THEISM AND THE PROBLEM OF EVIL: A CRITICAL STUDY

Code No: 360952

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ABSTRACT

The presence of evil in a world said to be created by a â€œBeingâ€ who is not only omnipotent, omniscience and perfectly good is problematic. It is a problem that has perturbed man for ages and coupled with various natural disaster still make the concept problematic one. How can there be a loving God, all-powerful and all-knowing God and still face the problem of evil, if really he is perfectly good and created everything then where does evil originated from?
Atheist or agnostics base their case on the lack of evidence for God existence, however atheist have at least one very powerful positive argument for their position that there cannot be a living, all-loving, all-powerful God because there is so much evil and suffering in the world. Atheist raise questions like this: If you were a parent wouldnâ€™t you do everything in your power to prevent your children from needless suffering? Many innocent children suffer from painful diseases, with this kind of problem how can we affirm for a loving and all-powerful God in the world.
In this study, we are going to look through the lenses of philosopher who talk about the problem of evil and Godâ€™s existence. Our main focus on this work is theism and the problem of evil which will be dwell on chapter four of this work. Before going to the main work, we will first look at the problem which is evil, the different types of evil and different explanation (philosophical and religious explanation) of evil.
We will talk more on chapter four that deal with the problem Theism and the problem of Evil.
According to Augustine, evil is not a being, it is a result of privation of good, so it was not and cannot be created, evil cannot exist on itâ€™s own. John Hick on his analysis gave some point why there is evil in the world. On his Greater Good Defence: God himself could not achieve certain result without allowing us to struggle against evil and to endure suffering some evil are necessary in achieving certain good end. The good that is achieved outweighs the evil and the same or a greater amount of good could not have been attained by any means that did not involve the presence of those evils.

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The idea of God and the problem of evil is one of the most controversial themes in philosophy. Various arguments have been advanced down the ages by philosophers and theologians on this very problem of Evil and God and there has been no definite answer to this problem. The theist gave reasons why evil persist in the world created by a loving God, who they also believed that he is omnipotent, omniscience and all-merciful. There seems to be conflict between the theist and atheist on this very problem of God and Evil. The atheist used this as a fertile ground to prove that there is no God as claimed by the theist.
John Hick on â€œGender Good Defenceâ€ is of the view that when God initially created humanity, there was still some work to be done in making us a completed product. However, this remaining work could not be accomplished by God alone, we have to contribute to the process. Using the Greater Good Defence, Hick argues that even God himself could not achieve certain results without allowing us to struggle against evil and to endure suffering.
Furthermore, the first chapter will concentrate on the statement of the problem, theism and the problem of evil. A method of research, purpose and the significant of this work will be discussed.
The second chapter will dwell on the meaning of theism, the idea of God and the various argument for the existence of God (prove of Godâ€™s existence).
The third chapter will be on the concept of evil as the problem, the meaning of evil and the different philosophical explanation of evil and finally the different types of evil in the world.
Chapter four will dwell on the problem (Theism and the problem of evil). We will first look and examine evil as the problem and different ways of explanation given by theist concerning this very problem of evil and God.
Finally, chapter five will be the summary of this work, reflecting what has been infer from chapter four then evaluate and conclude the work.
1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The existence of God and the problem of evil has been a problem for long that men have searched for the reason why evil persist in a world claimed to be created by God who is omnipotent, omniscience and all-merciful. Man has tried to find out the causes of evil, why man created by God involved in bad action or why man carry out bad action on their fellow man and why there is so much evil in the world especially natural evil.
Theist are faced with the problem of evil and this lead to their search of what is evil and causes of it, if it is a thing and also what and who is responsible for evil in the world. Different theists have given different views of evil. The Manicheans claimed to have the answer to the problem of evil, according to them, there are two ultimate principles and all sources of all things namely, Ormued (The Principle of Good) and Ahriman (The Principle of Evil). The Ahriman is the source of evil, darkness and all material things.
Men soul came from Ormuzd (the principle of good) while the body from Ahriman. These two ultimate principle according to them, are eternal and in perpetual conflict with each other and this conflict is reflected in the things that come from them.
Hence light and darkness, spirit and matter, good and evil are also in perpetual conflict. Christian theologians believe that evil is the wrath of God meted out on disobedient children. Augustine hold that evil is the negation or a privation of being. Evil is not a thing according to Augustine and therefore was not and cannot be created. Everything that is created is good and everything that is substance is good, but evil the origin of which I was trying find out is not a substance and was not created, therefore the question or the problem of evil should not arise because it does not make sense to ask about what is not a thing (substance). Evil cannot exist on itâ€™s own but Good can exist on itâ€™s own.