God and the Problem of Evil – Term Paper

Introduction

The article dubbed God and the Problem of Evil stir up a contentious debate that is aimed at scrutinizing the perception of atheist on the role played by a Supreme Deity in modern-day catastrophes. Moreover, a stark contrast is drawn between God’s supposed goodness and the subsequent evil events that occur in tandem. The analogy of an infant succumbing to death because of a house fire and the questioning of the omnipotence of God is intentionally used to bring out the theories that serve to defeat the ideologies of theists. As a result, the excuses made by the believers of a Supreme Being are highlighted, and the inadequacy of these excuses is demystified accordingly.

Excuses Made by Theists

One of the greatest ideologies propagated by believers is the fact that human beings enjoy the autonomy of free will such that in the event of an accidental or purposeful calamity, the individual is the one to blame solely. This notion implies that for a person who chooses to sit on the fence while there is an ongoing tragedy yet he was in a position to help without drawing any harm to himself is deemed as being evil. Consequently, from a philosophical perspective, the far-reaching abilities of God should serve the purpose of providing a lifeline even for the defenseless beings. Additionally, advocates of this paradigm argue that it is vital for people to experience disaster devoid of any external help. The argument for this is that the absence of assistance from without is designed to inculcate a culture of independence so as not to be over-reliant on external forces for aid. Universally, the widely acknowledged conception is that support originating from professions such as firemen or medical practitioners are to be regarded as ethical thus justifying the claims that God’s actions should also follow suit in times of difficulties.

Detractors of the above notion argue that God’s intervention following the prevalence of disaster would curtail the essence of moral urgency, which loosely implies that the lack of unfortunate occurrences would only serve to undermine the presence of God in our lives and as a result, their manifestation is a mandatory requirement. Subsequently, the precedence of negative events in the lives of human beings is permissible by the reluctance of God’s interference, which predominantly purposed for the restoration of faith in a Supreme Being. Also, religious sycophants assert that the pervasiveness of evil upon the innocent is aimed at deflating the ego of a man so that he does not gloat over his achievements. Therefore, the God’s tolerability of evil creates an ideal platform for developing virtues such as those of courage and faith, which are essential for spiritual nourishment.

Theists also claim that evil is an inevitable necessity as it helps consolidate the natural order of things in that it would be illogical for God to interfere every time a disaster happens. It implies that an external interference would virtually make it impossible to project the causative agents of calamities. Likewise, there is the strong belief in the miraculous propensities of averting disasters, which are practically a rare happening. Consequently, this breeds the faith in the deduction that failures serve the purpose of educating and refining the characters of mortal beings so that they remain in awe of God

Exemplifying the Inadequacy of the Excuses by the Theists

Despite the fact that humans enjoy the gift of free will, this is by no means a justification as to why God should allow for the advent evil that results in fatalities. As is the case with professionals who respond to emergency calls swiftly with efforts geared towards preserving life, God’s actions also ought to borrow a leaf from this scenario since his omnipresent nature places him at a vantage point of sustaining an absolute reprieve. Workers such as clinicians and firefighters sign a professional oath that binds them to their duties and this is widely deemed as moral thus God’s perceptions should revolve around the above notions. 

Regarding the creation of a moral urgency, the view is that there need not exist extreme suffering such as death to optimize the framework of inauguration a culture of virtuous development. Moreover, it is widely accepted that the maximization of the principles of moral urgency are only deterrent to the cause of ethical practices as it evidenced by the heavy reliance on medical services in case of a malady. The conception of faith in the miraculous happenings has also been called into question due to the abstract nature of the interrelationship between God and man. Despite the fact that some of the excuses advanced may be viewed as ultimate solutions to the problem of evil, they are deemed implausible as the interactions of God and human beings is encapsulated in the spiritual realm. 

Conclusion

As mentioned above, the ideologies of theists in regards to the problem of evil may be seen as being superficial owing to discrepancies such as God’s reserve for higher morality. Besides, the extremities of evil compel the questioning of God’s omnipresence and the reasons behind his lack of intervention. Nonetheless, excuses presented may be seen as shortcomings when juxtaposed against philosophical notions.