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Informative Essay: The Problem With Evil

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The Problem with Evil
“The problem with evil” brings an important question that “if God is all powerful, all knowing all good, how can that same God allow evil to exist and for bad things to happen to good people?” I believe that one first has to acknowledge the existence of God to first ask this question. Religion is a sacred belief in “an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods” according to Webster’s dictionary. So when asking this question of evil and God two things come to mind. First, is it possible that when a horrible event such as the Holocaust took place God would have intervened to prevent innocent deaths? Or is a way to show that there is an absentee of God during difficult …show more content…

Karma being tied to the Buddhist and Hindu idea of a cycle of existence stating that “people get what they deserve at least, over the long cycle of time”. (Cunningham 2013, pg. 106) The consolation of promise says that “evil is powerful now but it will not always be the case. At some future time, evil will be overcome, justice will be satisfied, and the point of suffering will be made clear.” (Cunningham 2013, pg. 108) I found both ideas to be comforting but not offering much of an explanation to the question “why does bad things happen to good people?” It is as if to not worry your mind with asking questions but to be comforted that there will be good later much like when it rains everything is wet and in a depressing state but when it is over there will be a rainbow and the sun will come out brightening the day. After a devastating event there is often times that reason and an explanation cannot be given. Alvin Plantinga said it best stating “neither a Free Will Defense nor a Free Will Theodicy is designed to be of much help to one suffering from… a storm in the soul… Neither is to be thought of first of all as a means of pastoral counseling. Probably neither will enable someone to find peace with himself and with God in the face of the evil the world

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According to Evan and Manis, they state “[some philosophers state] it is a contradiction to claim both that a perfectly good, all-knowing, all-powerful being exist and that evil exist” (Evan & Manis pg. 158). For the logical form of this problem, it is thought to be understood and their premise of this argument that God must eradicate evil. The existence of God and the presence of evil does not contradict each other. The evil that God permits is justified because allowing evil makes the possible of a greater good or the prevention of a worse evil.

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We can posit that God allows evil to exist because the existence of evil is a necessary condition for individuals to develop or complete their moral souls. Accordingly, the world is seen, instead, as a place of “soul making in which free beings, grappling with the tasks and challenges of their existence in a common environment, may become children of God and heirs of eternal life.” We can learn what morality is about and develop proper virtues. We cannot learn what morality is and how to develop proper virtues in a vacuum nor do we know morality a priori. The suffering of others is essential for individuals to learn lessons about morality and virtue, because without the opportunities offered by suffering and evil, individuals would not have

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The way karma is defined from both the Hindu and Buddhist perspective has very different meanings from both religions. From a reader’s standpoint, one might define karma as something bad that happens to a person in their lifetime resulting from that person committing some sort of wrongdoing. One act of wrongdoing could include something as small as talking back to another person, and a more serious act could include something like talking god’s name in vein. In the next few paragraphs some ideas will be discussed between the Hindu and Buddhist religions. Before anything else, it is important to define what karma means coming from the Hindu perspective.

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