The Problem of Evil Social Sciences Essay Research (Essay Sample)

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The Problem of Evil
The problem of evil casts doubt on the existence of God, an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent, in the face of evil is experienced in the world. The basis of this argument is that if God truly exists, then evil cannot prevail and that if God is unable to tame evil, then he is neither omnipotent, omniscient, nor omnibenevolent. If God was able and willing to prevent evil, then why evil does exists? Besides, it is argued that God and evil cannot exist at the same time, which nullifies the existence of God since evil existence is evident based on the various ills in the world. Responses to the problem of evil take three forms, namely refutations, defenses, and theodicies. Free will is a major theodicy that has been used to address the problem of evil. According to the theodicy, God gives man the free will to choose between the good and evil while making it evident that every choice, whether bad or good attracts consequences. Thus, man makes a decision from an informed point of view. The paper examines the problem of evil as an argument to show that God cannot be either all-powerful, all knowing, and all good, a free-will theodicy against the argument, and rejoinder to the theodicy.