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St. Augustine's Essay On The Problem Of Evil

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The Problem of Evil “Evil has no positive nature but the loss of good has received the name of evil” said St. Augustine.The problem comes from the fact that if there is a deity that is all good, all knowing and all powerful, how can evil exist? The problem of evil (or argument from evil) is the problem of reconciling the existence of the evil in the world with the existence of an omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful) and perfectly good God. The argument from evil is the atheistic argument that the existence of such evil cannot be reconciled with, and so disproves, the existence of such a God. Therefore, the “problem of evil” presents a significant issue. Mackie theorizes there is no possibility all three facts can be true and coexist together. The problem of evil exists through the liberty and free will of human beings and their right to choose.
Evil can be categorized into two main types, moral and natural evil. …show more content…

“Man is not good. In his heart, he is desperately wicked. No one seeks God. Therefore, the blame for evil is placed squarely on the one who commits it - man” (Allen). Humans have different tendencies of evilness in them. God gave us free will and we can therefore choose whether or not we enter into a loving relationship with our creator. However, with free will comes the ability to reject God and make wrong choices. I believe this theodicy rightly emphasises that much of the evil and suffering we see in the world is the responsibility of man and not God. Each of us makes choices every day which can ultimately result in our own or others suffering, whether we see that suffering or not. Free will theodicies conclude that it is man who needs to be justified and not God. The Bible tells us that God created the world and it was good, also that Adam and Eve had a choice in whether to eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and

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