Problem of evil, a part of philosophy. This will enable you to get full understanding of the arguments and solution of the concept. For assistance, please refer to the document: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U3YZt16awufw9YfRkrxMipU9HRISaiW8/view?usp=sharing

1. The Problem of
Evil
BY
MUHAMMAD AHMAD BADAR
Argument & Solution

2. Introduction
 This problem of evil remains one of the most
contentious and unsettling areas in the philosophy
of religion.
 The problem is important to both non-believers
and believers alike: believers because they have to
reconcile their belief in God with their day-to-day
encounter with pain and suffering in the world;
non-beliveers because the existence of evil is often
cited as evidence against the existence of God.
 The problem of evil is generated through our
experience of life, and not just through intellectual
investigation.

3. The Nature of Evil
 When we describe something as evil we are
saying that it is morally wrong.
 The consequence of evil is suffering –
suffering can involve mental anguish and
depression as well as physical pain. It is often
unjust and does not discriminate who it
strikes and as such innocent victims are often
caught in it’s path

4. Natural and moral evil
 We can distinguish between two types of evil in the world:
these are natural evil and moral evil.
 Natural evil is evil that is caused
by nature and cannot be attributed
directly to mankind. Things
such as weather disasters can be
considered natural evil.
 Moral evil is evil caused by
mankind. The suffering
caused by human actions
such as war would be
considered a moral evil.

5. Natural and Moral Evils
 So evils can fall easily into 2 types:
1. Pain and suffering caused by humans
2. Pain and suffering caused by nature

6. What is the Problem
of Evil?
 The problem of evil is that
there is evil in the world and
this conflicts with the ideas
religious believers have
about God’s nature.
 Evils in the world, particularly natural evils present
a problem for religious believers.
 If a God is both omnipotent (all powerful) and
omni-benevolent (all loving) then how can he
allow evils in the world that produce an extreme
amount of suffering for mankind.

7. The Problem of Evil
 So the problem of evil affects all
theistic religions which have a God
who is the all-powerful creator of the
world, and who cares deeply for his
creation as their object of worship.

8. Epicurus
 The problem is demonstrated by this quote from
Epicurus:
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is
not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
— The Epicurean paradox, ~300 BCE

9. The effect this has on religion
 It is often argued that the problem of evil leads to the
conclusion that either God cannot exist or if He does he
is not a God worthy of our worship and does not posses
the attributes He is believed to.
 It is easy to answer the problem of moral evil with the
concept of free will. But what about natural evil? If God
created the world and is both omnipotent and omni-
benevolent then surely he would have created a world
free from evil and suffering.
 Skeptical theism

10. Religious Responses to the
Problem of Evil
 Evil did not come from God, it came from
elsewhere
 Evil is a test for mankind
 Evil is a punishment for sin
 God gave humans free will so they cause the
evil themselves – even in the case of natural
evil: the disasters are caused by human
actions e.g. Global warming

11. Resolving the Problem of Evil
 Since the problem of evil was first posed, atheists
have sought to resolve it without abandoning their
belief in an all-powerful, all-knowing and all-loving
God.
 There have been many proposed solutions to the
problem of evil, but we can group the main ones
into 4 types:
1. Evil is necessary for good
2. Evil needs to be seen in a wider context (life after death)
3. Evil is a means to a greater good (soul making, the best of all
possible worlds)
4. Evil is the responsibility of humans (the free will defence)

12.  Thank you