Adams Arguments On The Deductive Problem Of Evil

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The deductive problem of evil is the observed inconsistency between the definition of God’s omnipotence, omniscience, and wholly good qualities and the existence of evil. Adams attempts to address this observed contradiction, first by referencing previous arguments of how God must have some wholly good reason to allow these evils but she concludes that not only is this argument insufficient but it is also insensitive to people’s immense sufferings. Adams then suggests that this inconsistency won’t be resolved in searching for the reasons why God allows horrendous evils but how. In this perspective of how God allows for so many horrendous evils to exist, Adams is able to create a compelling argument to God and all of his omni qualities to coexist …show more content…

The deductive problem of evil defines omnipotence as having no bounds to power and being all-good as having the will to prevent and stop any evil that one possibly can. Furthermore, Adams presents how much this problem is amplified when considering horrendous evils that would push the average person to “doubt the positive meaning of their lives”(Adams 300). Adams acknowledges that this definition of God’s qualities alongside the definition of horrendous evils hinders the existence of the Christian God. God is one who is supposed to hold love for all of his creations, but allowing for his creations to suffer needlessly doesn’t align with this love. This problem causes people to question not only God’s love for them but also God’s reasoning in their suffering and their living. She proclaims that even if people try to provide reasons as to why God has allowed such horrendous evils to exist, when presenting these reasons in face of a personal and individual horrendous experience of evil, God is portrayed as lacking empathy for those who endure these evils. Thus, Adams notes that there are indeed reasons for this suffering, but unlike her philosophy peers, she insists that not only are the reasons we know insufficient, but there could be other reasons humans are unable to