Problem of Evil

Question 1

(Logical problem of evil) According to the traditional theistic account, God has three qualities that no other being has:

Answer 1

• Omniscience- God knows everything that is logically possible to know (all-knowing).
• Omnipotence- God is able to do anything that is logically possible to do (all-powerful).
• Omnibenevolence- God desires to do every good thing that can possibly be done (all-loving).

None of these qualities can be altered without doing devastating damage to the concept of God.

Question 2

What inferences can be plausibly drawn from the three qualities of God and what conclusions can be made? (3)

Answer 2

• God is fully aware of the pain and suffering that occurs. God is fully able to prevent all pain and suffering. God wishes to prevent all pain and suffering.
• If these propositions are true, there should be no pain and suffering in the world. Therefore, the existence of suffering seems to imply that God lacks omnipotence, omniscience and omnibenevolence.
• As a result, God doesn’t know what is going on, can’t do anything about it, doesn’t care, is an evil being or doesn’t exist.

Question 3

What is the Inconsistent Triad and who came up with it? (2)

Answer 3

• J.L. Mackie refers to the problem as an inconsistent triad because there are three proposals we are asked to accept (Evil and suffering exists, God’s omnibenevolence, God’s omnipotence).
• The 3 ideas are inconsistent because they cannot all be true at the same time, without contradiction. A combination of any two positions leads logically to the third being impossible.

Question 4

What is ‘the rock of atheism’?

Answer 4

For those who don’t believe in God, the problem of evil isn’t a problem. In life, some are fortunate and others suffer. David Hume called the problem of evil “the rock of atheism”- suggesting that the entirety of atheist belief could be built on the problem of evil alone.