Affiliated School
The problem of evil is when people are trying to analyze evil and its source and how we can be able to prevent evil from happening in our society. It is an age old problem that has tried to be solved by even our fore fathers and yet it has not been answered.
Moral evil is also known as human evil and is suffering that is as a result of human beings behaving in ways that are not morally acceptable to the society. This includes killing, stealing, rape, robbery and cheating. On the other hand natural evil are negatives things that happen and are not as a result of human actions, these includes tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes and other natural disasters that lead to suffering and even loss of life.
Theodicy deals with the problems associated with evil in the world. It is based on the premise that it is possible to accept that God exists and all his goodness is for man and at the same time accept that there is the reality in the world and evil does exist. These two can be accepted without a person contradicting themselves.
- Dualism – this is the belief that was postulated by Plato. He states that human beings are two sides, there is the good side and the evil side and man has the freedom to choose which side he wants, this view does not deny the existence of God but states that people are given the chance to ultimately choose between what is right and wrong.
- Scientism – this is the view that God is subject to the laws of nature and hence he is not above all. This also states that he is limited in his power, authority and influence on man’s world. The major demerit of this view is that it cannot explain some events that happen like healing.
- Pantheism – it states that God is present in everything that we do and he controls most of the things that happen. The physical laws of nature are limited by his power and grace to mankind. This is able to explain events like healing that take place in the society.
Theodicy is based on the fact that it is based on the belief that God cannot bring about any major changes in the world and this means that he can also not prevent any catastrophe from happening. God is also not responsible for the existence of any evil that is present in the world. God is also viewed to be responsible for all actions that are in place and used to deter people from committing evil and that the world is full of great potential for evil happening at the same time it has potential for all good things that can happen in the world. This means God should not be blamed for all the evil things that happen in this world.
One’s relationship with God can be greatly affected by experiencing evil in the world. This is because human beings are not all that patient and most of the time we tend to despair especially when we are facing hard times in life. One cannot also attack any belief about God without attacking him, this is because we believe that God is not any physical feature but he is all the features we believe in. Like we say God is love, patient, joy and grace. Then when one attacks any belief on him he attacks God deliberately (Job 3: 2-4).
Reference
The Holy Bible, King James Version, Job 3: 2-4, 6:9-10, Job suffering and seeking the problem of Evil but still having faith in God, revised in 1994, Macmillan Publishers
