The Problem of Evil: Why Dose Suffering Exist?

Critics of theism and Christianity don’t just say God is dead; they claim He never existed. If the Christian God is all-powerful,all-knowing,and all-caring,why is there so much pain and suffering? Atheists and Christians alike call this the “Problem of Evil.” it’s a seemingly simple question: if God is as described, why does evil exist? Did God create evil? If not, where did it come from? Is creation truly as good as we’re told? Couldn’t god have made a world with less suffering? The questions keep coming. For critics, the existence of evil proves God never existed. But for Christians, God’s existence and the reality of suffering aren’t necessarily contradictory.

The logical problem of evil can be stated like this: 1) Suffering exists.2) An all-powerful, all-knowing, perfectly good God exists. 3) There’s no good reason for such a God too allow suffering.I agree with philosopher Eleonore Stump that focusing on “suffering” is more accurate than focusing on “evil.” The core issue isn’t evil itself, but the pain it causes. Charles manson, for example, was considered evil for much of his life, but he didn’t cause suffering during his last fifty years in prison. So,the problem isn’t with the evil person,but with the suffering they inflict.