Creation-Order Theodicy: The Problem of Evil - Essay Example

The big question that underlies this issue is that, if the idea of the existence of an omnipotent being holds, then why is there evil in the world? The level of misery human beings around the world face is immense. Evil dominates the world with men treating each other unjustly. Further, there are so many natural disasters rocking man’s life year in and year out. This evil occurrence cast doubt over the existence of an omnipotent God. This paper explores Mackie’s presentation of the argument from evil and explains some answers to the problems posed in a bid to determine whether or not Mackie is right.

Mackie’s Presentation of the Argument from Evil

1. L. Mackie (1917-1981), an Australian philosopher, in 1955 developed popular deductive reasoning from evil. Mackie’s argument was based on two postulations. First, there exists an omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnibenevolent (all-good) God. Second, there is suffering or evil in the world. Mackie argued that the two propositions are inconsistent. In a simplified version, Mackie argued that the following postulations cannot be simultaneously true:

• God is omnipotent.
• God is wholly good.
• Some evil exists in the world.

His argument for the inconsistency of these premises is that an omnibenevolent deity would undoubtedly object to all suffering in the world. An omniscient being would most likely be aware of all suffering and an omnipotent being would possess all the power to stop all suffering in the world. As such, if all omnipresent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God existed, there would be no sign of evil and suffering in the world. Consequently, if God exists, then there is no evil and if evil exists, then the idea of the existence of God ceases to hold.  Because conventional theism believes that an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God is simultaneously evil, then there is an element of inconsistency in traditional theism. Further, Mackie argued that the existence of evil is evident and obvious because there is suffering and all sorts of evil all over the world. As such, if the proposition of the existence of evil holds, then the other proposition, which is the existence of an omnipresent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God, is untrue.

If God exists, then he is omnipotent. If God exists, then he is wholly good. An omnipotent person is capable of doing anything. A wholly good person usually eliminates as much evil as possible.  If God exists, he would eliminate as much evil as possible. If God exists, then he eradicates all evil. If God exists, evil ceases to be there (O'Connor 46). Therefore, the conclusion that God exists and that some evil exists seems inconsistent according to Mackie.

Some Answers to the Problems Posed

One of the answers to the problem of evil is theodicy. Theodicy attempts to explain the consistency in the simultaneous existence of an omnipresent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God with evil. It offers deep insight into the coexistence of God and evil and also justifies God’s intent on man.  Theodicy tries to explain the reasons why an All-knowing, All-powerful, and All-good God would permit suffering. Theodicy provides a reasonable ground to reject Mackie’s claim in the argument from evil that the co-existence of God and evil are incompatible and impossible. Among different theodicies that have been presented by various philosophers, there are two that remain strong for refuting Mackie’s opinion in the argument against evil. First is the “free will” theodicy and the second is the “soul-making” theodicy also referred to as the “higher goods” theodicy (Little 73).

Based on the tents of free will theodicy, God permits suffering because of the following reasons:

• Creatures are endowed with free will to which evil is an inescapable consequence.
• The freedom accorded to the creatures is so crucial that eliminating evil would mean curtailing the freedom. This would mean the termination of liberty in the entire universe, thereby diminishing the value of human existence.

The soul-making theodicy holds that God permits suffering because:

• Suffering is an inevitable consequence of the numerous challenges in the world made by God, which makes the world seem like an impediment.
• Human beings develop ethical characteristics because of the challenges upon which the world was made. The development of moral behaviors is so overriding that eliminating evil would mean doing ways with the chance for humans to develop ethical qualities as well as the value it instills in man.
• The overall result would be the complete elimination of the moral value of human existence.

Personal Opinion on Whether Mackie Is Right in His Claim

Logically assessing Mackie’s claim, it is hard to refute the claim the idea of the co-existence of God and evil is inconsistent. However, if the omnipresent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God has some justifiable reason for allowing suffering in the universe, then Mackie’s notion that the existence of God and evil are irreconcilable does not hold. Furthermore, if God is omnipotent (can do anything), then he has the power to allow evil to exist up to a limit he considers reasonable for moral living. Therefore, the claim Mackie in the argument from evil refutes the coexistence between God and evil seems incorrect.