{"id":6193,"date":"2016-12-09T22:09:26","date_gmt":"2016-12-09T22:09:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.plato-philosophy.org\/?post_type=teachertoolkit&p=6193"},"modified":"2025-03-03T14:50:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T22:50:46","slug":"the-problem-of-evil","status":"publish","type":"teachertoolkit","link":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/the-problem-of-evil\/","title":{"rendered":"The Problem of Evil"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Judeo-Christian-Islamic traditions, one of the major problems for theists [those who believe that there is a God] is the “Problem of Evil.” \u00a0It runs like this:<\/p>\n

If God is all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful, how can there be evil in the world? \u00a0Since we witness evil of various types, this presents a problem. \u00a0There are natural evils–like hurricanes, floods, fires. \u00a0There are also many human-induced evils from theft and murder to genocide and war. \u00a0Since many good, innocent people are touched by these evils, how can God allow this to happen?<\/p>\n

Some possible responses to this question:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. God is not all good: \u00a0Perhaps God has a mean streak in Him\/Her and allows evil to happen. \u00a0He sees the tsunami approaching but doesn’t care if it kills\u00a0men, women, children. \u00a0But this clearly clashes with mainstream beliefs in all three religions. \u00a0This is not the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jesus or Mohammed.<\/li>\n
  2. God is not all-powerful: \u00a0God sees the evil but is helpless to stop it. \u00a0S\/He would love to stop that tsunami but can only stand by and watch. \u00a0God lacks power to save the innocent. \u00a0This too seems a sad commentary on the notion of God we find in these scriptures and in theology. \u00a0Surely God is the epitome of the All-Powerful! \u00a0But then why not stop this from hurting undeserving humans and animals?<\/li>\n
  3. God is not all-knowing: \u00a0these evils take God completely by surprise, as much surprise as we ourselves experience and as such, caught unawares, He did not know this would happen. \u00a0Again, this completely disagrees with our classical notions of God in these main traditions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The conclusion could be that either God lacks these attributes of power, goodness, and knowledge OR perhaps there is no god at all. \u00a0Is the being of God inconsistent with the reality of evil in lives? \u00a0Or must we reframe our understanding of “evil?” Christian, Jewish, and Muslim philosophers have \u00a0tended to take the second road in making sense of God and evil.<\/p>\n

    Read the article<\/a> by Peter Kreeft for some of the responses to evil from philosophers.<\/p>\n

    Watch the video below to help you see a range of possible routes for reflection on this problem.<\/p>\n

    What do you<\/em> think?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In the Judeo-Christian-Islamic traditions, one of the major problems for theists [those who believe that there is a God] is the “Problem of Evil.” \u00a0It runs like this: If God is all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful, how can there be evil in the world? \u00a0Since we witness evil of various types, this presents a problem. \u00a0There … The Problem of Evil<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":16024,"template":"","toolkitcategory":[756,29],"gradelevel":[48,47],"topics":[592,598,591],"class_list":["post-6193","teachertoolkit","type-teachertoolkit","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","toolkitcategory-ethics","toolkitcategory-history-social-studies","gradelevel-high-school-and-beyond","gradelevel-middle-school","topics-god","topics-problem-of-evil","topics-theodicy"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Problem of Evil - PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Problem of Evil - PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the Judeo-Christian-Islamic traditions, one of the major problems for theists [those who believe that there is a God] is the “Problem of Evil.” \u00a0It runs like this: If God is all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful, how can there be evil in the world? \u00a0Since we witness evil of various types, this presents a problem. \u00a0There ... The Problem of Evil\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/the-problem-of-evil\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PLATO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PLATOPhilosophy?fref=ts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-03T22:50:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-photo-3508173.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@platoorg\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/teachertoolkit\\\/the-problem-of-evil\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/teachertoolkit\\\/the-problem-of-evil\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Problem of Evil - PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/teachertoolkit\\\/the-problem-of-evil\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/teachertoolkit\\\/the-problem-of-evil\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/pexels-photo-3508173.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-09T22:09:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-03T22:50:46+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/teachertoolkit\\\/the-problem-of-evil\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/teachertoolkit\\\/the-problem-of-evil\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/teachertoolkit\\\/the-problem-of-evil\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/pexels-photo-3508173.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/pexels-photo-3508173.jpeg\",\"width\":500,\"height\":750,\"caption\":\"Cat walking on park bench.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/teachertoolkit\\\/the-problem-of-evil\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Philosophy ToolKit\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/teachertoolkit\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The Problem of Evil\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"PLATO\",\"description\":\"Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/05\\\/Plato-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/05\\\/Plato-Logo.png\",\"width\":354,\"height\":181,\"caption\":\"Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/plato-philosophy.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/PLATOPhilosophy?fref=ts\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/platoorg\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Problem of Evil - PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Problem of Evil - PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization","og_description":"In the Judeo-Christian-Islamic traditions, one of the major problems for theists [those who believe that there is a God] is the “Problem of Evil.” \u00a0It runs like this: If God is all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful, how can there be evil in the world? \u00a0Since we witness evil of various types, this presents a problem. \u00a0There ... The Problem of Evil","og_url":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/the-problem-of-evil\/","og_site_name":"PLATO","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PLATOPhilosophy?fref=ts","article_modified_time":"2025-03-03T22:50:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":500,"height":750,"url":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-photo-3508173.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@platoorg","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/the-problem-of-evil\/","url":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/the-problem-of-evil\/","name":"The Problem of Evil - PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/the-problem-of-evil\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/the-problem-of-evil\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-photo-3508173.jpeg","datePublished":"2016-12-09T22:09:26+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-03T22:50:46+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/the-problem-of-evil\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/the-problem-of-evil\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/the-problem-of-evil\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-photo-3508173.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-photo-3508173.jpeg","width":500,"height":750,"caption":"Cat walking on park bench."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/the-problem-of-evil\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Philosophy ToolKit","item":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The Problem of Evil"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/","name":"PLATO","description":"Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/#organization","name":"Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization","url":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Plato-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Plato-Logo.png","width":354,"height":181,"caption":"Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PLATOPhilosophy?fref=ts","https:\/\/x.com\/platoorg"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/teachertoolkit\/6193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/teachertoolkit"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/teachertoolkit"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"toolkitcategory","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/toolkitcategory?post=6193"},{"taxonomy":"gradelevel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gradelevel?post=6193"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=6193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}