Burgess 1

Cole Burgess
PHIL-2350
Shannon Atkinson
April 28th, 2016
The Problem of Evil
Throughout all of the history of mankind there are various deities that have been looked
up to and prayed to by man. However, many of these have been changed over the years to be
known as myths rather than religion. One deity that remains in todays society is God, around
74% of the U.S population believes in God according to a poll taken by CNS News. 1 There are
many arguments that try to disprove Gods existence, but the problem of evil has continued to be
one of the strongest throughout history. The problem of evil asks the question, how can God be
omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent and yet there is still evil that happens in the world
all the time? There are two main aspects to the problem of evil, one being the logical problem of
evil and the other being the evidential problem of evil. The evil that takes place in the world can
be characterized by either, natural or moral evil. This paper will analyze the hiddenness of God
and how it relates to the problem of evil, as well as the arguments and counter arguments for the
evidential and logical problems of evil. The paper will attempt to prove the desistance of God
through the arguments related to the problem of evil.
Evil can be defined as anything that is looked at as morally wrong or bad, and/or also
causing harm or pain. Events that could be placed under the category of evil take place all of the
time in the natural world around us. Events such as, disease, famine, murder, natural disasters
1

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/poll-americans-belief-God-strong-declining
http://www.iep.utm.edu/evil-log/#H4
3
http://www.philosophynews.com/page/Table-Talk-The-Hiddenness-of-God.aspx
4
https://winteryknight.com/2010/04/09/why-doesnt-God-show-us-more-evidence-for-hisexistence/
2

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and rape. All of these evils can be placed into two main categories, including natural evil and
moral evil. Natural evils are the ones that are not brought on by humans such as earthquakes and
tornados. Moral evil are the evils that are brought on by humans such as rape and murder. God
being the all-powerful omnicompitent being that he is, he would surely have the abilities to
prevent both types of evil from ever occurring.
To understand what makes the problem of evil such a strong argument, you must first
understand what theists use to define God and his powers. The powers of God from the classic
theist view are his omnipotence (all powerful), omniscience (all knowing) and his
omnibenevolence (all loving). Along with these three main power traits he is also said to be
impassible, which means he is un affected by our actions, and immutable which means that he
exists outside of space and time. For a classic theist, if the being that is being talked about does
not possess all of these qualities, then it is not God. This is why the problem of evil is such a
strong argument, because given all of these traits evil should not be able to exist in the natural
world.
The first problem of evil is the logical problem of evil, which was first purposed by a
Greek philosopher named Epicurus. The problem states that if God were all knowing, then he
would know all of the horrible things that happen and are going to happen. And if God were all
powerful then he would surely have the ability to stop these evils that he can supposedly see.
And if God were an all loving being, then he would have to do something about the horrible
things taking place.2 And even with all of this, the world that we live in is full of countless evil
acts. With these Epicurus claims that it is logically impossible for God (as the classic theist
describes it) to exist. Many philosophers would disagree with this claim Epicurus made, one of
1

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/poll-americans-belief-God-strong-declining
http://www.iep.utm.edu/evil-log/#H4
3
http://www.philosophynews.com/page/Table-Talk-The-Hiddenness-of-God.aspx
4
https://winteryknight.com/2010/04/09/why-doesnt-God-show-us-more-evidence-for-hisexistence/
2

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this philosophers named Rowe, came up with the evidential problem of evil in 1979.

The evidential problem of evil is very similar to the logical problem of evil, in the way
that it questions all of Gods powers yet he doesnt prevent evil. It was created by a more modern
philosopher named William Rowe, who essentially believed that the logical problem of evil was
too bold of a statement to make about the existence of God, given the claims made by Epicurus.
In this argument rather than stating that God does not exist because he does not stop evil, it states
that it is unlikely for God to exist. Rowe says that it is unlikely for God to exist, because many
arguments have been made against the problem of evil, attempting to prove Gods existence. One
of the arguments made against the problem of evil is Plantingas free will defense.
Plantingas free will defense is one of the major arguments against the problem of evil. It
states that God had to create human beings with freedom, and when human beings are given
freedom it is possible that they will misuse the freedom for evil. Although the world would be
much better without the evils that take place, God is unable to stop them without limiting our
free will. Therefore, it is not that God does not have the ability or power to stop the evils, but that
he cannot stop them without restricting a humans free will. It is asking how can humans truly be
free, if we are restricted from making every possible choice? Not even God can have a
contradiction that states that people have free will, as long as they only make good choices,
because thats not free will thats partial free will. This argument does an excellent job at
attempting to prove Gods existence and show how the logical problem of evil is irrelevant to
Gods powers. Although the logical problem of evil has flaws, there is another aspect of God that
1

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/poll-americans-belief-God-strong-declining
http://www.iep.utm.edu/evil-log/#H4
3
http://www.philosophynews.com/page/Table-Talk-The-Hiddenness-of-God.aspx
4
https://winteryknight.com/2010/04/09/why-doesnt-God-show-us-more-evidence-for-hisexistence/
2

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reinforces the improbability of Gods existence.

This alternate aspect of God that makes his existence seem less possible is the hiddenness
of God. This aspect of God is one that has been questioned for almost all monotheistic religions.
It asks the question, If go exists, why isnt the evidence more plain and simple?3 Some would
state that because God chooses not to show himself to us or actually prove his existence that he is
an evil God. His hiddenness is a problem because according to Christian doctrine, God wants his
human creatures to be in full communion with him because this is the purpose for which
mankind was created. So it would seem that the best relationship between man and God would
be one that is equal to both sides. However, many have no idea or proof of his existence. If no
one can prove his existence or a relationship with God, then how would he be in true full
communion with his human creatures?
The hiddenness of God can be related to the problem of evil because it is another instance
where God appears evil because he doesnt do anything about a situation. This is because if God
were the perfect being that he is described as, then he would surely have nothing to hide. This,
along with the problem of evil seem to be the strongest arguments against Gods existence. They
both aim to prove the same things about God, that he is evil. However, they go about it in
different ways, both exposing Gods neglect towards us. Whether it is by choosing not to prevent
evil, or not revealing himself to us, they both come off as evil acts. This is because God is
claimed to be the idea of perfect and the most omnicompitent being, yet he either chooses not to
show himself and help or cant. If he chooses not to, then he is evil. But if he is unable to, then it
is not God.
One critique of the hiddenness of God is proposed by Dr. Michael Murry. Murry states,
1

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/poll-americans-belief-God-strong-declining
http://www.iep.utm.edu/evil-log/#H4
3
http://www.philosophynews.com/page/Table-Talk-The-Hiddenness-of-God.aspx
4
https://winteryknight.com/2010/04/09/why-doesnt-God-show-us-more-evidence-for-hisexistence/
2

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if God reveals himself too much to people, he takes away our freedom to make morallysignificant decisions, including responding to his self-revelation to us.4 This is similar to the
concept that God must remain hidden, because if he does not then there would no longer be a
matter of faith involved. But what Murry is saying is that if God were to show himself, people
would no longer have the free will to either; respond to him, or avoid him. This is a strong
argument against the hiddenness of God because it gives a valid reason as to why God would
need to remain hidden to us for all of existence.
Given the evidence presented both for, and against the existence of God, it is clear to see
that the problem of evil is a very strong argument. It is an argument that can also be strengthened
when the hiddenness of God is also taken into account. Although both all of the arguments
against God have their critiques, the problem of evil remains more or a convincing argument in
regards to atheism. Overall the problem of evil has proved to be most convincing because does
such an excellent job at pointing out a simple contradiction about the core characteristics of God.
Just because God is all powerful does not mean that he can get away with a contradiction that
says he can do anything logically possible, but he cant prevent evil and suffering. Even with his
all-knowing, all-powerful and all-loving nature toward humanity.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/poll-americans-belief-God-strong-declining
http://www.iep.utm.edu/evil-log/#H4
3
http://www.philosophynews.com/page/Table-Talk-The-Hiddenness-of-God.aspx
4
https://winteryknight.com/2010/04/09/why-doesnt-God-show-us-more-evidence-for-hisexistence/
2

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References
"Poll: Americans' Belief in God Is Strong--But Declining." CNS News. 2013. Web. 27 Apr.
2016.< http://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/poll-americans-belief-God-strongdeclining>
"Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 27 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.iep.utm.edu/evil-log/#H4>.
"Philosophy News | Table Talk: The Hiddenness of God." Philosophy News | Table Talk: The
Hiddenness of God. Web. 27 Apr. 2016. <http://www.philosophynews.com/page/Table-Talk-TheHiddenness-of-God.aspx>.
"Why Doesnt God Show Us More Evidence for His Existence?" WINTERY KNIGHT. 2010.
Web. 27 Apr. 2016. <https://winteryknight.com/2010/04/09/why-doesnt-God-show-us-moreevidence-for-his-existence/>.
Class notes/Handouts

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/poll-americans-belief-God-strong-declining
http://www.iep.utm.edu/evil-log/#H4
3
http://www.philosophynews.com/page/Table-Talk-The-Hiddenness-of-God.aspx
4
https://winteryknight.com/2010/04/09/why-doesnt-God-show-us-more-evidence-for-hisexistence/
2