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 Joseph O’MearaPaper #1For millennia, philosophers have debated whether or not theexistence of an omnipotent, omnibenevolent being is compatible withthe existence of evil and suffering. Some claim that an all-good, all-powerful being would never allow evil or suffering to exist, and sinceboth evil and suffering obviously exist, by modus tollens, God must notexist. Opponents argue against this position using several theodicies,or attempted solutions to the problem of evil, including, but not limitedto, the arguments that man cannot judge God and that without evil,good could not exist. From a logical standpoint, one has to concludethat the existence of evil is incompatible with an omnibenevolent,omnipotent being.If there exists an all-good, all-powerful God who cares abouthumankind, it would be impossible for evil or suffering to exist in theworld. Since evil and suffering exist in copious amounts, one canconclude that such a being does not, and cannot, exist. This argumentfits in the logical argument for modus tollens. The scenario that an all-good, all-powerful God exists in the same world as evil and sufferingdoes not seem logically possible. The problem of evil is similar to theunstoppable force paradox, which states that if an immovable object
 
exists, it is impossible for an unstoppable force to also exist
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. The twocoexisting in the same universe is logically impossible.One defense a theist might use is the argument that good cannotexist without evil. They argue that evil is relative to good, and withoutevil, there would be no such thing as good or moral acts. In order forgood to exist, evil must also exist, and vice versa.Arguments used to counter argue this point include the problem of the quantity of suffering present in the world. How much suffering isnecessary? This theodicy does not explain natural catastrophes thatend up killing or injuring many innocent people and forcing even morein to poverty, nor does it explain horrific moral atrocities, such as theHolocaust. For those affected by the Holocaust, it was as close to hellon earth as imaginable. Surely, such extreme amounts of pain,suffering, and evil are not necessary just to make it possible for goodto exist. Things like this should never happen in a world governed byan omnipotent, omnibenevolent being, but it happens in our world. This can also be countered by the fact that, assuming God isomnibenevolent, or all good, it cannot exist without evil. This impliesthat there is something God did not create:evil. Since God (who is all-good) cannot exist without the presence of evil, one can logicallyassume that if such a God did exist, evil would have to exist regardless
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“When an Irresistible Force Meets an Immovable Object”, Jim Loy,1997, http://www.jimloy.com/logic/force.htm
 
of God’s will. Does this mean God has an equally powerful, butcompletely evil, counterpart? If so, it would be difficult to call God theSupreme Being, as it seems the counterpart is winning. This meansthere is something God cannot do; abolish evil. Following from thatlogic, one must conclude that God is not omnipotent. If God cannotexist on its own and is not omnipotent, then why should it be calledGod?A theist might also insist that evil and suffering exist because Godgranted us free will, and a world with free will is better than a worldwithout it. In “Why God Allows Evil”, Richard Swinburne argues that agenerous God would give its creation, among other things, free will. Therefore, God is not responsible when humans commit horrible acts.Of course, it is highly debated whether or not we even have free will,but for the sake of he argument, we will assume free will exists.An immediately noticeable problem with this argument is that Godis the creator of all humans, and implants us with al ofour instincts,motives, and personality. Assuming this being did exist, it wouldabsolutely be to blame when humans chose to do evil and bring harmto others. God, being all-powerful, must know what humans are goingto do before they do it, so why does it never stop the most horrificthings from happening? Why was the Holocaust allowed to happen.Some might say that God doesn’t want to interfere with our free will,but assuming we are dealing with the Judeo-Christian God, the Bible is
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