The Problem Of Evil

 

I thought I would start doing a few articles about the basic tenets of atheism starting with one of the most significant: the Problem of Evil.

The Problem of Evil is a discussion about the problems that the existence of evil poses for the concept of a theistic god. If we really think about what the existence of evil means for the concept of god it becomes clear (despite the reliance of much of the religious pressure on labeling things as evil) that if there are acts and things in this world which are truly evil this reveals a lot about the character and attributes of god and ultimately calls the existence of god into question.

What is evil?

The first question we need to tackle when we talk about evil is what is it? The "evil" we are talking about here is the meaning of "morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked" (see evil at Dictionary.com). Not only does evil mean "bad" but also something that is judged by the majority of people (or god if you are religious) to be bad in a moral sense.

Is it real?

Second we need to ask, does evil really exist? Are there things that are inherently bad? Most people, including myself, would say, "Yes. There are things or acts that are evil." Most would say that things like murder, rape, incest, torture are generally evil. Specifically things like the Holocaust and organizations like Natzis the Ku Klux Klan could easily be labeled "evil".

So far so good. Most people, especially religious people, are all in agreement at this point. The next part is where things start to get interesting.

What does the existence of evil mean?

If evil really exists, what does that mean? When it comes to religion, the existence of evil indicates that one of three possibilities must be true about god:
    - God ALLOWS evil to exist.
    - God is UNABLE to destroy evil.
    - God does not exist.

 

Let's look at these three possibilities in detail:

• God does not exist - If there is no god then it is up to us as a collective society to decide what things and acts are evil and to what degree of action to take to combat evil. There is no one to defer judgement to. It is up to us to define what constitutes evil and take action to overcome it so we all have the greatest chance at our pursuit of happiness. Obviously this is not the possibility most religious people would agree with.

• God is UNABLE to destroy evil - This possibility poses a slightly less serious issue for religion, namely that this means that god is NOT all mighty and omnipotent. For most religious people this may actually make sense - after all in popular culture evil is often depicted as being part of an eternal struggle between light and dark. For organized religion this poses a more serious problem in that this means that much of the dogma concerning the character of god, in religious texts and creeds, must be wrong. For most serious religious people, this is a serious problem. If a part of their texts are false, then the texts are at least partially false - not just about something minor, but about the character of god - something vital to most monotheistic religions.

• God ALLOWS evil to exist. - If there is some sort of god which created everything and is all powerful over things in this universe, then this means that being also knows there is evil and yet chooses to not to destroy it. Oddly even though this is the official stance most religions take, it is actually the most problematic for religion. Before we go into more about why God allowing evil to exist, we need to take a step back to examine what sort of acts would be considered evil.  

Are there acts of omission that are evil?

If someone walks by and notices someone being raped or murdered and they do nothing is this evil? If someone working in a gun store knows that a customer is buying a gun to murder their wife, but does nothing to stop it, is that evil? Most of us would consider these, and many other similar acts of omission, to be evil. 

What if you had the power to stop ALL evil acts in the world from happening? Does great power come with great responsibility? How evil would you be if  had the power to stop all forms of evil, and yet did nothing? I think you can see where I'm going. 

 

Is god evil?

If god has the power to stop any and all evil acts and yet decides to do nothing this means that god himself (or herself) commits evil every time any evil is committed on earth. How can a god be worthy of worship if they are constantly committing evil? Does this mean that god and the devil are the same being?

This is the main thesis of the Problem of Evil: If evil does exist, then an almighty and all powerful god commits evil acts of omission with every evil act they allow to happen and every evil thing's existence they abide.

How does religion usually deal with this SERIOUS problem? Simple: they don't. Most religions take the stance that god cannot be judged as evil - even if we are applying judgements towards god which god is supposed to have made towards others. This explanation always bothers me. It's like a parent making the excuse, "You can do whatever you want when you grow up" when their child catches them violating the rules the parents have set down - except here we are talking about the most seriously evil acts that can be committed, not just your dad sneaking a cigarette behind the garage. 

Many religions say that evil is just tests from god trying our faith. That this life is just a test and that evil acts that happen to us are not inherently hurting us because this world is but a blink in the eye compared to our time in heaven for the rest of eternity. But they can't having it both ways - either life is a test and evil acts really don't mean anything so we shouldn't be judged for the evil we do OR evil acts truly ARE evil and if god does the same acts he becomes equally as guilty.

To me the idea that an all powerful god committing evil all of the time is inherently wrong. The only way for god to remain blameless, and retain the characteristic of "good" or "pure" associated with god, would be if he/she did NOT have the power to stop all evil acts. Unfortunately for religion the character of god is deeply tied to the idea that he/she IS all powerful. What is the point of praying to a god that is not all powerful? Why would we be devoted to a god who is NOT all powerful? How could we be sure such a god could save us from evil if he is not only powerless but also evil himself?

By this argument the only remaining answer to the problem of evil is just that there is no god. There is no one sitting idly by while awful atrocities are being committed every day and being able to stop them yet doing nothing. Evil things happen to us because sometimes bad things happen and some days evil wins.

Atheism is partially that there is nobody to save us, but also there is nobody to fear - except ourselves. Evil is a human invention, but so is good. We can't deal with true evil if we are wasting our time, effort, and treasure on a deeply flawed fiction. It is up to us to fight against evil and we must not stand idly by and allow evil to hinder our pursuit of happiness. 

Paul said it best when he wrote:

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. 
- Romans 12:21


Further reading:
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - The Problem of Evil
Philosophy of Religion - The Problem of Evil
Wikipedia - Problem of evil