Response to the Problem of Evil and Suffering

Evil and suffering is clearly seen in the world today and deeply affects all people. Whether it be natural disasters, war or increasing ailment ,suffering affects us all. The existence of evil and suffering also provides a strong challenge for the classical theist, in trying to reconcile the existence of an all good God with the natural disasters that cause suffering to humans and the atrocities humans cause to each other.

The question of evil and suffering in the world is both painful and mysterious. Some theists struggle with the question “if God is omnipotent and  provident, why then does evil exist?”[1] And also with the related question “why does God permit evil?”[2] A theist by definition is one who believes in the existence of a god or gods[3] and “evil can be defined as that which opposes, or is the antithesis of, what is good”[4]

Only some theists have a problem with the question of evil and suffering. The argument, which is first put forward by Epicurus, goes as follows:

1. God is all powerful(omnipotent), and all good (Omni benevolent)
2. Evil and suffering are incompatible with the existence of God
3. Evil and suffering exist
4. Therefore God does not exist.

This argument is of the form of modus tollens or indirect reasoning, where p (God is Omni benevolent and omnipotent) implies q (Evil and suffering are compatible with the existence of God). If q is not true (Evil and suffering are incompatible with the existence of God) then p is not true either (God does not exist).

The reason certain theists do not have this problem is because they reject all of or certain parts of the first premise, such as saying that God is limited (process theology), not omnipotent and/or omniscient (all knowing), or by saying that there is one God who is good and there is another who is evil and the evil god accounts for the evil in the world, these two supreme beings are locked in cosmic dualism, this can be seen in the religion of Zoroastrianism. Also in relation to the first premise would be that God is all knowing (omniscient) and exists everywhere (omnipresent)

However the God of classical theism (Christianity. Judaism, Islam) is true to the first premise. It is only this branch of theism that the problem of the existence of evil concerns. A theodicy is a defence of God’s goodness and omnipotence in the face of evil. Most theodicies would aim to disprove the second premise, which is that evil and suffering are incompatible with the existence of God. Such theodicies were developed by St. Irenaeus, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas; another major theodicy is the Free Will Defence.

There are two different kinds of evil and they must be clearly separated, they are natural (or physical) evil and moral evil.

Natural evil is clearly represented by such events as natural disasters (earthquakes, cyclones, tsunamis, etc.), sickness (which is not due to moral evil) and psychological ills, sorrow and anxiety. These are not intrinsically (in and of themselves) evil in fact, one could argue they are not evil at all, as they are only following natural laws. What is generally considered evil about such atrocities is the suffering that such events produce and as far as human welfare is concerned, evil “is what ought not to exist”[5]

Moral evil is well defined in the 1909 Catholic encyclopedia as “the deviation of human volition [will] from the prescriptions of the moral order and the action which results from that deviation”[6].Here we can see that for the problem of evil (moral evil) to exist another condition is in place, and that is the view that God is the supreme law giver, and that He has implanted a moral order within the hearts of all men (Natural Law[7]). This view of God as supreme law giver is also common among the three monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). Some examples of moral evil are: murder, theft, torture, rape, property destruction, etc.

Suffering and evil are very much interrelated, as Pope John Paul II said in his apostolic letter on the Christian meaning of human suffering “man suffers whenever he experiences any kind of evil”[8]

Certain explanations for evil and suffering in the Scriptures are Divine punishment for sin, tests of faith, Divine warnings, and Divine discipline and as a means of expiation or atonement for sin. In the New Testament suffering takes on a redemptive value with Christ’s suffering and death on the cross.

St. Augustine (354-430 AD) would argue that the fall of Adam and Eve initiated natural evil, this argument is supported by the account in Genesis where God says to Eve “I will multiply thy sorrows, and thy conceptions: in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children”[9] and He says to Adam “cursed is the earth in thy work: with labour and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee.”[10] This particular account would suggest that at least some natural evil is Divine punishment for sin.

St. Thomas Aquinas would argue that at least certain natural evils are not in fact evil as when God created the world He “saw that it was good.”[11] However, “God is in no way, directly or indirectly the cause of moral evil”[12] this view is supported by the Sacred Scriptures which state “Almighty God does not do evil”[13] “Free creatures, both human and angelic, are the source of much evil.”[14]

God permits evil, however because he respects the free will of His creation; this is one of the central tenets of the Free Will Defence (FWD). For genuine free will people must choose to follow their ultimate purpose, to live in eternal harmony and rest with God or to disobey God and His commands. This however is not an easy task, especially due to the original sin of Adam and Eve. Peter Vardy puts it this way “the reward for responding to God will be the opposition, persecution, rejection and suffering- but also, if the path is truly followed to the end, a peace and a joy that can be found nowhere else”[15].

St Irenaeus (130-202 AD) held that evil serves a purpose, and that evil is a result of human free will. John Hick, in recent years has contributed to St. Irenaeus’ theodicy. Much of this argument goes back to original sin, where Adam and Eve were created in the image and likeness of God, however, they strayed away from His likeness when, they disobeyed His commands. St. Irenaeus says:

“For it was necessary, at first, that nature should be exhibited; then, after that, that what was mortal should be conquered and swallowed up by immortality, and the corruptible by incorruptibility, and that man should be made after the image and likeness of God, having received the knowledge of good and evil.”[16]

Here he makes the point that after the fall, when man received the knowledge of good and evil, that there is a need to return back to the likeness of God after initially being created in His likeness. St. Irenaeus’ theodicy (also known as the soul building defence) is based around the fact that suffering has a redemptive purpose, and after original sin, suffering is needed to attain eternal life as “nothing that is impure will enter the city[Heaven]”[17]

Father William Most explains this well by saying that “Suffering is needed to help us rise above the weakness that is found in our nature as a result of original sin.”[18]

It must be understood that God’s ways are inconceivable to man as St. Paul writes “O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments, and how unsearchable his ways!”[19] and that God uses evil for good as St. Augustine said “For almighty God, because he is supremely good, would never allow evil whatsoever to exist in his works if he were not so all-powerful and good as to cause good to emerge from evil itself”[20] This explanation is supported by the Scriptures and the life of Joseph in the Old Testament :“You thought evil against me: but God turned it into good, that he might exalt me, as at present you see, and might save many people.”[21] Also in light of this understanding we can see that suffering is also necessary to help facilitate spiritual growth.

Some may say that this explanation while being intellectually sound does not do justice to human experience, St. Faustina writes in her diaries “Oh, if only the suffering soul knew how it is loved by God, it would die of happiness! Some day, we will know the value of suffering, but then we will no longer be able to suffer. The present moment is ours”[22]

Overall, evil and suffering provide a challenge for classical theists, as to reconcile God’s existence with the existence of evil. The major theodicies are that of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Irenaeus and the Free Will Defence. Each result in the conclusion that God does not do moral evil, however permits moral evil because He respects our genuine free will to obey or disobey His commands. God also allows natural evil for many reasons and these can be seen in the scriptures. However, God’s omnipotence rules supreme as to bring good even out of the evil. “And we know that to them that love God all things work together unto good: to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints.”[23]

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[1] Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church 57

[2] Ibid. 58

[3] WordNet Search-3.0 <http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=theist>

[4] New Catholic Encyclopedia 2nd Edition, Thomson Gale, 2003, vol.5 p.487

[5] Sharpe, Alfred. “Evil”. The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol.5. New York: Robert Appleton Company,

1909. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05649a.htm>[Viewed on August 11 2009]

[6] Id

[7] This is also supported by the Sacred Scriptures, as Romans 2:15 says “What the law requires is

written on their hearts”.

[8] Pope John Paul II, Salvifici Doloris § 7,1984

[9] Genesis 3:16- Douay-Rheims Version 1899 (DRV)

[10] Genesis 3:17-18 (DRV)

[11] Genesis 1:10 (DRV)

[12] Catechism of the Catholic Church §312 (With reference to St. Augustine De libero arbitrio and St.

Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologiae I-II,79,1.)

[13] Job 34:12 (Good News Bible [GNB])

[14] New Catholic Encyclopedia Loc. cit.

[15] Peter Vardy The Puzzle of Evil, Harper Collins, 1997 (p.199)

[16] St. Irenaeus Against Heresies, IV.38 <http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103438.htm>.

[17] Revelation 31:27 (GNB)

[18] Fr. William Most Suffering <http://www.ewtn.com/library/SCRIPTUR/SFRING.TXT>

[19] Romans 11:33 (DRV)

[20] Catechism of Catholic Church §311 (Quoting St. Augustine, Enchiridion 3,11)

[21] Genesis 50:20 (DRV)

[22] The Diary of St. Faustina- Divine Mercy in my soul 963

[23] Romans 8:28 (DRV)