The Logic and Evidential Problem of Evil - Essay Example

The Logical and Evidential Problem of Evil Logical and Evidential problem of evil are both the main arguments that tend to question the existence of God. Both of the two arguments are presented in order to show there is no possibility of existence of God considering how evil have affected the world. This paper will offer detailed information relating to logical and evidential problem of evil and make replies on the two arguments. The paper will also indicate my personal belief on God, morals, good and evil and the main reason that makes me to hold this believes. All materials presented in this paper will come from class notes and a secondary source. Logical Problem of Evil Atheist J.L Mackie presented this argument where he argued that there is a contradiction between the existence of God and the existence of evil (Kelly 218). Mackie formulated his argument that there seems to be an evident contradiction between four main premises. One of them is that God is an omnipotent (Kelly 219). This premise translates that God is all-powerful, meaning that he is supposed to have the power of eliminating all evil that exists in this world (Meister 132). The second premise is that God is an omniscient. This second premise translates that God is all-knowing, meaning that he could have the ability to detect the occurrence and existence of evil in order to prevent or eliminate it. The third premise according to Mackie is that God is Omni-benevolent (Meister 132). This argument translates that God is all-good, meaning he would have the will to prevent all the evils from happening in this world (Meister 132). The fourth premise indicates that evil and suffering exists in this world (Meister 132). This premise translates that there is evidence of moral and natural evil existence in this world. Reflecting on all of the above four premises Mackie concluded that God does not exist. The above four premises leads to a contradiction between the existence if evil and God. This derives to a point that God does not exist. For example, it is easy to reject the premise that God is omnipotent. This is because if God is not able to stop evil and most importantly know before it occurs in order to do something to stop it, then probably there is no God. There is also a possibility to reject the second premise; God is omniscient, by stating that if God is really all knowing, he could have the ability to stop evil. The above information indicates that no one is able to know what individuals can do even God himself. Moreover, this means that if God does exist, evil occurs and surprises even him. It is also possible to reject the third premise indicating that God is Omni-benevolent. This is because if God is perfect good, he ought to have the ability of knowing when evil might occur and then have the power to stop it. However, it seems that God does not care about evil and possible he does not have the ability to stop it. Rejecting the first three premises translates into the fourth one, evil and suffering exists, and therefore giving a possible conclusion that there is no God. The Evidential Argument One of the well-known individuals who have firmly supported the evidential argument is William Rowe (Kelly 220). Through the evidential argument, Rowe and many other philosophers argue that much of the evils that people experiences in this world seem to be pointless. Rowe presented his arguments on four main statements. One of the statements indicated “E”, is an evil that no one established its justifier. However, many people especially philosophers have been trying to find the justifier without any success. The second statement according to Rowe shows there is a high probability “E” has no justifier. The third statement indicates that if there are some evil that depict to have no justifier, then all the facts presented on theism about God depicts to be false (Meister 135). The fourth statement as presented by Rowe then concludes there is a high probability that theism is false. According the above statements presented by Rowe, they tend to show that the existence of evil that brings pain and suffering derives to the point that God does not exist. From the above statements, it is possible to arrive to the fact that evil contributes to various instances of suffering of which an omnipotent, omniscient and perfect good God could have played a crucial role in preventing them from happening. According to Rowe, the fact there is pointless evil highly questions the existence of God. This means that if God existed he could have played a significant role in preventing evil from happening. However, because evil do happen on a daily basis then probably there is no God. Part 2 My Personal Belief on God, Morals, Good and Evil I firmly believe that God exists and is in control of everything that happens in this world. One of the main reasons that contribute in my believing of the existence of God is the concept of theology in Christianity. Most of the Christians affirmation on the existences of God as presented in the bible is not empty assumptions or dreamy speculations. For example, the bible gives the story of Lot’s wife on how she turned into a column of salt after looking back. It is true that this column of salt is evident to date and is a tourist attraction site. The Lots’ wife story derives to the point that doing against God’s will is demonstrating bad morals of which is punishable. Therefore, I believe there is a being (God) that is behind the power of good and evil. The other main reason that contributes to my believing in God is the fact that good and evil exists which tends to define good and bad morals. This is because most of the philosophers admit that there is evil. This means that they also admit there is good. The concept of admitting there is goodness derives to my main point and argument that moral law exists. This moral law helps people to differentiate between good and evil. The being behind the power of moral law is God. Works Cited Kelly Joseph. The Problem of Evil in the Western Tradition: From the Book of Job to Modern Genetics. Collegeville, Minn: Liturgical Press, 2001. Print. Meister Chad. Introducing Philosophy of Religion. London: Routledge, 2009. Print. Read More