# The Problem of Evil

> *Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he
able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then
whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?* -
Epicurus

The Problem of Evil suggests that because evil exists, it is impossible for there
to be a God who is:

- Omnipotent
- Omniscient
- Omnibenevolent

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An argument often used to defend God is that **evil exists because God gave humans
free will**.

## A response

Evil is generally categorised into two forms:

- **Moral** evil - dependent on free will, people have to make a choice to murder,
rape etc...
- **Natural** evil - such as earthquakes, famines, and floods. These things cannot
be attributed to free will.

Some theists still try to refute this by claiming that for example, a flood is
caused by the sin of man, and therefore free will. This leads on to a second
defense:

Consider the question of, "**Can consciously-imposed evil exist in heaven?**"

There seems to be three answers to this:

- **Yes** - if this was the case, it would seem hard to call it heaven.
- **No** - God removes the "part of free will" that leads to evil. This would mean
that upon reaching heaven, your free will is restricted. Can this be considered to
be heaven? This also suggests that the only place in the afterlife where free-
thinking is truly possible is **hell**.
- **No, but free will is still retained** - this defeats the original objection. If
there is a place where there is free will and no evil, this suggests that evil is
in fact due to free will.

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In simpler terms, it could be said that an all-powerful god could eliminate evil
*without* disrupting free will. If not, we have found something they cannot do.
Thus, they are not all-powerful. I don't find this hugely convincing, because it
seems that any moderate theistic point of view has to accept that God is only
*maximally* great, rather than the traditional omni-trio suggested.