the movement of the soul, which puts a wrong order into the physical world of things and acts

• Evil is a wrong relationship between our will and God’s will

EVIL ISEVIL IS DISORDERED LOVE, DISORDERED LOVE,

DISORDERED WILLDISORDERED WILL

The evil we actually do versus The evil we suffer

The evil we freely will versus The evil that is against our

will

The evil we are directly responsible for versus The

evil we are not

A failure to distinguish between

Moral Evil & Physical Evil

Sin & Suffering

The Fall of ManThe origin of sin is

human free will

The origin of suffering is The origin of suffering is the relationship the relationship

between ourselves and between ourselves and naturenature

Genesis 3

Suffering is the result of sin

Incarnate SpiritsOur psyches (souls) are our form

and Our bodies are our matter

If our soul becomes alienated from God by sin, the body will

become alienated as well

The Fall of ManPsycho-somatic Unity

The Fall of ManGENESIS 3

Fundamentalist InterpretationHistorical and Literal

Taken literally only one out of billions ever made this choiceWhat happens to free-will

Traditional InterpretationHistorical but Symbolic

Modernist or Liberal InterpretationNon-historical and Non-literal

Eliminates a time of innocence and we are never made good

The Fall of Man Arguments for historical truth

Nearly every culture throughout history has

a similar storyThe Human Condition– All desire perfect

happiness– No one is perfectly happy

– All desire complete certainty and perfect wisdom

– No one is completely certain or perfectly wise

We gloriously and irrationally disobey the greatest commandment of our modern pop culture

We do not accept ourselves as we areTherefore we must remember a better state

What is Free Will?Determinism

Everything we do can be totally accounted for by

two causes:Heredity + EnvironmentHeredity + EnvironmentFree Will adds a third

causeOUR WILLSH + E + FW =

The Human ActThe Human Act

Free Will Determines Our ActionHeredity & Environment

Condition our acts but do not determine them

They are necessary causes but not sufficient causes of freely

chosen acts.MORAL RESPONSIBILITYIf there is no free will all moral

responsibility disappearsWe are not instrumental causes

like clay in a potter’s hand

Free Will is part of our essence there can be no human being without it

OMNIPOTENCEThe incompatibility of

God with Sin• God created a world without evil• The source of evil is man’s

freedom• Love proceeds only from Free

Will

A world where no sin is freely possible necessitates a world where sin is freely possible

GOD NEVER CONTRADICTS HIMSELFGOD NEVER CONTRADICTS HIMSELF

It is up to us whether sin is actualized or not

OMNIPOTENCEContributes to the solution of the problem of

evil by enabling God to providentially bring good even out of evil

“In God’s painting, each dark shadow contributes to

the overall light;

in his plot, every terrible event aids the

wonderfulness of the end.” Boethius

GOODNESSMeans More Than Kindness

Kindness is the will to free a loved one from pain

• The more deeply we love the more we go beyond mere kindness– We are kind to a neighbors

children but hard on our own– We are kind putting an animal

out of its misery to eliminate its pain

We have higher hopes for humans:

freedom from vice, ignorance and sin

God allows suffering and deprives us of the lesser good of pleasure in order to help us

toward the greater good of moral and spiritual education.

Not all that we do is goodBut all that God does is good

Including not delivering us from all evil

GOODNESSGod Teaches Wisdom Through Suffering

HAPPINESS • Happiness is not a feeling• Happiness is not fleeting or

temporary• Happiness is not a matter of

chance, luck or good fortune• Happiness is not external

Happiness we find only in God

THE OBJECTIVE SOLUTION• The nature of spiritual evil is sin, separating ourselves

from God.

• The origin of spiritual evil is human free will

• The end for which God allows spiritual evil is to preserve human free will, that is human nature

• The nature of our physical evil is suffering

• The origin of physical evil is spiritual evil. We suffer because we sin

• The end or use of physical evil is spiritual discipline and training for own ultimate perfection and eternal joy as well as being a just punishment and a deterrence from sin

The Subjective Problem of Evil

Broken Relationship

With God

Produces in us Sin and Guilt

Jesus came to solve the subjective problem Only Jesus ChristOnly Jesus Christ

can take away sin and guiltcan take away sin and guilt