The Problem of Evil and Suffering.

If God exists, why does the world experience evil and suffering?

Natural EvilNatural evil is suffering and destruction which comes from nature and is not man-made.

What are your

reactions to these

images?

Earthquakes

In 2003, an earthquake in Iran killed over 30,000 people.

Moral Evil

This is the evil caused when one human intentionally harms another.

What are your

reactions to

these images?

Are your

reactions

different to the

images of

natural evil?

Why?

How?

War

Since 1900, there have only been 15 days in total where there has been no war happening in the world.

It is estimated that 35,000,000 people were killed during WWI alone.

The Problem of Evil

• It is clear that our world is not a pleasant place to live.

• We have to contend with natural disasters and humans intentionally harming other humans.

• This causes philosophers and religious believers one significant problem. Can you think what?

The Problem of Evil

All loving

Benevolent

All powerful

Omnipotent

All knowing

Omniscient

Most religious believers

think that God has

these three

characteristics or

attributes.

The Problem of Evil

All loving

Benevolent

All knowing

Omniscient

All powerful

Omnipotent

EVIL

If we add evil and suffering into the picture,

then perhaps God cannot be all these

things.

Either he is loving and powerful but does

not know about the evil.

Or

Perhaps he knows about the evil and loves

us but is not powerful enough to stop it.

Or

Perhaps he knows about the evil and could

stop it but doesn’t really love us at all.

The Problem of Evil

• Some people think that the problem cannot be solved.

• They think that the only solution is to believe that God does not exist.

• This is called ATHEISM.

Professor Richard Dawkins is a well known atheist

A Theodicy – This is an attempt to explain why evil happens

without denying God’s existence.

• John Hick, a famous philosopher, argued that perhaps the suffering in the world was intentional.

• Maybe when we suffer, we become stronger people who are able to grow and develop.

• This development will prepare us for heaven.

• He called this soul-making.

• What do you think about this idea?

• Can you think of any strengths and weaknesses?

Christianity and the Devil

• “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith” (1 Peter 5: 8-9)

• “Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment” (Matthew 17:18)

• What do these New Testament quotes suggest about Christian beliefs in the Devil?

Some people believe that suffering and evil are the result of the work and influence of

the Devil or Satan

Free Will• Free Will is the idea that we can make choices about our own

actions.

• This means we can choose to do good or bad things.

• It also means we can freely choose whether or not to believe in God.

• Some people use their free will to do bad things, and therefore evil and suffering happen in our world.

• Is this a good explanation for evil and suffering? Why?

• Do you believe that we all have free will?